Texts in Context:
Timeline of the Early Modern Period

This timeline covers the age generally known as the Early Modern Period, which in older works may be called the Renaissance, the Reformation era, or a similar name. Our prior timelines summarizing past ages include:

• Prehistory and the Bronze Age (ca. ?-1077 BC)
• The Early Iron Age (ca. 1077-499 BC)
• Pre-Imperial Classical Antiquity (ca. 499-31 BC)
• Post-Imperial Classical Antiquity (ca. 31 BC-476 AD)
• The Early Middle Ages (ca. 476-1073)
• The High and Late Middle Ages (ca. 1073-1517)

As the timeline below does not extend beyond the close of the seventeenth century, the timeline of the Baroque Period (which extends through about half of the eighteenth) remains for the moment incomplete. Our posts on the salient events of the Early Modern Period mainly discuss the evolution of the English language from the late fourteenth to early eighteenth centuries and the effects of the Protestant Reformations from a predominantly political viewpoint.

The Eve of the Modern Era: 1492-1517

• 1492—Alhambra Decree in Spain expels or forcibly converts all Jews; Christopher Columbus discovers New World, establishes Spanish claim to colonize in Americas.
• 1497-1498—Voyage of John Cabot on behalf of England establishes English claim to colonize in Americas; voyage of Vasco da Gama circumnavigates Africa, establishes sea route from Portugal to India outside Mediterranean.
• 1506—Kingdom of Kongo in central Africa adopts Catholic Christianity.
• 1508-1516—War of the League of Cambrai among France, Papal States, Venice (part of larger series of conflicts known as Italian Wars [1494-1559], struggle for dominance mainly between France and Spain); due to all three powers changing sides at some point in war, no clear victor.
• 1509—Accession of King Henry VIII of England, marriage to Princess (now Queen) Katharine of Aragon.
• 1516—Birth of Mary Tudor (later Queen Mary I) to Henry VIII, Queen Katharine; five other children miscarried, stillborn, or die in infancy.

The Reformations

The First Wave of the Protestant Reformation: 1517-1536

• 1517-1521—Martin Luther proposes Ninety-five Theses on indulgences for debate at Wittenberg (conventional date for beginning of Protestant Reformations); further debates, writings lead to Luther expressing views now called sola fide, sola Scriptura.
• 1519—Carlos I Habsburg, King of Spain and Archduke of Austria, elected Holy Roman Emperor (reigns as Charles V over Empire): apex of Habsburg power in Europe.
• 1519-1521—Hernán Cortés conquers Aztec Empire (mainly in modern Mexican states of Guerrero, Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz) on behalf of Spain.
• 1521—Diet of Worms: Luther refuses to renounce sola fide and sola Scriptura; Edict of Worms: Charles V outlaws Luther; King Henry VIII publishes Assertio Septem Sacramentorum (“Defense of the Seven Sacraments”) against Luther, receives title Defensor Fidei (“Defender of the Faith”) from Pope Leo X.
• 1522—Huldrych Zwingli begins Swiss Reformation, professing sola Scriptura and criticizing liturgical calendar, use of images, sacrificial doctrine of Mass.
• 1524-1525—German Peasants’ War in Holy Roman Empire; uprising supported by Zwingli, denounced by Luther.
• ca. 1525—Henry VIII becomes enamored of Anne Boleyn, begins attempting to obtain annulment of marriage to Katharine of Aragon from Pope Clement VII.
• 1526—Diet of Speyer: ecumenical council called for to resolve issues raised by Luther; enforcement of Edict of Worms suspended until then, local princes permitted to choose what religious policies to enforce in their territories; William Tyndale’s English translation of New Testament published.
• 1527—Rome sacked by army of Charles V (though against imperial orders); Pope Clement VII escapes due to protection of Swiss Guard.
• 1529—Marburg Colloquy between Luther, Zwingli: Luther adamantly asserts Real Presence of Christ in Eucharist, Zwingli denies, no agreement reached.
• ca. 1530—Henry VIII, recognizing papacy will not grant annulment, begins preparing to abolish papal authority in England.
• 1531—Schmalkaldic League, alliance of Lutheran princes within Empire formed (at first between Landgravate of Hesse, Electorate of Saxony, later joined by Duchies of Pomerania, Württemberg—all in modern Germany, Poland).
• 1532—Francisco Pizarro conquers Inca Empire (most of modern Ecuador, Peru, parts of modern Argentina, Bolivia, Chile) on behalf of Spain.
• 1532-1534—Submission of the clergy in England, involving multiple acts of Parliament; Henry VIII repudiates Queen Katharine, decrees daughter Mary illegitimate, marries Anne Boleyn, declares himself “supreme head of the Church in England”; formal breach of communion between English church, papacy.
• 1533—Birth of Elizabeth Tudor (later Queen Elizabeth I) to Henry VIII, Anne Boleyn.

The Second Wave of the Protestant Reformation: 1536-1563

• 1536—John Calvin publishes Institutio Christianæ Religionis (“Institutes of the Christian Religion”).
• 1536-1540—Dissolution of monasteries throughout England, majority of their wealth appropriated by crown.
• 1540—St. Ignatius de Loyola founds Society of Jesus (Jesuits).
• 1543—Copernicus’ De Revolutionibus Orbium Cœlestium (“The Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs”) published posthumously, proposing heliocentric astronomical model in place of geocentric Ptolemaic model.
• 1545-1547—First phase of Council of Trent (first eight sessions): doctrines of Biblical canon, original sin, justification, sacraments in general defined; council then adjourned due to local outbreak of plague.
• 1546-1547—Schmalkaldic War between Schmalkaldic League, Emperor Charles V and loyalists: imperial victory.
• 1547—Accession of Ivan the Terrible as first Tsar of Russia (built upon former Grand Principality of Muscovy); death of Henry VIII, accession of his son Edward VI: Protestant theology significantly introduced into Anglicanism.
• 1550-1551—Controversy of Valladolid between Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda (supporter of imperial colonialism in Americas), Bishop of Chiapas Bartolomé de Las Casas (advocate of rights of indigenous Americans); no resolution achieved.
• 1551-1555—Second phase of Council of Trent (ninth through twenty-third sessions): doctrines of Eucharist and Mass, penance, unction, holy orders defined; council then adjourned due to extreme hostility to Protestantism from new pope (Paul IV).
• 1553—Death of Edward VI triggers succession crisis: his will tried to exclude his half-sisters, crown his cousin once removed, Jane Grey, but after only nine days, popular support for Mary Tudor overwhelmed government; accession of Queen Mary I; Jane Grey ultimately executed.
• 1553-1558—Mary I makes partly-successful effort to reunite English Church with Rome, subject to major complications due to nobles’ acquisition of church lands.
• 1555—Mary I revives Heresy Acts, begins to implement execution for heresy; though normal by Continental standards, heresy executions are highly unusual in England, foment anti-Catholicism.
• 1556—Abdication of Emperor Charles V; Habsburg domains divided between Austrian, Spanish branches of dynasty (Austrians receive lands in central Europe, Spanish receive Spain, Low Countries).
• 1558—Death of Mary I, accession of Queen Elizabeth I of England; realm soon reverts to Anglicanism; persecution of Catholics (especially priests) gradually increases over course of her reign.
• 1559-1561—Scottish Reformation overwhelmingly eliminates Catholicism in Scotland (except in Highlands, Hebrides), establishes Presbyterianism, a.k.a. “Scottish Kirk.”
• 1559-1563—Third, final phase of Council of Trent (twenty-fourth, twenty-fifth sessions): doctrines of marriage, Purgatory, veneration of saints, monastic orders, indulgences, church-decreed fasting and feasting.
• 1562—Beginning of French Wars of Religion between French Catholics, Huguenot supporters of Henri of Navarre; Discalced Carmelites (reform of Carmelite Order) founded by St. Teresa of Ávila.

Catholic South, Protestant North: 1563-1618

• 1566—Beginning of Eighty Years’ War between Kingdom of Spain, rebel groups in Low Countries.
• 1567-1568—Mary, Queen of Scots forced to abdicate in favor of her son, now King James VI; flees to England, is placed in custody by Elizabeth I.
• 1569—Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth created.
• 1570—Pope Pius V issues bull Regnans in Excelsis, declaring Elizabeth I excommunicated and deposed, directing Catholics not to obey her.
• 1571—Battle of Lepanto between Holy League, Ottoman Empire: Holy League victory.
• 1572—St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre of Huguenots in and around Paris; Tycho’s supernova (a.k.a. SN 1572, β Cassiopeiæ) casts major doubt on Aristotelian model of physics (closely related to Ptolemaic astronomy).
• 1579—Union of Utrecht in Low Countries, establishing primitive form of modern Netherlands.
• 1580—Book of Concord (major symbol of Lutheran theology) published; Michel de Montaigne publishes Essays.
• 1582—Institution of Gregorian calendar.
• 1586—Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth I, replace her with Mary Queen of Scots (who as grand-niece of Henry VIII was legitimate heir after Mary I to Catholics); Mary of Scots implicated, tried for treason, found guilty.
• 1587—Execution of Mary Queen of Scots; James VI makes formal protest but no attempt to save his mother.
• 1588—England repulses Spanish Armada.
• 1589—Spain repulses English Armada.
• ca. 1590—Beginning of career of William Shakespeare.
• 1597—James VI publishes Dæmonologie, influential book on witchcraft, witch hunting.
• 1598—End of French Wars of Religion: Navarrese victory; Henri of Navarre, now King Henri IV, converts to Catholicism, issues Edict of Nantes protecting Huguenots.
• 1600—Charter granted to British East India Company.
• 1603—Death of Elizabeth I, last Tudor monarch; accession of James VI of Scotland as King James I, first Stuart monarch of England.
• 1607—Colony of Virginia founded at Jamestown.
• 1610—Galileo discovers four largest Jovian moons (a.k.a. Galilean satellites), Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Io.
• 1611—King James Bible completed.
• 1615—King James prevails on John Donne to take orders in Church of England.
• 1616—Death of Shakespeare.

The Baroque Period

The Twilight of Christendom: 1618-[1746]

• 1618—Thirty Years’ War begins in Holy Roman Empire; first phase (till 1635) mainly civil war between Catholic Habsburg dynasty, Protestant enemies.
• 1619—”Triangular trade” (trans-Atlantic slave trade involving Africa, Americas, Europe) established, introducing African slaves to Americas largely via Caribbean.
• 1620—Plymouth Colony (basis of later Province of Massachusetts Bay) founded.
• 1623-1624—During, after recovery from life-threatening illness, Donne composes, publishes Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions.
• 1629—Sweden, France join Thirty Years’ War against Habsburgs; Province of Carolina (later split into North, South), Province of New Hampshire founded.
• 1631—During last illness, Donne preaches most famous sermon, “Death’s Duel,” before King Charles I.
• 1632—Province of Maryland founded.
• 1633—Heresy trial of Galileo Galilei: found “vehemently suspect” (though not actually guilty) of heresy.
• 1635—Peace of Prague largely unites Holy Roman Empire internally; Thirty Years’ War continues between Empire, Denmark-Norway, Spain on one side, Dutch Republic, France, Hesse-Kassel, Sweden on other.
• 1636—Harvard University founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Connecticut Colony founded.
• 1637—René Descartes publishes Discours de la Méthode (“Discourse on the Method”).
• 1639—Wars of the Three Kingdoms (England, Ireland, Scotland) begin between Cavaliers (Stuart loyalists), Roundheads (Parliamentarians).
• 1642—Blaise Pascal invents pascaline, early type of mechanical calculator.
• 1643—Accession of King Louis XIV of France (realm under regency of dowager Queen Anne, Cardinal Mazarin until 1661).
• 1646—Westminster Confession of Faith (major symbol of Calvinist theology) agreed among Puritans in London.
• 1648—Thirty Years’ War ends with Peace of Westphalia: freedom of worship established for Calvinists (not hitherto recognized), Catholics, Lutherans throughout Empire (which effectively ceases to be major power); Sweden established as major power in Europe; independence of Swiss Confederation (de facto since ca. 1499) legally recognized.
• 1649—King Charles I of England, Ireland, and Scotland executed; Scottish Parliament declares his son King Charles II, but in England, monarchy abolished, Church of England disestablished, English Commonwealth instituted.
• 1651—Thomas Hobbes publishes Leviathan.
• 1653—Oliver Cromwell, Roundhead general, appointed Lord Protector of England, Ireland, Scotland; Charles II forced into exile in France.
• 1655-1660—Northern War between Sweden (sometimes joined by Prussia), Poland-Lithuania (sometimes joined by Austrian Habsburgs, Denmark-Norway, Prussia, Russia): no clear victor.
• 1660—English Commonwealth collapses after death of Cromwell; monarchy restored in Britain under Charles II, Church of England re-established; Royal Society founded (devoted to scientific research): founding members include architect Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle.
• 1661—Louis XIV begins personal rule of France.
• 1663—Royal charter given for Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
• 1664—Delaware Colony, Province of New Jersey, Province of New York founded.
• 1666—Great Fire of London.
• 1667—John Milton publishes Paradise Lost.
• 1672—Isaac Newton elected fellow of Royal Society.
• 1677-1682—”Affair of the Poisons”: Gabriel Nicolas de la Reynie, head of French law enforcement, uncovers network of poisoners, practitioners of witchcraft in Parisian high society, including mistress of King Louis, Marquise de Montespan; thirty-six people executed, twenty-three exiled, others sentenced to perpetual imprisonment or galleys; scandal hushed up, Montespan banished from royal presence.
• 1678—John Bunyan publishes The Pilgrim’s Progress.
• 1678-1681—”Popish Plot,” conspiracy theory accusing Jesuits of plot to murder Charles II, fabricated by Titus Oates: at least fifteen innocent people executed before fraud exposed.
• 1681—Province of Pennsylvania founded.
• 1685—Death of Charles II without legitimate issue; accession of King James VII and II, first Catholic English monarch since Mary I; Louis XIV revokes Edict of Nantes, imposing Catholicism on all Frenchmen.
• 1687—Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
• 1688-1689—”Glorious Revolution” and Williamite War: William of Orange, Mary II depose her father James and usurp thrones of England, Scotland.
• 1689—John Locke publishes Two Treatises of Human Government and Letter Concerning Toleration.
• 1689-1691—Williamite War in Ireland between Jacobites (loyal to James), Orangists (partisans of William and Mary): Orangist victory; Catholic Stuarts go into exile in France.
• 1692-1693—Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts: acceptance of “spectral evidence,” other miscarriages of justice under Cotton Mather, other judges result in twenty-five deaths among accused (nineteen executed, five die in prison without trial, one tortured to death for refusing to plead).
• 1698—Steam-powered water pump invented by Thomas Savery.