Politics
States, wars and governance.
Category: Society
- c. 1650 BCEHattusili I makes Hattusa the Hittite capital
Around 1650 BCE the Hittite king Labarna, taking the name Hattusili I, makes Hattusa his capital and campaigns in northern Syria. The article credits the kingdom's founding to either Labarna I or Hattusili I.
- c. 1360 BCEThe Amarna letters
About 350 letters, mostly in Akkadian, record Egypt's mid-1300s BCE dealings with Babylonia, Assyria, Mitanni, the Hittites, Cyprus and Syrian and Canaanite vassals. Local diggers found them at Amarna around 1887. They contain the first mention of the Habiru.
- c. 1350 BCESuppiluliuma I makes Hatti a great power
Suppiluliuma I, whose reign is dated c. 1350-1322 BCE with variations, overruns Mitanni's heartland, takes Aleppo and other Syrian kingdoms, and installs Piyassili at Carchemish. Mitanni stays a Hittite dependency until Assyria annexes it under Shalmaneser I.
- c. 1350 BCEUgarit becomes a Hittite vassal
Under Niqmaddu II (c. 1350-1315 BCE) Ugarit, a coastal kingdom in northern Syria, becomes a vassal of the Hittite Empire and answers to its viceroy at Carchemish. Its archives show a busy trading city whose navy later helps Hatti on Cyprus.
- c. 1334 BCEAn Egyptian queen asks Hatti for a prince
The widow of an Egyptian king called Nipḫururia, probably Tutankhamun or Akhenaten, asks Suppiluliuma I for a son to marry. His son Zannanza is killed on the road. Later Hittite prayers link a plague among Egyptian captives to the affair.
- 1258 BCEEgypt and Hatti sign a peace treaty
In Ramesses II's 21st year (c. 1258 BCE), about fifteen years after Kadesh, Egypt and Hattusili III's Hatti agree a treaty, one of the oldest to survive nearly complete. It was inscribed on a silver tablet; a clay copy found at Hattusa is now in Istanbul.
- c. 1243 BCETukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria takes Babylon
Tukulti-Ninurta I (reigned 1243-1207 BCE, or 1233-1197 on the low chronology) wins a major victory over the Hittites at Nihriya and captures Babylon, carrying off the Kassite king Kashtiliash IV and the statue of Marduk. His sons later besiege and kill him at Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta.
- c. 1191 BCETausret rules; the 19th Dynasty ends
Tausret rules c. 1191-1188 BCE, first beside Siptah, whose court executed the West Asian chancellor Bay, then alone. Her reign ends in civil war, most likely with Setnakhte, who founds the 20th Dynasty and takes over her tomb.
- c. 1185 BCEElam sacks Babylon; Kassite rule collapses
During the reign of Shutruk-Nahhunte of Elam (c. 1185-1155 BCE) the Elamites sack Babylon. The Kassite rule of Babylonia, which had lasted some four centuries, collapses in the early twelfth century.
- c. 1155 BCEA conspiracy against Ramesses III
A plot by the queen Tiye to put her son Pentawere on the throne is set for a festival around 1155 BCE. The Turin Judicial Papyrus records the trials, with 38 death sentences. Ramesses III dies in 1154; a 2012 study found a deep throat cut on his mummy.
- c. 1145 BCEEgypt's hold on Canaan fades
Egypt's territorial and economic strength recedes under the later Ramessides, notably Ramesses VI (1145-1137 BCE). The Egyptian gate complex at Jaffa is destroyed between 1134 and 1115 by radiocarbon. The withdrawal from the Levant is tied to internal turmoil, not one event.
- c. 1077 BCEThe New Kingdom ends
Ramesses XI dies in 1077 BCE (1069 in some chronologies), ending the New Kingdom. Smendes I rules mainly Lower Egypt from Tanis while the High Priests of Amun govern Middle and Upper Egypt in all but name. The Third Intermediate Period begins.
- c. 657 BCECypselus becomes tyrant of Corinth
Around 657 BCE Cypselus, the army's polemarch, expels the ruling Bacchiad clan and rules Corinth as tyrant for thirty years. His son Periander succeeds him in 627.
- c. 621 BCEDraco's laws at Athens (traditional)
Athens's first written laws are attributed to Draco in 621/620 BCE. They distinguish murder from involuntary homicide but punish most crimes harshly, hence "draconian". Solon later repeals all but the homicide law. Some scholars doubt Draco was real.
- 594 BCESolon's reforms at Athens
Archon in 594 BCE, Solon repeals Draco's laws except the homicide law. Tradition says he cancelled debts, freed enslaved Athenians and divided citizens into four classes by wealth. Modern historians stress that the sources are late and debate the details.
- 561 BCEPisistratus seizes power in Athens
After a staged injury wins him a bodyguard, Pisistratus takes the Acropolis in 561 BCE and becomes tyrant of Athens. Rival factions drive him out twice over the following years.
- 546 BCEPisistratus wins Athens for good
In 546 BCE Pisistratus returns from exile with Eretrian cavalry and mercenaries, lands at Marathon and defeats the Athenians at Pallene. He rules until his death in 528 or 527, and his sons Hippias and Hipparchus follow.
- 510 BCEHippias is expelled from Athens
In 510 BCE Spartan hoplites help the Athenians overthrow the tyrant Hippias. The Spartan king Cleomenes I then backs Isagoras in the struggle for power that follows.
- 508 BCECleisthenes's reforms: the birth of Athenian democracy
In 508 BCE, after Isagoras fails, Cleisthenes replaces the four kinship tribes with ten tribes based on residence, expands the council to 500 and introduces sortition. He is called the father of Athenian democracy, though he called it isonomia.
- c. 461 BCEEphialtes curbs the Areopagus
Around 461 BCE Ephialtes strips the aristocratic Areopagus of most of its powers, and Cimon is ostracised. Ephialtes is killed the same year. Pericles emerges as the leading figure of the democracy.
- 451 BCEPericles's citizenship law
In 451 BCE Pericles passes a law limiting Athenian citizenship to those with an Athenian father and an Athenian mother. Around this time he also supports pay for jurors in the Heliaia.
- c. 430 BCEPericles's Funeral Oration
In winter 431-430 BCE Pericles delivers the funeral oration for the first Athenian war dead, praising Athens's democracy. We know it only through Thucydides, and scholars debate how far the words are his own.
- June 411 BCEThe oligarchic coup of 411 at Athens
In June 411 BCE an oligarchy of the Four Hundred overthrows Athenian democracy, after the Sicilian disaster and with Alcibiades promising Persian money. The fleet at Samos refuses to obey it. The Four Hundred give way within months to the Five Thousand.
- 405 BCEDionysius I becomes tyrant of Syracuse
Chosen top general in 406 BCE, Dionysius takes full control of Syracuse in 405 and rules until 367. He fights Carthage in 397-392, without driving it out of Sicily, and keeps writers and artists at his court.
- 404 BCEThe Thirty Tyrants rule Athens
Installed by Sparta after the surrender, the Thirty rule Athens for about eight months in 404-403 BCE. Led by Critias, they execute some 1,500 people without trial by Aristotle's and Isocrates's count, and force Theramenes to drink hemlock.
- 403 BCEAthenian democracy is restored
In 403 BCE Thrasybulus leads exiles against the Thirty, and Critias dies in the fighting. The Spartan king Pausanias brokers the Amnesty of 403, which restores democracy and pardons most citizens.
- c. 138 BCEZhang Qian travels west for the Han
Emperor Wu sends Zhang Qian west c. 138 BCE to find the Yuezhi, enemies of the Xiongnu. Held by the Xiongnu about thirteen years, he reaches Dayuan (Ferghana) and Bactria and returns c. 125 BCE with one companion, reporting too on Parthia and India from hearsay.
- c. 119 BCEZhang Qian's mission to the Wusun
Zhang Qian leads a second embassy, to the Wusun, c. 119-115 BCE, and is made grand messenger on his return. A trade mission to the Wusun in 119 BCE is said to open trade between China and Persia, and Parthian missions follow around 100 BCE. He dies c. 114 or 113.
- 104 BCEAristobulus I takes the title of king
In 104 or 103 BCE Aristobulus I becomes the first Hasmonean to take the title basileus (king), joining it to the high priesthood. His father Hyrcanus had separated civil rule from the priesthood in his will; Aristobulus imprisoned his mother.
- March 15, 44 BCEAssassination of Julius Caesar
On the Ides of March a conspiracy of about 60, led by Brutus and Cassius, stabs Caesar, dictator in perpetuity, in the Curia of Pompey. The Republic is not restored: civil war follows.
- c. 31 BCEHerod switches sides to Octavian
Herod had backed Antony. After Actium in 31 BCE he meets Octavian at Rhodes (31 or 30, by source) and is confirmed as king by Octavian, soon Augustus.
- 6Judea becomes a Roman province
In 6 CE Augustus deposes Herod Archelaus, ethnarch of Judea, Samaria and Idumea, and turns Judea into a Roman province under a prefect, the first being Coponius. The capital moves from Jerusalem to Caesarea. Syria's legate Quirinius takes a census for taxes.
- 6Judas of Galilee resists the census
In 6 CE Judas of Galilee urges Jews not to register for Quirinius's census. Josephus calls his movement the "fourth philosophy" beside Pharisees, Sadducees and Essenes and blames it for the later war with Rome. Whether it founded the Zealots is disputed.
- September 17, 14Tiberius becomes emperor
Augustus dies on 19 August 14 CE. On 17 September the Senate confirms Tiberius as princeps. He rules until 16 March 37, a span that covers the ministry and death of Jesus and Pilate's time in Judea. In 26 he leaves Rome for Capri.
- 26Pontius Pilate becomes prefect of Judea
Pontius Pilate governs Judea from 26 CE to 36 or 37, under Tiberius, keeping Caiaphas as high priest throughout. Josephus reports clashes over imperial standards in Jerusalem and an aqueduct paid from the Temple treasury. A 1961 inscription at Caesarea names him.
- c. 36Pilate is recalled
After the Samaritans complain to Vitellius, governor of Syria, Pilate is recalled to Rome in 36 or 37. Tiberius dies on 16 March 37 before he arrives. Caiaphas is removed from the high priesthood after Pilate's fall.
- 40Caligula orders a statue in the Temple
In 40 CE, after Jews tear down an altar to the imperial cult at Jamnia, Caligula orders a statue of himself placed in the Jerusalem Temple. Philo leads delegations to the emperor and Agrippa opposes the plan. Caligula is assassinated in early 41.
- 41Agrippa I rules Judea
Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great and friend of Claudius, helps Claudius to the throne and in 41 CE receives Judea, Samaria and Idumea, a realm about as large as Herod's. He dies at Caesarea in 44, and Judea returns to direct Roman rule under procurators.
- July 1, 69Vespasian is proclaimed emperor
On 1 July 69 CE Vespasian is acclaimed emperor at Alexandria, in the Year of the Four Emperors that followed Nero's suicide. He leaves for Rome and his son Titus finishes the war in Judea. Vespasian founds the Flavian dynasty.
- 71The Flavian triumph
In 71 CE Vespasian and Titus celebrate a triumph in Rome for the Jewish war, carrying spoils from the Temple, the menorah among them. Coins proclaim Judaea Capta, "Judea conquered".
- 166An embassy from "Andun" reaches Han China
In 166 CE the Hou Hanshu records an envoy of Andun, king of Daqin, landing at Rinan with ivory, rhinoceros horn and tortoise shell. Andun may be Marcus Aurelius or Antoninus Pius. Several historians think the party were merchants, not diplomats.
- August 10, 843Treaty of Verdun divides the Carolingian Empire
Grandsons of Charlemagne split his empire into three; Charles the Bald received West Francia, the territory that would become the Kingdom of France.
- 987Hugh Capet becomes king of the Franks, founding the Capetian dynasty
After the death of the last Carolingian king, Louis V, the great lords backed Hugh Capet, Duke of the Franks, in 987. His line ruled France, in direct or cadet branches, until 1848.
- 1031The Caliphate of Córdoba collapses into the taifa kingdoms
The last Umayyad caliph, Hisham III, is deposed in 1031 and the Caliphate of Córdoba splits into small taifa states. Their rivalry lets the Christian kingdoms of the north demand tribute and, later, take territory.
- July 27, 1214Philip II defeats the emperor and his allies at Bouvines
Philip II Augustus routed a larger coalition led by Emperor Otto IV in Flanders. The victory sealed the loss of Anjou and Normandy by the English crown and strengthened royal authority in France.
- 1251Möngke becomes Great Khan and Kublai takes charge of northern China
After his brother Möngke is elected Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, Kublai is given authority over the Mongols' Chinese territories. His Chinese advisers and administration there become the base of his later power.
- February 1258The Mongols take Baghdad
Hulegu's army besieges Baghdad from late January 1258, and Caliph al-Musta'sim surrenders on 10 February. The caliph is executed, ending Abbasid rule in Baghdad. Casualty claims of up to two million are exaggerated; whether the House of Wisdom was destroyed is not confirmed.
- May 5, 1260Kublai Khan is proclaimed Great Khan at Kaiping, splitting the Mongol Empire
After Möngke's death in 1259, Kublai is proclaimed Great Khan at Kaiping (later Shangdu) in 1260, as his brother Ariq Böke is at Karakorum. The rival claims start a civil war and the empire never again has one ruler.
- 1264Ariq Böke surrenders to Kublai Khan, ending the Toluid Civil War
Blockaded and starving, Ariq Böke submits to his brother Kublai at Shangdu in 1264. Kublai becomes the undisputed Great Khan in the east, while the western khanates go their own way.
- c. 1266 – c. 1293Kublai Khan begins building Dadu (Khanbaliq), the future Beijing, as the Yuan capital
Kublai orders a new capital, Dadu, built beside the old Jin capital Zhongdu. Sources date the start to 1264, 1266 or 1267; the city becomes the Yuan capital in the 1270s and is finished around 1293.
- 1271Kublai Khan proclaims the Yuan dynasty in China
Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, adopts the Chinese dynastic name Yuan for his Mongol empire in China and rules from Dadu (Beijing). The Polos later served at his court.
- February 18, 1294Death of Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire and Yuan China
Kublai Khan dies at Dadu (Beijing) on 18 February 1294 after ruling China for over two decades, weakening the unity of the Mongol Empire.
- 1302Philip IV convenes the first assembly of the Estates General
In his conflict with Pope Boniface VIII, Philip IV of France summoned representatives of the clergy, nobility and towns to Paris to back him, creating the model for the Estates General.
- September 1303French agents seize Pope Boniface VIII at Anagni
Agents of Philip IV of France and the Colonna family attacked Boniface VIII at Anagni and held him for days. The pope died soon after, marking the shift of power from papacy to the French crown.
- 1309Clement V moves the papal court to Avignon
The French pope Clement V settled the papacy at Avignon, beginning a period (1309-1376) in which the popes were widely seen as under French royal influence.
- May 24, 1337 – October 19, 1453The Hundred Years' War between France and England
Philip VI moved to seize English-held Gascony and Edward III responded by claiming the French throne. The war ended in 1453 with England losing all its continental lands except Calais.
- November 1344Pope Clement VI grants the Canary Islands to Luis de la Cerda as 'Prince of Fortune'
In November 1344 Clement VI gives the islands, still unconquered, to the Castilian noble Luis de la Cerda with the title Prince of Fortune. A January 1345 bull makes the conquest a crusade, but Luis dies in 1348 without leading one.
- September 20, 1378The Western Schism begins with two rival popes
After the cardinals elect Urban VI in April 1378, dissident cardinals meeting at Fondi elect Clement VII on 20 September. Two popes, in Rome and Avignon, claim the Church's obedience until 1417.
- 1387Bishop Adhémar Fabri grants Geneva its franchises
In 1387 Adhémar Fabri, Bishop of Geneva, grants the town its great charter of franchises. It becomes the basis of Geneva's communal self-government, which later underpins the city's claim to be a republic.
- 1402Zhu Di takes Nanjing and becomes the Yongle Emperor
After the Jingnan Campaign (1399-1402) against his nephew, the Jianwen Emperor, Zhu Di captures the capital Nanjing in 1402 and takes the throne as the Yongle Emperor. His supporter Zheng He is made an admiral.
- 1403Clavijo's embassy from Castile to Timur
Henry III of Castile sends Ruy González de Clavijo to Timur. The party sails from Cádiz on 22 May 1403, crosses Constantinople and Trebizond, and reaches Samarkand on 4 September 1404. Back in Castile on 24 March 1406, Clavijo writes the Embajada a Tamorlán.
- September 4, 1403The Yongle Emperor orders 200 ocean-going ships built
On 4 September 1403 the Yongle Emperor orders 200 seagoing transport ships, the start of the Ming treasure fleet. The fleet is built at Nanjing's Longjiang shipyard and others on the Yangtze.
- 1424The Hongxi Emperor halts the Ming treasure voyages
When Zhu Gaozhi becomes the Hongxi Emperor in 1424, he ends the treasure voyages after the Yongle Emperor's death, citing costs. Some sources say 1426. Zheng He is posted to Nanjing.
- 1434Cosimo de' Medici returns from exile and takes control of Florence
Imprisoned in September 1433 and then exiled, the banker Cosimo de' Medici returns to Florence in 1434. He begins the family's long dominance of the city, which lasts until 1494.
- 1438Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges asserts royal control of the French church
Charles VII issued an ordinance limiting papal authority in France and giving the crown and French clergy control of church appointments and revenues.
- May 29, 1453Fall of Constantinople
The Ottomans take the Byzantine capital, ending the Eastern Roman Empire.
- May 1454Diet of Regensburg debates a crusade against the Ottomans
Emperor Frederick III's imperial diet at Regensburg takes up a crusade after the fall of Constantinople but only agrees to the war in principle. Frankfurt (Oct 1454) and Wiener Neustadt (1455) follow.
- 1459 – 1460Pius II calls the Congress of Mantua to organise a crusade
Pope Pius II gathers European princes at Mantua to answer the Ottoman advance; the crusade he proclaims in January 1460 for three years stays largely on paper.
- August 1, 1464Death of Cosimo de' Medici, 'Father of the Fatherland'
Cosimo de' Medici dies at the family villa of Careggi on 1 August 1464. The Florentine Signoria awards him the title Pater Patriae, 'Father of the Fatherland', which is carved on his tomb.
- October 19, 1469Isabella of Castile marries Ferdinand of Aragon
Isabella, heir to Castile, marries Ferdinand, heir to Aragon, in Valladolid on 19 October 1469 without her half-brother Henry IV's consent. Their union leads to the joint rule of the Catholic Monarchs.
- December 1469Lorenzo de' Medici, aged 20, takes the lead in Florence
After the death of his father Piero in December 1469, the 20-year-old Lorenzo de' Medici, later called 'the Magnificent', assumes the family's leading role in Florence. He rules until his death in 1492.
- 1472Ivan III of Moscow marries Sophia Palaiologina, niece of the last Byzantine emperor
Raised in Rome under Cardinal Bessarion, Sophia marries the grand prince of Moscow (proxy ceremony in Rome in June, wedding in Moscow in November). The match fed Moscow's later claim to be the 'Third Rome'.
- April 26, 1478The Pazzi conspiracy strikes the Medici in Florence Cathedral
On 26 April 1478, conspirators backed by Pope Sixtus IV kill Giuliano de' Medici at High Mass; Lorenzo survives. Sixtus excommunicates Lorenzo (1 June) and puts Florence under interdict (20 June).
- September 4, 1479Treaty of Alcáçovas divides Atlantic claims between Castile and Portugal
The treaty of 4 September 1479 ends the Castilian succession war. Castile keeps the Canary Islands, while Portugal gets the Guinea coast and the Atlantic south of the Canaries. It was ratified in 1480.
- June 21, 1481Pope Sixtus IV confirms the Alcáçovas division in the bull Aeterni regis
Sixtus IV issues Aeterni regis on 21 June 1481, confirming the Treaty of Alcáçovas, including Portugal's rights to African lands. John II of Portugal later cites it against Columbus's claims.
- c. 1482Leonardo moves to Milan
Leonardo leaves Florence for Milan and finds work at the court of the Sforza family. Most sources say 1482; the National Gallery gives about 1482-3.
- c. 1486 – c. 1490Hernando de Talavera's commission examines Columbus's proposal in Castile
From about 1486 a commission headed by Hernando de Talavera, confessor to Queen Isabella, considers Columbus's plan. It meets only now and then and advises against it in 1490 (some sources say 1491); the monarchs overrule it in 1492.
- January 1492Boabdil surrenders Granada to Ferdinand and Isabella
Muhammad XII (Boabdil) hands Granada and the Alhambra to the Catholic Monarchs in January 1492, ending Muslim rule in Iberia after almost 800 years. Most sources give 2 January, one gives 1 January.
- March 31, 1492Alhambra Decree expels the Jews from Castile and Aragon
Ferdinand and Isabella order all Jews who will not convert to Christianity to leave Castile and Aragon, in a decree dated 31 March 1492, less than three months after the fall of Granada.
- April 8, 1492Death of Lorenzo de' Medici, 'the Magnificent'
Lorenzo de' Medici dies at the family villa of Careggi on 8 April 1492. He had patronised Botticelli and the humanists Ficino, Landino and Poliziano; his son Piero succeeds him, and the Medici are expelled in 1494.
- April 17, 1492Ferdinand and Isabella sign the Santa Fe Capitulations with Columbus
On 17 April 1492, outside conquered Granada, the Catholic Monarchs make Columbus Admiral, Viceroy and Governor of any lands he finds, with a tenth of the profits. A copy in the Archive of the Crown of Aragon survives.
- August 3, 1492 – March 1493Columbus's first voyage across the Atlantic and back
Sailing for Castile with three ships, Columbus crosses the Atlantic, reaches the Bahamas on 12 October 1492 and returns in March 1493, beginning sustained contact between Europe and the Americas.
- August 11, 1492Rodrigo Borgia is elected Pope Alexander VI
Rodrigo Borgia is elected pope on 11 August 1492 after a costly conclave, amid rumours of vote-buying that were never proven. His son Cesare Borgia later employed Leonardo da Vinci as a military engineer.
- March 1493Columbus returns to Europe and Portugal disputes Castile's claim
Storm-driven, Columbus's Niña reaches Lisbon on 4 March 1493 before going to Palos. John II of Portugal says the discoveries fall under earlier treaties, which leads to the papal bulls and the Treaty of Tordesillas.
- May 4, 1493Pope Alexander VI issues Inter caetera granting Castile lands in the west
On 4 May 1493 Pope Alexander VI grants the Catholic Monarchs the lands discovered or to be discovered west and south of a line near the Azores and Cape Verde. It is revised by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494.
- June 7, 1494Treaty of Tordesillas divides the world between Spain and Portugal
Spain and Portugal agree on 7 June 1494 on a line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Lands to the west are Spain's to explore and claim; those to the east are Portugal's. It replaces a papal line set the year before.
- November 1494After the Medici are expelled, Savonarola dominates Florence
Following Charles VIII's invasion of Italy, the Florentines expel the Medici. The Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola urges them to form a republic and gains great influence over it from November 1494.
- May 23, 1498Savonarola is hanged and burned in Florence
Excommunicated by Alexander VI in May 1497 and arrested after a failed trial by fire in April 1498, Girolamo Savonarola and two fellow friars are hanged and burned in Florence's main square on 23 May 1498.
- 1499French army drives Ludovico Sforza from Milan
A French army removes Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan and Leonardo's patron, from power.
- August 23, 1500Francisco de Bobadilla arrests Columbus at Santo Domingo
A royal investigator, Bobadilla, arrives at Santo Domingo on 23 August 1500, takes over the government of Hispaniola and sends Columbus and his brothers to Spain in chains after colonists' complaints. Historians dispute his fairness.
- 1502Moctezuma II succeeds his uncle Ahuitzotl as ruler of the Aztec Empire
In 1502 Moctezuma II becomes tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, ruling the empire until 1520, when the Spanish arrive and he dies in circumstances sources dispute.
- August 1502Leonardo becomes military engineer to Cesare Borgia
Leonardo is appointed military architect and engineer to Cesare Borgia, commander of the papal army, and inspects fortifications across central Italy.
- c. 1503Florence commissions The Battle of Anghiari
The Florentine Republic commissions Leonardo to paint a mural in the Palazzo Vecchio. He leaves it unfinished in 1505. Sources date the commission to October 1503 or to 1504.
- November 1, 1503Giuliano della Rovere is elected Pope Julius II
Giuliano della Rovere is elected pope on 1 November 1503. He will lay the foundation of a new St. Peter's in 1506, commission Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling in 1508 and convene the Fifth Lateran Council in 1512.
- December 1512The Laws of Burgos regulate the treatment of Indigenous people in the Spanish colonies
In response to Montesinos's sermon, Ferdinand II issues the Laws of Burgos in December 1512, the first Spanish code for the Americas. They limit labour and require conversion but do not end encomienda or slave raids.
- c. 1516Las Casas presents the Memorial de Remedios and is named Protector of the Indians
In 1516, in Spain, Las Casas submits a reform plan and is made 'Protector of the Indians' in a Hieronymite commission. His plan proposed importing enslaved Africans; he later called that proposal a grave error.
- 1516Leonardo enters the service of Francis I of France
Leonardo moves to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who gives him use of the Manoir du Cloux (now Clos Lucé) near Amboise. He never returns to Italy.
- August 18, 1516Concordat of Bologna between Francis I and Pope Leo X
The agreement let the king of France nominate bishops and abbots, with the pope confirming them. It gave the crown lasting control over the French church, which stayed Catholic through the Reformation.
- October 31, 1517Luther's Ninety-five Theses
Martin Luther's challenge to indulgences sparks the Protestant Reformation.
- August 18, 1518Charles V licenses the direct shipment of 4,000 enslaved Africans to the Americas
On 18 August 1518 Charles V grants Lorenzo de Gorrevod a licence for up to 4,000 enslaved Africans to be carried directly from Africa to the Spanish Indies, an early step in the transatlantic slave trade.
- 1519Savoy crushes Geneva's pro-Swiss party and executes Philibert Berthelier
In 1519 Geneva's council seeks an alliance with Fribourg. Charles III of Savoy invades, Philibert Berthelier, leader of the pro-Swiss Eidguenots, is executed and the council's powers are suspended.
- April 18, 1521Luther refuses to recant at the Diet of Worms
Before Emperor Charles V's Diet at Worms, Luther refuses on 18 April 1521 to recant his books. The Edict of Worms (25 May) outlaws him and bans his writings, but is never enforced in Germany, where princes protect him.
- December 30, 1521 – October 12, 1524Cortés governs New Spain as its first governor
From 30 December 1521 until 12 October 1524, according to the infobox of the source used, Cortés governs the conquered Aztec lands as the first governor of New Spain.
- January 29, 1523Zurich's council backs Zwingli after the First Zurich Disputation
On 29 January 1523 Zurich's council lets Huldrych Zwingli keep preaching and rules that preachers must teach only what Scripture supports. In 1525 his new communion service replaces the Mass.
- November 19, 1523Giulio de' Medici is elected Pope Clement VII
Giulio de' Medici is elected pope on 19 November 1523. Under the Peace of Barcelona of 1529 Charles V agrees to restore the Medici in Florence, and Clement installs his nephew Alessandro as duke in 1530.
- August 24, 1524 – 1525The German Peasants' War rises against the lords
From August 1524 peasants rise across German lands, adopting the Twelve Articles in March 1525. Luther urges the nobles to crush them, and the rebels lose at Frankenhausen on 15 May 1525. Up to 100,000 are killed.
- February 1525Cortés has the last Aztec rulers executed during the Honduras expedition
In February 1525, on the march to Honduras, Cortés executes Cuauhtémoc and two other former rulers of the Triple Alliance. The exact day is not given in the source used.
- February 20, 1526Geneva allies with Bern and Fribourg against Savoy
On 20 February 1526 Geneva signs a treaty of alliance with the Swiss cities of Bern and Fribourg, breaking from Savoyard rule. The Council of Two Hundred is also created that year.
- c. 1527Huayna Capac dies, possibly in an epidemic that reached the Andes before the Spanish
The Inca emperor dies around 1527 (sources give 1525 to 1528), perhaps of smallpox, an attribution that is disputed. His heir Ninan Cuyochi also dies, leaving a succession dispute between his sons.
- May 6, 1527Imperial troops sack Rome and besiege Clement VII
On 6 May 1527 the unpaid army of Charles V, with some 14,000 German Landsknechts and 6,000 Spanish soldiers, storms Rome. Clement VII surrenders on 6 June and agrees to a 400,000-ducat ransom. The sack is often called the end of the High Renaissance.
- May 1528Cortés returns to Spain with treasure and is honoured by Charles V
Arriving in May 1528 with treasure and 40 Aztecs, Cortés is received with honour at court and decorated with the Order of Santiago. He then pleads for confirmation of his rights in New Spain.
- 1529Cortés is named Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca
In 1529 Charles V grants Cortés the title of Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca and the style of don. The source gives no day or month.
- April 1529Lutheran estates protest at the Diet of Speyer, giving 'Protestants' their name
The Diet of Speyer, opened 15 March 1529, overturns the 1526 settlement and enforces the Edict of Worms. Lutheran princes and cities lodge a formal protest in April, from which the name 'Protestants' comes.
- February 24, 1530Clement VII crowns Charles V Holy Roman Emperor at Bologna
Pope Clement VII crowns Charles V Holy Roman Emperor at Bologna on 24 February 1530. Charles is the last emperor to receive a papal coronation.
- February 27, 1531Protestant princes form the Schmalkaldic League
On 27 February 1531, at Schmalkalden, Philip of Hesse and John Frederick of Saxony lead Lutheran princes and cities into a defensive alliance against Emperor Charles V.
- 1532Alessandro de' Medici becomes the first hereditary Duke of Florence
Named head of state after the 1530 siege of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici arrives in 1531 and is made hereditary duke in 1532, ending the Florentine Republic. Sources give the grant as spring 1532.
- 1533Spanish authorities garrote Atahualpa at Cajamarca
Tried on charges that include the murder of his brother Huáscar, Atahualpa is garrotted in 1533 after accepting baptism, which spares him burning. Sources disagree on the day: 26 July or 29 August.
- May 23, 1533Cranmer declares Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon void
On 23 May 1533 Thomas Cranmer, consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury that March, rules Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon invalid. He crowns Anne Boleyn queen on 1 June.
- July 1533Bishop Pierre de la Baume flees Geneva for good
After re-entering Geneva on 3 July 1533 with troops from Catholic Fribourg, Bishop Pierre de la Baume flees the city in July 1533 and never returns, leaving Geneva without its prince-bishop.
- 1534John III divides Brazil into hereditary captaincies
From 1534 the Crown grants the Brazilian coast as 15 hereditary captaincies to 12 donees. Only four, São Vicente, Pernambuco, Ilhéus and Porto Seguro, survive beyond 1549; the others are never settled or are overrun by Indigenous peoples.
- November 3, 1534The Act of Supremacy makes Henry VIII head of the Church of England
Parliament passes the Act of Supremacy on 3 November 1534, declaring Henry VIII 'the only supreme head on Earth of the Church of England' and ending papal authority; royal assent follows on 18 December. A Treason Act punishes denial.
- April 17, 1535Charles V appoints Antonio de Mendoza first viceroy of New Spain
The royal commissions of 17 April 1535 appoint Mendoza viceroy; another account dates the decree creating the viceroyalty to 12 October. He takes office on 14 November 1535 and serves until about 1550.
- August 10, 1535Geneva's Grand Council bans the Catholic Mass
On 10 August 1535 Geneva's Grand Council resolves to prohibit the celebration of Mass, after Farel and others stir crowds to destroy images in churches. The same resolution forbids further icon-breaking.
- 1536 – 1541Henry VIII dissolves England's monasteries
Between 1536 and 1541 Henry VIII closes England's monasteries, starting with houses worth under £200 a year. About 625 communities are dissolved, and much of their land passes to the Crown and is sold to fund his wars.
- May 21, 1536Geneva swears to live by the Protestant faith and becomes a republic
On 21 May 1536 Geneva's General Council takes a public oath to the Protestant faith and confiscates Church property. The city, now free of its bishop and Savoy, is proclaimed a Protestant republic.
- October 1536 – February 1537The Pilgrimage of Grace rises in northern England
From the Lincolnshire Rising of 1 October 1536, northern rebels led by Robert Aske protest the break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries. Henry VIII breaks his promises, and about 216 people are executed, including Aske.
- January 1537Cosimo I becomes Duke of Florence after Alessandro's assassination
After his cousin Alessandro is murdered on 6 January 1537, Cosimo I de' Medici, aged 17, succeeds him as Duke of Florence. He strengthens Medici power, expands Florentine territory and becomes a major patron of the arts.
- 1537Manco Inca founds the Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba
After the failed siege, Manco Inca withdraws to the mountains of Vilcabamba around 1537 and sets up a successor state that resists Spain for decades. It is sacked in 1539 and again in 1572.
- 1537 – 1538Diego de Almagro seizes Cusco and is defeated and executed in 1538
Diego de Almagro seizes Cusco in 1537, is defeated at the Battle of Las Salinas in 1538 and executed that year. It opens a civil war between the conquistadors.
- 1537Pope Paul III declares in Sublimis Deus that the Indigenous peoples of the Americas are rational beings
In 1537 Paul III issues Sublimis Deus, saying the Indians are fully human, may not be enslaved and should be converted peacefully. Las Casas's writing and Dominican allies helped bring it about.
- 1541Almagro's supporters assassinate Francisco Pizarro
In 1541 supporters of the executed Diego de Almagro, led by his son Diego de Almagro II, kill Pizarro. The source used gives no day.
- August 1541Ottomans occupy Buda and partition Hungary into three parts
Suleiman's troops take Buda by a ruse, annexing central Hungary as an Ottoman province. Royal Hungary stays Habsburg and Transylvania goes to Zápolya's heir; the division lasts until 1699.
- September 1541Calvin returns to Geneva and its church order is set
Expelled in 1538, Calvin returns to Geneva in September 1541 at the city's request. The Ecclesiastical Ordinances of 20 November create its ministerial orders and the Consistory, a church disciplinary court.
- 1542Charles V issues the New Laws limiting the encomienda
In 1542, after criticism by Las Casas and others, Charles V issues the New Laws to limit encomienda holders' authority over Indigenous people. They are poorly enforced and provoke revolt among colonists in Peru.
- November 20, 1542Charles V creates the Viceroyalty of Peru in the New Laws
Signed at Barcelona on 20 November 1542, the New Laws establish the Viceroyalty of Peru, with Lima as its capital. Blasco Núñez Vela is appointed its first viceroy in March 1543.
- January 16, 1547Ivan IV is crowned first tsar of Russia with Byzantine imperial ritual
Ivan IV is crowned in Moscow's Dormition Cathedral by Metropolitan Macarius with a rite modelled on Byzantine precedent, presenting Moscow as heir to the Roman and Byzantine emperors.
- April 24, 1547Charles V defeats the Schmalkaldic League at Mühlberg
On 24 April 1547 imperial forces rout the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League and capture John Frederick of Saxony, who loses his electoral title to his cousin Maurice. The Augsburg Interim follows in 1548.
- 1548Pedro de la Gasca defeats and executes Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro, who had killed the first viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela, is defeated near Cusco in 1548 by the royal envoy Pedro de la Gasca and executed for treason.
- May 15, 1548Charles V issues the Augsburg Interim after defeating the Protestants
On 15 May 1548, after Mühlberg, Charles V orders Protestants to readopt Catholic practices, allowing only clerical marriage and communion in both kinds. Many pastors refuse, and it is mostly enforced where his army holds power.
- August 1550 – April 1551Las Casas debates Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda at Valladolid over the conquest
A council of theologians and jurists hears Las Casas and Sepúlveda argue whether Spain's conquests and the treatment of the Indigenous peoples are just. The result is inconclusive, and both sides claim victory.
- 1552Las Casas's Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias is printed in Seville
Las Casas's short account of Spanish violence against Indigenous peoples, written about 1542, is printed in Seville in 1552. It is widely read and translated, and used in later arguments about Spanish colonisation.
- November 30, 1554England is reconciled with Rome under Mary I
On 30 November 1554 Cardinal Pole absolves Parliament and the realm of heresy and schism. The Second Statute of Repeal, introduced on 26 December, reunites England with Rome after Henry VIII's break.
- 1555Calvin's opponents fail in an attempted coup in Geneva
In 1555 the Libertines led by Ami Perrin, who resisted Calvin's church discipline, attempt a coup in Geneva and call for the massacre of the French. It fails, and Perrin is sentenced in absentia.
- September 25, 1555The Peace of Augsburg lets each prince choose Lutheranism or Catholicism
Negotiated by Ferdinand I for Charles V, the peace of 25 September 1555 lets rulers make Lutheranism or Catholicism the faith of their lands; dissenters may emigrate. Calvinism gains legal recognition only in 1648.
- October 25, 1555 – February 24, 1558Charles V abdicates and divides his lands between Philip II and Ferdinand I
Charles V gives up the Netherlands (25 October 1555) and Spain (16 January 1556) to his son Philip II. His brother Ferdinand receives the Empire, as the Imperial Diet accepts on 24 February 1558. Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs part ways.
- April 1559Elizabeth I's Parliament passes the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity
In April 1559 Elizabeth I's Parliament abolishes the pope's authority and makes her Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Act of Uniformity, passed by about three votes in the Lords, restores a revised Book of Common Prayer.
- 1560 – 1581Cosimo I has Vasari build the Uffizi in Florence
Giorgio Vasari begins the Uffizi in 1560 for Cosimo I, housing Florence's magistracies and guilds under one roof; it is completed in 1581. Its top floor becomes the Medici gallery, and it opens to the public in 1769.
- August 1560The Scottish Parliament abolishes papal authority and bans the Mass
In August 1560, after English help ends the fighting with the Treaty of Edinburgh, Scotland's Parliament approves the Scots Confession, abolishes papal jurisdiction and bans the Mass. Mary Queen of Scots does not endorse the acts.
- April 5, 1566 – April 8, 1566Dutch nobles petition Margaret of Parma and are called "Beggars"
On 5 April 1566 about 300 nobles march through Brussels to petition the regent Margaret of Parma against the heresy laws. At a banquet on 8 April they toast themselves as "beggars", a name the rebels keep.
- August 22, 1567The Duke of Alba arrives in Brussels and sets up the Council of Troubles
Philip II sends the Duke of Alba to crush the unrest. He enters Brussels on 22 August 1567, takes over as governor and sets up the Council of Troubles, which Dutch people call the Council of Blood, to punish heresy and rebellion.
- June 5, 1568Counts Egmont and Horn are beheaded in Brussels
Alba has the Catholic nobles Egmont and Horn, who had opposed the Inquisition, arrested in September 1567. They are beheaded in Brussels on 5 June 1568, and their deaths provoke protests across the Netherlands.
- 1569Cosimo I de' Medici becomes the first Grand Duke of Tuscany
Pope Pius V raises Cosimo I de' Medici to Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569, giving the Medici a higher rank. Sources differ on the day (Cosimo's article gives 21 August).
- 1569 – 1581Viceroy Francisco de Toledo reorganises Spanish Peru
Toledo governs from 1569 to 1581 and sets up the administrative framework that lasts for generations. He uses the Inca mita system of forced labour to supply the Potosí silver mines and the Huancavelica mercury mines.
- January 1570The Inquisition's tribunal is established in Lima
In January 1570 the Holy Office opens a tribunal in Lima, with jurisdiction over Spain's possessions from Panama southward. Viceroy Toledo's fleet brings the first inquisitors, and it operates until 1820.
- September 24, 1572Túpac Amaru I, the last Inca ruler, is executed in Cusco
On 24 September 1572 Viceroy Toledo has Túpac Amaru I beheaded in Cusco after a trial, in front of 10,000 to 15,000 witnesses. Many argue Toledo exceeded his authority, and Philip II reportedly disapproved.
- c. 1573Toledo adapts the Inca mita to supply forced labour for Potosí
Around 1573 Viceroy Toledo turns the Inca mita system into a Spanish draft of Indigenous workers for the silver mines of Potosí, with a separate mita for the mercury mines of Huancavelica. Sources date it between 1572 and 1575.
- October 12, 1576Rudolf II succeeds Maximilian II as Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II becomes emperor on 12 October 1576, also ruling Bohemia, Hungary and Austria. His reign is later seen as one whose mistakes helped lead to the Thirty Years' War, though recent historians reassess that view.
- November 8, 1576The Pacification of Ghent unites the Netherlands against Spanish troops
On 8 November 1576, days after the sack of Antwerp, most provinces of the Netherlands, Catholic and Calvinist, agree at Ghent to expel the Spanish troops. The union lasts only a few years.
- January 23, 1579The Union of Utrecht binds the northern provinces together
On 23 January 1579 Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and part of Groningen sign the Union of Utrecht, with freedom of conscience. Southern provinces had joined the Catholic Union of Arras on 6 January. It becomes the basis of the Dutch Republic.
- 1580 – 1640Philip II of Spain also becomes king of Portugal, uniting the Iberian crowns
After the death of Sebastian at Alcácer Quibir in 1578 and of Cardinal Henry, Philip II claims the Portuguese throne in 1580 and is recognised by the Cortes of Tomar in 1581. Portugal and its empire stay under the Habsburgs until 1640.
- April 4, 1581Drake is knighted aboard the Golden Hind at Deptford
On 4 April 1581 Drake is knighted on his ship at Deptford. Elizabeth I's reward for the circumnavigation also shows her support for his raids on Spain.
- July 26, 1581The States General depose Philip II in the Act of Abjuration
On 26 July 1581 the States General at The Hague declare that Philip II has forfeited his rule over the provinces of the Union of Utrecht and release officials from their oaths to him. The Netherlands is effectively independent.
- December 19, 1582 – 1588The Cologne War begins when Elector Gebhard Truchsess turns Protestant
On 19 December 1582 the Elector of Cologne, Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, announces his conversion and then marries without resigning. Pope and chapter depose him in 1583, and war lasts to 1588, with Bavaria's Ernst winning.
- 1583Rudolf II moves the imperial court to Prague
In 1583 Rudolf II moves his court from Vienna to Prague, which becomes an imperial capital. He supports astronomers such as Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler and gathers a major collection of art and curiosities.
- 1584Geneva seals an "eternal" alliance with Bern and Zurich
In 1584 Geneva strengthens its ties to the Protestant Swiss cities of Bern and Zurich through an "eternal treaty", giving the city allies against renewed pressure from the dukes of Savoy.
- July 10, 1584William of Orange is assassinated in Delft
On 10 July 1584 Balthasar Gérard shoots William of Orange in Delft, four years after Philip II declared him an outlaw with a reward for his death. William led the revolt from the Beeldenstorm onwards.
- April 4, 1588Christian IV becomes King of Denmark-Norway at ten
Christian IV succeeds his father on 4 April 1588, aged ten, and is crowned on 29 August 1596. He reigns until 1648, the longest reign in Scandinavian history, and later leads Denmark into the war as Duke of Holstein.
- August 1589Henry IV becomes king, founding the Bourbon dynasty
After Henry III's assassination, Henry of Navarre inherited the French throne as its first Bourbon king. He had to fight the Catholic League for years and converted to Catholicism in 1593 to win acceptance.
- April 13, 1598Edict of Nantes grants Huguenots religious rights
Henry IV granted French Protestants freedom of conscience, limited public worship and legal protections, largely ending the Wars of Religion and restoring royal authority.
- October 5, 1600Marie de' Medici marries Henry IV of France by proxy in Florence
The proxy wedding of Marie de' Medici and Henry IV takes place in Florence Cathedral on 5 October 1600. The religious ceremony follows at Lyon on 17 December. She later serves as regent of France from 1610 to 1617.
- March 20, 1602The Dutch East India Company is founded
On 20 March 1602 the States General merge rival trading companies into the United East India Company (VOC), largely at Johan van Oldenbarnevelt's urging. It gets a 21-year monopoly in Asia and sells tradable shares.
- July 1603Treaty of Saint-Julien: Savoy accepts Geneva's independence
In July 1603 Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy accepts a lasting peace with Geneva at Saint-Julien, recognising its independence. Sources give 12 or 21 July, possibly a calendar difference.
- 1605 – 1606Spain depopulates northern and western Hispaniola in the Devastations of Osorio
On Philip III's order, Governor Antonio de Osorio forces the people of Puerto Plata, Monte Cristi, Bayajá and Yaguana to move near Santo Domingo to stop smuggling. The abandoned lands later attract foreign settlers and runaway slaves.
- 1606 – 1607Religious riot at Donauwörth leads to Catholic Bavaria occupying the Protestant town
In 1606 the Lutheran majority of Donauwörth bars a Catholic procession and a riot follows. In 1607 an imperial law lets the Duke of Bavaria punish the town, which Bavaria then occupies and re-Catholicises.
- April 1606 – April 1607Paul V places Venice under interdict
In April 1606 Pope Paul V lays an interdict on Venice after it asserts control over its clergy and church property. Venice, backed by Paolo Sarpi, resists, and French mediation ends the quarrel in April 1607.
- November 11, 1606Peace of Zsitvatorok ends the Long Turkish War
Emperor Rudolf II and Sultan Ahmed I agree peace on the Zsitva River after 13 years of inconclusive war. The Ottomans keep Eger and Kanizsa, and the treaty sets the Habsburg-Ottoman frontier for half a century.
- 1608Matthias marches on Prague and forces Rudolf II to cede Hungary, Austria and Moravia
In 1608 Archduke Matthias, the emperor's brother, marches on Prague and forces Rudolf II to hand over Hungary, Austria and Moravia. Rudolf keeps Bohemia and the imperial title for the moment.
- May 14, 1608Protestant princes form the Protestant Union at Auhausen
On 14 May 1608 Protestant princes and cities led by Elector Frederick IV of the Palatinate form the Union at Auhausen, after Donauwörth and the Diet's demand for church lands taken since 1552. Lutheran Saxony stays out.
- March 25, 1609 – November 12, 1614The Jülich-Cleves succession crisis begins and draws in Europe's powers
Duke John William of Jülich-Cleves dies childless on 25 March 1609, and Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg claim his duchies. Union, League, France and Spain take sides. The Treaty of Xanten divides them on 12 November 1614.
- April 9, 1609 – April 9, 1621Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Twelve Years' Truce
On 9 April 1609, at Antwerp, Spain's Habsburg rulers agree to treat the United Provinces as free states for twelve years. Spain sees it as temporary and recognises Dutch independence only in 1648. The truce ends on 9 April 1621.
- July 9, 1609Rudolf II grants the Letter of Majesty to Bohemia's Protestants
On 9 July 1609 Rudolf II, as King of Bohemia, signs the Letter of Majesty. It grants Protestants religious freedom and a committee of the Estates, the Defensors, to guard it. Its violation is later a cause of the 1618 revolt.
- July 10, 1609Catholic princes form the Catholic League under Maximilian of Bavaria
On 10 July 1609 Catholic princes and prince-bishops meet at Munich and form a League under Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. It is a defensive alliance meant to counter the Protestant Union, and it lasts as a military force in the war.
- May 14, 1610Henry IV is assassinated in Paris by François Ravaillac
A Catholic zealot stabbed Henry IV in his carriage. His nine-year-old son Louis XIII succeeded under the regency of Marie de' Medici.
- May 14, 1610Henry IV of France is assassinated while preparing war on the Habsburgs
On 14 May 1610 François Ravaillac stabs Henry IV in Paris. Historians widely believe Henry was about to launch a campaign against the Habsburgs over Jülich. His widow Marie de' Medici, as regent, reduces the promised French force.
- September 19, 1610Frederick V becomes Elector Palatine at fourteen
On 19 September 1610 the Calvinist Frederick V, aged 14, becomes Elector Palatine on his father's death and head of the Protestant Union. He later accepts the Bohemian crown in 1619 and loses it at White Mountain in 1620.
- 1611 – January 20, 1613Denmark and Sweden fight the Kalmar War for control of the Baltic
In 1611 Christian IV of Denmark-Norway attacks Sweden at the start of the Kalmar War. The Treaty of Knäred on 20 January 1613 forces Sweden to pay a heavy indemnity, but Sweden keeps its territory, bar Älvsborg.
- May 1611Matthias is crowned King of Bohemia after Rudolf II is forced out
In May 1611 Matthias is crowned King of Bohemia after he forces his brother Rudolf II to cede the kingdom. Rudolf keeps only the imperial title until his death.
- October 30, 1611Gustavus Adolphus becomes King of Sweden at sixteen
On 30 October 1611 Gustavus Adolphus becomes King of Sweden on his father Charles IX's death, aged sixteen, in the middle of the Kalmar War. He is declared of age in January 1612 and reorganises Swedish government and army.
- January 20, 1612Rudolf II dies in Prague and Matthias becomes emperor
Rudolf II dies in Prague on 20 January 1612. Matthias is elected emperor later that year and moves the court from Prague to Vienna, leaving Bohemia without an imperial residence.
- February 14, 1613Frederick V of the Palatinate marries Elizabeth Stuart in London
On 14 February 1613 the Calvinist Elector Palatine marries Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, at Whitehall. The match ties the Protestant Union's leader to England's royal house.
- 1614 – 1615Last Estates General before 1789 meets in Paris
Convened in the unrest after Henry IV's death during Louis XIII's minority, it achieved little and was dissolved. The French crown did not summon the Estates General again for 175 years.
- 1617Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs agree the secret Treaty of Oñate
In 1617 Philip III of Spain agrees to back Ferdinand of Styria's succession in Bohemia and Hungary. In return Ferdinand gives Spain the route linking Italy to the Netherlands and rights in Alsace. Sources give March, June or July.
- June 29, 1617Ferdinand of Styria is crowned King of Bohemia
On 29 June 1617 the Catholic Archduke Ferdinand, known for his Counter-Reformation in Inner Austria, is crowned King of Bohemia as Matthias's heir. Bohemian Protestants fear for the Letter of Majesty.
- May 23, 1618Protestant nobles throw royal regents from a window at Prague Castle
On 23 May 1618 Bohemian Protestant leaders throw the Catholic regents Martinitz and Slavata and their secretary Fabricius from a window of the Bohemian Chancellery. All survive. The act starts the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years' War.
- August 29, 1618 – May 13, 1619Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is arrested and later beheaded in the Dutch Republic
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, chief architect of the Twelve Years' Truce and protector of the Remonstrants, is imprisoned on 29 August 1618 and beheaded on 13 May 1619, four days after the Synod of Dort closes. Hugo Grotius gets a life sentence.
- March 20, 1619Emperor Matthias dies in Vienna, leaving the Bohemian crisis to Ferdinand
Emperor Matthias dies on 20 March 1619, aged 62, without surviving children. His cousin Ferdinand of Styria, already crowned King of Bohemia, inherits the Habsburg lands as Bohemia is in open revolt.
- August 26, 1619Bohemian estates depose Ferdinand II and elect Frederick V as king
In August 1619 the Bohemian estates depose Ferdinand II and on 26 August elect the Calvinist Frederick V of the Palatinate as king. Sources date the deposition 19 or 26 August. Frederick accepts on 28 September.
- August 28, 1619Ferdinand II is elected Holy Roman Emperor at Frankfurt
On 28 August 1619, two days after Bohemia deposed him, Ferdinand II is elected emperor at Frankfurt unanimously, with the Palatine delegation first objecting. Frederick V himself votes for him. He is crowned on 9 September.
- November 4, 1619Frederick V is crowned King of Bohemia in Prague
On 4 November 1619 the Calvinist Elector Palatine is crowned Frederick I of Bohemia. His reign ends a year later at White Mountain, which earns him the nickname "Winter King".
- c. 1620 – c. 1623The Kipper und Wipper debasement crisis hits the German lands
From about 1620 to 1623 German rulers and cities debase their coinage to pay for war. Inflation, riots and soldiers refusing coins follow, and debased money is later declared illegal and withdrawn.
- July 3, 1620 – May 14, 1621The Protestant Union declares neutrality at Ulm and is later dissolved
By the Treaty of Ulm on 3 July 1620 the Protestant Union declares neutrality and refuses to back Frederick V. Ferdinand II later orders it to disband its army, and it is formally dissolved on 14 May 1621.
- August 1620Gábor Bethlen is elected King of Hungary at Banská Bystrica
In August 1620 the Diet at Banská Bystrica elects the Calvinist Gábor Bethlen King of Hungary, in defiance of Ferdinand II. Sources give 20 or 25 August. He never has himself crowned and renounces the title in 1621.
- June 21, 1621Twenty-seven Bohemian rebel leaders are executed in Prague's Old Town Square
On 21 June 1621 twenty-seven leaders of the Bohemian Revolt, nobles, knights and burghers, are executed in Old Town Square. Twelve heads hang from the Old Town Bridge Tower until the Saxon invasion of 1631.
- December 31, 1621Peace of Nikolsburg: Bethlen renounces the Hungarian crown for religious guarantees
On 31 December 1621 Gábor Bethlen gives up the title of King of Hungary. He gets religious freedom for Hungarian Protestants, the title of Imperial Prince, seven counties, three fortresses and a Silesian duchy.
- February 1623Ferdinand II transfers the Palatine electoral dignity to Maximilian of Bavaria
In February 1623 Ferdinand II strips Frederick V of his electorate and gives it to Maximilian I of Bavaria, leader of the Catholic League. Maximilian also gains the Upper Palatinate, and Catholics now hold a majority among the electors.
- August 12, 1624Cardinal Richelieu becomes chief minister of Louis XIII
Richelieu centralised royal power by curbing noble privileges, crushing Huguenot political power (La Rochelle, 1627-28) and using intendants, while steering France against the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years' War.
- December 9, 1625England, the Dutch Republic and Denmark ally at The Hague against the emperor
On 9 December 1625 England, the Dutch Republic and Denmark-Norway sign the Treaty of The Hague, under which the English and Dutch are to fund Christian IV. France, Sweden and Venice do not join, and the funds fall short.
- September 10, 1627 – October 28, 1628Richelieu besieges La Rochelle and crushes the Huguenots' military power
Royal forces besiege the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle from August 1627 until it surrenders on 28 October 1628, despite three failed English relief expeditions. Its population falls from about 27,000 to 5,000.
- 1628Ferdinand II deposes the Dukes of Mecklenburg and gives the duchy to Wallenstein
In early 1628 Ferdinand II deposes the hereditary Duke of Mecklenburg and installs Wallenstein, who by 1627 has also occupied Pomerania and Jutland. From April 1628 Wallenstein is also imperial admiral of the Baltic.
- March 6, 1629Ferdinand II issues the Edict of Restitution
On 6 March 1629 Ferdinand II orders Protestants to return church lands secularised after 1555, which would change rulers in two archbishoprics, twelve bishoprics and over 100 religious houses. Protestant electors protest, and the Peace of Prague later revokes it.
- May 22, 1629Denmark makes peace with the emperor in the Treaty of Lübeck
On 22 May 1629 Wallenstein and Christian IV sign the Treaty of Lübeck, ratified by Ferdinand II on 7 June. Christian keeps his lands but gives up his claims to the Lower Saxon bishoprics and stays out of imperial affairs. Denmark declines as a power.
- September 26, 1629Sweden and Poland sign the Truce of Altmark, freeing Gustavus Adolphus for Germany
On 26 September 1629, with French mediation, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania agree a six-year truce. Sweden keeps Livonia and the revenue from Polish ports, which funds its entry into the Thirty Years' War in 1630.
- August 13, 1630Ferdinand II dismisses Wallenstein at the Diet of Regensburg
On 13 August 1630 Ferdinand II decides at Regensburg to dismiss Wallenstein, whom he suspects of planning a coup. Envoys announce it in September, and Wallenstein gives his army to Tilly and retires to Jičín.
- January 23, 1631France agrees to finance Sweden in the Treaty of Bärwalde
On 23 January 1631 Richelieu's France agrees to pay Sweden 400,000 Reichstaler a year, and Sweden to keep an army of 36,000 in Germany. Gustavus Adolphus must respect Catholic worship and Bavaria's neutrality. Richelieu fights the Habsburgs by proxy.
- April 1633Sweden and the German circles form the Heilbronn League
In April 1633 Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna forms the Heilbronn League with the Swabian, Franconian and Rhenish circles to continue the war after Gustavus Adolphus's death. Sources give 23 or 27 April. Members pay under a third of what they pledge.
- January 24, 1634 – February 18, 1634Ferdinand II removes Wallenstein from command and declares him a traitor
On 24 January 1634 Ferdinand II signs a secret patent removing Wallenstein, and on 18 February an open patent charges him with treason and orders him brought to Vienna "dead or alive". Wallenstein had been negotiating secretly with Saxony, Sweden and France.
- April 30, 1635France and Sweden sign the Treaty of Compiègne
Richelieu and Oxenstierna ally France and Sweden against the Habsburgs, renewing Bärwalde's subsidies, with no separate peace. The date is Old Style (30 April); Sweden delays ratification until France declares war on Spain.
- May 30, 1635Ferdinand II and Saxony make the Peace of Prague
On 30 May 1635 (Old Style) Ferdinand II and Saxony sign the Peace of Prague. It effectively revokes the Edict of Restitution, sets 1627 as the cutoff for church property and bans alliances in the Empire. Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar fights on for France.
- February 15, 1637Ferdinand III succeeds his father as emperor
Elected King of the Romans at Regensburg on 22 December 1636, Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor when Ferdinand II dies on 15 February 1637. He rules through to Westphalia.
- 1640Corpus de Sang: Catalan revolt breaks out in Barcelona
Riots by harvesters and townsfolk against billeted Spanish troops and the crown's demands begin the Reapers' War. Sources date it to Corpus Christi in May or 7 June 1640, so only the year is given.
- December 1, 1640Portugal revolts against Spain and acclaims John IV
On 1 December 1640 nobles and wealthy townsmen revolt and acclaim John IV, Duke of Braganza, ending 60 years of Habsburg rule. Spain accepts Portugal's sovereignty only in 1668.
- January 17, 1641Catalonia proclaims a republic under French protection
On 17 January 1641 the Junta de Braços accepts a Catalan Republic under French protection. After defeat at Martorell on 23 January, Pau Claris recognises Louis XIII as Count of Barcelona.
- December 1641Hamburg preliminaries open the road to the Westphalian congress
In December 1641 Sweden, France and the empire negotiate a preliminary peace at Hamburg, which sets the way for the talks at Münster and Osnabrück. The page gives no day.
- December 4, 1642Cardinal Richelieu dies and Mazarin takes over
Richelieu dies in Paris on 4 December 1642, aged 57, having named Mazarin as successor. Mazarin's authority grows after Louis XIII's death on 14 May 1643, when Anne of Austria confirms him.
- January 1643Philip IV dismisses the Count-Duke of Olivares
In January 1643, after the Catalan and Portuguese revolts and a court intrigue, Philip IV dismisses his favourite Olivares. He retires and dies at Toro in 1645.
- May 14, 1643Louis XIV becomes king of France at age four
Louis XIV succeeded Louis XIII in 1643, with his mother Anne of Austria as regent and Cardinal Mazarin as chief minister. His reign lasted 72 years, the longest of any European monarch.
- c. 1644 – 1648Peace congress meets at Münster and Osnabrück
From about 1644 delegations meet in Münster and Osnabrück, Catholic and Lutheran cities, with no exact opening date. 109 delegations take part and talks run until 1648 while fighting continues.
- August 13, 1645Denmark yields territory to Sweden at Brömsebro
On 13 August 1645 Denmark–Norway cedes Gotland, Ösel, Jämtland, Härjedalen and (for 30 years) Halland. It ends the Torstenson War and confirms Sweden's dominance in the Baltic.
- March 14, 1647France, Sweden and Bavaria sign the Truce of Ulm
On 14 March 1647 Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria accepts a truce with France and Sweden and drops his alliance with Ferdinand III. He breaks it on 14 September, returning to the emperor.
- 1648Pope Innocent X declares the Westphalian settlement void
Innocent X condemns the peace as "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane" and without effect for all time. The page gives no date for the brief, so only the year is shown.
- 1648 – 1653The Fronde: revolts of Parlement and nobles against the crown
Civil wars during Louis XIV's minority pitted the Parlement of Paris and great nobles against the regency and Mazarin. The crown won, and the young Louis resolved to concentrate power in the monarchy.
- January 30, 1648Spain recognises the Dutch Republic at Münster
On 30 January 1648 Philip IV and the States General sign a separate peace at Münster, ending the Eighty Years' War. Spain recognises Dutch sovereignty; oaths are sworn on 15 May. It is not part of the Westphalian treaties.
- October 24, 1648Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War
On 24 October 1648 treaties are signed at Osnabrück (emperor and Sweden) and Münster (emperor and France). The war killed an estimated 4.5 to 8 million people. Historians now doubt that the texts founded modern state sovereignty.
- October 24, 1648The Empire recognises Swiss independence
On 24 October 1648 Westphalia grants the Swiss Confederation legal independence from the Holy Roman Empire. Basel's mayor Johann Rudolf Wettstein, accredited in 1647, had lobbied for it at Münster.
- October 24, 1648Brandenburg-Prussia gains Farther Pomerania and four bishoprics
Westphalia gives Brandenburg-Prussia Farther Pomerania and the bishoprics of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Kammin and Minden. The border with Swedish Pomerania is left open.
- October 24, 1648France gains Alsatian cities and confirms Metz, Toul and Verdun
At Münster France keeps Metz, Toul and Verdun, and receives the Alsatian Décapole cities (not Strasbourg or Mulhouse) and Pinerolo. The Franco-Spanish war continues.
- October 24, 1648Westphalia restores the Lower Palatinate and creates an eighth electorate
Charles I Louis regains the Lower Palatinate and a new, eighth electoral vote, while Bavaria keeps the Upper Palatinate and the Palatinate's former electoral vote, ending the dispute that began in 1623.
- October 24, 1648Sweden gains Western Pomerania, Wismar, Bremen and Verden
At Osnabrück Sweden receives an indemnity of five million thalers, Western Pomerania, Wismar and the prince-bishoprics of Bremen and Verden as hereditary fiefs, with seats in the Imperial Diet.
- 1661Louis XIV begins his personal rule after Mazarin's death
On Cardinal Mazarin's death Louis XIV declined to appoint another chief minister and governed himself, with Colbert and Louvois running finance and the army, the model of French absolutism.
- 1682Louis XIV moves the royal court to Versailles
Louis XIV made the palace of Versailles the permanent seat of the court and government, drawing the high nobility into ceremonial life under royal supervision.
- March 1685Louis XIV issues the Code Noir for slavery in the French colonies
The March 1685 edict of 60 articles sets the legal framework for slavery in France's Caribbean colonies, requiring baptism of the enslaved while permitting harsh punishments. It was registered in Saint-Domingue in 1687.
- October 18, 1685Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes (Edict of Fontainebleau)
Louis XIV ended legal toleration of Protestants, ordering their churches destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Huguenots fled France over the following years, taking skills and capital abroad.
- 1697Treaty of Ryswick: Spain tacitly recognises French rule in western Hispaniola
The 1697 peace ending the Nine Years' War gives France title to the western third of Hispaniola, now called Saint-Domingue, though the treaty text does not name the island or fix a border.
- January 26, 1699Treaty of Karlowitz: Ottomans cede most of Hungary to the Habsburgs
After the Habsburg-Ottoman war of 1683-97 and the Ottoman defeat at Zenta, the Ottomans surrender Hungary (except the Banat of Temesvár), Slavonia and Transylvania to Emperor Leopold I.
- September 1, 1715Death of Louis XIV; his great-grandson Louis XV succeeds
Louis XIV died after 72 years on the throne, leaving a powerful but war-weary and heavily indebted France to his five-year-old great-grandson Louis XV.
- May 27, 1717Spain creates the Viceroyalty of New Granada, taking the north from Peru
On 27 May 1717 the Crown makes New Granada, with its capital at Bogotá, a viceroyalty carved from Peru's northern territories. It is suppressed around 1723-24 and restored permanently in 1739-40, sources differing on the years.
- July 9, 1737Gian Gastone dies, ending the Medici as rulers of Florence
Gian Gastone, the seventh and last Medici grand duke, dies at the Palazzo Pitti on 9 July 1737, ending almost 300 years of Medici rule. Francis Stephen of Lorraine succeeds him.
- January 13, 1750Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Madrid, replacing Tordesillas
On 13 January 1750 the two crowns set the borders of their South American colonies by actual possession, accepting Brazil's westward expansion. Spain gets Colonia del Sacramento; Portugal the seven Jesuit missions; Spain annuls it in 1761.
- September 3, 1759Pombal expels the Jesuits from Portugal and its empire
On 3 September 1759 the Marquis of Pombal, chief minister of Joseph I, decrees the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Portuguese domains. Their temporal power in Brazil had already been curtailed in 1758.
- 1763Brazil's capital moves from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro
In 1763 the colonial administration moves from Salvador, the capital since 1549, to Rio de Janeiro.
- 1763Spain recovers Havana from Britain in exchange for Florida
The 1763 Peace of Paris ends the Seven Years' War. Britain returns Havana to Spain, which cedes Florida; France gives Spain Louisiana as compensation. Sources differ on whether the handover was in February or April 1763.
- February 10, 1763Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War; France loses its North American empire
Under Louis XV, France ceded Canada and its lands east of the Mississippi (except New Orleans) to Britain, losing most of its North American empire and weakening its finances.
- May 10, 1774Louis XVI becomes king of France at age 19
Louis XVI succeeded his grandfather Louis XV in 1774 inheriting a deeply indebted government; reforms by Turgot and others were blocked by the parlements.
- August 1, 1776Spain creates the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, detaching Upper Peru from Lima
On 1 August 1776 the Crown creates a viceroyalty at Buenos Aires that takes Upper Peru, including the silver of Potosí, away from the Viceroyalty of Peru. It is the second large loss of territory for Peru after New Granada.
- June 3, 1777Treaty of Aranjuez fixes the border between Spanish Santo Domingo and French Saint-Domingue
Signed on 3 June 1777, the treaty settles the boundary left open since Ryswick (1697), set roughly where French settlements ended. It is the origin of the line between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
- 1778France allies with the American revolutionaries against Britain
Louis XVI's government signed a formal alliance with the United States and entered the war, aiming to avenge 1763. The costs added heavily to the crown's debt.
- November 4, 1780 – 1783Túpac Amaru II leads the great Andean rebellion against Spanish rule
On 4 November 1780 followers of Túpac Amaru II seize the corregidor Antonio de Arriaga near Tinta, who is hanged on 10 November. The rising spreads across the southern Andes and ends in 1782-83; sources give different end dates.
- May 18, 1781Túpac Amaru II is executed in Cusco
Sentenced on 15 May 1781, Túpac Amaru II is executed on 18 May in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, beheaded after the attempt to quarter him fails. The revolt continues under his relative Diego Cristóbal, who is executed in 1783.
- 1787Assembly of Notables rejects Calonne's fiscal reforms
Louis XVI's finance minister Calonne asked an assembly of the privileged orders to accept new taxes. They refused, and attempts to force the Parlement of Paris to register the reforms also failed.
- 1788Louis XVI convokes the Estates General for 1789
Faced with a fiscal crisis after the failure of reforms in 1787, Louis XVI called the Estates General, which had not met since 1614, as a last attempt to approve new taxes.
- 1789The Inconfidência Mineira, a plot to free Minas Gerais from Portugal, is uncovered
In 1789 informers reveal a conspiracy in Minas Gerais, sparked by a planned derrama tax on the declining gold output and inspired by the thirteen colonies' independence. The conspirators are arrested; the plot has no clear leader or plan.
- May 5, 1789The Estates General opens at Versailles
Representatives of the clergy, nobility and Third Estate met at Versailles for the first time in 175 years. A dispute over voting by order or by head quickly paralysed the assembly.
- June 17, 1789The Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly
Deputies of the Third Estate, joined by some clergy, proclaimed themselves the National Assembly, claiming to represent the French nation and challenging the king's and nobility's authority.
- June 20, 1789Tennis Court Oath at Versailles
Locked out of their meeting hall, members of the National Assembly gathered in a nearby tennis court and swore not to disperse until France had a constitution.
- July 14, 1789Parisians storm the Bastille
A Paris crowd seized the royal fortress-prison of the Bastille in search of arms, an uprising that came to symbolise the start of the French Revolution and the collapse of royal authority in the capital.
- August 4, 1789National Assembly votes to abolish feudal privileges
After the Great Fear peasant revolts, the Assembly voted on the night of 4 August to end seigneurial rights, tithes, tax exemptions and venal offices; the decrees were issued between 4 and 11 August.
- August 26, 1789Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The National Assembly adopted a charter of liberty, equality before the law and national sovereignty, which became a foundation text of modern human-rights and constitutional thought.
- July 12, 1790Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The National Assembly made French priests and bishops elected, salaried state officials, splitting the clergy and Catholics between oath-takers and refusers and deepening opposition to the Revolution.
- October 1790Vincent Ogé leads a revolt of free people of color in Saint-Domingue
In October 1790 Vincent Ogé, a free man of color back from Paris, rises in the north of Saint-Domingue to demand equal political rights. He is defeated, handed over by the Spanish and executed at Le Cap in March 1791.
- September 3, 1791France adopts its first written constitution
The National Assembly adopted the Constitution of 1791, creating a constitutional monarchy with an elected Legislative Assembly and a suspensive royal veto. It took effect on 14 September.
- April 4, 1792France's Legislative Assembly grants equal rights to free people of color
The decree of 4 April 1792 gives free men of color in the colonies full political and civil equality with whites. It is sent to Saint-Domingue with commissioners Sonthonax and Polverel and 6,000 troops.
- April 20, 1792France declares war on Austria, opening the Revolutionary Wars
The Legislative Assembly voted for war against Austria on the proposal of Louis XVI's ministers, starting the French Revolutionary Wars that would last until the Napoleonic era.
- April 21, 1792Tiradentes is hanged in Rio de Janeiro for the Inconfidência Mineira
On 21 April 1792 Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes, is hanged, and his body is quartered and displayed in Vila Rica. Queen Maria I commutes the other death sentences, but not his, since he took full responsibility.
- August 10, 1792Insurrection of 10 August: the Tuileries Palace is stormed
Armed Parisians and provincial volunteers stormed the Tuileries; the royal family took refuge in the Legislative Assembly, which suspended Louis XVI, effectively ending the monarchy.
- September 22, 1792The National Convention abolishes the monarchy; the First French Republic is proclaimed
The newly elected National Convention ended royal rule in France, a day after the victory at Valmy. The Republic was proclaimed on 22 September 1792.
- 1793 – July 27, 1794The Reign of Terror
Under the Committee of Public Safety and Robespierre, the Revolutionary Tribunal and the Law of Suspects (17 September 1793) sent many thousands to prison and the guillotine. Historians date its start variously from March to September 1793; it ended 27 July 1794.
- January 21, 1793Louis XVI is guillotined in Paris
Convicted by the National Convention, which voted for death by a one-vote majority on 20 January, Louis XVI was executed on the guillotine at the Place de la Révolution.
- April 6, 1793Committee of Public Safety established
The National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, which became the de facto wartime government of France and directed the Reign of Terror.
- February 4, 1794The French National Convention abolishes slavery in all French colonies
On 4 February 1794 the Convention in Paris confirms emancipation across France's colonies, making formerly enslaved people citizens. It is the first abolition of slavery by a major colonial power.
- July 27, 1794Robespierre is overthrown on 9 Thermidor and executed
The National Convention turned on Maximilien Robespierre and his allies, arresting them on 27 July 1794; they were guillotined the next day, ending the Terror.
- July 22, 1795Treaty of Basel: Spain cedes Santo Domingo to France
On 22 July 1795 Spain makes peace with the French Republic and gives up the eastern part of Hispaniola in exchange for the Spanish territory France had occupied. The handover is delayed for years.
- October 26, 1795 – November 9, 1799The Directory takes power in France
Under the Constitution of Year III, a five-man executive called the Directory replaced the Convention's committees. It governed amid war, inflation and instability until 1799.
- 1796Toussaint Louverture rescues Governor Laveaux and becomes lieutenant governor
After Villatte's coup of 20 March 1796 seizes Governor Étienne Laveaux, Toussaint's troops free him. Laveaux names Toussaint lieutenant governor, making him the colony's second-ranking official.
- 1798Revolutionary France annexes the Republic of Geneva
In 1798, under economic and political pressure, Geneva's government asks for annexation, and the French Directory annexes the city and its territory. This ends the independent Republic of Geneva.
- October 1798Toussaint Louverture forces French agent Hédouville to leave Saint-Domingue
In October 1798 Gabriel Hédouville, sent by Paris to curb Toussaint, sails for France after Toussaint and Dessalines threaten his arrest. Toussaint becomes the colony's effective ruler.
- November 9, 1799Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the Directory (18 Brumaire)
General Napoleon Bonaparte and conspirators dissolved the Directory in a coup and set up the Consulate, with Bonaparte as First Consul, ending the Revolution's republican phase.
- July 1801Toussaint Louverture promulgates a constitution making himself governor for life
A constitution proclaimed in July 1801 makes Saint-Domingue a self-governing French colony, bans slavery forever and names Toussaint Louverture governor for life. Napoleon sees it as a challenge to French authority.
- March 25, 1802Britain and France sign the Treaty of Amiens
The treaty, signed by Joseph Bonaparte and Lord Cornwallis, ended a decade of war between Britain and France. It was an uneasy truce, with each side later accusing the other of breaking its terms.
- May 20, 1802Napoleon's law of 20 May 1802 maintains slavery in the French colonies
The law of 20 May 1802 keeps or restores slavery in colonies where it had not been abolished in practice. Saint-Domingue is not named, but news of it fuels resistance to the French army there.
- January 1, 1804Dessalines declares the independence of Haiti at Gonaïves
On 1 January 1804 Jean-Jacques Dessalines proclaims Saint-Domingue independent under the old Taíno name Haiti. It is the first state founded by a successful slave revolt and the second independent republic in the Americas.
- March 21, 1804The Napoleonic Code takes effect in France
The French civil code replaced a patchwork of feudal and regional laws with a single secular, written system. It affirmed property and legal equality for men but strengthened a husband's authority over his wife and children.
- May 18, 1804Napoleon is proclaimed Emperor of the French
Napoleon's reign as Emperor began on 18 May 1804, ending the Consulate. He crowned himself in December 1804.
- September 1804Dessalines is proclaimed Emperor Jacques I of Haiti
In September 1804 Dessalines's generals proclaim him emperor of Haiti, and he is crowned the following month. He is killed in an ambush in 1806.
- August 6, 1806Francis II dissolves the Holy Roman Empire
After sixteen German states formed the French-aligned Confederation of the Rhine in July, Emperor Francis II abdicated the imperial title, ending the Holy Roman Empire.
- October 1806Dessalines is killed and Haiti divides into Christophe's north and Pétion's south
After the ambush of Emperor Jean-Jacques Dessalines in October 1806, Haiti splits in two: Henri Christophe rules the north and Alexandre Pétion heads a republic in the south and west. The division lasts until 1820.
- November 21, 1806Napoleon's Berlin Decree launches the Continental System
Napoleon banned British goods from France's allies and dependents to isolate Britain economically. Britain answered with blockading Orders in Council, and smuggling and hardship spread on both sides.
- July 7, 1807Treaties of Tilsit: France allies with Russia and cuts Prussia down
Napoleon and Alexander I agreed an alliance on the Neman river on 7 July. By the 9 July treaty Prussia lost about half its territory and population, including lands that formed the Duchy of Warsaw.
- November 29, 1807 – March 7, 1808The Portuguese court flees Napoleon's invasion for Brazil
On 29 November 1807, as French troops advance on Lisbon, Prince Regent John and the court, perhaps 10,000-15,000 people, sail for Brazil. They reach Salvador on 22 January 1808 and Rio de Janeiro on 7 March, making it the seat of the empire.
- 1811 – March 1812José Antonio Aponte's abolitionist conspiracy is uncovered in Cuba
A conspiracy led from Havana by the free Black carpenter José Antonio Aponte spreads across the island between 1811 and March 1812, as Cuba's sugar economy expands. Spanish authorities crush it and execute its leaders.
- 1814 – 1815Geneva joins the Swiss Confederation as a canton
After the French leave at the end of 1813 and Geneva's independence is restored, the Congress of Vienna admits it to the Swiss Confederation as a canton in 1814–1815.
- April 6, 1814Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba
After the Sixth Coalition captured Paris, Napoleon's first reign ended on 6 April 1814. He was sent to the island of Elba, where he stayed from 30 May 1814 to 26 February 1815.
- September 1814 – June 9, 1815The Congress of Vienna redraws Europe
Metternich, Castlereagh, Alexander I, Hardenberg and the defeated France's Talleyrand sought a balance of power and the restoration of the pre-revolutionary order. The Final Act was signed on 9 June 1815.
- March 20, 1815Napoleon returns from Elba: the Hundred Days begin
Napoleon left Elba and regained power in France, with his Hundred Days beginning on 20 March 1815. The Seventh Coalition of the allies ended it at Waterloo in June.
- November 20, 1815The Napoleonic Wars formally end
The wars ended in a Coalition victory, with 20 November 1815 given as the end date, months after Waterloo and the Congress of Vienna's Final Act.
- 1821 – February 9, 1822Núñez de Cáceres declares the independent Republic of Spanish Haiti
In late 1821 (30 November or 1 December) José Núñez de Cáceres declares Spanish Santo Domingo independent from Spain, intending to join Gran Colombia. It has little support and falls to Haiti on 9 February 1822.
- July 28, 1821San Martín proclaims the independence of Peru in Lima
On 28 July 1821, days after his army occupies Lima, José de San Martín proclaims Peru independent of Spain. The royalists keep the highlands, and the war continues for three more years.
- July 26, 1822 – July 27, 1822San Martín and Bolívar meet in Guayaquil, and San Martín withdraws
In Guayaquil on 26-27 July 1822, sources giving one or both days, José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar disagree on how to govern the patriot cause. San Martín then leaves the war and Bolívar takes charge of Peru's liberation.
- April 17, 1825Charles X recognises Haiti's independence in return for an indemnity of 150 million francs
A royal ordinance of 17 April 1825, backed by a French naval squadron, grants Haiti's independence on condition that it pay 150 million francs to former colonists. Haiti borrows in France to pay, a burden that lasts for generations.
- July 3, 1825French squadron under Baron de Mackau arrives at Port-au-Prince with Charles X's ordinance
On 3 July 1825 Captain Mackau reaches Port-au-Prince aboard La Circé; fourteen French warships with 528 cannons soon stand off the city. They carry the ordinance demanding 150 million francs for recognition of Haiti's independence.
- April 30, 1826France passes a law to distribute Haiti's indemnity among former colonists
The law of 30 April 1826 sets up how the money Haiti pays is shared among former Saint-Domingue planters and their heirs, after Haiti pays the first fifth of the indemnity. A royal decree of 9 May fixes eligibility and valuation rules.
- February 12, 1838France and Haiti sign a treaty reducing the indemnity and recognising Haiti outright
On 12 February 1838 France lowers the remaining debt to 90 million francs, payable over 30 years, and recognises Haiti unconditionally. One source gives 60 million, and Haiti is pushed to borrow again to pay.
- July 16, 1838Juan Pablo Duarte founds La Trinitaria, a secret society for Dominican independence
On 16 July 1838 Duarte and friends in Santo Domingo form La Trinitaria, a secret society working in three-person cells for independence from Haitian rule. Its members go on to lead the 1844 revolt.
- March 1843Boyer is overthrown in Haiti and goes into exile
In March 1843 a liberal revolt forces Jean-Pierre Boyer out of Haiti after 25 years in power; Charles Hérard takes over. The turmoil gives the Dominican independence movement the opening it needs.
- February 27, 1844Dominican patriots declare independence from Haiti in Santo Domingo
On the night of 27 February 1844 Mella, Sánchez and Duarte's Trinitarios proclaim a separate state in the east of Hispaniola, ending 22 years of Haitian rule. The Dominican Republic is born.
- October 1854US diplomats meet at Ostend and argue that the United States may seize Cuba
In October 1854 James Buchanan, Pierre Soulé and John Y. Mason meet at Ostend and write that the US should buy Cuba, and would be justified in taking it if Spain refuses. Criticism in the North and in Europe ends the plan.
- March 18, 1861Pedro Santana announces the Dominican Republic's return to Spanish rule
On 18 March 1861 the annexation of the Dominican Republic to Spain is announced under President Pedro Santana. Historians debate whether it was a return to Spanish rule or an annexation; it lasts until 1865.
- March 3, 1865 – July 1865Spain annuls the annexation of Santo Domingo and withdraws its troops
Queen Isabella II signs the annulment of the annexation on 3 March 1865, after the US Civil War ended and four years of costly guerrilla war. The last Spanish troops leave by mid-July 1865.
- November 29, 1869Báez signs a treaty to annex the Dominican Republic to the United States
On 29 November 1869 President Buenaventura Báez signs annexation and Samaná Bay lease treaties backed by US president Ulysses S. Grant. A referendum in early 1870 shows about 10,000 votes for and 11 against, and is widely regarded as unreliable.
- June 30, 1870The US Senate defeats the treaty to annex Santo Domingo
On 30 June 1870 the Senate votes 28 to 28, short of the two-thirds needed, after Charles Sumner's opposition as chair of the Foreign Relations Committee. Grant's plan to annex the Dominican Republic fails.
- 1874 – 1875Haiti borrows from the Crédit Industriel et Commercial to clear the indemnity
In 1874-1875 Haiti takes two large loans from the Paris bank CIC to pay off the last of the independence debt. French banks kept about 40% of the capital in commissions and fees, according to the account on Wikipedia.
- October 7, 1886Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba by royal decree
A royal decree of 7 October 1886 abolishes slavery in Cuba. Sources also mark 1880, when chattel ownership of enslaved people ended and a transitional system began.
- 1888Heureaux borrows from the Amsterdam bank Westendorp, tying Dominican customs revenue to creditors
In 1888 the dictator Ulises Heureaux takes a loan of about £750,000 from Westendorp & Co. After Westendorp's bankruptcy in 1892, New York's San Domingo Improvement Company takes over the claims, with a lien on customs revenue.
- April 10, 1892José Martí founds the Cuban Revolutionary Party
The Cuban Revolutionary Party is proclaimed on 10 April 1892 to organise a new war against Spain, and José Martí is elected its delegate. It prepares the 1895 uprising.
- October 21, 1896Spain's General Weyler orders the rural population into fortified areas
On 21 October 1896 Valeriano Weyler orders Cuban villagers into fortified towns, a policy that lasts until March 1898. By the account on Wikipedia it killed at least a third of the rural population.
- December 10, 1898The Treaty of Paris ends Spanish rule in Cuba
Signed on 10 December 1898 without Cuban delegates, the treaty has Spain relinquish Cuba, which the United States occupies from 1 January 1899. Spain also cedes Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.
- July 26, 1899Dictator Ulises Heureaux is assassinated in Moca, leaving the Dominican Republic in debt
Ramón Cáceres shoots Heureaux on 26 July 1899 during a revolt by Cibao planters and merchants. The state's debt exceeds $35 million, and unpaid foreign creditors become the pretext for later US intervention.
- March 2, 1901The Platt Amendment gives the United States a right to intervene in Cuba
Signed into US law on 2 March 1901, the amendment is accepted by Cuba's constituent assembly on 12 June, 16 votes to 11, and added to its constitution. It allows US intervention and leads to the Guantánamo naval base.
- May 20, 1902The Republic of Cuba is inaugurated and the US military government ends
On 20 May 1902 General Leonard Wood hands power to President Tomás Estrada Palma in Havana. The republic is limited by the Platt Amendment, and some Cubans dispute that the date marks true independence.
- 1905 – March 31, 1941The United States takes over Dominican customs to repay foreign creditors
After the Roosevelt Corollary of December 1904, a US-appointed receiver collects the Dominican customs from 1905, with a 1907 treaty and a 1924 convention extending it. It ends on 31 March 1941 under the Trujillo-Hull convention.
- September 29, 1906 – February 6, 1909The United States occupies Cuba again after Estrada Palma resigns
A Liberal revolt against a rigged 1905 election leads Estrada Palma to resign on 28 September 1906 and the US to install a provisional government, later under Charles Magoon. The last US forces leave on 6 February 1909.
- 1910 – 1911A US-backed consortium led by National City Bank takes over the National Bank of Haiti
In 1910-1911, with State Department backing, a consortium led by National City Bank of New York buys control of the Paris-run National Bank of Haiti, which becomes the Banque de la République d'Haïti.
- May 20, 1912 – July 18, 1912Cuban forces crush the Independent Party of Color's armed protest
From 20 May to 18 July 1912 the army puts down a revolt of the Partido Independiente de Color in Oriente; its leader Evaristo Estenoz is killed on 27 June. Estimates of Black and mixed-race dead range from about 1,000 to 6,000.
- December 1914US Marines carry Haiti's gold reserve to New York
In December 1914, after President Oreste's overthrow, US forces remove about $500,000 of Haiti's gold from the national bank to National City Bank's vaults in New York. The bank had refused Haiti gold payments and asked for protection.
- July 28, 1915 – 1934United States Marines land in Haiti, beginning a 19-year occupation
On 28 July 1915 the US lands at Port-au-Prince on Woodrow Wilson's order and takes over Haiti's customs, banks and treasury. Forty percent of Haitian income goes to repay American and French lenders until 1934.
- May 1916 – September 18, 1924United States Marines occupy Santo Domingo, beginning an eight-year occupation
In May 1916 US forces land and take Santo Domingo, and a military government follows in November. Aims include forcing repayment of debts to European creditors. The Marines withdraw on 18 September 1924.
- 1930Rafael Trujillo seizes power in the Dominican Republic
In 1930 an uprising against President Horacio Vásquez, begun in Santiago in February, brings Rafael Trujillo to power; sources differ on the exact dates. He rules the country until his assassination in 1961.
- September 4, 1933The Sergeants' Revolt brings Fulgencio Batista to power in Cuba
After Gerardo Machado was forced out in August 1933, Batista and other sergeants take over the army on 4 September 1933. Batista then dominates Cuban politics for about 25 years, often through puppet presidents.
- May 29, 1934The United States and Cuba sign a treaty abrogating the Platt Amendment
The Treaty of Relations signed on 29 May 1934 abrogates the 1903 treaty and most of the Platt Amendment, ending the US right of intervention. One source gives 9 June as the date it took effect.
- October 2, 1937 – October 8, 1937Trujillo's army massacres Haitians along the Dominican border
From 2 to 8 October 1937, on Trujillo’s orders, the Dominican army kills Haitians in the border region. Estimates range from about 14,000 to 40,000 dead, and scholars generally settle on roughly 20,000.
- January 31, 1938Trujillo agrees to pay Haiti $525,000 for the 1937 massacre
The agreement signed in Washington on 31 January 1938 gives Haiti $525,000, about $30 a victim, against a US and Haitian demand for $750,000. The Dominican government accepts no responsibility for the deaths.
- 1947Haiti makes its final payment on the independence debt, 122 years after the ordinance
In 1947 Haiti finishes paying the debts that began in 1825, according to a 2022 New York Times analysis cited by Wikipedia. A US State Department release that year notes a $10 million Haitian internal loan, used partly to redeem the 1922 and 1923 bonds.
- March 10, 1952Fulgencio Batista seizes power in a coup before Cuba's election
On 10 March 1952 Batista and the army take over, ending the government of Carlos Prío weeks before the 1 June election in which Batista expected to lose. The United States recognises the regime in late March.
- May 30, 1961Rafael Trujillo is assassinated outside Ciudad Trujillo
On 30 May 1961 a group of conspirators ambush Trujillo's car outside the capital, now Santo Domingo. The regime holds on for months under his son Ramfis, and the CIA's part in supplying weapons is disputed.
- July 20, 1969Apollo 11 lands on the Moon
Armstrong and Aldrin become the first humans on the lunar surface.
- April 7, 2003Haiti's president Aristide demands that France repay the independence indemnity
On 7 April 2003 President Jean-Bertrand Aristide demands over 21 billion US dollars from France, which he says equals the 90 million gold francs Haiti paid after independence, plus interest. France rejects the claim.
- April 2004Haiti's interim government withdraws the restitution claim against France
In April 2004, weeks after Aristide's removal, Prime Minister Gérard Latortue rescinds the demand, calling it 'illegal, ridiculous' and made 'only for political reasons'. Critics later link the claim to France's stance on Aristide, which is disputed.
- May 10, 2015Hollande recalls the 1825 indemnity in Guadeloupe, then visits Haiti
On 10 May 2015, opening the Mémorial ACTe, French president François Hollande evokes the 150 million francs and says he will 'pay the debt' on reaching Haiti. His office says he meant a moral debt; he visits Port-au-Prince on 12 May.
- c. 2016French Parliament votes to repeal Charles X's 1825 ordinance as a symbolic act
An amendment tabled on 9 June 2016 by Victorin Lurel to the equality and citizenship bill abrogates the 17 April 1825 ordinance. It is explicitly symbolic and offers no reparation; the exact date of final adoption is uncertain.
- April 17, 2025Macron announces a joint Franco-Haitian historians' commission on the 1825 indemnity
On 17 April 2025, the 200th anniversary of Charles X's ordinance, Emmanuel Macron says the indemnity 'put a price on the freedom of a young nation' and creates a commission of historians from both countries. No reparations are offered.