HISTORY

1492: A Spanish expeditionary group, commanded by Christopher Columbus, lands in the New World. The Reconquista ends in the Iberian Peninsula.

1517: Martin Luther nails his demands for Reformation to the door of the church in Wittenberg.

1648: The Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War.

1699: Treaty of Karlowitz concludes the Austro-Ottoman War. This marks the end of Ottoman control of Central Europe and the beginning of Ottoman stagnation, establishing the Habsburg Monarchy as the dominant power in Central and Southeastern Europe.

1707: The Kingdom of Great Britain is formed by the union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland.

1712: Thomas Newcomen invents first practical steam engine which begins Industrial Revolution in England.

1721: Foundation of the Russian Empire.

1775: James Watt invents a new efficient steam engine accelerating the Industrial Revolution in England.

1807: The Slave Trade Act is passed by the British Parliament on 25 March 1807, making the slave trade illegal throughout the British Empire.

1848: Revolutions of 1848

1852: Start of the Crimean War, which ends in 1855.

1859: Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species.

1870: Franco-Prussian War and the fall of the Second French Empire.

1871: Unification of Germany under the direction of Otto von Bismarck.

1917: Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks seize power in the Russian Revolution. The ensuing Russian Civil War lasts until 1922.

1922: Benito Mussolini and the Fascists take power in Italy.

1936: Start of the Spanish Civil War, which lasts until 1939. 1873: Panic of 1873 occurs. The Long Depression begins. 1860s: Russia emancipates its serfs 1861: Unification of Italy after victories by Giuseppe Garibaldi.