A time-line of the Holy Roman EmpireWorld News | Politics | History | Editor(Copyright © 1999-2020 Piero Scaruffi) |
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See the timeline of the Roman Empire See the timeline of the Barbars See the timeline of the Arabs See the timeline of Britain See the timeline of Christianity See the timeline of Italy 350: the Roman empire allows the Franks to settle in Belgium 406: as Vandals invade Gaul, the Franks expand in southern Belgium 407: Gebicca becomes leader of the Burgundians 413: the Burgundians settle on the left bank of the Rhine as "foederati" with capital in Worms 435: the Burgundians led by Gundahar invade Belgium 436: the Romans and the Huns attack the Burgundians and kill Gundahar 443: the Romans settle the Burgundians in Savoy 447: Merovech (Meerwig) establishes the Merovingian dynasty among the Franks 457: the Burgundi seize Lyons 480: Frank king Childeric dies and the Frank capital is in Rheims 481: Clovis becomes king of the Franks 486: Franks led by Clovis I (Chlodovech) conquer northern Gaul from the Romans and the Visigoths 496: Clovis converts the Franks to catholicism 507: Clovis defeats the Visigoths, kills their king Alaric II, and takes their French lands, including Aquitaine 510: Clovis moves the Frankish capital to Paris 511: Clovis dies and his kingdom is divided among his four sons, thus creating the kingdoms of Austrasia (eastern France and southwestern Germany) and Neustria (Paris and northern France) 531: the Franks conquer the Thuringians 534: the Franks conquer the Burgundians 536: the Franks conquer Provence from the Ostrogoths 555: the Franks conquer the Bavarians 628: count Pepin I becomes the Austrasian "major domi" (mayor of the palace) 638: the Merovingian king Dagobert is the first king to be buried at the monastery of Saint-Denis, which then becomes the royal abbey church 687: Pepin's son Pepin II becomes the Austrasian mayor of the palace and conquers Neustria, reuniting the two kingdoms 711: A Berber army under Tariq ibn Ziyad conquers southern Spain from the Visigoths in the name of Islam and Cordoba becomes the residence of the Arab governor 714: Pepin II dies and Pepin's son, Charles Martel, becomes mayor of the palace 718: Pelayo/Pelagius unites with the Visigothic leaders who have been defeated by Tariq, defeats the Muslims at the Battle of Covadonga, and creates the kingdom of Asturias in northwestern Spain, thus creating the kingdom of Leon 720: the Arabs capture Narbonne 725: the Arabs capture Carcassonne 732: the Muslim invasion of Europe is stopped by Charles Martel at the battle of Tours 735: The Franks conquer Aquitaine 737: the Arabs capture Provence 741: Charles Martel dies and his kingdom is divided between his sons Carloman (Austrasia) and Pippin (the rest), while Bavaria and Aquitaine are de facto independent 743: Pepin and Carloman elect Childeric III to king of the Franks 747: Carloman becomes a Montecassino monk and Pepin III becomes the sole ruler of the Franks 751: The Carolingian mayor Pepin III deposes Childeric III and appoints himself king of the Franks, thus ending the Merovingian dynasty and uniting Neustria, Austrasia and Burgundy 752: Pepin expels the Arabs from Provence 754: pope Stephen II anoints Pepin III king of the Franks 756: Pepin III defeats the Lombards and conquers Ravenna but leaves the conquered territories to the Pope, thereby founding the Papal State and establishing a temporal power for the Pope 759: the Muslim army is expelled from France 768: Pepin III dies and Charlemagne becomes king of the Franks, with capital in Aachen 774: the Franks under Charlemagne annex the Lombards 777: Charlemagne builds a palace at Aix-la-Chapelle 778: Charlemagne attacks the Muslims and invades northeastern Spain 778: Charlemagne attacks the Muslims and invades northeastern Spain but is defeated (Roland is defeated at Roncesvalles) 781: Charlemagne places his son Louis on the throne of Aquitaine 785: Charlemagne conquers the pagan Saxons in Germany and the Elbe river becomes the frontier between Germans and Slavs 788: Charlemagne conquers Bavaria 796: Charlemagne conquers the Avars (Pannonia) and establishes the East March (Ostmark or Osterreich) that gets colonized by Germans from Bavaria 800: the Pope crowns Charles emperor of the Holy Roman Empire 801: Charlemagne's son Louis captures Barcelona from the Arabs, creating the Spanish March along the Pyrenees (Aragonia and Catalonia) 812: a peace treaty between Charlemagne and the Eastern Roman Empire surrenders Venezia to the Eastern empire but grants Venezia the right to trade with the Holy Roman Empire 814: Charlemagne dies and his only surviving son, Louis, becomes king of the Franks and holy Roman emperor 830: Louis is attacked by his sons, allied with pope Gregory IV: Lothar (king of most of France and northern Italy), Pepin (king of Aquitaine), Louis II (king of Bavaria) 840: the holy Roman emperor Louis I dies and civil war erupts among Lothar (the new emperor), Charles le Chauve (who succeeded his father Pepin) and Louis II 843: At the Treaty of Verdun the Holy Roman Empire is divided among Charles II le Chauve (West Francia, i.e. France), Lothair (Netherlands, eastern France, renamed Lotharingia/Lorraine, and northern Italy) and Louis/Ludwig II (East Francia, i.e. Germany) 855: Lothair dies and his kingdom is split between his sons (Lotharingia to Lothar II and Burgundy to Charles) while Louis II becomes emperor and inherits northern Italy 860: Semen Garcia unites the dukedoms of Pamplona and Navarra and gains independence from the Franks 875: Louis II dies and Charles II le Chauve invades Italy and becomes emperor 877: Charles II dies 879: south Burgundy becomes de facto independent 881: Charles III inherits most of Charlemagne's old empire 888: Charles III is deposed by the nobles and the Frankish Empire is divided between East (Germany and northern Italy), ruled by Arnulf, and West (France), ruled by Odo Capet 888: north Burgundy declares its independence 888: north Italy declares its independence under Berengar I 890: Barcelona's count Wilfrid the Hairy declares his independence from the Franks 898: Odo dies and a Carolingian is again elected to the throne, Charles le Simple 910: Garcia, king of Leon, expands the kingdom and builds castles along the upper rio Ebro, thus creating Castilla 911: the duchy of Normandy is established by the Carolingian king Charles III in order to settle the Vikings of Rollo 911: Ludwig das Kind, last of the Carolingian rulers in the East, dies and the stem dukes elect Konrad I, duke of Franconia, as king of Germany 915: Berengar I dies and no emperor is appointed ("interregnum") 918: Konrad I dies and the stem dukes elect the Saxon duke Heinrich I, first of the Ottonen 922: the Viking ruler Dirk I founds the Egmont Benedictine monastery in Haarlem (Holland) 929: King Heinrich I defeats a massive coalition of Slavs at the battle of Lenzen TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 930: Burgos' count Fernan Gonz lez secedes from Leon and gains independence for Castilla 933: South and north Burgundy are united in the kingdom of Burgundy 933: Heinrich I defeats the Magyars/Hungarians 936: Otto I ascends to the throne of the East 955: Otto I crushes the invasion of the Magyars (Battle of Lechfeld) 961: the Pope asks Otto I for protection against Berengar II 962: Otto I invades Italy and is crowned emperor by the Pope in Rome 970: Sancho becomes king of Navarra 981: Castilla declares its independence from the Franks 983: Otto III ascends to the throne and, being a child, is tutored by French Benedectine monk Gerbert d'Aurillac 987: Hugh Capet is elected emperor of the West 996: the French king Hugh Capet dies and is succeeded by another Capet, Robert II the Pious 999: Otto III appoints Gerbert d'Aurillac pope (Sylvester II) 1000: Otto III absorbs Poland and Hungary within his sphere of control 1000: 7 million people live in France, 7 million in Iberia, 5 million in Italy, 4 million in Germany, 2 million in Britain 1001: Sancho unifies Castilla and Navarra 1004: Sancho, the ruler of Castilla, is made a king by the Holy Roman Emperor and founds the Sanchez dynasty 1009: Fatimid ruler Al-Hakim orders the destruction of the Christian basilica of the Sepulchre 1018: Dirk III is appointed first count of Holland 1024: Konrad II becomes German emperor, thus establishing the Salian dynasty 1031: the French king Robert II the Pious dies and Henri I succeeds him 1035: Sancho of Castilla dies and is succeeded by Fernando I as king of Castilla, by Ramiro as king of Aragonia, by Garcia as king of Navarra, and by Gonzalo. 1037: Fernando I of Castilla conquers Leon 1037: German emperor Konrad II signs a feudal edict that grants legal rights to the Lombards 1039: German emperor Konrad II dies and his son Heinrich III becomes emperor of Germany 1039: under the protection of German emperor Heinrich III, Cluny's abbot Odilo turns his monastery into the head of a monastic feudal system whose influence spread all over Europe 1046: Heinrich III descends on Rome and appoints a German bishop as Clement II 1049: the Norman warlord Robert Guiscard conquers Puglia from Byzantium 1050: farmers in the Utrecht district (Holland) build dykes to gain land from the sea 1050: the catapult is re-discovered (the "Trebuchet catapult") 1056: Heinrich III dies and is succeeded by Heinrich IV 1066: William of Normandy defeats the English king Harold, ends the Anglo-Saxon rule of England and unites England and Normandy 1070: the Hospital of Saint John is founded in Jerusalem by Amalfi merchants 1071: Normans led by Robert Guiscard conquer southern Italy from Byzantium 1072: the Normans conquer Sicily, Calabria and Napoli, and establish a kingdom over southern Italy 1075: Pope Gregory VII demands that the German emperor Heinrich IV abandons the habit of "lay investiture" (the emperor appoints the bishops) 1076: Heinrich IV refuses and Gregory VII excommunicates and deposes him, but then forgives him at Canossa (abbot Hugh of Cluny acts as mediator) 1085: Alfonso VI of Castilla defeats the Arabs at Toledo 1085: Heinrich IV invades Italy and drives Pope Gregory VII out of Rome, and the Pope dies in exile 1086: The Almoravids of Morocco begin the conquest of southern Spain 1091: the Normans defeat the Arabs and extend the Kingdom of Sicily over most of Italy 1093: Alfonso VI of Castilla appoints Henri of Burgundy count of Portugal 1095: Pope Urban II, responding to an appeal from the Byzantine emperor Alexios Komnenos, calls for a Crusade against the Muslims 1099: Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon capture Jerusalem and massacre Muslims 1100: Godfrey of Bouillon dies and is succeeded by his brother Baldwin of Edessa, who proclaims himself king of Jerusalem 1106: Heinrich IV dies and is succeeded by Heinrich V 1112: Afonso Henriques inherits Portugal, a vassal state of Castilla 1113: the Pope recognizes the Hospital of Saint John as separate monastic order (the Hospitallers) with headquarters in Acre 1118: Arabs import gunpowder from China (a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and charcoal) and arms and artillery are invented 1118: Baldwin dies on his way to conquer Fatimid Egypt 1122: Pope Calixtus II and German emperor Heinrich V sign the Concordat of Worms that resolves the "investiture controversy" by granting the emperor veto power over the German Church 1125: Heinrich V dies, the power of the German empire dissolves and the German emperor becomes a figurehead 1126: Alfonso of the house of Ivrea becomes king of Castilla 1137: France and Aquitaine are united after Eleanor of Aquitaine marries French king Louis VII 1137: Benedictine monk Suger builds the cathedral of Saint-Denis in a new style, the gothic style 1137: Aragonia and the Catalan counties are united by marriage under Barcelona's count Ramon Berenguer IV, who becomes king of Aragonia 1139: the county of Portugal under Afonso Henriques declares its independence from the Kingdom of Leon 1141: the philospher Pierre Abelard is condemned as heretic and is books are burned for his views on the Trinity and his love for Heloise 1142: Knights capture the Krak des Chevaliers 1143: Afonso Henriques is made king by the Pope and declares Portugal independent 1147: the Pope authorizes a German crusade against the pagan Slavs 1147: Portugal retakes Lisbon from the Muslims 1149: The patriarch of Jerusalem reopens the church of the Holy Sepulchre 1150: the Almohads conquer Spain 1152: Friedrich I Hohenstaufen, "Barbarossa", is elected king of Germany 1152: Henry II Plantagenet of Anjou marries his cousin Eleanor of Aquitaine (who has been divorced by Louis VII of France), who protects troubadours and poets of amour courtois at her court, while Henry II acquires Aquitaine and Gascony 1153: Henry II Plantagenet, still a vassal of the French king Louis VII, invades England and secures his right to the succession to the English throne 1154: Henry II Plantagenet is crowned king of England and Eleanor becomes queen 1154: Friedrich "Barbarossa" begins the first of his five Italian campaigns 1155: Friedrich "Barbarossa" is crowned king of Italy by northern Italian cities and holy Roman emperor by the Pope in Rome 1156: Friedrich I "Barbarossa" rediscovers Justinian law, granting the emperor absolute powers 1156: Osterreich (Austria) becomes a duchy 1158: Friedrich I "Barbarossa" issues a decree promoting universities independent of the political or clerical power ("Costitutio Habita") 1158: duke Heinrich the Lion of Saxony founds the cities of Munich and Luebeck and pushes the border east of the Elbe 1158: German emperor Friedrich I Barbarossa elevates duke Vladislav II of Bohemia to king 1159: French theologian John of Salisbury publishes the "Policraticus", first doctrine of the separation of church and state but with the state subordinate to the church 1160: Alexander III excommunicates Friedrich I "Barbarossa" 1162: Friedrich I "Barbarossa" raids Rome and Milan 1163: Paris bishop Maurice de Sully begins work at the church of Notre Dame 1172: The Almohads conquer Andalucia from the Almoravids and move the capital to Sevilla 1176: the Italian communes defeat Friedrich Barbarossa at the battle of Legnano 1177: Barbarossa recognizes Alexander III as Pope and is forgiven 1180: Barbarossa invades Luebeck and deposes duke Heinrich the Lion 1180: Philippe Auguste II becomes kind of France 1183: the peace of Constance grants northern Italy autonomy within Barbarossa's Holy Roman Empire 1189: The third Crusade is led by Philippe Auguste II of France and Friedrich Barbarossa of Germany 1189: The Crusaders use the Trebuchet catapult 1190: Friedrich I Barbarossa dies on the way to the Crusade and is succeeded by Heinrich VI as German emperor and by duke Leopold of Austria at the Crusade 1190: the Teutonic Knights are founded by German lords to fight in the crusade, establish their capital at Acre, and adopt the Templars' white mantle and the Hospitallers' rule Apr 1191: Richard I of England joins the Crusade in Acre 1194: the German emperor Heinrich VI conquers southern Italy and Sicily from the Normans, despite the pope's opposition 1194: King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England, taken prisoner upon the return from the Crusades, ackowledges hiself king Philippe Auguste II's vassal, thus losing all French possessions of the Plantagenets except Aquitaine 1195: Alfonso VIII of Castilla is defeated by the Almohads at Alarcos 1197: German emperor Heinrich VI dies and the electors prefer Otto IV over Heinrich's son Friedrich II 1203: Philippe Auguste II of France conquers Normandy and expels the English 1204: the Crusaders sack Byzantium and set up a Latin kingdom 1205: the lord of Amstel founds a castle (Amsterdam) 1205: Enrico Dandolo, Doge of Venice, dies at the age of 98 1208: pope Innocent III recognizes Friedrich II as legitimate ruler of Germany over emperor Otto IV 1208: pope Innocent III launches a crusade against the Catharist/Albigensian (northern nobles of France against southern nobles of France) and the Waldensian heretics 1209: The citizens of the Catharist/Albigensian town Beziers are massacred 1212: the Christian kings of Iberia defeat the Almohads at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa 1214: pope Innocent III, the claimant German emperor Friedrich II and French king Philippe Auguste defeat German emperor Otto IV and English king John at the battle of Bouvines 1215: Friedrich II ascends to the throne of Germany 1217: Emperor Friederich II grants lands to the Teutonic Knights in Sicily 1226: Emperor Friederich II grants the Teutonic Knights authority to restore order in Prussia 1226: Louis VIII establishes the first leper colony in France 1229: The king of France ends the war against the Catharist/Albigensian with the Treaty of Paris that disposses southern nobles of their fiefs, and the Inquisition was established to root out the remaining heretics 1230: Castilla and Leon are united under Ferdinando III of Castilla 1230: German emperor Friederich II proclaims himself king of Jerusalem, having wed the heiress to that throne and negotiated a deal with the Arabs 1234: the last Sanchez dies and Navarra is inherited by the French noble Thibault de Champagne 1236: Castilla takes Cordoba from the Almohads 1237: the Teutonic Knights merge with the Livonian Brothers (Latvia) and begins a campaign of forced conversion of the Baltic people and colonization by German monks, peasants and merchants 1238: King Jaime of Aragonia conquers Valencia from the Muslims 1238: 200 Cathars are executed at Montsegur 1241: Hamburg and Luebeck sign a treaty of mutual defense (Hanseatic League) 1241: The Mongols win battles against Teutonic Knights and Poles at Liegnitz 1242: Pope Gregory IX excommunicates Friederich II 1244: Hundreds of Cathars are burned at Montsegur 1245: the Synod of Lyons called by Innocent IV deposes Friederich II of Germany 1248: Castilla's king Fernando III captures Sevilla from the Muslims, leaving only Granada to the Muslims 1249: the Mamlukes defeat the French in Egypt and capture the king of France 1249: Afonso III captures all of Portugal from the Muslims 1250: German emperor Friederich II dies and is succeeded by his son Konrad IV 1250: Portugal conquers all the land west of the Guadiana river from the Almohads 1252: Alfonso X becomes king of Castilla, moves the capital to Sevilla and turns the Alcazar into the Reales Alcazares 1254: German emperor Konrad IV dies 1254: Friedrich's illegitimate son Manfred seizes southern Italy 1252: Bruges joins the Hanseatic League 1257: German princes establish an electoral college to elect the Holy Roman Emperor 1264: Charles of Anjou, brother of Louis IX, defeats Manfred and is crowned king of Sicily, thus ending German rule, causing the decline of the German empire and asserting French supremacy over Europe 1270: Louis IX dies and is succeeded by Philippe III 1273: Rudolf I von Habsburg is elected German emperor after a long interregnum from the death of Friedrich II 1274: the Capetian kings promote French as the national language 1276: Felipe the Fair gains Navarra by marriage 1276: Pedro III becomes king of Aragonia 1282: a popular uprising in Sicily removes the Anjou and installs Aragonia king Pedro III as king of Sicily ("Sicilian Vespers"), who moves the capital to Napoli 1282: the Habsburgs (originally from Switzerland) become dukes of Osterreich/Austria 1285: Aragonia king Pedro III dies and is succeeded in Aragonia by his son Alfonso III and in Sicily by his son Jaime II, despite opposition by the pope who recognizes the Anjou's claim on Sicily TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1285: Philippe IV of France reforms the government and annexes the Champagne 1290: the Teutonic Knights conquer all of Prussia 1291: defeated by the Muslims at Acre, Hospitallers and Templars move their headquarters from Acre to Cyprus and Teutonic Knights move their headquarters from Acre to Venice 1291: the Swiss cantons form a confederation under a republican form of government ("League Of Upper Germany") 1291: Aragonia's king Alfonso III dies and his brother Jaime II becomes king of Aragonia 1291: Three valleys in Central Switzerland unite against the counts of Habsburg 1297: A regular maritime connection is established between Genova in Italy and Bruges in the Flanders 1302: The first Estates-General of France (including the third estate) 1303: the French king Philippe IV kidnaps pope Boniface VIII over the right to tax the French clergy 1306: Philippe IV expels the Jews from France 1307: Philippe IV arrests grand master James of Molay and his Knight Templars, who have become the bankers of France 1309: French pope Clement V moves to Avignon 1309: the Hospitallers conquer the island of Rhodes and move their capital there, establishing an ecclesiastical principality under the eastern Roman empire 1309: the Teutonic Knights move their capital from Venice to Prussia and establishes a theocratic state 1312: the Hospitallers are awarded the Templars' possessions in western Europe, Cyprus, and Greece (kingdom of Achaia) 1314: Jacques de Molay, the grand master of the Templars, is burned at the stake in Paris 1315: The Swiss confederation defeats the Habsburg army at Morgarten 1322: Ludwig IV of Bavaria defeats the pretender to emperor and becomes the new Holy Roman emperor 1324: The pope John XXII excommunicates German emperor Ludwig IV 1326: The Inquisition burns the last Cathar of France 1327: German emperor Ludwig IV invades Italy and appoints Nicholas V as the antipope to pope John XXII 1328: Charles IV, the last Capetian king of France dies, his daughter Jeanne is disqualified from occupying the French throne, and Edward III of England claims the French throne, whereas the French nobility chooses Philippe of Valois, the first Valois king 1328: Navarra declares its independence from France 1332: Luzerne joins the Swiss confederation 1335: the Habsburgs add Carinthia and Slovenia to their duchy of Austria 1336: Lanzarote Malocello discovers the Canary Islands 1337: Philippe VI of France and Edward III of England go to war over France ("Hundred Years' War") 1340: guns are fired from ships for the first time at the battle of Sluys 1343: the Hanseatic League is formalized in Cologne 1346: The German electors depose Ludwig IV and appoint Karl IV, ruler of Bohemia, the new Holy Roman emperor, who moves the imperial capital to Prague 1347: The plague ("Black Death"), carried by Genoese merchants from Crimea, spreads throughout Europe and kills 25 million people, one third of the European population 1350: Philippe VI Valois dies and his son Jean II becomes king of France 1351: Zurich joins the Swiss confederation 1353: Bern jions the Swiss confederation 1353: the German monk Berthold Schwarz invents the cannon, and the catapult becomes rapidly obsolete 1356: England captures the French king Jean II and one third of France at the battle of Poitiers 1356: German emperor Karl IV issues the "Golden Bull" to codify the election of German emperors by seven electors (the archbishops of Trier, Mainz and Cologne, the king of Bohemia, the count Palatine of the Rhine, the duke of Saxony and the margrave of Brandenburg) 1357: Jean II of France's journey by sea from Bordeaux to London takes 12 days 1358: Etienne Marcel stages an insurrection in France but is killed 1360: by the peace treaty of Bretigny, England obtains French territories and a ransom to release Jean II 1363: Jean II grants the duchy of Burgundy to his fourth son Philippe le Hardi 1364: Charles V succeeds his father Jean II and defeats the rebel Charles II of Navarre 1365: the university of Wien is founded in Austria 1367: Edward, the "Black Prince" of England and ruler of Aquitaine, defeats the French and the Spanish and occupies Gascoigne 1369: Amsterdam joins the Hanseatic League 1369: Burgundy's duke Philippe marries Marguerite Dampierre, daughter and heiress of the count of Flanders 1369: the marriage of the duke of Burgundy and the heiress to the Flanders brings the Flanders under Burgundian control 1369: Enrique II of the house of Trastamara becomes king of Castilla after defeating king Pedro, the last ruler of the house of Ivrea 1370: the Hanseatic League defeats Waldemar IV of Denmark, thus gaining the monopoly of trade in Scandinavia 1373: Portugal allies with England 1374: Charles V recovers all French territories lost to England (except Aquitaine) 1376: Philippe le Hardi's wife Marguerite inherits the Flanders that are annexed to the duchy of Burgundy 1380: Charles VI Valois succeeds at the throne of France but goes mad and the throne is contended by his brother Louis I de Valois, duke of Orleans, and the duke of Burgundy 1385: the university of Heidelberg is founded in Germany 1385: Joao I of Portugal defeats Castilla 1391: Pogroms in many towns of Castilla to force Jews to convert 1396: The Ottomans defeat an army of crusaders led by Hungary's king Sigismund at Nicopolis and thousands of French knights who fight alongside Hungary are massacred by the Ottomans (the last crusade) 1404: Jean sans Peur becomes duke of Burgundy after his father Philippe le Hardi's death and confronts a faction led by the Armagnacs who are faithful to the de Orleans 1410: the Teutonic Knights are defeated by Jagiello's Polish-Lithuanian army at the battle of Tannenberg 1410: The Catalan house of Barcelona that rules over Aragon goes extinct 1412: A Castilian prince, Ferdinand of Antequera, becomes king of Aragona 1413: the duke of Burgundy supports riots in Paris led by Simon Caboche against the government of the Armagnacs 1415: Henry V of England allies with Burgundy's duke Jean Sans Peur, defeats the French at the battle of Agincourt (10,000 French nobles die), takes prisoner the duke of Orleans and proceeds to reconquer Normandy from France 1415: prince Henrique the Navigator of Portugal seizes Ceuta from the Muslims 1418: Armagnacs are massacred in Paris 1419: England completes its conquest of northern France (Normandy) 1419: Followers of Jan Hus stage an anti-German revolt in Bohemia 1419: Jean sans Peur of Burgundy is assassinated and is succeeded by his son Philippe le Bon 1421: by the treaty of Troyes, England's king Henry V marries the daughter of French king Charles VI and becomes the new heir to the French throne 1422: After both England's king Henry V and France's king Charles VI die, Henry VI of England is recognized as king of France by England-occupied Normandy and England's ally Burgundy while the rest of France recognizes Charles VII Valois 1424: Charles VII's army is massacred by the English at the battle of Verneuil 1424: prince Henrique the Navigator of Portugal sends the first expedition to Africa 1429: the French army, led by Jeanne d'Arc, triumphs at Orleans against the English and their allies, and Charles VII is finally crowned king of France 1430: Portugal trades slaves within Africa 1431: the English burn Jeanne d'Arc at the stakes 1431: Henry VI of England is crowned king of France in Paris 1434: Portuguese explorer Gil Eanes reaches the Cape and explores the western coast of Africa on behalf of prince Henrique the Navigator of Portugal 1435: Charles VII signs a peace treaty with the duke of Burgundy that ends the civil war, but also grants de facto independence to Burgundy 1436: Charles VII reconquers Paris from the English 1436: Afonso de Baldaya reaches Rio de Oro on behalf of prince Henrique the Navigator of Portugal 1436: Bohemia' revolt is quelled by the German emperor after 17 years 1438: Albrecht V Habsburg is elected Holy Roman Emperor 1439: The king of Portugal grants the right to settle in the Azores 1441: the Hanseatic League is defeated by the Dutch 1442: Napoli and Sicily are won by Alfonso V of Aragon from the Anjou king 1444: the first public sale of African slaves by Europeans takes place at Lagos, Portugal 1450: Charles VII reconquers Normandy from the English 1452: Henry VI of England goes mad 1453: France completes the expulsion of the English (end of the "Hundred Years' War" with French victory) 1453: the Turks use a cannon built by Bombard that can hurl a 270 kg ball over 1.5 kms 1456: Gutenberg invents the printing press and prints the Bible 1460: Louis XI annexes Burgundy 1462: Mainz is destroyed by infighting 1464: France establishes a postal system 1464: The barons revolt against the king of France ("Ligue du bien public") 1465: Philippe le Bon of Burgundy de facto abdicates in favor of his son Charles "le Temeraire" ("the Bold"), who now rules over Burgundy and the Flanders 1466: Kazimierz IV's Polish army defeats the Teutonic Knights and annexes western Prussia to Poland 1467: France establishes the postal system 1469: Aragonia and Castilla are united through the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragonia and Isabella of Castilla 1471: Portugal seizes Tangiers from Morocco 1474: The Swiss confederation declares war on Burgundy 1474: Henrique IV dies and a war of succession erupts between Isabella and Juana for the throne of Castilla 1476: The Swiss confederation defeats Burgundy at Morat 1477: French king Louis XI, emperor Maximilian I and the Swiss army defeat Burgundy (battle of Nancy) and kill the Burgundy's duke Charles the Bold, and France annexes Burgundy while Charles' daughter Marie retains the Netherlands, which negotiate more independence 1477: Austria's archduke Maximilian I Habsburg inherits parts of Germany, Italy and Spain, and marries Charles the Bold's daughter Marie, thus annexing the Netherlands 1478: The Spanish Inquisition is inaugurated and Jews are given the choice to convert or leave Spain 1479: Isabella's party wins the civil war in Castilla and Juana is locked in a convent 1480: Jews are restricted to special neighborhoods in Castilla 1481: Provence is bequeathed to the French monarchy Feb 1481: The Spanish Inquisition burns six men and a woman, its first executions 1482: Portugal founds the first European trading post in Africa (Elmina, Gold Coast) 1482: Anjou and the last rebellious barons revert to the French monarchy 1482: Marie of the Flanders dies and her husband Maximilian of Austria becomes the new ruler, assigning them to their son Philip 1483: Charles VII dies and his daughter Anne de Beaujeu becomes the regent for the 13-year old Charles VIII 1483: The pope appoints Tomas de Torquemada inquisitor general of Spain 1485: The French monarchy defeats another revolt by the barons (the "Foolish War") 1486: Bernardus de Breydenbach's "Peregrinatio in Terram Sanctam" is the first "travel guide" 1487: Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and thus proves that the Atlantic is connected to the Indian Ocean 1490: More than two thousand "heretics" have been burned in ten years by the Inquisition in Spain 1491: French regent Anne de Beaujeu cedes power to her brother Charles VIII, who acquires the duchy of Brittany by marriage Jan 1492: Ferdinand the Catholic conquers Granada, the last Muslim state and unite all of Spain while about 200 thousand Muslims leave for Africa (40% of the Muslim population) Mar 1492: Jews and Muslims are expelled from Spain Mar 1492: Castilla orders Jews to convert or leave and most of them leave for Italy and Turkey Oct 1492: the Italian explorer Cristoforo Colombo lands in America on behalf of Spain, thinking he has reached Asia 1493: the first recorded case of syphilis in Europe (imported from America) 1494: Spanish king Felipe the Fair inherits the "Low Countries" (Holland) when Maximilian I is made Holy Roman Emperor 1494: Charles VIII of France invades Firenze, Rome, Napoli 1494: Pope Alexander VI brokers an agreement dividing the Americas between Spain and Portugal ("Treaty of Tordesillas") 1495: Manuel I becomes king of Portugal 1495: Francisco de Cisneros becomes primate of Spain and reforms the Catholic Church creating a new class of devout and educated missionaries 1495: A league of Milan, Venezia, emperor Maximilian, pope Alexander VI and Ferdinando of Aragonia, led by Francesco Gonzaga, forces the French king Charles VIII to retreat from Italy 1496: Jews and Muslims are expelled from Portugal 1496: Spain completes the conquest of the Canary Islands 1497: Portugal orders Jews to convert or leave 1498: Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sails from Portugal to India 1498: French king Charles VIII dies with no male heirs, and his nephew the duke of Orleans becomes king Louis XII and marries Charles's widow Anne de Beaujeu 1499: Switzerland gains independence from the German empire 1499: France invades Milano 1499: Madeira has 20,000 people, up from 800 in 1455 1500: Portuguese explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral sails across the Atlantic Ocean and discovers Brazil 1501: the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci sails to Brazil on behalf of Portugal and realizes that he is exploring a new continent 1501: Basel becomes part of Switzerland 1502: The first Portuguese colons settle in Brazil Feb 1502: Muslims in Spain are given ten weeks to convert to Christianity or leave the country 1504: Spain wins the Italian war against France 1504: The Spanish Inquisition has burned 2,000 people since inception 1505: Francisco de Almeida sets up a trade outpost for Portugal in India 1506: Philip Habsburg dies and the six-year old Carlos/Karl inherits the Netherlands 1507: Portugal conquers Socotra in the Gulf of Aden 1508: Portugal conquers Hormuz on the Persian Gulf, thereby controlling the naval trade route from India and Persia to the West, bypassing the Mamluks/Arabs 1509: the sultan of Egypt attacks the Portuguese navy in the Indian Ocean near Diu and is defeated, thus turning Portugal into the dominating power in India 1509: the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus publishes "The Praise of Folie", which advocates a return to the moral values of early Christianity 1510: Portugal conquers the Ottoman outpost of Goa in India 1510: Peter Henlein of Nuremberg invents the pocket watch 1511: Portuguese captures Malacca in Malaysia, an outpost to trade spices with China 1512: Ferdinand the Catholic conquers most of Navarra 1512: at the Congress of Mantova France is all but expelled from Italy 1513: Vasco Nunez de Balboa reaches the Pacific Ocean via the strait of Panama 1514: French queen Anne dies 1515: France has 16 million people and Spain 7 million, and Paris is the second largest city in Europe after Istanbul 1515: French king Louis XII marries Mary Tudor, the 16-year old sister of English king Henry VIII, but dies a few months later, and his son-in-law Francis I becomes king of France, invades Italy and reconquers Milano 1516: Ferdinando the Catholic dies and Carlos I, son of Felipe the Fair, of the Hapsburg family, born in the Flanders, inherits Spain (first ruler of a unified Spain), the "Low Countries", the American colonies and Napoli 1516: Italy is divided into two spheres of influence, French in the north and Spanish in the south ("Peace of Noyon") 1517: the Protestant Reformation begins at Wittenberg when Martin Luther publishes his "95 Theses" against the Catholic practice of selling indulgences 1519: Maximilian I dies and his grandson Carlos I of Spain inherits the Holy Roman Empire of Germany, changing name to Karl V Habsburg, thus unifying Spain and Austria 1520: Spanish citizens revolt against Carlos I/ Karl V ("Comunero revolt") 1521: Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes conquers the Aztec empire in Mexico 1521: Manuel I of Portugal dies, having extended Portugal's dominions over four continents 1521: the Ottomans capture Beograde 1521: Karl V of Germany (Carlos I of Spain) reconquers Milano from Francis I of France 1521: The Diet of Worms creates assigns more rights to the German princes and creates a sort of German union 1522: Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan's expedition circumnavigates the globe on behalf of Spain 1522: The Ottomans capture Rhodes from the Hospitallers 1524: Peasant War in German lands 1525: All residents of Spain are forced to convert to Catholicism 1525: The grand master of the Teutonic Knights is appointed duke of Prussia, with capital in Konigsberg, by the Polish king Sigismundus 1525: Karl V/Carlos I defeats the invading French army led by Francis I in person at the battle of Pavia, and Francis I is imprisoned in Spain 1526: the Ottomans defeat the Magyars/Hungarians at the battle of Mohacs and Ferdinand I Habsburg is elected king of the lands not conquered by the Ottomans, i.e. western Hungary (Croatia, Slesia), Bohemia/Moravia and Slovakia 1527: Karl V's imperial troops mutiny and sack Rome 1528: the Spanish government issues "asientos" (contracts) to private companies for the trade of African slaves 1528: Cortez brings chocolate from Mexico to Spain 1528: Andrea Doria seizes power in Genoa and switches alliance from France to Spain 1529: The Ottomans besiege Wien (Vienna) but have to withdraw 1529: The peace of Cambrai between France and Germany, pieced together by Louise of Savoy (Francis I's mother) and Margaret of Austria (Karl V's aunt), assigns Burgundy to France and Italy to Karl V Habsburg/Carlos I, while Francis has to marry Karl V's sister Eleonora 1530: defeated at Rhodes by the Turks, the Hospitallers move to Malta under the king of Spain 1530: Karl V of Austria becomes Holy Roman emperor TM, ®, Copyright © 2003 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1530: Youstol Dispage dies 1530: the Medici family is overthrown and Firenze becomes an archduchy of the German empire 1531: the Protestan princes of Germany form the Protestant League of Schmalkalden against the Catholic emperor Karl V 1531: Antwerp opens the world's first stock exchange 1532: the Inca emperor Atahualpa is captured by Pizarro and the Inca empire collapses 1532: a group of Spanish conquistadores led by Francisco Pizarro defeats the Inca army led by Atahuallpa 1532: Vasco de Quiroga founds the first "hospital" for Indios in Ciudad de Mexico 1533: Caterina de Medici marries the future Henri II at the age of 14 1534: the first book fair is held in Frankfurt 1534: John Beukels installs a fundamentalist Christian dictatorship in the city of Muenster in Germany, burns all the books other than the Bible and institutes polygamy forcing all unmarried women to marry the first man who asks them 1534: Ignacio de Loyola founds the Jesuit Order 1535: German emperor Karl V frees 10,000 Christian slaves held by the sultan of Tunis 1535: emperor Karl V/Carlos I conquers Tunis 1535: The Ottomans sign a "Capitulation" agreement with France that opens its market to French merchants and makes France its main Western ally 1536: Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizzaro conquers the Inca empire of Peru 1536: The Franciscans have converted five million Indios 1536: the Swiss physician and alchemist Paracelsus publishes the "Great Surgery Book" TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1541: the French theologian Johannes Calvinus establishes the first Reformed church (in Geneve) 1541: Suleiman the Magnificent conquers eastern Hungary including Budapest and turns it into a vassal state (later named Transylvania) under king Janos Szapolyai II 1547: emperor Karl V/Carlos I defeats Lutheran princes of Germany 1547: German emperor Karl V and and Ferdinand I of Austria grant Suleiman the Magnificent control over most of Hungary (Truce of Adrianople) 1547: Henri II become king of France and Caterina de Medici the queen 1549: Portugal establishes Brazil's capital at Sao Salvador da Baia 1553: prince Filipe of Spain marries Mary Tudor 1555: Karl V grants Lutheranism and Catholicism equal rights in Germany ("Peace of Augsburg") and grants Protestant prices the right to enforce Lutheranism in their states 1556: Karl V Habsburg abdicates to retire to a Spanish monastery and his empire is divided between his son Felipe II (Spain, southern Italy and the Low Countries) and his brother Ferdinand I (Germany), who already rules over HUngary and Bohemia 1557: Portugal establishes a trading post in Macao (first European settlement in the Far East) 1557: The Spanish government is bankrupt 1557: the French crown declares bankruptcy 1558: Ferdinand I is elected emperor 1559: Spain and France sign a peace treaty at Cateau-Cambresis after 60 years of wars, and Felipe II marries the daughter of Henry II 1559: Henry II of France dies and is succeeded by Francis II who falls under the influence of the Catholic duke of Guise 1560: Huguenots conspire against the king of France but are defeated, and at the end of the year Francis II dies leaving Caterina de Medici regent for the young Charles IX 1561: Felipe II moves the Spanish capital to Madrid 1562: Catholics led by the Duke of Guide massacre Protestants (Massacre of Vassy) and the Protestants led by the Bourbons start a civil war in France (the "Wars of Religion"), de facto a proxy war between the Catholic Felipe II of Spain and the Protestant Elizabeth I of England 1563: the Duke of Guide is assassinated by a Huguenot 1564: Spain begins colonizing the Philippines 1566: Dutch rebels destroy the Antwerp cathedral 1568: Williams of Orange leads an uprising against Spain in the "Low Countries" ("Eighty Years' War") 1568: a Muslim uprising leads to the mass expulsion of Muslims (Moriscos) from Spain Oct 1571: In the battle of Lepanto an army formed by the Pope, Spain, Venezia and Genova destroys the Ottoman navy, thus halting Ottoman expansion in the Mediterranean 1572: About 10,000 protestants are massacred in Paris ("St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre") 1574: Charles IX dies and his brother Henry of Anjou is crowned Henry III of France 1575: The Spanish government is bankrupt again 1578: king Sebastiao of Portugal is defeated by a Muslim army of Abdul Malik of South Morocco at Alcazarquivir/ Alcacer Quibir in Morocco 1579: Seven Protestant northern provinces of the "Low Countries" (led by Holland) break away from Spanish rule and problaim a Calvinist union ("Union of Utrecht"), while the southern provinces accept the Catholic rule of Felipe II ("Union of Arras") 1580: Felipe II of Spain invades Portugal, thus uniting the Iberian peninsula under the rule of a single king 1580: the Ottomans and Felipe II of Spain sign a treaty dividing spheres of influence in the Mediterranean 1581: The Protestant Low Countries unite in the Republic of United Provinces, with Paulus Buys leading the federal government 1582: the Gregorian calendar is adopted in Spain, Italy, France and Portugal 1584: Spain recaptures Antwerp and the Netherlands move their main port to Amsterdam 1585: Henry III bans the Protestant religion from France but the Protestants intensify the civil war 1586: Johan van Oldenbarnevelt succeeds Paulus Buys leading the federal government of the United Provinces 1587: Francis Drake destroys the Spanish fleet at Cadiz 1588: Felipe II of Spain declares war against Elizabeth I of England to protect Spanish possessions in America from English buccaneers, but the Spanish Armada (130 warships, 2400 guns, 26000 sailors) is defeated by the English fleet of Francis Drake 1588: Afraid of a Catholic coup, Henri III of France has the duke Henri of Guise assassinated 1589: Henry III is assassinated by a Catholic monk, opening a war of succession between the Protestant claimant Henri IV of Navarra, supported by England, and the Catholics led by the duke of Guise, supported by Spain 1593: Henri IV of Navarra converts to Catholicism and is accepted as king of France, the first Bourbon king 1593: The Dutch begin trading slave in Guinea 1594: Johann Sigismund, grandson of the margrave of Brandenburg, Joachim III Frederick, marries Anne of Prussia 1595: Jan-Huygen van Linschoten published detailed instructions for navigating to the East Indies 1595: The first Dutch expedition reaches the East Indies, commanded by Cornelis de Houtman (the trip takes 14 months and costs the lives of 100 sailors) 1595: Henri IV of Navarra declares war on Spain that had supported his enemies 1596: Dutch colonization of Indonesia begins 1596: The Spanish government is bankrupt for the third time in 40 years 1596: Bubonic plague kills 500 thousand people in Spain 1597: The first Dutch expedition returns from the East Indies (two years and four months later after leaving, and with only 89 of the original 249 men) 1597: the Dutch found the colony of Batavia in Java 1598: Jacob Van Neck leads a Dutch expedition that reaches Indonesia in "only" six months 1598: Henri IV expels the Spanish from France, grants religious freedom to the Protestants ("Edict of Nantes"), unifies the country and brings an end to the Wars of Religion 1598: Felipe II dies and is succeeded by Felipe III 1602: the Dutch East India Company (VOC) is established in Holland 1608: France founds the colony of Quebec in Canada 1608: Johann Sigismund Hohenzollern becomes margrave of Brandenburg 1608: German Protestant states form the Evangelical Union led by Fredrick V of the Palatinate and protected by Henri IV of France 1609: German states form the Catholic League, led by Maximilian of Bavaria and protected by Felipe III of Spain, cousin of the emperor Rudolf II Jan 1609: The Bank of Amsterdam is established 1609: The first regular newspaper is launched in Augsburg, Germany, "Avisa Relation oder Zeitung" 1609: The German astronomer Johannes Kepler publishes "The New Astromomy" 1609: Spain expels all remaining Muslims, the "Moriscos" 1610: French king Henri IV is assassinated by a Catholic fanatic and succeeded by his wife Maria Medici, regent for their infant son Louis XIII 1612: Rudolf II's brother Matthias becomes German emperor after Rudolf II dies 1617: Louis XIII becomes king of France 1617: Ferdinand II succeeds Matthias as holy emperor, advised by the Jesuit theologian Wilhelm Lamormaini, and appoints Ferdinand II as king of Bohemia 1617: Jan-Pieterszoon Coen is appointed governor of the VOC 1618: The "Defenestration of Prague" (the Habsburg remove Frederick of the Palatinate and install Matthias' cousing Ferdinand on the throne of Bohemia) begins the "Thirty Years' War" pitting the Habsburg empire and Spain against France, England, Sweden, the first war fought more by artillery than by men 1618: Albert Frederick, duke of Prussia, dies without a son and his son-in-law Johann Sigismund, of the Brandenburg branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty, inherits the duchy of Prussia, a fief of Poland 1618: A civil war in the United Provinces, pitting Protestants against other Protestants, is won by Maurice of Nassau, who imprisons Johan van Oldenbarnevelt 1619: the German astronomer Johannes Kepler publishes his third law of planetary motion in the "De Cometis and Harmoniae Mundi" 1619: George Rakoczy revolts in Hungary against the Habsburg Mar 1619: Holy Roman emperor Matthias dies and Ferdinand II succeeds him, but Bohemia instead recognizes Frederick V of the Palatinate, a Protestant advised by his wife Elizabeth Stuart (daughter of king James I of England) and by general Christian of Anhalt May 1619: The Dutch East India Company captures and destroys Jayakarta in Java and founds Batavia (Jakarta) Nov 1620: Maximilian's Bavarian army led by Johann Tilly defeats Christian of Anhalt's Bohemian army and Frederick V flees to Holland 1621: Felipe III dies and is succeeded by Felipe IV 1621: Holland forms the Dutch West India Company to invade the Spanish and Portuguese colonies 1623: The Dutch post of Victoria in Indonesia executes by beheading ten English citizens ("Amboyna Massacre") 1624: Cardinal Richelieu (Armand du Plessis) becomes prime minister of France and fights a rebellion of the Huguenots 1625: Dutch colons found a trading post in America, Nieuwe Amsterdam (New York) 1625: Denmark invades Germany to defend the Protestant princes after forming an alliance with England and the United Provinces 1626: Peak of the witch trials in Germany that kill hundreds (Wurzburg, Bamberg) 1627: Witch trials in Baden kill hundreds 1626: The Catholic armies led by generals Tilly and Wallenstein defeat Denmark and the Protestant army led by Mansfeldt 1628: The West India Company seizes 170 thousand kgs of silver from Spanish ships at Cape Matanza in Cuba 1628: Sweden enters the war on the side of Denmark and defeats Wallenstein 1629: Ferdinand II's Edict of Restitution to return Catholic property confiscated by Protestants 1629: Richelieu crushes the Huguenot rebellion 1630: Ferdinand II fires Wallenstein, suspected of planning a coup 1631: Theophraste Renaudot's newspaper "Gazette de France", the state newspaper of France 1631: France funds Sweden's war against Germany while secretely signing a defense treaty with Maximilian of Bavaria, head of the Catholic League May 1631: Christian troops take the main Protestant city of Germany, Magdenburg, kill and rape thousands Sep 1631: Sweden defeats Tilly's army at Leipzig, and Saxony conquers Bohemia and Moravia Apr 1632: Sweden defeats (and kills) Tilly at Bamberg and conquers Bavaria Nov 1632: Sweden defeats Wallenstein's army at Luetzen but Sweden's king Gustavus is killed 1632: Vincent de Paul reorganizes the old lazar house of Saint-Lazare 1632: France colonizes Dominica in the Caribbeans Apr 1633: Protestant princes of Germany form the League of Heilbronn, sponsored by France and Sweden Sep 1633: Wallenstein defeats Sweden at Steinau Feb 1634: Ferdinand II fires Wallenstein again and Wallenstein is assassinated by his own soldiers Aug 1634: The Empire defeats Sweden and the Heilbronn League at Noerdlingen Mar 1635: France declares war on Spain 1635: France colonizes Martinique and Guadaloupe in the Caribbeans 1635: the Academie Francaise is founded in Paris May 1635: Saxony and Brandenburg sign the Peace of Prague with the Empire that suspends the Edict and ends the civil war in Germany, turning the war into a war between the Empire and the alliance of France and Sweden Oct 1636: Sweden defeats the Empire at Wittstock Feb 1637: Ferdinand II dies and is succeeded by his son Ferdinand III as emperor 1637: the French philosopher Rene` Descartes publishes the "Discours sur la Methode" and founds modern science Apr 1639: Sweden defeats the Empire at Chemnitz 1640: Friedrich Wilhelm becomes duke of Brandenburg and Prussia (which is still under Poland) 1640: Portugal declares its independence from Spain 1641: Holland seizes Malacca from Portugal 1642: Pascal invents a mechanical calculator 1642: Dutch explorer Abel Tasman discovers New Zealand Oct 1642: Sweden defeats the Empire at Breitenfeld near Leipzig Dec 1642: Richelieu dies but his successor Mazarin continues his anti-Empire policy May 1643: Louis XIII dies and is succeeded by Anne Habsburg of Austria, regent for their infant son Louis XIV, advised by the Italian-born cardinal Jules Mazarin 1643: Dutch explorer Abel Tasman circumnavigates Australia and discovers New Zealand and the Fiji islands May 1643: France defeats Spain at the Battle of Rocroi (five days after the death of Louis XIII) Sep 1643: Sweden and the United Provinces attack Denmark 1644: George Rakoczy revolts in Hungary and allies with Sweden Nov 1644: Denmark surrenders to Sweden and the United Provinces Mar 1645: Sweden defeats the Empire at the battle of Jankau Aug 1645: Sweden and France defeat Bavaria at the second battle of Noerdlingen and Saxony surrenders to Sweden 1646: France invades Bavaria Jan 1648: After 80 years of war, Spain recognizes the independence of the republic of the United Provinces (Holland) but retains the southern Netherlands (Belgium) with the peace treaty of Muenster Mar 1648: Sweden and France defeat the Bavarian and Imperial armies at Zusmarhausen Aug 1648: Riots erupt in Paris against Mazarin's decision to increase taxes (the first "Fronde") Oct 1648: the "Peace of Westphalia" ends the Thirty Years' War, reducing the Germanic empire to a loose confederation of hundreds of independent entities, and the population of Europe has declined from 30 to 20 million 1648: Mazarin founds the Academie Francaise to promote literature 1650: The Jews are expelled from Wien (Vienna) 1650: The aristocracy of France revolts against the king (second "Fronde") 1650: there are about 2,000 states in Germany 1652: the Dutch found a colony in the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) as a supply base for the Dutch East India Company (Cape Colony) 1652: England enacts the Navigation Act that basically forbids the Dutch from trading with English colonies 1653: The French king finally quells the "Fronde" Aug 1653: England destroys most of the Dutch navy at the battle of Scheveningen 1655: Sweden invades Poland-Lithuania ("First Northern War"), causing the death of millions, while Russia, Denmark, and the Empireside with Poland-Lithuania 1655: Britain conquers Jamaica from Spain 1656: Spain declares war against Britain and France joins Britain 1656: the Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens invents the pendulum clock 1656: France establishes the Hospital General in Paris 1656: Holland seizes Ceylon/Sri Lanka from Portugal 1657: Brandenberg-Prussia becomes independent from Poland 1657: Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller of Malta, dies at the age of 97 1659: England and France defeat Spain, and Maria Teresa, daughter of Felipe IV, is forced to marry Louis XIV of France (treaty of the Pyrenees) 1657: In return for helping Poland against Sweden in the Second Northern War, Brandenburg obtains Prussia 1661: Mazarin dies and Louis XIV refuses to appoint a new prime minister 1663: "Erbauliche Monaths-Unterredungen" is the first magazine 1664: Britain capture Nieuwe Amsterdam and rename it New York 1664: France forms its East India company Sep 1664: Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant surrenders New Amsterdam to England, that renames it New York 1665: New war between England and the Netherlands 1665: French lawyer Denis de Sallo starts in Paris the Journal des Scavans, the first academic journal 1665: Spain tries to reconquer Portugal but is defeated 1666: Louis XIV of France founds the Academie Royale des Sciences at Paris 1666: Founding of the French Academy of Science 1667: Louis XIV of France attacks the Netherlands 1667: The Dutch navy destroys most of the English navy at Chatham, apex of Dutch naval power 1667: England surrenders Surinam to Holland in return for New Amsterdam (in New York) 1668: "Triple Alliance" of England, Sweden and the Netherlands against France 1672: France and England ally against the Netherlands 1673: Leibniz invents a mechanical calculator 1674: The Netherlands lose the war against England and France, leaving England as the dominant power of global commerce 1674: Sweden invades Brandenburg 1677: William III of Orange, king of the Netherlands, marries Mary, heir to the English throne 1677: Jean-Alexandre de la Font starts abroad the newspaper La Gazette de Leyde, that provides independent news to the French public 1678: France and the Netherlands sign a peace treaty 1679: Brandenburg-Prussia defeats Sweden 1681: Pierre Paul Riquet's Canal du Midi links the Atlantic and the Mediterranean through France 1682: the king of France moves from Paris to Versailles 1682: Rene-Robert LaSalle conquers the Mississippi basin for France and renames it Louisiana 1682: The Ottomans invade Hungary (beginning of the Hundred Year War between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman empire) 1683: The Ottomans besiege Vienna again but are defeated by a much smaller Polish-Lithuanian army and their decline begins (12 grand viziers are deposed in the following 19 years) 1685: French king Louis XIV signs the "Code Noir" that legalizes slavery and expels Jews from France 1685: French king Louis XIV de facto expels Protestants ("Huguenots") from France by revoking their religious rights 1686: The first coffeehouse in Paris, Cafe' Procope 1686: Leopold I Habsburg forms the League of Augsburg with Spain, Sweden, England and some German states to fight France 1688: British protestants send for William III of Orange, who invades England and deposes James II ("Glorious Revolution") 1688: Friedrich Wilhelm, margrave of Brandenburg and duke of Prussia, dies and is succeeded by his son Friedrich I 1689: France invades Germany and the League of Augsburg (Austria, Spain, England, Netherlands, Savoy) starts the Eight-year War 1691: the Habsburg empire acquires Transylvania from the Ottomans 1692: France tries to invade England but is defeated at La Hougue by a combined British and Dutch fleet 1697: The treaty of Ryswick ends the Eight-year war (no winner) 1697: August, the Elector of Saxony, is elected king of Poland-Lithuania, and Poland is virtually united with Saxony Sep 1697: The Habsburg army defeats the Ottoman army at the battle of Senta/Zenta 1699: The Ottomans lose Hungary to the Habsburgs ("Treaty of Karlowitz") 1700: Carlos II dies and his nephew Felipe V (Philippe of Anjou), a Bourbon, grandson of Louis XIV, becomes king of Spain, thus ending the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs 1700: Gottfried Leibniz founds the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences 1701: Friedrich I, son of Friedrich Wilhelm, renames Brandenburg-Prussia as the kingdom of Prussia, although only Austria recognizes him as a king 1702: English king William III forms an alliance between England, the Netherlands and Austria against Spain and France ("War of the Spanish Succession") to defend the archduke Karl of Austria's claim of the Spanish throne against Felipe V/ Philippe Bourbon 1704: England captures Gibraltar from Spain 1706: Austria captures Milano from Spain 1712: the first public synagogue in inaugurated in Berlin 1713: England and France sign a peace treaty ("Treaty of Utrecht") that hands part of Canada to England and leaves England as the dominant force in north America, while Spain surrenders the Spanish Netherlands (Belgium), Milano and southern Italy (Napoli) to Austria and Sicily to Piedmont, and Gibraltar to England; Felipe V (a Bourbon) is recognized as king of Spain, the elector of Brandenburg is recognized as king of Prussia, and the duke of Savoy is recognized as a king; the treaty also grants Britain the monopoly of the Atlantic slave trade. 1713: Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia succeeds his father as second king of Prussia, the first one recognized by all powers 1714: The Opera-Comique opens in Paris 1714: Queen Anne, the last Stuart monarch, dies and is succeeded by George I, first king of the Hanover house while riots erupt all over England ("Coronation riots") 1715: Louis XIV dies and is succeeded by the five-year old Louis XV, with Philippe d'Orleans being the regent and Cardinal Fleury managing the state 1717: Portugal burns 27 Jews to the stakes 1717: Prussia makes primary education compulsory 1718: Spain invades southern Italy 1720: the Quadruple Alliance (Britain, France, Austria and Savoy) defeats Spain in Italy 1723: Louis XV comes of age and ascends to the throne of France 1724: the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit invents the mercury thermometer 1725: The Academie des Beaux-Arts organizes the first art exhibition "Salon de Paris" open to the general public 1733: The War of Polish Succession pits France and Spain against Russia and Austria 1734: Carlos, son of Spain's king Felipe V, a Bourbon, conquers Napoli and Sicily from Austria 1736: the last Medici dies and Tuscany is inherited by Austria's Franz I Hasburg 1738: The Treaty of Vienna recognizes Carlos as the king of the newly formed Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 1739: Britain and Spain go to war in the Americas 1740: Friedrich Wilhelm I dies after having turned Prussia into a European power and Friedrich II "the Great" succeeds him 1740: Karl VI dies and Maria Theresa succeeds at the Habsburg throne, but her succession is not recognized by Prussia ("War of the Austrian Succession") 1745: Maria Theresa's incapacitated husband Franz I Hasburg of Austria becomes German emperor 1748: the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the "War of the Austrian Succession" with Prussia annexing Slesia TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1750: there are about 300 states in Germany 1750: Marques de Pombal becomes prime minister of Portugal and launches economic reforms 1755: Pascal Paoli leads an insurrection in Corsica against France and proclaims a republic 1756: Friederich II of Prussia invades Saxony, starting the Seven Years' War, pitting France, Austria, Russia, Saxony, Sweden and Spain against Prussia and Britain (the war spreads to India and North America) 1759: Britain seizes Quebec from France Sep 1759: Portugal expels all Jesuits from its colonies 1761: Rousseau publishes the "Contrat Social" 1761: Portugal abolishes slavery in Portugal but maintains it in the colonies 1762: Elizabeta dies and Russia switches alliance, joining Prussia 1763: The treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War with France surrendering Canada, Dominica, Grenada, and eastern Louisiana to Britain (the area from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains), Spain surrendering Florida to Britain, and surrendering western Louisiana to Spain, and Prussia annexing Silesia 1763: Mandatory primary education in Prussia 1763: Meyer Rothschild founds the Rothschild's financial empire 1765: Maria Theresa's son Joseph II becomes German emperor 1769: France defeats Pascal Paoli's Corsican republic 1770: Austro-French alliance via the wedding of the 15-year-old future Louis XVI with the 14-year-old Marie-Antoinette of Austria (end of the age-old Bourbon-Habsburg rivalry) 1771: Georg Friedrich Grotefend deciphers the cuneiform script of Mesopotamia 1772: A Polish rebellion is crushed by Russia that partitions one fourth of Poland with Prussia and Austria 1774: Louis XVI becomes king of France 1774: Mandatory primary education in Austrian empire 1777: banker Jacques Necker is appointed finance minister of France 1777: Marques de Pombal's tenure as prime minister of Portugal ends 1778: Austrian physician Anton Mesmer performs hypnosis in Paris 1780: War erupts between Holland and Britain 1780: Maria Theresa of Austria dies 1781: Jacques Necker resigns after balancing the budget of France 1781: the "Patriot" movement in the Netherlands demands democracy from William V of Orange, married to the daughter of the Prussian king 1782: Holy emperor Joseph II orders that all Jews adopt German names and attend German schools ("Toleranzpatent") 1783: Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier debut a hot air balloon at Annonay in France 1783: Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier and Francois d'Arlandes become the first men to fly (in a Montgolfier) 1783: Spain's governor of Louisiana invades British Florida and Florida returns to Spain 1784: The treaty of Paris grants Britain the rights to trade in Indonesia 1785: The Duc de Chartres turns the Palais-Royal into a venue for shows that cater to both aristocracy and general public 1786: Friedrich II "the Great" of Prussia dies and is succeeded by Friedrich Wilhelm II 1787: Prussia invades the Netherlands to put down the insurrections of the "Patriots" 1788: As the financial situation of France gets desperate, Jacques Necker is appointed again finance minister 1788: France lifts censorship Jun 1789: The union of the Estates-General assumes the title of the French National Assembly 1789: Antoine Lavoisier founds chemistry Jul 1789: The French king fires Necker (july 11) 1789: France's main markets are Spain, America and the Ottoman Empire 1789: a popular uprising in Paris starts the French Revolution by storming the Bastille prison (july 14) 1789: the National Assembly issues Lafayette's "Declaration Of The Rights of Man and Citizen" which guarantees the rights of liberty, equality, security, and property (august 27) Oct 1789: Women march on Versailles demanding bread Nov 1789: France confiscates all church property 1790: the French National Assembly issues the "Declaration of Peace" to the world (march 22) Feb 1790: the French National Assembly dissolves the monasteries 1790: the French Academy led by Lagrange invents the "metric" system, a "meter" being one ten millionth the distance from the Equator to the North Pole along the meridian of Paris 1790: French vessels export 40,000 African slaves to the island of St Domingue 1791: the French king Louis XVI tries to escape but is captured (june 20) 1791: the French king Louis XVI ratifies the constitution that abolished the aristocracy and grant voting rights to all non-Jewish male citizens (sep 13) 1791: The slave Toussaint L'Ouverture leads a rebellion in Haiti against France 1791: France annexes Avignon, a papal city 1791: the French National Assembly dissolves (sep 30) and the Legislative Assembly takes its place (mainly middle class) 1791: The Declaration of the Rights of Man grants full civil rights to all citizens, including Jews Apr 1792: France declares war on Austria and Prussia, and Spain enter the conflict on Austria's side 1792: The guillotine is first used in an execution (april 25) Sep 1792: the French National Convention abolishes the monarchy 1792: about 1,400 people are executed in French in the sole month of september (mainly at the Abbaye prison) Nov 1792: France adopts the metric system Jan 1793: French king Louis XVI is beheaded 1793: The Louvre museum opens in Paris Apr 1793: The committee of Public Safety is established in France 1793: mass executions of Girondists in France (october 31) 1793: France declares war on Britain, the Netherlands and Spain Oct 1793: French queen Marie Antoinette is beheaded (january 21) 1794: peak of Robespierre's terror in France (march-june, 17,000 people executed of which 85% commoners) May 1794: Robespierre speaks against atheism Jul 1794: Robespierre is overthrown and executed, and the Reign of Terror ends after about 250,000 Frenchmen have been killed 1795: France signs peace with Prussia and Spain, Holland becomes Batavia and France occupies the Austrian Netherlands (Belgium) 1795: a new French constitution established a Directory (august 22) 1795: the metric system is adopted in France 1795: Napoleon invades the republic of The United Seven Provinces (Holland) 1795: A third partition divides the whole of Poland between Russia (that takes all of Lithuania and Ukraine) and Prussia (that takes Warszaw), thereby removing Poland from the map 1796: After France invades Holland, Holland surrenders Melaka/Malacca, Sri Lanka and the Cape of Good Hope to Britain 1797: Napoleon defeats the Austrian army and conquers northern Italy 1797: France and Austria sign the treaty of Campoformio that ends their war, and Belgium is assigned to France 1797: Frederick William III succeeds to the throne of Prussia 1798: Napoleon defeats the Mamelukes of Egypt at the battle of the Pyramids 1798: admiral Horatio Nelson defeats the French navy at Aboukir Bay in Egypt 1799: Napoleon assumes power in France Jun 1800: Napoleon defeats Austria in Italy (battle of Marengo) and the second coalition against Napoleon collapses 1800: Paris' population is 550,000 1800: The metric system is officially adopted by France 1801: Napoleon and the Pope sign a Concordat Feb 1801: Austria surrenders to France its possessions west of the Rhein (treaty of Luneville) 1802: Britain and France sign the peace of Amiens, recognizing Britain's conquest of French, Dutch and Spanish colonies 1802: Anquetil Duperron translates Dara Shukoh's Persian version of the Upanishads into Latin May 1803: Britain declares war on Napoleon Mar 1803: The German diet approves the "Mediatisation" of Germany, that removes more than 100 German states (mostly ecclesiastical principalities and free imperial cities) assigning them to larger states (the last meeting of the diet) Apr 1803: Napoleon sells Louisiana (which extends from the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains, from Montana to New Orleans) to the USA 1804: Napoleon crowns himself emperor, so now Europe has two emperors, the Habsburg and Napoleon 1804: Karageorge leads an uprising that frees Beograde from the Ottoman Empire 1804: Haiti declares independence from France, the second colony after the USA to become independent in America 1805: the "Third Coalition" is formed by Britain, Austria, Russia and Sweden to fight Napoleon's France Oct 1805: British admiral Horace Nelson destroys the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar, the last major naval battle fought by wooden sailing ships 1805: Napoleon defeats the Austrian army at the battle of Ulm and conquers Wien (Vienna) Dec 1805: Napoleon defeats Russians and Austrians at the battle of Austerlitz (december), and Austria cedes Venezia to the Napoleon-controlled king of Italy 1806: Prussia declares war on France 1806: Maximilian I Joseph becomes the first king of Bavaria Jul 1806: The principalities of southern Germany form the Confederation of the Rhine (Rheinbund), a protectorate of France Aug 1806: Holy German emperor Franz II abdicates and the Holy Roman Empire is dissolved Oct 1806: Napoleon defeats Prussia at the battle of Jena and conquers Berlin Jun 1807: Napoleon defeats Russia at Friedland Oct 1807: Prussia abolishes serfdom Nov 1807: Napoleon invades Portugal while the British ship Portugal's king to Brazil Jul 1808: Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, de facto deposes the Bourbon monarchy and is named king of Spain, defended by France and opposed by Britain that instead recognizes Ferdinand VII ("War of Independence") and opposed by Spanish patriots 1809: Napoleon destroys the Cluny abbey 1809: Austria declares war on Napoleon again and is defeated again (treaty of Vienna) 1810: the Berlin University is founded Sep 1810: Spanish patriots fighting France open Spain's first parliament in the liberated city of Cadiz Sep 1810: Napoleon marries the Italian-born Maria Luisa, the daughter of Austrian emperor Franz II, the last Holy Roman emperor 1811: Venezuela, led by Simon Bolivar, proclaims its independence from Spain 1812: Argentina proclaims its independence from Spain Jun 1812: Napoleon invades Russia Sep 1812: Napoleon conquers Moscow, but is soon expelled 1812: Jose de San Martin leads the independence movement in Hispanic America 1812: Spanish patriots proclaims a republican constitution that abolishes the Inquisition and confiscates church property Mar 1813: Prussia declares war on France Aug 1813: Austria declares war again on France 1813: the kingdom of Nederlanden (Netherlands) under king William VI of Orange declares its independence from France, with capital in Amsterdam 1813: Spanish patriots with help from Britain expel France from Spain Oct 1813: Napoleon is defeated at Leipzig by the combined forces of Austria, Prussia and Russia 1813: Ferdinand VII is restored king of Spain by British intervention and abrogates the constitution Mar 1814: Paris falls to the "Third Coalition" (march) and Napoleon abdicates and goes into exile, and Louis XVIII is restored king with a bicameral constitution 1814: Britain purchases the Cape Colony in South Africa from Holland 1814: Ferdinando VII is restored as king of Spain Jan 1815: France's Talleyrand, Austria's Metternich and Britain's Castlereagh sign a secret treaty to protect each other against Prussia and Russia Mar 1815: Napoleon returns to France and rules for the "Hundred Days" Jun 1815: Napoleon is defeated at Waterloo Jun 1815: The Congress of Wien (Vienna), attended by Austria's Klemens von Metternich, Russia's Alexander I, Prussia's Hardenberg and Britain's Castlereagh, restores continental Europe as it was before Napoleon with small border changes: Russia obtains Poland and Finland; Prussia obtains half of Saxony, Swedish Pomerania and the Rhineland, becoming the biggest German state and extending its border to France; a German Confederation is created under Austria (reducing the number of the Holy Roman Empire states from 360 to 38) but without Prussia; Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg are united under Willem I of Orange; Austria obtains Lombardy (Milano) and Venezia/Venice and control over Tuscany (Firenze/ Florence), with only Piedmont being independent in the north; southern Italy remains under Spain, Central Italy remains split into small states plus the Papal State Jun 1815: The Congress of Wien recognizes the German Confederation (Deutscher Bund) of 39 monarchical states headed by Austria instead of the 300+ that used to be part of the Holy Roman Empire, and Prussia receives the industrial Rhineland Jun 1815: The Congress of Wien mandates a union of the Netherlands and Belgium Jun 1815: The Congress of Wien assigns half of Saxony, Danzig and the Rhineland/Westphalia to Prussia which therefore comes to border on France and the Netherlands 1816: The French ship Medusa bound for Senegal sinks and only the aristocrats are allowed to use the lifeboats 1818: Chile proclaims its independence from Spain 1818: Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun patents "draisine" (early bicycle) 1819: Colombia proclaims its independence from Spain 1820: Ferdinand VII of Spain is forced by an insurrection to restore the constitution Nov 1820: The military forces king Joao of Portugal to adopt a constitution 1820: Paris adopts gas street lighting 1821: Napoleon dies in exile 1821: Mexico proclaims its independence from Spain 1821: Peru proclaims its independence from Spain 1822: Brazil proclaims its independence from Portugal 1823: Ferdinand VII is restored king of Spain by the Holy Alliance (Austria, Prussia, Russia, France) and abrogates the constitution again 1824: The reactionary Charles X becomes king of France, reasserting divine rights 1824: Bolivar definitely crushes the Spanish army 1825: Bolivia proclaims its independence from Argentina 1825: Le Figaro is founded in France 1825: Holland kills 200,000 Javanese to crush a popular rebellion 1825: Ludwig succeeds his father as king of Bavaria 1828: A civil war in Portugal leads to the dictatorship of king Manuel Jul 1830: Louis Philippe of Orleans becomes king of France after the revolution that topples Charles X, the last Bourbon king of France, and France becomes a constitutional monarchy 1830: The Catholic region of Belgium (comprising Flanders and Wallonia) declares its independence from the Netherlands 1831: Switzerland approves a liberal constitution 1831: Cholera reaches Paris 1831: Belgium chooses a German prince, Leopold, as its first king but also enacts a bicameral constitution Jun 1832: Republicans fail to overthrow the monarchy in France 1833: Isabella II ascends to the throne of Spain 1833: Gauss and Wilhelm Weber invent the telegraph 1834: France annexes Algeria 1834: End of the Portuguese civil war 1834: France recognizes the independence of Haiti 1835: French politician Alexis Tocqueville publishes "Democracy in America" 1835: Agence France-Press is founded 1839: Louis Daguerre invents the "daguerrotype", a precursor of the photographic camera 1840: Frederick William III of Prussia dies 1841: Russia, Britain, France, Austria and Prussia at the Straits Convention agree to ban all warships from the Ottoman straits, thus confining the southern Russian fleet to the Black Sea 1846: Alois Vaucansson invents the pistol 1846: Bavarian king Ludwig I builds a canal (Ludwig Canal) connecting the North Sea to the Black Sea with a navigable artery between the Rhine delta in the Netherlands and the Danube delta in Romania 1847: Marx publishes the Communist Manifesto 1847: Werner Von Siemens founds a company to exploit the telegraph 1848: Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, Napoleon I's nephew, is elected president of France Mar 1848: King Ludwig of Bavaria, facing a popular insurrection and the scandal of his affair with Lola Montes, abdicates in favour of his son Maximilian 1848: France abolishes slavery 1848: Universal male suffrage is instituted in France 1848: Austria with help from Russia crushes the Hungarian revolution of Louis Kossuth, which was aiming for democracy and equality 1848: Austria abolishes serfdom 1848: Karl Marx publishes the "Communist Manifesto" 1848: Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, wins the first direct presidential elections ever held in France with 74% percent of the votes 1849: Richard Wagner formulates the idea of "gesamtkunstwerk" or total art 1851: Louis Napoleon (Napoleon's nephew) proclaims himself emperor Napoleon III of France 1851: 75% of the French population lives in the countryside 1851: the German Confederation is formed by a number of German states 1852: Antonio Francisco Silva Porto explores Angola 1852: Henri Giffard flies the first dirigible 1852: Aristide Boucicaut turns Le Bon Marche' in Paris into the world's first department store 1853: In the Crimean war Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire fight Russia 1856: The skull of an ancient hominid is discovered in Neander Thal, Germany 1856: Monaco opens its first casino 1858: France invades Vietnam for the first time TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1859: The Dutch cede East Timor to Portugal 1860: Spain invades Morocco 1860: British and French troops loot Beijing 1860: There are two thousand Jews in Vienna 1861: William I succeeds to the throne of Prussia Sep 1862: Prussian king Wilhelm I appoints Otto von Bismarck as chancellor 1863: Cambodia becomes a protectorate of France 1863: the Red Cross is founded of the Swiss philanthropist Jean Henri Dunant 1864: all the major powers agree at the Geneva convention on rules for the treatment of prisoners of war 1864: Pasteur discovers the existence of micro-organisms 1864: Karl Marx creates the First International in London, a coalition of socialist parties from all over the world 1866: Bismark's Prussia defeats Austria at Sadowa/ Koniggratz ("Seven Weeks' War") and expels Austria from the German Confederation and Austria loses Venezia/Venice to Italy 1866: the first practical dynamo is developed by Siemens 1867: Bismark creates the North German Confederation under Prussian control 1867: Habsburg emperor Franz Josef declares the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary 1868: the first Cro-Magnon men are discovered in a cave in France 1868: Isabella II of Spain is deposed by an insurrection 1869: The music-hall "Folies Bergere" opens in Paris 1869: Ernst Leitz founds Leica to make optical devices 1869: Ferdinand de Lesseps, funded by the Egyptian government, builds the Suez Canal 1870: Bismark provokes (and wins) the Franco-Prussian War against Napoleon III and obtains the alliance of the southern German states (Baden, Wurttemberg, Bavaria) 1870: Germany founds the Deutsche Bank 1870: Napoleon III grants and loses free elections, the empire is dissolved and a parliamentary republic (the "third republic") is proclaimed in France, led by president Adolphe Thiers 1871: Bismark unites the northern and southern German states under Prussia, Prussian king Wilhelm I Hohenzollern is proclaimed German emperor, a constitution creates a parliament (Reichstag) but most powers are still in the hands of the emperor, and universal male suffrage is introduced 1871: Prussia introduces universal male suffrage 1871: The German states adopt the gold standard 1871: Berlin's population is 865 thousand 1871: Jews control about 40% of German banks 1871: the socialists of Paris establish a "commune", but the French government soon retakes Paris (20,000 communards are killed) 1872: France pays an indemnity and German troops leave France 1873: Friedrich von Harbou of Prussia invents the dirigible 1873: Germany enacts the "May Laws" to curb the influence of the Catholic Church 1873: German archeologist Heinrich Schliemann discovers the treasure of Priam in Greece 1873: the German stock market crashes 1874: the first Impressionist exhibit is held in Paris 1874: A financial crash sends 61 German banks bankrupt 1874: German archeologist Ernst Curtius discovers the temple of Zeus at Olympia in Greece 1875: A republican constitution is approved in France by one vote (end of the monarchy) 1875: Isabella II's second is appointed king Alfonso XII of Spain after the failure of the republic 1876: Nikolaus Otto invents the internal combustion engine 1878: Russia defeats the Ottomans, but is stopped by Britain to protect its route to Indiaand to prevent uprisings by Indian Muslims, and the Congress of Berlin hands Cyprus to Britain and Bosnia to Austria, grants Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania independence and creates an autonomous Christian principality of Bulgaria within the Ottoman Empire 1878: electricity is used in Paris to light up streets at night 1879: German engineer Werner Siemens demonstrates the first electric locomotive 1879: Germany and Austro-Hungarian empire sign a treaty of alliance 1881: the Chat Noir cabaret opens in Paris 1881: Ferdinand Adolf Kehrer performed the first modern Caesarean section 1881: A wave of anti-Jewish pogroms in Russia causes mass migrations of eastern European Jews 1881: France occupies Tunisia offending Italy that was about to do the same thing 1881: Siemens demonstrates the first electric tram system in Lichterfelde near Berlin 1882: Italy enters the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria 1883: Vietnam and Laos become French colonies 1884: Northeastern New Guinea (Kaiser-Wilhelmsland) in Oceania and Togoland (Togo and part of Ghana) in West Africa become the first colonies of Germany 1884: War erupts between France and China over the borders of Annam/Vietnam and France invades Formosa/Taiwan 1885: France and China signs a treaty recognizing French authority in Annam/Vietnam and returning Formosa/Taiwan to China 1885: Portuguese explorers cross Africa from Angola to Mozambique 1885: An international conference at Berlin awards Congo to the king of Belgium, Mozambique and Angola to Portugal, Namibia and Tanzania to Germany, Somalia to Italy, most of western Africa to France, and Egypt, Sudan, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana to Britain 1885: Germany extends its New Guinea protectorate on the Bismarck Archipelago and the North Solomon Islands, buys the Marshall Islands from Spain, and establishes the colony of Ostafrika in Africa (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania) 1885: German engineers Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach invent the motorcycle 1886: Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State and enacts a policy of forced labor and ethnic cleansing that would reduce the population from 20 million to 8 million by 1908 because of disease, torture or executions 1886: German engineer Karl Benz builds a gasoline-powered car 1886: Edouard Drumont's book "Jewish France" begins the era of modern anti-Semitism 1887: Heinrich Herz discovers radio waves 1887: Heinrich Hertz invents the radar 1888: Wilhelm II becomes kaiser of Germany and launches the expansionistic "weltpolitik" and a militarization of Germany, proclaiming the coming of the "German century" 1888: Germany adds Nauru to the Marshall Islands protectorate 1889: Germany buys from Spain the Caroline Islands, Palau and the Mariana Islands 1889: Paris holds the universal exposition and inaugurates the Eiffel Tower 1889: Germany enacts the first pension plan in the world 1889: Socialist parties from all over the world unite in the Second International during a convention in Paris 1889: Germany begins work on the Baghdad railway, meant to link Berlin to the Gulf via Istanbul Mar 1890: Bismark loses the election and resigns 1890: Rene Panhard and Emile Levassor build the first commercial car using a Daimler engine 1890: The German state of Prussia has 30 million people, Bavaria only 5.5 1890: The Royal Dutch Company is founded in the Netherlands for oil exploration 1890: AEG develops the AC motor and generator (first power plants) and alternating current makes it easy to transmit electricity over long distances 1891: Bicycle manufacturer Armand Peugeot builds the first French car 1891: Eugene Dubois discovers the skull of an ancient hominid ("Pithecantropus Erectus") in Java 1892: Rudolf Diesel invents the internal combustion engine 1893: German engineer Wilhelm Maybach invents the carburetor 1894: Alfred Dreyfus is arrested for high treason, the most famous victim of anti-semitism in France 1894: France and Russia sign an alliance 1894: French president Marie-Francois Sadi-Carnot is assassinated by an anarchist 1895: Auguste and Louis Lumiere hold the "Cinematographe", the first public film show, at the "Salon du Grand Cafe'" (28 December 1895) in Paris 1895: the German scientist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovers X rays 1896: the French philanthropist Pierre Decoubertin revives the Olympic Games 1896: the French physicist Antoine Henri Becquerel discovers radioactivity 1896: Antoine Henri Becquerel, Pierre Curie and Marie Curie observe the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei 1896: Theodor Herzl publishes "Der Judenstaat", the manifesto of Zionism 1897: German chemist Felix Hoffmann invents aspirin 1897: Germany seizes the port of Kiaochow in China 1897: anarchists assassinate the empress Elizabeth of Austria and the Spanish prime minister Antonio Canovas 1897: "La Fronde" is the first ever feminist newspaper 1897: The first Zionist congress takes place in Basel 1897: Germany seizes the port of Kiaochow in China 1898: The US defeats Spain and gains Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines, while Cuba becomes independent but de facto a USA protectorate 1898: An Italian anarchist assassinates empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary 1898: Deutsche Gramophon is founded 1898: Emile Zola writes the open letter "J'accuse" to the French president denouncing the unlawful jailing of Alfred Dreyfus 1898: Pierre and Marie Curie coin the term "radioactivity" 1898: German concern Siemens founds the Deutsche Grammophon record company 1899: count Alfred von Schlieffen submits a plan for a German preemptive strike via Belgium against France 1899: The anti-semitic and monarchical movement Action Francaise is founded in France May 1899: The first Peace Convention opens in the Hague to develop a treaty on the conduct of warfare (based on the Lieber Code of the USA) 1899: The anti-western Boxer movement in China 1900: Sigmund Freud publishes the "Interpretation of Dreams" 1900: Bernhard von Bulow becomes chancellor of Germany and launches "Weltpolitik" 1900: The Paris metro opens 1900: The population of France is 38.4 million, of Germany is 56.4 million 1900: Christians constitute 26% and Muslims constitute 12% of the world's population 1900: Max Planck invents Quantum Theory 1900: Mendel's theory of genes is rediscovered 1901: Austrian physician Karl Landsteiner discovers blood groups 1903: Marie Curie becomes the first woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize 1903: A report by British diplomat Roger Casement reveals Belgian atrocities in Congo 1903: the first Tour de France of cyclism 1904: Phan Boi Chau founds the Vietnamese Reformation Society and leads protests against the French 1904: France enacts a law forbidding people under 18 to work more than ten hours a day 1904: German troops massacre 65,000 members of the Herero tribe in Namibia 1904: German general Lothar von Trotha issues an order of extermination for the Hereros of South-west Africa (60,000 die of starvation or are killed) Apr 1904: France and Britain agree to spheres of influence of their respective empires 1905: Einstein publishes the "Special Theory of Relativity" 1905: Berlin's population is two million Mar 1905: Germany supports Morocco's claim to independence from France 1905: Friedrich Ebert became secretary-general of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Jul 1905: German kaiser Wilhelm II and Russian czar Nicholas II sign the secret Treaty of Bjorko/ Koivisto of mutual defense Dec 1905: France enacts a law separating church and state 1906: 43% of French work in agriculture 1906: An anarchist, Mateo Morral, throws a bomb at Spain's king Alfonso XIII but instead kills 24 soldiers and bystanders 1906: The Confederation Generale du Travail begins a series of strikes in France 1907: Austria increases the number of males who can vote 1907: Britain, France and Russia create the "Triple Entente" against Prussia's expansionism under Wilhelm II 1908: the first "zeppelin", created by Ferdinand von Zeppelin, lands in a Germany city 1908: Britain and Germany engage in a "naval race" 1908: Austria annexes Bosnia, and Serbia threatens war 1908: the Swiss textile engineer Jacques Brandenberger invents cellophane 1909: Three quarters of the ice used in France (150,000 tons) is artificial 1909: Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg becomes chancellor of Germany 1909: Bernhard von Bulow resigns from chancellor of Germany 1910: a popular uprising forces the Portuguese king Manuel II to abdicate and Portugal becomes a republic 1910: There are 175 thousand Jews in Vienna 1910: Germany debuts its dreadnought-class battleship "Nassau" 1911: A German warship visits Morocco in defiance of French influence, the first time that Germany has deployed a warship far away from its own waters br>1911: The first world physics conference is held in Brussels ("Solvay Conference") 1912: Britain and France sign a naval treaty to fend off the threat of the German navy 1912: The Social Democratic Party is the largest party after parliamentary elections in Germany 1912: Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel opens a boutique of fashion design Dec 1912: A secret meeting chaired by the emperor in person prepares Germany's war against France and Russia 1913: German chemist Friedrich Bergius extracts liquid from coal Oct 1913: Karl Friedrich Rapp establishes Rapp-Motorenwerke (later BMW), a factory of aircraft engines 1913: French general Ferdinand Foch declares that "airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value" 1914: Austrian archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian throne, is assassinated in Sarajevo, Bosnia, by a Serbian nationalist See the timeline for World War I 1914: The Phillips Research Laboratories (Natuurkundig Laboratorium) is founded in Holland Jul 1914: Austria declares war on Serbia and World War I breaks out, eventually pitting Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Serbia, USA and Japan against Austria, Germany and Turkey Aug 1914: Germany invades neutral Belgium to attack France from the north Aug 1914: Japan declares war on Germany and captures the German colonies in China Aug 1914: Germany destroys the Russian army at the battle of Tannenberg Sep 1914: France wins the battle of the Marne against Germany 1914: Because of the war, many countries suspend the gold standard Apr 1915: British and French troops land in Gallipoli, Turkey May 1915: German submarines sink the British passenger ship "Lusitania", killing almost 2000 people May 1915: Italy declares war on Austria Sep 1915: Bulgaria joins the war on the side of Germany and Austria against Serbia Oct 1915: Britain and France send troops into neutral Greece Jan 1916: Ottoman troops led by Mustafa Kemal defeat the British at Gallipoli/ Canakkale 1916: the Romanian poet Tristan Tzara founds "Dada", a nihilistic artistic movement in Zurich who exhibit at the "Cabaret Voltaire" Aug 1916: Romania joins the war on the side of Britain and France against Austria in an attempt to seize Transylvania 1916: Dada performs at the Cabaret Voltaire in Zurich 1917: the engine manufacturer Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) is founded Mar 1917: The tsar is overthrown in Russia Apr 1917: German submarines sink a record 335 ships in just one month 1917: The Netherlands introduce universal male suffrage Mar 1918: Germany launches a Western offensive that kills almost two million soldiers in three months Nov 1918: World War I ends with the defeat of Germany (which has to cede several regions to France and Poland, and all the African colonies) and Austria (which has to cede regions to Italy and grant independence to Yugoslavia) 1918: the Bauhaus opens in Weimar Mar 1918: The "Spanish" influenza, originating from Kansas, is exported to France by US soldiers Aug 1918: A second, deadlier, strain of the "Spanish" flu is spread from Britain to continental Europe by military ships departing the port of Plymouth Nov 1918: The first world war ends with the defeat of Germany and Austria (2 million Russians, 1.8 million Germans, 1.3 million French, 1.1 million Austro-Hungarians, 0.9 million Britons, 0.6 million Turks and 0.5 million Italians are dead), and the Austro-Hungarian Empire is dismantled into independent countries (Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia) Nov 1918: The Kaiser abdicates and leaves Germany, Germany becomes a parliamentary republic, Friedrich Ebert of the Social Democrats becomes chancellor, and universal female suffrage is introduced Nov 1918: The socialist activist Kurt Eisner proclaims Bavaria independent Nov 1918: The "Spanish" influenza is transmitted from France to Spain, which is neutral in World War I and doesn't censor it like the fighting countries did (hence the misnomer "Spanish") Dec 1918: The "spartacists" (communists) stage an insurrection in Germany Jan 1919: German communists stage an insurrection in Berlin but they are defeated and Rosa Luxemburg is killed Feb 1919: Civil war erupts in Bavaria after the assassination of Eisner Apr 1919: Austria, reduced to a small country of seven million people, bans aristocratic titles 1919: European socialists split into "Communists" and "Social Democrats" 1919: The Social Democrats win 38% of the vote in Germany Apr 1919: The German army restores order in Bavaria Apr 1919: Before hyperinflation kicks in, one dollar is worth 12 German marks May 1919: The anarchist Gustav Landauer is stoned to death by German troopers in Munich Jun 1919: Germany accepts the peace treaty of Versailles that includes compensation to the winners and loses all its colonies Aug 1919: A democratic constitution for Germany is finalized in Weimar Nov 1919: The right-wing Bloc National wins elections in France 1919: Leon Blum, a Jew, is appointed chair of the French Socialist Party (SFIO) 1920: The nazist party is founded in Germany 1920: European countries control almost 90% of the Earth's surface 1920: Spanish prime minister Eduardo Dato is assassinated by anarchists Dec 1920: The "Spanish" flu pandemic ends, having infected about 500 million people worldwide and killed about 50 million 1921: An accident at an IG Farben factory at Oppau kills 565 people 1921: Citroen is the first European manufacturer to set up an assembly line (Ford has already built one in Britain) Mar 1921: France occupies three German towns in retaliation for Germany's violation of the peace treaty Jul 1921: Adolf Hitler becomes leader of the National Socialist Party (Nazist Party) 1922: the Armenian mystic Georges Gurdjieff settles near Paris 1922: the cost of a newspaper in Germany rises from 0.30 marks (1921) to 70 million marks (1922) 1922: Germany and Russia sign the Rapallo Treaty Jun 1922: Germany's foreign minister Walter Rathenau, the highest-placed Jew in the country, is assassinated by German nationalists Feb 1922: Britain, the USA, France, Japan and Italy sign the Washington Naval Treaty to limit the size of their navies 1923: Cardinal Soldevila of Saragossa is assassinated by anarchists 1923: Miguel Primo de Rivera installs a dictatorship in Spain Jan 1923: French troops occupy German-controller Ruhr, causing rampant hyper-inflation in Germany, where the mark goes down from 2000 DM for $1 to 4.2 trillion DM to $1 Sep 1923: One US dollar is worth four billion German marks Nov 1923: A coup by the Nazist party of Adolf Hitler and general Erich Ludendorff to overthrow the elected regional government of Germany's Bavaria fails (the "Beer Hall Putsch") and Hitler is arrested Nov 1923: The German mark is worth only one-trillionth of what it had been worth back in 1914 1924: Louis DeBroglie discovers that matter is both particles and waves 1924: The Cartel de Gauches wins elections in France 1924: The Compagnie Francaise des Petroles is founded 1925: Hitler publishes "Mein Kampf" 1925: The black singer and dancer Josephine Baker arrives in Paris 1925: Leica introduces the miniature camera invented by Oskar Barnack in 1913 Oct 1925: Britain promotes the revision of German borders and France pledges to respect them at the Locarno Treaty 1925: Paul von Hindenburg becomes president of Germany TM, ®, Copyright © 2003 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1926: Daimler, Maybach and Benz merge their car manufacturing companies into Daimler-Benz (Mercedes) 1926: Walter Gropius opens the new Bauhaus in Dessau Jul 1926: Raymond Poincare restores France's financial health 1927: Werner Heisenberg discovers the uncertainty principle 1928: Achmad Sukarno founds the Nationalist Party with the mission to gain independence for Indonesia from Holland 1928: Fritz Pfleumer invents magnetic tape for audio recording 1928: following an increase in votes, the socialists join the government of Germany 1929: Stocks crash around the world 1929: unemployment in Germany hits 1 million 1930: Vietnamese intellectual Ho Chi Minh founds the Indochinese Communist Party and organizes anti-French riots in Vietnam 1930: Britain, Japan, France, Italy and the USA sign the London Naval Treaty, an agreement to reduce naval warfare Sep 1930: The Nazi's party share of the vote in Germany jumps from 2.5 to 18.3%, and the party becomes the second-largest in the Reichstag TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1930: the first World Cup of football is held in Uruguay 1931: Miguel Primo de Rivera resigns and Alfonso XIII abdicates, turning Spain into a republic 1931: Kurt Godel publishes its incompleteness theorem 1932: Antonio Salazar becomes prime minister of Portugal and turns Portugal into a dictatorship 1932: Germany's unemployment peaks at 30% Jul 1932: Germany's National Socialist/ Nazist Party wins 14 million votes (37.4%) in national elections and obtains 230 of the 600 seats in the German parliament, for the first time surpassing the Social Democrats Nov 1932: The Nazist Party wins 33% of the vote, the Social Democrats 20% and the Communists 17% in Germany's national elections 1932: Albert Lebrun is elected president of France Jul 1932: Hitler's Nazist party wins national elections and becomes the largest party in parliament but is excluded from government 1932: Six million people are unemployed in Germany 1932: the Nazist party wins 37% of the votes and becomes the largest party in Germany Jan 1933: Hitler, leader of the Nazist party, is appointed chancellor of Germany, suspends civil liberties and promotes anti-Jewish activism 1933: More than 9 million Jews live in Europe, 1.7% of the total European population, more than 60% of the world's Jewish population: 3 million in Poland (9.5% of the population), 2.5 million in the Soviet Union, 756,000 in Romania, 500,000 in Germany (0.75% of the total German population), 445,000 in Hungary, 357,000 in Czechoslovakia, 300,000 in Britain, 250,000 in France, 191,000 in Austria, 156,000 in the Netherlands. Feb 1933: A madman sets the German Parliament on fire and the government suspends political rights Mar 1933: Germany's Nazist Party wins 44% of the votes in rigged elections and their allies win 8% 1933: students of the University of Berlin burn thousands of books by Jewish authors 1933: Heinrich Himmler sets up the first Nazi concentration camp in Dachau that, by the end of the year, holds 30 thousand people, mostly communists 1934: the luxurious gigantic ocean liner "Normandie" travels from Le Havre to New York Jun 1934: Mussolini and Hitler meet for the first time Jul 1934: Nazi conspirators kill the Austrian prime minister and try to seize power Feb 1934: Fascists and Action Francaise riots in Paris and 18 people are killed Jun 1934: Hitler's rivals including the head of the stormtroopers Ernst Rohm are assassinated ("Night of the Long Knives") Aug 1934: German president Hindenburg dies and Hitler assumes the titles of both president and chancellor, or simply Fuhrer 1935: Mussolini's Italy invades Ethiopia Mar 1935: Hitler violates the treaty of Versailles by instituting compulsory military service in Germany 1935: AEG demonstrates the world's first tape recorder, the K1 1936: Heinrich Focke flies the first helicopter March 1936: Germany remilitarizes the Rhineland (border with France) in violation of the Versailles treaty 1936: Hitler and Mussolini form the "Axis" Jul 1936: General Franco's troops, helped by Germany and Italy, start a civil war against the Spanish Republicans, helped by the Soviet Union Feb 1936: Socialist leader Leonard Blum is almost killed by French fascists Jun 1936: The Popular Front (Socialists, Radicals and Communists) wins national elections and Leonard Blum, a Jew, becomes prime minister of France while strikes rage all over France Sep 1936: Mussolini and Hitler speak to one million people in Munich Nov 1936: Germany and Japan form the anti-Cominterm Pact to protect against communism Mar 1937: Communists and fascists riot in Paris Apr 1937: The German airforce bombs Guernica in Spain to help the fascists in the civil war, causing a thousand deaths Jun 1937: French prime minister Blum resigns Mar 1938: Germany annexes Austria 1938: Temmler starts selling crystal methamphetamine as Pervitin in Germany Sep 1938: France, Britain and Italy agree to cede a piece of Czech territory to Germany at the Munich conference 1938: German scientists split the uranium atom 1938: synagogues and Jewish shops are destroyed by Nazist mobs in Germany ("Kristallnacht") 1938: Volkswagen introduces the "Beetle" 1938: British unemployment is 9.3% compared with Germany's 2.1% Dec 1938: Otto Hahn accomplishes the nuclear fission of heavy elements Jan 1939: In a speech at the German parliament Hitler threatens to exterminate all Jews if the West went to war against Germany 1939: Half of Germany's Jews (280 thousand) have emigrated Mar 1939: Francisco Franco becomes dictator of Spain after a civil war that killed 600,000 people out of a population of 25 million (of which 75000 murdered by the Nationalists, 55000 by the Republicans, 90000 Nationalist soldiers and 110000 Republican soldiers) See the timeline for World War II Mar 1939: Germany occupies Czechoslovakia Apr 1939: Italy invades Albania 1939: Stalin and Hitler sign a non-aggression pact including the partition of Poland 1939: World War II begins with the invasion of Poland by Germany 1940: Germany invades Denmark, Norway, Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Romania and begins bombing Britain 1940: Swiss-born Protestant theologian Roger Schutz starts the Taize movement in France, a monastic order focused on meditation and prayer 1940: French national hero Henri Petain is appointed prime minister and negotiates the creation of an independent French republic with capital in Vichy, that allies with Hitler Sep 1940: Italy, Germany and Japan sign the "Tripartite Pact" Nov 1940: Hungary, Slovakia and Romania join the "Tripartite Pact" with Italy, Germany and Japan 1941: Hitler exterminates 100,00 mentally ill and elderly people in Germany 1941: Konrad Zuse designs the Z3, the first programmable computer 1941: Germany invades Yugoslavia, Greece, and the Soviet Union 1941: Germany declares war to the USA 1941: the Birkenau camp is inaugurated for the mass extermination of Jews, Gypsies, Poles and Russians 1942: Jews are exterminated in gas chambers in German extermination camps 1942: Hitler envisions a "final solution" for the Jews and extermination camps are set up ("Holocaust") 1942: the Auschwitz and Treblinka extermination camps begin operating 1942: the first missile enters outer space, a German V2 designed by Wernher von Braun (october 1942) 1943: Albert Hofmann discovers LSD 1944: Germany occupies Hungary 1944: Charles De Gaulle, the leader of the resistance, returns to France 1945: the Soviet Union enters Berlin, Hitler commits suicide and Germany surrenders 1945: At the Yalta conference the Soviet Union, Britain and the USA partition Europe in spheres of influence 1945: Germany and Berlin are divided in four sectors, soon to be come "western" and "easter" (Russian) sectors 1945: several thousand Algerians are killed during pro-independence riots in Constantine 1945: the United Nations Organization is founded in New York 1946: France attacks the Viet Minh at Haiphong killing 6,000 civilians Jul 1946: The Soviet Union annexes the ancient Prussian capital Konigsberg and rename it Kaliningrad 1946: Louis Reard invents the "bikini" 1946: Christian Dior opens a boutique of fashion design in Paris 1946: George Marshall envisions a plan to promote the economic recovery of European democracies 1947: Curt Herzstark presents the first pocket calculator, the "Curta", that he invented in a concentration camp 1947: French mime Marcel Marceau creates the character of "Bip" the clown 1947: Industrial output in West Germany is only one-third its 1938 level 1948: West German director of economics, Ludwig Erhard, abolishes the Reichsmark and introduces a new currency, the Deutsche Mark, laying the foundations for West Germany's "Wirtschaftswunder" ("Economic Miracle") 1948: 23 countries enact the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1948: West Germans are forced to convert their cash into the deutsche marks at a rate of more than 10 reichsmarks to the D-mark 1948: The winners of World Way II write off 93% of the Nazi-era debt and postpone collection of new debt for half a century thus reducing Germany's debt load from 675% in 1939 to 12% in 1950 (lower than the winner's) Apr 1949: NATO, a military alliance, is formed by the western European countries and the USA 1949: Holland recognises Indonesian independence May 1949: West Germany adopts a democratic constitution Sep 1949: Konrad Adenauer is appointed by parliament to become the first chancellor of West Germany Oct 1949: East Germany proclaims the German Democratic Republic and the occupying Soviet Union surrenders the functions of government 1950: France has 150,000 troops in Vietnam 1950: West Germany's GDP between 1950 and 1955 grows at an average annual rate of 9.1% (the "Economic Miracle") 1950: France uses napalm against the Viet Mihn at Tien Yen 1950: the first World Championship for drivers ("Formula One") is held, the first race being the British grand prix on the Silverstone circuit 1951: the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) is founded in Paris, following a proposal by France's foreign minister Robert Schuman to avoid further wars between France and Germany 1952: Britain becomes a nuclear power 1952: Turkey and Greece become members of NATO 1953: the USA obtains air and naval bases in Spain and the Vatican signs a concordat with Spain, two events that legitimize Francos' dictatorship 1953: Charles DeGaulle retires June 1953: Workers protest in East Germany 1954: after the Viet Minh defeat France at Dieu Bieu Phu (thousands die on both sides), the Viet Minh and France sign a peace treaty dividing Vietnam into North and South, and scheduling a general election for 1956 (76,000 French soldiers have died) Oct 1954: West Germany is admitted into NATO 1954: European countries found CERN (Centre Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire) to halt the exodus of nuclear physicists to the USA 1954: France is defeated by Vietnam at the battle of Dien Bien Phu and withdraws 1954: Algerian exiles in Egypt create the Front de Liberation Nationale (FLN) and start the civil war against France May 1955: the Soviet Union withdraws from Austria, which becomes a neutral country 1955: After the Algerian FNL (National Front of Liberation) kills French civilians at Philippeville, France retaliates by killing more than 1,273 civilians May 1955: West Germany becomes independent after the formal end of occupation by Britain, France and the USA 1956: Algerian freedom fighter Ben Bella is arrested by French police 1956: The first world congress of Human Genetics is held in Copenhagen 1956: Real Madrid of Spain wins the first Champion's League of football 1956: France withdraws from Morocco and Tunisia 1956: French prime minister Guy Mollet confers special powers to general Jacques Massu fighting in Algeria 1957: Italy, West Germany, France and others found the European Economic Community 1957: The Asian flu kills more than one million people worldwide 1957: French general Jacques Massu wins the "battle of Algiers" using nazi-style methods against the Algerian rebels 1958: Charles De Gaulle returns to power in France after the constitution is changed to grant him strong powers over the parties 1958: Yves St Laurent changes the way French women dress 1959: DeGaulle grants Algeria the right to vote on independence 1959: the ETA (Euskadi ta Askatasuna) is founded by Basque separatists to conduct terrorism against Spain 1959: Charles de Gaulle launches France's atomic energy programme 1960: Congo declares its independence from Belgium 1960: Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Britain apply to join the European Economic Community but France vetoes their entry 1960: France becomes a nuclear power Apr 1961: the Soviet Union builds a wall to isolate West Berlin and discourage people from fleeing East Germany 1961: France studies "the physiological and psychological effects of nuclear arms on man" (i.e. it exposes soldiers to radiation) in its fourth nuclear test "Gerboise Verte" in the Algerian Sahara 1961: Yves Saint Laurent opens a boutique of fashion design in Paris Jun 1961: A bomb by militants opposed to Algerian independence (Organisation de l'Armee Secrete) kills 28 people in France Oct 1961: About 200 Algerian protesters are killed during riots in Paris by police commanded by former Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon 1961: India annexes the Portuguese colonies (Goa) 1961: former French officers led by general Raoul Salan form the Organisation de l'Armee Secrete (OAS) to fight Arabs in Algeria, killing 12,000 Arab civilians in one year 1961: Anti-Portuguese riots and guerrilla in Angola by the Movimento Popular de Libertacao de Angola (MPLA), sponsored by the communists, and the Uniao Nacional paraa a Independencia Total de Angola (UNITA), sponsored by South Africa Jun 1962: The Frente de Libertacao do Mocambique (Frelimo), led by Eduardo Mondlane, starts a liberation war against Portugal in Mozambique 1962: There are 13,000 Turkish immigrants in West Germany 1962: French nationalists opposed to Algeria's independence unleash a terrorist campaign under the moniker OAS (Organisation de l'Armee Secrete) 1962: After the deaths of about 100,000 French and about 1,000,000 Algerians, Algeria is declared independent 1963: Porsche introduces the roadster 911 1965: Dutch anarchists found the countercultural movement "Provo" 1966: Charles de Gaulle pulls France out of NATO's integrated military command 1967: Rudi Dutschke leads student riots in West Berlin 1967: military coup in Greece 1968: Student riots in France escalate into a national uprising, soon followed by similar protests in West Germany and Italy 1969: The Hong Kong flu kills about 750,000 people worldwide 1969: Willy Brandt forms a social-democratic government in West Germany and inaugurates "ostpolitik" (opening to Eastern Europe) 1969: following student demonstrations, DeGaulle resigns and Georges Pompidou is elected president of France 1971: European business leaders, the "World Economic Forum", meets in the Swiss mountain village of Davos 1972: Volkswagen's "Beetle" becomes the most produced car of all times 1972: Denmark, Ireland and Britain are finally accepted into the European Economic Community 1973: The Tour Montparnasse, Paris' first skyscraper Apr 1974: Tired of the colonial wars in Africa, a military junta deposes the Caetano regime 1974: There are 800,000 Turkish immigrants in West Germany 1974: first free election in Greece 1974: European countries found the European Space Agency (ESA) 1974: Belgian cyclist Eddy Merckx wins his fifth Tour and his fifth Giro, an all-time record 1974: Pompidou dies and Giscard d'Estaing wins the elections against socialist Francois Mitterrand, appointing Jacques Chirac prime minister 1975: France, under prime minister Chirac, sells nuclear technology to both Iran and Iraq 1975: The Group of Six (France, West Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, USA) meets in Paris (later G7 with Canada), representing more than 60% of the world's GDP Jan 1975: Portugal grants independence to its African colonies (Mozambique, Angola, etc) 1975: The Baader-Meinhof terrorizes Germany 1975: The Helsinki Conference on Security and Cooperation defines human rights in the Cold War 1975: Surinam declares its independence from Holland 1975: Spanish dictator Franco dies and king Juan Carlos forces the adoption of democracy 1975: Portugal grants East Timor independence 1976: The supersonic airplane Concorde, built by France and Britain, begins service Sep 1976: Belgian scientist Peter Piot discovers an epidemics near the Ebola river in the Congolese rainforest 1976: the G6 is created to bring the leaders of the biggest national economies together (USA, Canada, Britain, Germany, Japan, France) Apr 1976: The first democratic elections in Portugal are won by the socialists, and Mario Soares becomes prime minister Nov 1976: The fascist dictatorship of Spain is dissolved 1977: an execution is carried out in France, the last execution in Western Europe 1977: Jacques Chirac becomes mayor of Paris Jun 1977: In the first democratic elections, center-right candidate Adolfo Suarez is elected prime minister of Spain 1978: Spain adopts a parliamentary monarchy 1978: France introduces the Videotex service Minitel 1978: France attacks the Polisario to defend Mauritania's president 1979: There are 2.5 million Turkish immigrants in West Germany 1979: the Green Party is founded in Germany with an environmentalist platform april 1979: Israeli agents blow up a factory in France that builds components for Iraq's nuclear facility at Osirak 1979: Jean-Francois Lyotard's treatise "The Postmodern Condition" is published 1979: the first direct elections of the European Parliament are held in all the nine member states of the European Economic Community 1980: 118 people are killed by ETA terrorist attacks in Spain 1980: Christians constitute 30% and Muslims constitute 18% of the world's population June 1980: Israeli agents assassinate in France an Egyptian engineer working for Iraq's Osirak nuclear facility 1981: Francois Mitterrand, a socialist, is elected president of France 1981: Juan Carlos becomes the first Spanish king to visit the Americas 1981: Greece joins the European Economic Community 1981: France abolishes the death penalty 1981: The TGV, the first high-speed train in Europe, begins operations in France 1981: Youstol Dispage dies 1982: after a failed military coup, the socialist party wins the elections in Spain and Felipe Gonzalez becomes prime minister May 1982: Spain joins NATO 1982: Thich Nhat Hanh founds the Buddhist community "Plum Village" in southwest France 1982: Hezbollah suicide commandos organized by Iran blow up the US and French barracks in Lebanon killing 241 marines and 58 French soldiers 1983: The European Union launches the program ESPRIT (European Strategic Program on Research in Information Technology) to foster multinational high-tech projects 1983: Nicolas Hayek debuts a Swiss-made plastic watch, the Swatch 1983: 83 people die in a fire at a disco of Madrid in Spain 1984: Helmut Kohl is elected chancellor of Germany 1985: 39 football fans, mostly Italian, are killed during a riot started by British fans of the Liverpool team at a Brussels stadium 1985: Every major country of the world has AIDS cases 1985: A bomb by Islamists, targeting US personnel of an air base, kills 18 people in a restaurant in Madrid (the "El Descanso bombing") 1986: Spain and Portugal join the European Economic Community 1986: Jacques Chirac becomes prime minister of France for the second time 1986: Syria sponsors a string of bombs in Paris 1987: Turkey applies for membership in the European Economic Community but its application is stalled by strong opposition 1987: ETA bombs kill 21 people in Barcelona 1987: Jeanne Calment dies at 122, setting the new world record of longevity 1987: the Montreal Protocol limits the use of substances that damage the ozone layer TM, ®, Copyright © 2005 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 1988: Steffi Graf became the first tennis player ever to achieve the "Golden Slam" by winning all four major tennis titles and the Olympic gold medal 1989: Berlin holds the first "Love Parade", a festival of electronic dance music (one million people) 1989: the government of Paris mayor Jacques Chirac awards contracts to companies that pay bribes 1989: Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat is arrested in Italy at the request of the USA for selling thousands of tons of chemicals that Saddam Hussein's Iraq used to build chemical weapons 1989: Tim Berners-Lee invents the World-wide Web at CERN for the exchange of internal documents Oct 1989: Honecker's government in East Germany resigns Nov 1989: The Berlin Wall is destroyed by millions of ecstatic Germans Nov 1989: A car bomb by the Baader-Meinhof gang, planned with the help of the Soviet KGB, kills Deutsche Bank's chairman Alfred Herrhausen Sep 1989: terrorists blow up a French UTA airliner over Niger, probably on behalf of Libya 1990: East and West Germany are reunited under chancellor Kohl 1990: 43 people die in a fire at a disco of Saragoza in Spain 1991: the world-wide web (invented by Tim Berners-Lee in Geneve) debuts on the Internet 1992: Record of refugees in Western Europe (400.000 in Germany alone), mainly from Yugoslavia, Eastern Europe, Africa. 1992: Germany completes the Rhine–Main–Danube canal 1992: The treaty of Maastricht creates the European Union out of the European Economic Community 1992: A canal is completed to link the Danube and the Rhine, the North Sea and the Black Sea 1993: Jean-Christophe Mitterrand, the son of the French president, and interior minister Charles Pasqua accept bribes from Israeli-Russian billionaire Arkady Gaydamak and French billionaire Pierre Falcone to facilitate illegal arms sales to Angola 1994: Sweden, Austria and Finland join the European Union 1994: Algerian terrorists of the GIA hijack an Air France plane and try to crash it into the Tour Eiffel 1995: Jacques Chirac is elected president of France 1995: The AIDS epidemic peaks at about 50,000 yearly deaths worldwide 1995: 123 nations found the World Trade Organization, that replaces the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1995: Algerian terrorists of the GIA kill eight people in the Paris metro 1995: despite worldwide protests, France conducts a nuclear test at the Polynesian atoll of Muroroa 1995: Copenhagen is the first city in the world to launch a large-scale bikesharing service, Bycyken first large-scale urban bikesharing program 1996: Marc Dutroux is arrested in Belgium for the kidnapping, raping and murder of six girls 1996: "Manifesta 1", the first European biennale of contemporary art, opens in the Netherlands 1996: Jose Maria Aznar becomes prime minister 1997: Most countries of the world agree on reducing the level of greenhouse-gas emissions in order to avoid climate changes such as global warming, (Kyoto Protocol) 1997: Jeanne Louise Calment dies at the age of 122, the oldest recorded age ever Apr 1997: Iranian intelligence agents murder four Iranian Kurds in Germany 1997: The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao designed by Frank Gehry opens 1997: Jeanne Calment dies at 122, the oldest person ever recorded 1998: socialdemocrat leader Gerard Schroeder becomes chancellor of Germany and Joschka Fischer's Green Party joins the government coalition 1998: 38 million vehicles sold worldwide (4.5 million workers and revenues of 1.5 billion dollars) 1998: the German Peoples Union (DVU) wins 12.9% in state elections in Saxony Anhalt, the best result for a neo-fascist party since Hitler Jul 1998: 120 countries of the world agree to establish an international criminal court, opposed only by the USA, mainland China, Israel and a few Arab dictatorships 1998: The last case of polio in Europe Mar 1999: Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland join NATO 1999: NATO bombs Serbia to stop repression against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo 1999: a common currency, the euro (worth $1.1591) is introduced in 11 European countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Holland, Portugal and Spain) Dec 1999: Portugal returns Macau to China 2000: the supersonic jet Concorde crashes in Paris 2000: More than 500 billion dollars have been spent worldwide to prepare computers for the year 2000 (Y2K) 2000: Hospital nurse Niels Hoegen begins a killing spree in German hospitals that will kill about 300 patients 2001: Pia Kjaersgaard's right-wing party wins 12% of the votes in Denmark's elections 2001: Thierry Desmarest of Total creates the world's fourth largest oil group after acquiring Petrofina in 1999 and Elf in 2001 2001: there are ten million Muslims in western Europe (four million in France, three million in Germany, 1.5 million in Britain, more than one million in Italy) 2002: euro coins and notes are distributed to the citizens of the eurozone 2002: France sends "peacekeeping" troops to Ivory Coast 2002: Jacques Chirac is reelected president of France but right-wing leader Jean-Marie le Pen wins 17% of the votes 2002: Holland's right-wing party List Pim Fortuyn wins 26 seats out of 150 in elections following the murder of its leader Pim Fortuyn 2002: Joerg Haider's right-wing party wins 10% of the votes in Austrian elections 2002: two right-wing parties, Alleanza Nazionale and Lega Nord, win about 16% of votes in Italian elections 2003: Spain, Holland, Denmark and Italy support the USA/UK invasion of Iraq, while France and Germany strongly oppose it 2003: Airbus passes Boeing as the world's largest civilians aircraft manufacturer 2003: Germany enters the second recession in 3 years and unemployment reaches 11% 2003: both France and British retire the supersonic jet Concorde 2003: millions of western Europeans march in the streets to protest USA plans to remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq 2003: France and Germany oppose the USA and British invasion of Iraq, the first such major split in the Atlantic alliance (Britain, Italy, Holland, Poland, Spain and others send troops to support the USA in Iraq) 2003: a heatwave kills 15,000 people in France, at least 6,000 in Spain, 7,000 in Germany, 2,000 in Britain and 20,000 in Italy 2003: a mosque is built in Spain for the first time since the reconquista of 1492 2003: the Muslim population of Europe is 25 million (except Russia), of which 6 million in France and 3 million in Germany 2004: the World Health Organization estimates that 1.3 million people are killed every year in car accidents 2004: Michael Schumaker wins his seventh Formula One championship, a world record 2004: the French government bans Islamic scarves from schools Mar 2004: 202 people are killed by synchronized bombs planted on trains near Madrid, Spain, by Islamic terrorists (led by Sarhane ben Abdelmajid Fakhet), and, two days later, their target, prime minister Jose Maria Aznar, is defeated by Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, the first time that Islamic terrorists decide the outcome of a European election Mar 2004: Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia join NATO Apr 2004: Spanish police foils a second terrorist attack south of Madrid 2004: Gerhard Schroeder resigns from leader of the SPD 2004: Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia (mostly former communist countries) join the European Union, greatly expanding its eastern border, and increasing its population to 455 million in 25 states, its area to 738,573 sq km, and its gross domestic product to 9.613 trillion euros (more than 10 trillion dollars) 2004: in France, serial killer Michel Fourniret is arrested 2004: director Theo Van Gogh, an outspoken critic of Islam, is killed by a Muslim extremist in Holland 2004: France detroys the entire airforce of Ivory Coast, guilty of accidentally killing a few of its soldiers 2005: France inaugurates the tallest bridge in the world, the Millau bridge over the river Tarn 2005: the Kyoto protocol (to reduce the level of greenhouse-gas emissions in order to avoid climate changes such as global warming) is adopted by 141 countries of the world but not the USA, China, India and Australia TM, ®, Copyright © 2003 Piero Scaruffi All rights reserved. 2005: the unemployment rate in Germany reaches its highest level since 1933, with Schroeder's approval rating plunging to about 29% 2005: the unemployment rate in France rises to its highest level since 1999 and Chirac's approval rating plummets to 24% 2005: the new European Union constitution is not ratified because the French reject it in a referendum 2005: Germany is the country that has the lowest opinion of the USA in the West (Pew Center poll) 2005: The European Union, the United States, Russia, Japan, South Korea and China partner in the Iter (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) project based in southern France to develop a nuclear fusion reactor 2005: Lance Armstrong, an American, wins a seventh tour de France, an all-time record 2005: the price of oil jumps from $35 at the beginning of the year to an all-time record of $67 a barrel Sep 2005: Germany's chancellor Gerhard Schroeder signs a deal with Russia to build the Nord Stream gas pipeline, a multibillion-dollar project for Russia's state gas company Gazprom Sep 2005: Angela Merkel, a woman born in East Germany, wins national elections and becomes chancellor of Germany 2005: Chirac replaces prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin with Dominique de Villepin 2005: riots in Paris' poor Muslim suburbs 2005: Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat is jailed for selling thousands of tons of chemicals that Saddam Hussein's Iraq used to build chemical weapons 2005: A German nurse, Niels Hoegel, kills 100 patients between 1999 and 2005 Dec 2005: Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is hired by Russia's Gazprom 2006: massive strikes and marches force the Villepin government to withdraw a labor law meant to fight unemployment 2006: anti-Islamic activist Ayaan Hirsi Ali is forced to resign from the parliament of the Netherlands and moves to the USA 2006: A political party with a paedophile agenda is founded in Holland 2006: Al Qaeda strikes an alliance with the Algerian terrorists of the Groupe Salafiste pour la Predication et le Combat (GSPC) and declares war against France 2006: the price of oil reaches an all-time record of $83 a barrel 2006: The Sudanese government funds its war in Darfur via the French bank BNP Paribas 2007: Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union, which is now the largest economy in the world 2007: Nicolas Sarkozy of a center-right party wins presidential elections in France against the Socialists, replacing Jacques Chirac after his 12 years in power 2007: crash of the stock markets worldwide, triggered by the crisis of USA sub-prime mortgage lenders 2007: Spain's per-capita income passes Italy's 2007: strikes and riots in Paris as Sarkozy begins his term as president 2007: There are 16 million Muslims in the European Union, out of a population of 495 million jan 2008: the USA stock market collapses, triggering similar collapses around the world jan 2008: a rogue trader, Jerome Kerviel, loses five billion euros of Societe Generale mar 2008: the price of gold hits $1,000 for the first time ever and oil passes $110 a barrel, while the dollar sets another all-time low against the euro (1.56) and the Eurozone overtakes the USA as the world's largest economy mar 2008: The Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, is inaugurated at CERN may 2008: protests spread around Europe following a 300% increase in diesel over a five-year period Apr 2008: Germany opposes expanding NATO to Ukraine and Georgia at the NATO summit in Bucharest, but they are promised membership at some unspecified time in the future june 2008: oil prices pass $140 a barrel july 2008: European inflation hits a 16 year High sep 2008: Crash of the stock markets worldwide, triggered by the collapse of USA banks oct 2008: Stock markets in the eurozone are 40-50% down from a year earlier Dec 2008: the price of oil plunges to $34 per barrel amid the world recession Dec 2008: The Frankfurt stock market loses 40% in 2008, the Paris stock market loses 42% Dec 2008: Most Western European countries enter a recession Dec 2008: Spain's unemployment skyrockets to 14.4%, the highest in the European Union 2008: More than 10,000 people die of heroin overdose in the NATO countries in just one year, a number higher than all casualties from all NATO wars since 2001 2008: Russia supplies 28% of Europe's natural gas 2008: Rwanda publishes a report accusing France of complicity in the 1994 genocide Mar 2009: A teenage gunman kills 16 people in Germany Mar 2009: Sarkozy restores France to NATO's integrated military command Mar 2009: Josef Fritzl, an Austrian man, admits imprisoning his daughter and fathering her seven children Apr 2009: Germany's exports decline 28% over the previous year Apr 2009: Albania and Croatia join NATO May 2009: Spain's unemployment rate hits 17.4% (36.2% among young people under 25) Aug 2009: France's and Germany's recession ends Dec 2009: Unemployment among people younger than 25 is 20.7% in the European Union, with a peak of 43% in Spain, and the average unemployment rate in the 16 countries of the eurozone reaches 10% (19.4% in Spain) 2009: 2009 is the first year in recorded history when no person is executed in the whole of Europe (the death penalty is still legal in Belarus and Russia) 2010: A decade-long study by the European Commission concludes that "The main conclusion to be drawn from the efforts of more than 130 research projects, covering a period of more than 25 years of research, and involving more than 500 independent research groups, is that biotechnology, and in particular GMOs, are not per se more risky than e.g. conventional plant breeding technologies." 2010: Mark Rutte of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) is elected prime minister of the Netherlands Apr 2010: Eurozone countries bail out Greece that is unable to pay off its debt Jul 2010: Catalonia, a region of Spain, bans bullfighting Jul 2010: Dominique Cottrez in France confesses to killing eight newborns Jul 2010: 21 people are killed in a stampede at the Love Parade dance festival in Duisburg, Germany Sep 2010: France bans the Muslim clothes for women that cover the face 2010: The European Union becomes mainland China's biggest export market, while the USA remains the European Union's biggest export market 2010: Germany posts GDP growth of 3.7%, the post-unification record 2010: The USA exports over $400 billion of goods to the European Union, and its firms own $1 trillion of direct investment in the European Union 2010: Germany's unit labor cost in the 2000s has declined by 3% while the unit labor cost in France, Greece, and Spain went up by over 20% and in Italy by over 40% Apr 2011: NATO bombs Libya to help the anti-Qaddafi rebels Apr 2011: A gunman goes on a rampage in a shopping mall in Amsterdam killing six people Apr 2011: France arrests women wearing the Islamic veil Apr 2011: Eurozone countries bail out Portugal that is unable to pay off its debt May 2011: The United Nations estimates that opiate use increased 35% worldwide from 1998 to 2008, cocaine by 27%, and cannabis by 8.5%. 2011: The USA has 413 billionaires, China has 115 billionaires, Russia 101, India 55, Germany 52, Britain 32, Brazil 30, and Japan 26 Aug 2011: World stock markets crash for fear of the national debt of Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Ireland Aug 2011: Anti-Qaddafi rebels helped by NATO reach Tripoli, end Qaddafi's dictatorship over Libya and install Mahmoud Jibril as head of the transitional government Sep 2011: Germany announces that it will abandon nuclear energy and switch to renewable energy sources Oct 2011: Protests against the financial world spread from the USA to Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Athens, Berlin, Rome and London Oct 2011: The world's population is 7 billion up from 1 billion in 1850 and less than 3 billion in 1950. Oct 2011: ETA in Spain gives up violence after having killed 800 people in 50 years Dec 2011: The conservative party of Mariano Rajoy wins elections in Spain while unemployment hits a euro-era high of 21.5% Dec 2011: Germany's unemployment falls to 5.5% while unemployment is rising in most of the eurozone Dec 2011: 26 countries of the European Union, led by Germany, agree on a treaty to enforce fiscal and financial discipline on countries that adopt the euro, leaving Britain out Dec 2011: Former French president Chirac is convicted of corruption Dec 2011: Nordine Amrani stages a gun and grenade attack in the Belgian city of Liege that kills five people Dec 2011: The unemployment rate in the eurozone hits a record high of 10.4% Mar 2012: Mohammed Merah, a French citizen trained by Al Qaeda, kills three soldiers and four Jews in France May 2012: Francois Hollande is elected president of France, while the far-right National Front wins almost 20% of the vote, its best result ever May 2012: NATO activates a missile defence system in Europe despite strong Russian opposition, and in response Russia launches a program of rearmament Jun 2012: Spanish unemployment reaches 24% Aug 2012: Lance Armstrong is stripped of his seven Tour de France titles because of doping Nov 2012: The eurozone enters a second recession in 3 years 2012: Public spending in France reaches 57% of GDP and the public debt passes 90% of GDP Jan 2013: France attacks the Islamists that rule northern Mali Mar 2013: France kills the leader of Mali's Islamists, Abdelhamid Abou Zeid Mar 2013: The rate of unemployment in the eurozone hit a record 12% Mar 2013: Spain's unemployment rate peaks at 27.2% and more than 50% for people under 25 Apr 2013: The unemployment rate in the eurozone reaches a new record high of 12.2% May 2013: Indian-born singer Loten Namling begins his "walk of freedom" from Bern to Geneva, dragging a coffin behind him, to protest China's occupation of Tibet Jul 2013: Croatia joins the European Union Jul 2013: Newspapers reveal that Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy and other top politicians of the Popular Party (PP) received illicit payments from construction magnates Jul 2013: A passenger train crash in northwestern Spain kills more than 80 people Nov 2013: Killings escalate in Central African Republic between (mainly Muslim) Seleka militia and (mainly Christian) "anti-Balaka" militia and France sends troops to restore order 2013: Germany's unemployment hits a 20-year low 2013: Greece's unemployment peaks at 27.9% Jan 2014: Latvia joins the eurozone May 2014: France's far-right National Front wins a nationwide election for the first time May 2014: A French Muslim, Mehdi Nemmouche, who fought in Syria's civil war kills four people at the Jewish Museum in Brussels Jun 2014: Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova (former Soviet republics) sign partnership agreements with the European Union Jul 2014: A Russian missile shot by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine shoots down a Malaysian airplane over Ukraine carrying 295 people, mostly Dutch citizens Sep 2014: The Alternative for Germany, founded in 2013 by Frauke Petry on an anti-euro platform, wins almost 10% of the votes in Saxony's parliamentary elections Oct 2014: For the first time a Western European is infected with ebola (in Spain) Nov 2014: The European robot probe Philae lands on a comet Dec 2014: France's unemployment hits 9.9% Dec 2014: The eurozone enters deflation Jan 2015: Lithuania joins the euro Jan 2015: Islamists of Al Qaeda kill 12 people at the Paris office of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, guilty of making fun of Islam's founder, and then 4 hostages in a Jewish supermarket, and a two-million people pro-democracy march takes place in Paris Jan 2015: Belgium arrests more than 100 Muslims belonging to ISIS who were preparing terrorist attacks Jan 2015: Alexis Tsipras, head of the leftist Syriza party opposed to austerity measures, wins elections and becomes Greece's new prime minister Mar 2015: German co-pilot Andreas Lubitz intentionally crashes his passenger plane over France killing 150 people Apr 2015: A Tunisian fishing vessel carrying illegal African emigrants to Europe capsizes off the coast of Libya, killing more than 1,000 people Jun 2015: France bans the low-cost car-sharing service UberPOP after a day of nationwide protests by taxi drivers Aug 2015: Oil prices fall below $40 a barrel for first time since 2009 Aug 2015: 2,500 immigrants from Africa drown in the Mediterranean Sea in the first half of the year and 71 migrants are found dead in a truck abandoned in Austria Sep 2015: The civil war in Syria causes an exodus of thousands of people towards Europe Oct 2015: At the peak of the migrant crisis, about 216,000 illegal immigrants enter the European Union Nov 2015: Islamists organized by Abdelhamid Abaaoud, kill more than 128 people in Paris at the Baraclan nightclub 2015: Molenbeek in Belgium has the highest concentration of foreign Islamic terrorist fighters in Europe 2015: More than one million refugees enter Europe by sea and land, about half from Syria and Iraq 2015: 890,000 asylum seekers (mostly Muslims) arrive in Germany in just one year Dec 2015: 195 countries sign the Paris climate deal Mar 2016: Belgium arrests Islamic terrorist Salah Abdeslam and Islamic terrorists kill 35 people at the Brussells airport and at a subway station May 2016: The German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung shares with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists the "Panama Papers", more than one million documents from the Mossack Fonseca law firm in Panama that expose a global web of money laundering and tax evasion involving high-level political figures, business leaders and celebrities Jun 2016: The majority of British people (mostly in England) vote in a referendum to leave the European Union and Cameron resigns, stock markets plunge worldwide losing more than 2 trillion dollars in value and the British pound falls to its lowest level in 30 years Jul 2016: A Tunisian kills 84 people in Nice driving a truck into a crowd Jul 2016: A teenager, David Ali Sonboly, kills 9 people in a Munich shopping center in Germany Oct 2016: Gerhard Schroeder, former German chancellor, is appointed chairman of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project Dec 2016: A Tunisian asylum-seeker, Anis Amri, drives a truck into a Christmas festival in Berlin killing 12 people, after Germany has welcomed more than one million refugees from Islamic countries 2016: Volkswagen passes Toyota to become the world's main car manufacturer by number of cars sold 2016: Germany's current account surplus is the world's largest at $300 billion Feb 2017: The unemployment rate in the eurozone is 9.5%, the lowest being in the Czech republic (3.4%) and Germany (3.9%), the highest being in Greece (23.1%) and Spain (18%) Mar 2017: Economic growth is higher in the eurozone than in the USA or Britain for the first time in years May 2017: The 39-years-old centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron is elected president in France's national elections, beating right-wing populist Marine LePen Jun 2017: 78% of deputies elected in French parliamentary elections are new Jun 2017: A forest fire in Portugal kills more than 60 people Jun 2017: Montenegro joins NATO Aug 2017: Islamic terrorists led by Abdelbaki Es Satty stage attacks in and around the Spanish city of Barcelona, killing 16 people Sep 2017: Gerhard Schroeder, former German chancellor, is appointed chairman of Russia's largest oil company, Rosneft Oct 2017: Spain refuses to recognize an independence referendum held in the province of Catalonia and the Catalonian parliament declares independence Dec 2017: Austria elects the 31-years-old conservative candidate Sebastian Kurz, the world's youngest leader, and his government includes the xenophobic Freedom Party Apr 2018: The USA, Britain and France bomb Syria in retaliation for Syria's use of chemical weapons May 2018: The EU enacts the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to protect the privacy of Internet users May 2018: Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy, engulfed in scandals, is forced to resign and is succeeded by the socialist Pedro Sanchez Jul 2018: Japan and the European Union sign a trade treaty which creates the world's largest bilateral free-trade area Sep 2018: Germany's unemployment rate falls to 5.1%, the lowest level since German reunification in 1990 Nov 2018: Riots erupt in French cities over new fuel taxes (the "Yellow Vests" protests) 2018: Greece's unemployment is 18.3% Jan 2019: A trade deal with Japan goes into effect, the world's biggest trade deal, covering nearly a third of global GDP Feb 2019: The USA is isolated at the annual Munich Security Conference where Germany's chancellor Merkel received a standing ovation Apr 2019: The fire of Notre Dame May 2019: Hospital nurse Niels Hoegen is convicted of a killing spree in German hospitals that may have killed as many as 300 patients over five years May 2019: French military forces free four foreign hostages held by Islamists in Burkina Faso May 2019: Austria's chancellor Christian Kern is forced to resign after a 2017 video shows his vice chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache offering contracts to a Russian oligarch in exchange for political donations Jul 2019: Right-wing xenophobic politician Kyriakos Mitsotakis wins elections and becomes prime minister of Greece, replacing the leftist Syriza government Jul 2019: Christian Kern, former chancellor of Austria, is appointed to the board of Russia's state railway company 2019: A crime wave hits Barcelona Sep 2019: Inspired by Greta Thunberg, worldwide protesters demand climate action Oct 2019: A massive demonstration is staged in Barcelona to protest the arrest of nine Catalan separatist leaders Jan 2020: A Chinese coronavirus spreads in Europe Feb 2020: Britain leaves the European Union Feb 2020: A xenophobic fascist kills nine people in two bars of Germany's Hanau town, mostly Muslims Mar 2020: The Covid-19 epidemic spreads in Europe from Italy and multiple countries ground residents at home, and suspend school lessons and all large events Mar 2020: North Macedonia joins NATO, leaving only Serbia out of NATO in the Balkans Apr 2020: More than 200,000 covid deaths have been reported worldwide, the vast majority in the Western nations as the USA passes 50,000 deaths and Italy, Spain, France and Britain all have more than 20,000 Jun 2020: French troops in northern Mali kill the leader of al Qaeda in the Maghreb, Algerian-born Abdelmalek Droukdel Sep 2020: Documents from the Financial Crimes Investigation Network (FinCEN) of the USA, leaked to Buzzfeed News and distributed to 108 news organisations in 88 countries, reveal that banks such as HSBC and Deutsche Bank helped criminals launder their money Oct 2020: French teacher Samuel Paty is beheaded by a Muslim teenager after showing cartoons making fun of Islam's founder Mohammed during a class about freedom of speech Nov 2020: French troops kill Bah ag Moussa/ Bamoussa Diarra, a military leader in Mali of al Qaeda's affiliate Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin Dec 2020: The European Union and China sign a trade deal 2020: Germany's GDP shrinks by 6%, France's by 9.8%, Italy's by 8.8%, Spain's by 12.8% Jul 2021: Catastrophic flooding kills dozens of people in Germany Sep 2021: France assassinates the leader of ISIS in the Greater Sahara, Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi Oct 2021: Alexander Schallenberg becomes chancellor of Austria after the resignation due to a corruption scandal of Sebastian Kurz Nov 2021: Riots erupt in the Netherlands, Austria and Germany to protest against covid-related restrictions Nov 2021: German inflation climbs to 5.2%, the highest in nearly 30 years Dec 2021: Olaf Scholz, the leader of the Social Democratic Party, replaces Angela Merkel after 16 years in office, the longest serving chancellor of Germany Dec 2021: Germany shuts down three of the remaining six nuclear power plants Dec 2021: Inflation in the eurozone hits 5%, the highest level since the birth of the euro, mainly because of an increase of 26% in energy prices 2021: Electricity production in Germany comes from renewables (41%), coal (28%), gas (15%) and nuclear (12%) 2021: Russia supplies 40% of the European Union's natural gas 2021: 47% of Germany’s GDP comes from the export of goods and services, including 5.6% of global arms exports (ahead of Britain), but Germany imports from Russia 55% of its gas, 34% of its oil and 57% of its coal Jan 2022: A German court sentences Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan, responsible for the torture of at least 4000 prisoners in the Al-Khatib prison of Damascus in 2011-12, including 58 deaths and many rapes, to life in prison 2022: NATO singles out China as its strategic challenge Feb 2022: Russia invades Ukraine and the European Union slaps sanctions on Russia Apr 2022: In the French presidential elections, both the Republican and Socialist parties (that used to vie for power) shrink below 5% Apr 2022: Macron is reelected president in France, but right-wing nationalist Marine LePen wins 41.5% of the vote May 2022: Inflation hits 7.9% in Germany, the highest since 1990 and 8.1% in the eurozone Jun 2022: Annual inflation hits 9.6% in the European Union Jul 2022: For the first time in 20 years the US dollar reaches parity with the euro Jul 2022: A heat wave causes wildfires in France and Spain Aug 2022: Europe records the hottest month on record Sep 2022: The eurozone's inflation hits 10% and Germany's inflation hits 10.9% mainly due to energy prices and food prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine Nov 2022: The European Union enacts the Digital Services Act to protect users of very large online platforms (those with over 45 million EU users) Dec 2022: Germany arrests 25 right-wing extremists of the Reichsbuerger movement who were plotting to storm the Reichstag parliament building Dec 2022: Inflation in the European Union is 10.4%, highest in Hungary (25%) and lowest in Spain (5.5%) 2022: Wind turbines and solar panels generate 22 percent of the European Union’s electricity 2022: Germany's population increases by more than one million, but mainly because of Ukrainian refugees Feb 2023: A train collision in Greece kills 57 people Mar 2023: Finland joins NATO, doubling the border of NATO with Russia Apr 2023: Germany shuts down its nuclear power plants Jun 2023: About 600 migrants (mainly from Muslim countries) die when their boat capsizes off the coast of Greece Jun 2023: Riots erupt in the Mons-en-Baroeul suburb of Lille after French police kill a French-Algerian teenager Jun 2023: Greece's conservative New Democracy party, led by Kyriakos Mitsotakis, wins elections in a landslide (40.5% of the vote versus 17% of leftist Syriza) Jul 2023: Record-setting heat waves hit simultaneously North America, southern Europe and China Nov 2023: Geert Wilders' neofascist Partij voor de Vrijheid/ Party for Freedom which asks for ban on the Quran and mosques and to leave the European Union, wins 23.7% of the votes in parliamentary elections in the Netherlands becoming the largest party Dec 2023: The European Union officially begins membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova and grants candidate status to Georgia 2023: France has 500,000 Jews, the largest in Europe, and about five million Muslims, is also among Europe's largest 2023: There are 1.6 million Ukrainian refugees in Poland, 1.3 in Russia, one million in Germany, 547 thousand in Czechia, more than 200 thousand in Britain, and more than 150 thousand each in Spain, Bulgaria and Italy 2023: Germany's population increases by 300,000 to 84.7 million people but mainly because of immigration 2023: Germany's nominal GPD passes Japan's to become the third largest in the world after the USA and China Feb 2024: Greece becomes the first Christian Orthodox country to legalizes same-sex marriage Mar 2024: France becomes the first country to embed abortion rights in the constitution Jun 2024: Dick Schoof is appointed prime minister of the Netherlands by a coalition of Geert Wilders’ PVV, Rutte's VVD and other right-wing parties Jul 2024: Greece passes a law that allows some companies to enforce a six-day workweek Jul 2024: French parliamentary elections are won by left-wing alliance New Popular Front (socialists, communists and ecologists) ahead of Macron's own Ensemble Alliance and with far-right National Rally of Marine LePen in third place and the Republicans in fourth place Sep 2024: Bjorn Hocke's neo-nazi party Alternative fuer Deutschland/ Alternative for Germany (AfD) wins regional elections in Germany's Thuringia state, the first far-right party to win state elections in Germany since 1945 Oct 2024: Flash flooding kills more than 200 people in Spain's Valencia region Nov 2024: More than 220 people in Spain near Valencia during floods Dec 2024: The European Union negotiates a trade deal with Mercosur (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) to establish one of the largest trade zones in the world |
Frankish LeadersMerovee (?) Pharamond (409 - 427) Clodian VI (426 - 448) Merovee (448 - 458) Childeric I (458 - 496) Merovingian KingsClovis I (456 - 511) Clotaire I (511 - 560) Chilperic I (561 - 584) Clotaire II (584 - 629) Dagobert I (630 - 638) Clovis II (633 - 656) Dagobert II (656) Childebert (656 - 661) Childeric II (662 - 675) Clovis III (675 - 676) Theuderich III (673 - 691) Clovis IV (691 - 695) Childebert III (695 - 711) Dagobert III (711 - 715) Chilperich II (715 - 721) Chlothar IV (717 - 720) Theuderich IV (721 - 737) Carolingian MayorsPepin I (628 - 639) Pepin II (687 - 714) Charles Martel (714 - 741) Carloman (741 - 747) Pepin III (741 - 751) Carolingian EmperorsPepin III (751 - 768) Charlemagne/ Karl der Groáe (768 - 814) Louis/Ludwig I (814 - 840) Lothar I (840 - 855) Louis/ Ludwig II (855 - 875) Charles/ Karl II (875 - 876) Louis/ Ludwig III (876 - 882) Charles/ Karl III (882 - 888) Western Carolingian EmperorsCharles III (888 - 922) Rudolf / Raoul (923 - 936) Louis IV (936 - 954) Lothair V (954 - 986) Louis V (986 - 987) Capetian Kings of FranceHugh Capet (987 - 996) Robert II the Pious (996 - 1031) Henri I (1031 - 1060) Philippe I (1060 - 1108) Louis VI (1108 - 1137) Louis VII (1137 - 1180) Philippe II (1180 - 1223) Louis VIII (1223 - 1226) Louis IX (1226 - 1270) Philippe III (1270 - 1285) Philippe IV (1285 - 1314) Louis X (1314 - 1316) John I (1316) Philippe V (1316 - 1322) Charles IV (1322 - 1328) Valois Kings of FrancePhilippe VI (1328 - 1350) Jean II (1350 - 1364) Charles V (1364 - 1380) Charles VI (1380 - 1422) Charles VII (1422 - 1461) Louis XI (1461 - 1483) Charles VIII (1483 - 1498) Louis XII (1498 - 1515) Francis I (1515 - 1547) Henri II (1547 - 1559) Francis II (1559 - 1560) Charles IX (1560 - 1574) Henri III (1574 - 1589) Bourbon Kings of FranceHenri IV (1589 - 1610) Louis XIII (1610 - 1643) Dauphine (1643 - 1661) Louis XIV (1661 - 1715) Louis XV (1715 - 1774) Louis XVI (1774 - 1792) Robespierre (1792 - 1794) Napoleon I (1803 - 1814) Louis XVIII (1814 - 1824) Charles X (1824 - 1830) Louis Philippe (1830 - 1848) Modern France2nd Republic (1848 - 1852) Napoleon III (1852 - 1871) 3rd Republic (1871 - 1940) Vichy Republic (1940 - 1944) Charles DeGaulle (1944 - 1969) except 1953-58 Georges Pompidou (1969 - 1974) Giscard d'Estaing (1974 - 1981) Francois Mitterrand (1981 - 1995) Jacques Chirac (1995-2007) Nicolas Sarkozy (2007-2012) Francois Hollande (2012-2017) Emmanuel Macron (2017-) Eastern EmperorsBerengar (888 - 891) Wido (891 - 894) Lambert (894 - 896) Arnulf (896 - 899) Louis III (899 - 905) Berengar I (905 - 922) Rudolf II (922 - 933) Hugh (933 - 947) Lothair II (947 - 950) Berengar II (950 - 961) German KingsArnulf von Karnten (887-899) Ludwig das Kind (900-911) Konrad I (911-918) OttonenHeinrich I (919-936) Otto I (936-973) Otto II (973-983) Otto III (983-1002) Heinrich II (1002-1024) SalierKonrad II (1024-1039) Heinrich III (1039-1056) Heinrich IV (1056-1106) Heinrich V (1106-1125) Lothar III (1125-1137) HohenstaufenKonrad III (1138-1152) Friedrich I, Barbarossa (1152-1190) Heinrich VI (1190-1197) Otto IV von Braunschweig (1198-1218) Philip von Schwaben (1198-1208) Friedrich II (1212-1250) Konrad IV (1250-1254) InterregnumWilhelm von Holland (1247-1256) Alfons X von Kastilien (1257-1274) Richard von Cornwall (1257-1272) HabsburgerRudolf I von Habsburg (1273-1291) Adolf von Nassau (1292-1298) Albrecht I von Habsburg (1298-1308) Heinrich VII von Luxemburg (1308-1313) Ludwig IV (1314-1347) Friedrich (1314-1330) Karl IV von Luxemburg (1346-1378) Wenzel von Luxemburg (1378-1400) Ruprecht (1400-1410) Jobst von Mahren (1410-1411) Sigismund von Luxemburg (1410-1437) Albrecht II (1438-1439) Friedrich III (1440-1493) Maximilian I (1493-1519) Karl V (1519-1556) Ferdinand I (1556-1564) Maximilian II (1564-1576) Rudolf II (1576-1612) Matthias (1612-1619) Ferdinand II (1619-1637) Ferdinand III (1637-1657) Leopold I (1658-1705) Joseph I (1705-1711) Karl VI (1711-1740) Maria Theresa (1740-1780) Karl VII Albrecht (1742-1745) Franz I Stephan (1745-1765) Joseph II (1765-1790) Leopold II (1790-1792) Franz II (1792-1806) Napoleon I (1806) HohenzollernWilhelm I (1871-1888) Friedrich III (1888) Wilhelm II (1888-1918) Modern GermanyOtto von Bismarck (1871-1890) Georg Leo Graf von Caprivi (1890-1894) Chlodwig Fuerst (1894-1900) Bernhard Fuerst (1900-1909) Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg (1909-1917) Friedrich Ebert (1919-1925) Paul von Hindenburg (1925-1934) Adolf Hitler (1934-1945) Konrad Adenauer (1949-63) Ludwig Erhard (1963-66) Kurt Kiesinger (1966-69) Willy Brandt (1969-74) Helmut Schmidt (1974-82) Helmut Kohl (1984-98) Gerhard Schroeder (1998-2005) Angela Merkel (2005-21) Olaf Scholz (2021-) Kings of CastillaFernando I el Grande (1029-1065) Sancho II el fuerte (1065-1072) Alfonso VI el valiente (1072-1109) Urraca Alfonsez (1109-1126) Alfonso VII (1126-1157) Sancho III Alfonsez el deseado (1157-1158) Fernando II (Leon, 1157-1188) Alfonso VIII Sanchez el noble (1158-1214) Alfonso IX (Leon, 1188-1230) Enrique I Alfonsez (1214-1217) Berenguela Alfonsez la grande (1217) Fernando III Alfonsez (1217-1252) Alfonso X el sabio (1252-1284) Sancho IV Alfonsez el bravo (1284-1295) Fernando IV Sanchez el emplazado (1295-1312) Alfonso XI Fernandez el justiciero (1312-1350) Pedro I Alfonsez el cruel (1350-1369) Enrique II (1369-1379) Juan I (1379-1390) Enrique III el doliente (1390-1406) Juan II (1406-1454) Enrique IV el impotente (1454-1474) Isabel I la catolica (1474-1504) Kings of AragoniaRamiro I (1035-1063) Sancho Ramirez (1063-1094) Pedro I (1094-1134) Alfonso I (1104-1134) Ramiro II el Monje (1134-1137) Ramon Berenguer IV (1137-1162) Alfonso II Ramon el Casto (1162-1196) Pedro II el Catolico (1196-1213) Jaime I el Conquistador (1213-1276) Pedro III el Grande (1276-1285) Alfonso III el Liberal (1285-1291) Jaime II el Justo (1291-1327) Alfonso IV el Benigno (1327-1336) Pedro IV el Ceremonioso (1336-1387) Juan I (1387-1395) Martin el Humano (1395-1410) Interregno (1410-1412) Fernando I de Antequera (1412-1416) Alfonso V el Magnanimo (1416-1458) Juan II (1458-1479) Fernando II el Cat¢lico (1479-1516) Kings of Pamplona y NavarraInigo Arista (820-851) Garcia I Iniguez (852-870) Fortun Garces el Tuerto (870-905) Sancho Garces I el Grande (905-925) Garcia Sanchez I (925-970) Sancho Garces II Abarca (970-994) Garcia Sanchez II (994-1005) Sancho III el Mayor (1005-1035) Garcia IV Ramirez (1134-1150) Sancho VI el Sabio (1150-1194) Sancho VII el Fuerte (1194-1234) Teobaldo II el Trovador (1234-1253) Teobaldo III el Joven (1253-1270) Enrique I el Gordo (1270-1274) Juana I (1274-1305) Luis de Hutin (1305-1316) Felipe el Largo (1316-1322) Carlos I (1322-1328) Juana II (1328-1349) Carlos II el Malo (1349-1387) Carlos III el Noble (1387-1425) Blanca (1425-1441) Juan II (1441-1464) Leonor (1464-1479) Francisco de Foix (1479-1483) Catalina (1483-1512) Kings of SpainCarlos I (1516-1556) Felipe II (1556-1598) Felipe III (1598-1621) Felipe IV (1621-1665) Carlos II (1665-1700) Felipe V (1701-1724) Luis I (1724) Felipe V (1724-1746) Ferdinand VI (1746-1759) Carlos III (1759-1788) Carlos IV (1788-1808) Ferdinand VII (1808) Jose` (1808-1813) Ferdinand VII (1813-1833) Isabella II (1833-1868) Amadeo (1870-1873) Alfonso XII (1874-1885) Alfonso XIII (1886-1931) Modern SpainFrancisco Franco (1939-1975) Adolfo Suarez (1975-1981) Felipe Gonzalez (1983-1995) Jose Maria Aznar (1996-2004) Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (2004-11) Mariano Rajoy (2011) Pedro Sanchez (2018) |
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