1206 – Rise of Genghis Khan (Mongol Empire goes on to conquer Song China, Abbasid and Russia) 1258 - Mongols sack Baghdad (end of Abbasid Caliphate) 1271 - 1295 - Marco Polo's Travels; visits Yuan dynasty (inspires European exploration) 1300s – Italian Renaissance (rebirth of Europe) 1324 - Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca (Ruler of Mali - Muslim) 1325 - 1349 - Ibn Battuta's Travels (travels to West African Kingdoms, Swahili city-states, Mecca – documents experience of Islamic world) 1337-1453 – Hundred Years War (fought between Britain and France, rise of nationalism, use of gunpowder in warfare – knights lose influence, feudalism declines) 1347 - 1348 - Bubonic Plague in Europe (people move from manors to cities – feudalism declines) Mid 1300s – Rise of Aztec/Inca Empires (Pre-Columbian Civilizations) 1368 – Ming Dynasty (replaces Yuan) 1405 - 1433 - Zheng He's voyages (Ming Dynasty chance to dominate is over, Western Europe will rise) 1453 - Ottomans conquer Constantinople (Byzantine Empire) 1492 - Columbus “discovers” Americas (searching for all water-route to Asia) 1498 – Vasco Da Gama reached India (opens up European trade across Indian Ocean) 1502 – Atlantic Slave Trade (highest volume of slaves during 18 th century) 1517 - Martin Luther/95 Theses (start of Protestant Reformation) 1521 - Cortez conquered the Aztecs 1526 – Founding of Mughal Empire (Babur, Akbar, Aurangzeb) 1533 - Pizarro conquered the Incas 1600s – Beginning of Japanese isolation (Tokugawa Shogunate) 1618 - 1648 - 30 Years War (religious wars- Protestant Reformation) 1643 – King Louis XIV (France – Absolute Monarchy) 1689 – Peter the Great (Westernization of Russia) 1750s - Industrialization begins in England 1775-1783 – American Revolution (gains independence from Britain) 1789 - French Revolution begins (rise of Napoleon)

1804 - Haitian Independence (1 st Latin American country that gained independence from Europe, slave uprising) Early 1800s – Latin American Wars for independence (most countries gain independence by 1825) 1839 - 1860s - Opium Wars in China (Britain forces China to open up trade to foreigners) 1848 - Communist Manifesto (the rise of Karl Marx… socialism/communism) 1853 – American Commodore Matthew Perry pressures Japan to open up to the West 1853-1856 – Crimean War (Ottomans defeat Russia with help of Britain/France; Russia will abolish serfdom/industrialize) 1861 – Russia abolishes serfs (lives of peasants won’t improve) 1857 - Sepoy Mutiny in India (British government colonized India) 1868 – Meiji Restoration (Japan will industrialize, westernize – begin colonizing surrounding lands) 1884-1885 – Berlin Conference (Scramble for Africa – European leaders divide up Africa) 1885 – Founding of the Indian National Congress (political party that will support Indian independence) 1905 - Russo-Japanese War (triggers 1905 Russian Revolution) 1910 – Japan annex Korea 1910 - 1920 - Mexican Revolution (Porfirio Diaz removed from power) 1911 - Chinese Revolution (Qing dynasty falls, Nationalists control Chinese government) 1914 - 1918 - World War I 1917 - Russian Revolution (Lenin rises to power – Russia becomes communist and gets out of WWI) 1929 - Start of Great Depression (caused by overproduction, weakening demand, stock market crash, bank failures and high unemployment rates) 1931 - Japanese invasion of Manchuria 1937 – Japanese invade China (Nationalist and communist in China join forces to fight Japanese) 1939 - German invasion of Poland (start of WWII) 1945 - End of WWII 1947 – India gained independence from Britain (Partition of India… India – Hindus; Pakistan – Muslims) 1947-1991 – Cold War (United States – democracy vs Soviet Union – communism) 1948 - Creation of state of Israel (orchestrated by the United Nations 1949 - Mao Zedong comes to power in China (China becomes communism after a civil war with Nationalist)

1950 - 1953 - Korean War 1959 - Cuban Revolution (rise of Fidel Castro) 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis (caused by Bay of Pigs – failed attempt by USA to remove Castro) 1967 - Chinese Cultural Revolution (Mao tries to revive communism in China) 1979 - Iranian Revolution (rise of Ayatollah Khomeini – Iran becomes Islamic state) 1984 – Meiners is born 1989 - Fall of Berlin Wall (West and East Germany reunited 1991 - Fall of USSR 2001 - 9/11 Terror Attacks on US