The Age of Exploration & Revolution
European powers raced to colonize the globe while scientific giants like Galileo and Newton overturned millennia of dogma. Civil wars and revolutions planted the seeds of modern democracy.
Notable Figures
Championed heliocentrism with telescopic observations, father of modern science
Formulated laws of motion and universal gravitation in Principia Mathematica
Led Parliamentary forces in the English Civil War and ruled as Lord Protector
Unified Japan and established 250 years of peace under the Tokugawa Shogunate
Discovered blood circulation, overturning 1,400 years of medical dogma
Events of This Era
East India Company Founded
Queen Elizabeth I granted a charter to the East India Company, giving it a monopoly on English trade with Asia. Over two centuries, this commercial enterprise would grow into a de facto governing power, controlling much of India.
Tokugawa Shogunate Established
Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and established the Tokugawa Shogunate, inaugurating over 250 years of peace and isolation known as the Edo period.
Founding of Jamestown
English settlers established Jamestown in Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas. Despite near-starvation and conflict, it survived to become the seed of British colonial America.
Galileo Observes Jupiter's Moons
Galileo Galilei improved the telescope and turned it toward the heavens, discovering four moons orbiting Jupiter. This provided decisive evidence for the Copernican heliocentric model.
Galileo Publishes Starry Messenger
Galileo published Sidereus Nuncius, announcing his telescopic discoveries including lunar mountains, Jupiter's moons, and countless stars invisible to the naked eye.
Thirty Years' War Begins
The Defenestration of Prague sparked the Thirty Years' War, the deadliest European conflict before the World Wars. It killed eight million people and devastated Central Europe.
Pilgrims Land at Plymouth Rock
The Mayflower carried 102 Pilgrims to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where they established a colony based on self-governance and religious freedom. The Mayflower Compact became a foundational document of American democracy.
Harvey Describes Blood Circulation
William Harvey published his revolutionary theory that blood circulates through the body in a closed circuit, pumped by the heart. This overturned 1,400 years of Galenic medicine.
Tulip Mania — First Financial Bubble
The Dutch Republic experienced history's first recorded speculative financial bubble when tulip bulb prices skyrocketed to extraordinary levels before crashing dramatically.
English Civil War Begins
Parliament rose against King Charles I, plunging England into civil war. The conflict would lead to the king's execution and a brief republic, forever limiting the power of the Crown.
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War and established the modern concept of state sovereignty. It created the foundation of the international system that still exists today.
Execution of King Charles I
King Charles I of England was tried for treason and publicly beheaded outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall. It was the first time a reigning European monarch was executed by his own subjects through a legal process.
Hobbes Publishes Leviathan
Thomas Hobbes published Leviathan, arguing that humans need a powerful sovereign to avoid the 'war of all against all.' His social contract theory profoundly influenced political philosophy.
Royal Society of London Founded
The Royal Society of London was formally chartered, becoming the world's oldest continuously operating scientific academy. It fostered the sharing of discoveries and established peer-review.
Great Plague of London
The bubonic plague struck London with devastating force, killing roughly 100,000 people — a quarter of the city's population.
Great Fire of London & Newton's Annus Mirabilis
The Great Fire of London destroyed 13,200 houses and 87 churches. That same year, Isaac Newton made groundbreaking discoveries in calculus, optics, and gravitation in his miraculous year.
Newton Publishes Principia Mathematica
Isaac Newton published Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, perhaps the most important scientific work ever written. It established the laws of motion and universal gravitation.
English Bill of Rights
Following the Glorious Revolution, Parliament passed the English Bill of Rights, permanently limiting the powers of the Crown. It established parliamentary sovereignty and freedom of speech in Parliament.
Salem Witch Trials
Mass hysteria gripped Salem, Massachusetts, leading to the accusation of over 200 people and the execution of 20 for alleged witchcraft. The trials became a cautionary tale about extremism and mob justice.