| 1431 AD
Joan of Arc- Burned Alive-
Joan of Arc entered Comiegne outside Paris and was taken
prisoner. The British held Joan in prison in a tower in
Rouen.Charles VII made no effort to assist her. The English
in 1431 turn Joan over to the former bishop of the of
Beauvais Pierre Cauchon on the assurance she would be
convicted of treason against God. She was convicted and
burned to death at the stake on May 30, 1431. |
| 1431 AD
Angkor Sacked - Angkor, the
capital of the Khmer, was captured and sacked by the Thais.
The Khmer Empire was forced to move its capital to the
present site of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. |
| 1435 AD
Peace Treaty of Arras
-In 1435, Duke Philip of Burgundy became weary of his
alliance with the English. He signed a peace treaty with
Charles VI which recognized Charles as the one king of
France. Charles promised in return to punish the murders of
Philip's father. The English did not accept the peace treaty
and warfare continued. Charles and Philip fought together
and liberated Paris from the English. A truce then ensued
between Britain and France that lasted 13 years. |
| 1438 AD
Inca Dynasty Founded- The Inca
Dynasty that ruled Peru until 1553 was founded in 1438. Its
founder is said to have been Pachacutec. He rapidly expanded
the empire. |
| 1444 AD
Battle of Varna- The
Ottoman forces fought a constant series of battles along its
Hungarian border. Murad the Ottoman sultan decided to end
the strife once and for all. He attacked Belgrade, the chief
fortress on the Hungarian border. He was repulsed from
Belgrade. Encouraged by their victories the Christians
declared a new Crusade against the Ottomans, whose goal was
to drive them from Europe. The Christian armies were led by
Hunyadi who acheived two important victories, the first at
the battle of Hermanstadt, and then at the battle of Nissa
in which the Ottomans are driven from Bulgaria. |
| 1450 AD
Printing Press Invented- In
1450, Johannes Guttenberg invented the printing press. The
invention of the press revolutionized communication and
education, allowing the development of newspapers, as well
as reasonably priced books. The first product of the press
was the Guttenberg Bible. |
| 1453 AD
Battle of Castillon-Charles
VI became the first king to maintain a standing army, when
he created a small French standing army. Knowing that the
English were divided Charles decided to attack and reclaim
Normandy. His attacks met little resistance. The English
sent a fresh army led by Talbot against Charles, but at the
battle of Chatillon the English were decisively defeated and
the Hundred Years War came to an end. |
| 1453 AD
Constantinople Falls to Forces
of Muhammad II- The Byzantine
Empire came to an end when the forces of Muhammad II
captured Constantinople. Muhammad's forces had been kept at
bay by an iron chain that kept his ship away. He brought 70
small ships overland. In addition Muhammad had 250,000
troops and a 1,200 pound cannon that breached the wall of
Constantinople. When the walls were breached on May 29th the
city fell and over a thousand years of Byzantine rule ended. |
| 1454 AD
Treaty of Lodi -Under
the term of the Treaty of Lodi hostilities ended between
Venice, Milan and Florence. The peace treaty was reached due
to the efforts of Pope Nicholas V. |
| 1455 AD
War of the Roses Begun - The War of the Roses began
in 1455. The war was a civil war between the houses of
Lancaster and York. The war was limited to English nobility
and involved few of the populace. The first battle of the
war was the Battle of St Albans which took place near
London. At that battle the Yorkist defeated the Royalist
forces. |
| 1456 AD
Cape Verde Islands Discovered
- Cape Verde Islands off the African coast near Dakar
was discovered by Alivse da Cadamosto who was employed in
the service of Henry the Navigator. The islands were soon
settled by the Portuguese who began to use it for the slave
trade. |
| 1461 AD
Battle of Towton Moors-War of Roses-
The Royalist who wore red roses to battle were defeated by
the Yorkist wearing white roses at the Battle of Towton
Moors. The battle which was the bloodiest of the war,
resulted in Edward being crowned Edward IV King of England. |
| 1471 AD
Battle of Tewkesbury-
The War of the Roses continued to wage. Edward married
Elizabeth Woodville who had no money or rank. Edward handed
out titles and money liberally so much so that he aroused
the jealousy of the Earl of Warwick. Warwick arranged the
ouster of Edward and the return of King Henry. When Warwick
was killed in the battle of Barnet Henry was returned to
jail, where he was killed immediately. Margaret, Henry's
wife, continued the struggle, but at the Battle of
Tewkesbury Margaret's son was killed and she was captured. |
| 1471 AD
Kingdom of Anman Founded- Le
Thanh-ton leading the Kingdom of Annam captured Vijaya the
capital of the Cham, in present day Vietnam. |
| 1472 AD
Ivan III the Great - In
1472 Ivan III- The Great, married the neice of the last
Byzantine Emperor. The marriage, which took place ten years
into his rule, increased Ivans prestige and helped him unify
the various Russian principalities. |
| 1475 AD
Treaty of Picquinty England's
Edward IV invaded France in support of the Burgundians.
Edward was bought off by a payment and the promise of an
annual allowance by Louus XI under the terms of the Treaty
of Picquinty. |
| 1477 AD
Charles the Bald Killed
- The Battle of Nancy is won by Swiss pikement fighting for
Louis XI. Charles the Bald, the last of the Burgundy
claimants to the throne, is killed in the battle. This
effectively ended the incessant battles for the French
crown. |
| 1479 AD
Treaty of Alcacovas Under the
treaty of Alcacovas Portugal abandoned its claim to the
Castillian throne as well as its claim to the Canary
Islands. The Spanish recognized the Portuguese primacy in
Azores islands as well the North and West African coasts. |
| 1480 AD
Treaty of Constantinople
- The 15 year war between the Ottomans and Venice ended with
the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople. Under the terms
of the treaty Venice was forced to cede cities along the
Albanian coast to the Ottomans. Furthermore the Venetians
were forced to pay for the right to trade in the Black Sea. |
| 1485 AD
Botticielli Paints The Birth of Venus
-In 1485 The Birth of Venus was painted by Sandor
Botticielli in Florence. It was Botticeilli’s most famous
work. Botticielli also illustrated Dante’s Divana Commedia
and worked on the Sistine Chapel |
| 1487 AD
Dias Circles South Africa
- Bartholomeu Dias the Portuguese explorer was blown
off course and around the Cape of Good Hope. He became the
first European explorer to circle Southern Africa. |
| 1491 AD
Portuguese in Angola Portuguese
explorers establish an embassy at Mbanza the capital of the
Bantu State in the present Angola. The Kongo ruler converts
to Catholicism. |
| 1492 AD
Columbus Sets Sails For New
World - Isabella, Queen of Spain financed the voyage
of Christopher Columbus. His goal was to find a sea route to
the Orient by sailing westward. He set sail on August 3,
1492 in his flagship the Santa Maria with 52 men aboard.
Also sailing was the smaller Pinta and Nina. On October 12th
land is sighted. |
| 1492 AD
Jews Driven From Spain -The
Jews of Spain were ordered out of Spain by July 31, 1492.
Some Jews accept the cross and stayed, while over 100,000
left Spain, many traveling to the Ottoman Empire, while some
settled in Portugal. |
| 1492 AD
Moors Driven out of Spain
-On January 2, 1492 Granada surrendered to Isabella
and Ferdinand. Granada was the last Muslim Kingdom in Spain
and this marked the final expulsion of the Moors from Spain. |
| 1492 AD
Columbus Discovers America -In
1492, Columbus set sail from Spain to discover a westward
passage to the Orient. His trip was financed by King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. On October 12th, after several
fearful weeks at sea, Columbus finally set foot on dry land.
He landed at San Salvador. |
| 1493 AD
Columbus' Second Voyage
- After Columbus returns to Spain with strange animals, a
live Indian and other unsusual items Queen Isabella grants
Columbus enormous priviledges. He is sent back with 1,500
men and a fleet of 17 ships as the governor of the new land. |
| 1494 AD
Treaty of Tordesillas - The
Treaty of Tordesillas was signed which divided the world
between Portuguese and Spanish lands. The Spanish received
all of the land to the West and the Portuguese to the East.
This gave Portugal Africa while Spain received all of the
new world with the exception of Brazil. |
| 1497 AD
John Cabot Discovers
NewFoundland- John Cabot together with his son
Sebastian discovered Newfoundland. He claims it for England. |
| 1498 AD
Christopher Columbus Sets Sail for
Third Voyage -In 1498 Christopher Columbus set sail
for his third voyage to the New World. In the course of the
voyage he discovered Trinidad. In addition he apparently
landed in South America. |
| 1498 AD
Da Vinci paints The Last Supper-
In 1498 Leonardo Da Vinci painted his most famous mural, The
Last Supper. The mural depicts the last meal of Christ
before being incarcerated |
| 1498 AD
Vasco de Gama Sails to India
-Vasco De Gama, the Portuguese explorer, arrived in India.
He established a trading post, thus creating a new trade
route between Europe and the East. |
| 1498 AD
Vasco De Gama lands in India
-Following up on the discovery by Dias of the Cape of Good
Hope, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sets sail for India.
In 1498, da Gama reached India. |
| 1498 AD
Cabot Claims North America For Great
Britain -On June 24th, John Cabot, sailing on behalf
of King Henry of England, sighted the coast of New Foundland.
He claimed lands for England. |