- 1419 -- Hussite religious uprisings in Bohemia presage the reformation
- 1429 -- the Siege of Orléans (led by Jeanne d’Arc) turns the tide for France
- 1453 -- the 100 Years War ends; France becomes a nation at last
- 1453 -- Constantinople falls to the Turks
- 1455-1485 -- the Wars of the Roses in England; Lancaster eventually wins over York
- 1479 -- the union of Castile and Aragon (Ferdinand and Isabela)
- 1481 -- the renewal of the Inquisition in Spain (Torquemada)
- 1492 -- the conquest of Granada
- 1492 -- Columbus establishes first Spanish foothold in the Americas
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- 1517 -- Luther posts his 95 Theses against the Church
- 1525 -- the Great Peasant War: first Protestant rebellion in Germany
- 1533 -- Ivan the Terrible consolidates Russia
- 1534 -- establishment of Anglican Church (Henry VIII)
- 1562-1598 -- the Huguenot religious wars in France
- 1572 -- the Massacre of St. Bartholomew (20,000 Huguenots killed)
- 1568-1648 -- the Dutch War of Independence from Spain
- 1588 -- the destruction of Spain’s Great Armada
- 1598 -- the Edict of Nantes ends the Huguenot wars: tolerance in France
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- 1618-1648 -- the 30 Years War: Protestant and Catholic states vie for control of Germany
- 1648 -- the Peace of the Hague ends Dutch War of Independence
- 1648 -- the Peace of Westphalia ends 30 Years War (1/3 of German population dead)
- 1642-1648 -- the English Civil War
- 1649 -- English confiscation of all Irish landed property
- 1649-1660 -- the English Commonwealth
- 1683 -- the Siege of Vienna: beginning of the end of the Ottoman threat to Europe
- 1685 -- the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes: 1/2 million Huguenots flee France
- 1688 -- the bloodless "Glorious Revolution" in England establishes a constitutional monarchy
- 1689 -- the Declaration of Rights
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- 1701-1713 -- War of the Spanish Succession: France against all for power over Spain (the first "world" war)
- 1707 -- the union of Scotland and England into the United Kingdom
- 1713 -- the Peace of Utrecht: "the Grand Alliance" picks apart Spanish holdings in Europe
- 1756-1763 -- the Seven Years War: Great Britain and Prussia against France, Austria, and Russia (includes the French and Indian War in North America)
- 1763 -- the Peace of Hubertusburg: Prussia comes into its own
- 1772-1795 -- the partition of Poland (between Prussia, Russia, and Austria)
- 1776 -- British colonials declare independence: the American Revolution
- 1789-1792 -- the French Revolution
- 1793-1794 -- the Reign of Terror in France; the guillotine gets heavy use
- 1799-1815 -- the Napoleonic Wars: France against all
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