Isabella Colantonio important_dates_mwap
Important Dates in (Mostly) Modern World History
Dates themselves are just numbers, but they refer to specific events, distinguishing one time period from another. Dates help you to know the order of events and to see relationships between people and places in history. They also help you recall a time period—its feeling, characters, main events and themes. It’s time to memorize the few dates below.
100,000 ybp For the second time, hominins (this time Homo sapiens) walk Out of Africa, arriving in East Asia 70
kybp, Australia 50 kypb, Europe 40 kypb, the Americas 15 kybp, and the most remote Pacific Islands
1500 ybp.
3000 BCE Large-scale sedentary ancient civilizations are thriving in today’s Peru, Egypt, Iraq and India.
500 BCE Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism have formed in Asia. Confucius and Lǎo Zǐ are defining Chinese
culture and philosophy. Ancient Greece is thriving.
1 CE In or around this year Jesus is born, starting Christianity, which spreads from the Roman Empire.
579 Mohammed is born, claiming to be a prophet in the Abrahamic tradition. Islam has begun.
1279 The Mongol Empire conquers the Sòng Dynasty in China. At the same time, large African civilizations
are thriving at Mali, Zimbabwe and the Swahili coast.
1453 The Turks conquer the Eastern Roman / Byzantine Empire and establish the Ottoman Empire.
At the same time, the Hundred Years’ War–the so called last of the Medieval wars–ends between France
and England. Also at the same time, the Inca Empire and Aztec Empire are thriving.
1492 The Spanish expel the Muslims in the Reconquista, creating the first nation-state. They send
Columbus to search for India, but he instead initiates European contact and conquest of the Americas,
home to the largest empires in the world at the time. The enslavement of indigenous peoples in the Americas and Africa by westerners accelerates. At the same time Leonardo DaVinci draws “Vitruvian Man”–the European Renaissance has begun.
1763 The Seven Years’ War ends. England takes colonies from France in Asia, Africa and the Americas.
1776 American colonies begin the era of revolutions by challenging England. Other colonies in the Americas
will revolt throughout the 1800s, especially against Spain. At the same time, in Wealth of Nations, Adam
Smith articulates advocates for an unregulated economy that will come to be known as capitalism. Also
at the same time, James Watt improves upon the steam engine–early industrialization has begun.
1884 At the height of western imperialism, the International Meridian Conference is held, accelerating the
globe’s acceptance of western units of measure, such as the 365-day calendar, 360-degree of latitude and longitude, the 24-hour clock with time zones.
1914 -1919 World War I is fought. Independence comes to many ethnic groups. However, problematic new borders
are drawn, especially in the Middle East. Revolutions are occurring in China and Mexico, along with Russia,
which becomes the communist state (the USSR).
1945 World War II ends. The United Nations is created, promoting human rights. Decolonization
accelerates in Africa and Asia. In the next few decades, nation-states become the global norm. Many
countries ally with either the communist Soviet Union or the capitalist-democratic USA in the Cold War.
1989 The USSR begins to fail. Globalized capitalism continues to spread around the globe.
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