AP Euro 20 Dates

1450

Johannes Gutenberg's press revolutionized communication, making books cheaper and ideas more

accessible. This set the stage for religious reform, scientific exchange, and the spread of humanist

thought. invention of the printing press.

1492

Christopher Columbus's first voyage opened sustained transatlantic contact, reshaping global

trade, colonization, and cultural exchange. In the same year, the Spanish Reconquista concluded

consolidated Spain as a powerful centralized state and enabling overseas expansion. Columbus reaches the Americas.

1517

Luther's protest against indulgences sparked the Protestant Reformation, reshaping religion and

politics in Europe. In the same era, the transatlantic slave trade expanded rapidly, tying Europe's

prosperity to colonization and forced labor. Martin Luther theses and transatlantic slave trade.

1572

Religious violence reached new extremes in France, symbolizing the deep social and political

conflicts unleashed by the Reformation. St Bartholomew massacre.

1648

Ended the Thirty Years' War, ushering in a new balance of power and a framework for state

sovereignty that shaped modern diplomacy. Peace of westphalia.

1682

Louis centralized power at Versailles, exemplifying absolutist monarchy and state control over

nobility. Louis XIV moves court to Versailles.

1688

Established constitutional monarchy and parliamentary sovereignty in Britain, offering a model

of limited government that contrasted with continental absolutism. Glorious revolution in England.

1748

A landmark Enlightenment text advocating separation of powers and constitutional governance,

profoundly influencing political thought across Europe and beyond. Montesquieu Spirit of Laws.

1760s

Britain's mechanization of textile production marked the birth of industrialization, fueled by

earlier scientific advances and reshaping economies, societies, and environments. Start of Industrial Revolution.

1789

The storming of the Bastille signaled the collapse of absolutism and the rise of revolutionary ideals

of liberty, equality, and fraternity, which reverberated across Europe. French revolution.

1815

European leaders redrew borders after Napoleon's defeat, seeking to restore balance of power and

suppress revolutionary movements. Defeat of Napoleon and Congress of Vienna.

1848

Widespread revolutions reflected demands for liberal reforms, nationalism, and social change.

Marx and Engels' Communist Manifesto crystallized socialist critiques of capitalism. Revolutions and Communist Manifesto.

1871

Otto von Bismarck's leadership unified Germany, shifting the European balance of power and

fueling nationalism. German unification.

1884-1885

European powers partitioned Africa, accelerating imperialism and reflecting global competition

for resources and markets. Berlin conference.

1914-1918

The Great War shattered old empires, spread mass death, and redrew borders. It also set the stage

for the Russian Revolution and unresolved tensions leading to WWII. WW1.

1939-1945

The deadliest conflict in human history, WWII reshaped borders, destroyed fascism, and set the

stage for the Cold War and European integration. WW2.

1956

Twin crises exposed both the fragility of Soviet control in Eastern Europe and the decline of old

European imperial powers. Suez crisis and Hungarian uprising.

1989

Symbolized the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe, ending the Cold War order and opening

the way for European unification. fall of berlin wall.

1992

The Maastricht Treaty deepened European integration through the EU, even as the Yugoslav Wars

demonstrated the persistence of ethnic conflict and violence in Europe. Maastricht treaty and siege of sarajevo.

1917

Russian Revolution. Bolshevik rise bringing power to communism and Lenin.