Modern History Timeline 1450-1700s

Ming Dynasty

since 1368

Ottoman Empire

since 1299

Holy Roman Empire

since 962

Grand Duchy of Muscovy

since 1283

Aztec and Inca Empires

Aztec Triple Alliance since 1427; Incan expansion beginning 1438

Ethiopia, Mutapa, & Songhai Empires

Ethiopia 1137-1975; Mutapa 1430-1760; Songhai 1464-1591

Ottomans under Mehmet II conquer Constantinople

1453

Ivan the Great rules Russia, Russia triples in size

1462-1505

Portuguese ships reach India and Brazil, starting Portuguese global maritime empire

~1500

Treaty of Tordesillas - Split the world between Portugal and Spain

1494

Columbus arrives in Americas

1492

Renaissance Period

1400s-1500s

Founding of Safavid Empire

1501

Beginning of slave trade from Africa to Americas

~ 1510

Beginning of Spanish Habsburg Empire

1516-1700

Martin Luther posts “95 Theses,” beginning Protestant Reformation

1517

Babur founds Mughal Empire

1526

Spanish conquistadors conquer Aztecs & Incas

1520s-1530s

Suleiman the Magnificent expands Ottoman Empire

1520-1566

Council of Trent (part of Counter Reformation)

1545-1563

Expansion & consolidation of Mughal Empire under Akbar

1556-1605

Kingdom of Dahomey founded

~1600

Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded = beginning of Dutch maritime empire

1602

Tokugawa Shogunate (Edo period) begins in Japan

1603

First permanent English settlement in the Americas, at Jamestown, Virginia

1607

Galileo defends idea of heliocentric solar system

1615

Thirty Years War in Europe

1618-1648

Qing Dynasty founded, displacing Ming in China

1644

Treaty of Westphalia

1648

Kangxi Emperor in China

1661-1722

Aurangzeb rules Mughal Empire, expands empire to cover most of Indian subcontinent

1658-1707

Peter the Great rules in Russia

1682-1725

Total number of slaves transported from Africa to Americas reaches ~2 million

1700