AGE OF EXPLORATION (1488–1597) European explorers discover new trade routes and countries across the Atlantic. »pp78–79
THE REFORMATION (1517) Martin Luther begins the Protestant movement with his complaints against the Catholic Church. »pp84–85
VASCO DA GAMA (1497) The Portuguese explorer creates a new direct trade route from Europe to Asia. »pp78–79
1488
Sextant at sea The sextant, invented around 1730, could tell sailors where they were at sea. It measured the angle of the Sun, Moon, or stars above the horizon.
NEW WORLD DISCOVERY (1492) Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sails from Spain to find a trade route to Asia, but instead discovers the Americas. »pp78–79
FRENCH REVOLUTION (1789–94) With the motto “liberty, equality, fraternity,” protestors revolt against the monarchy and church. »pp96–97
CONVICTS IN AUSTRALIA (1788) Britain transports 1,500 convicts to Botany Bay, Australia, and sets up a penal colony at Port Jackson (modern-day Sydney). »pp94–95
ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE (1500s–1800s) More than 12.5 million Africans are enslaved and transported to the Americas. »pp90–91
END OF THE AZTECS (1521) Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés conquers the Aztec Empire of Central America. »pp80–81
AMERICAN WAR OF INDEPENDENCE (1775–81) The US becomes an independent country with 13 states, free from British control. »pp92–93
THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION (1770s–1870s) Machines begin to do the jobs previously done by people, making and transporting goods quickly and efficiently. »pp104–05
RUBBER (1735) French explorer CharlesMarie de la Condamine brings rubber to Europe from Ecuador. »pp120–21
BLACKBEARD (1716–18) Pirate Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, terrorizes the Caribbean and southeast American coast. »pp86–87
HMS Sirius, flagship of the first transportation to Australia
NAPOLEONIC WARS (1792– 1815) French leader Napoleon Bonaparte extends his control across Europe before being defeated at Waterloo. »pp98–99
FIRST FREE SETTLERS IN AUSTRALIA (1793) The first voluntary immigrants from Britain move to Australia. »pp94–95
SOUTH AMERICAN REVOLUTIONS (1808–26) After 300 years of European rule, most colonies in South America become independent. »pp100–01
VACCINE (1796) Edward Jenner invents the vaccine—a way of triggering the human body to fight smallpox. »pp120–21
STEAM RAILROADS (1825) The world’s first public steam railroad opens, in northern England. »pp116–17
Modern times
The end of the 15th century signaled the start of the age of exploration. Europeans possessed new technology to sail and navigate long distances and wanted to find new trade routes. Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the Americas—the New World—brought goods to trade, new foods, wealth, and gold. However, it also led to the colonization of New World countries, piracy, and slavery.
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TRANS-SIBERIAN RAILROAD (1891–1916) The world’s longest railroad is built across Russia. »pp116–17
1900 SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD RUSH (1886) Johannesburg becomes a large and wealthy city following a gold rush in Witwatersrand. »pp110–111
THE WORLD’S POPULATION REACHED 1 BILLION IN 1804. TODAY,
