1200-1450
What deadly pandemic arrived in Europe in 1347 from the Silk Roads trade networks and resulted in the deaths of millions of people?
Black Death/ Bubonic Plague
What is the name of the historical event that describes the widespread transfer of plants, animals, and culture between the Eastern and Western hemispheres following Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas in the 15th century?
Columbian Exchange
Which French emperor conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century before his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815?
Napoleon Bonaparte
What was the severe worldwide economic event that lasted from the late 1920s until the late 1930s, and was characterized by high unemployment, bank failures, and widespread poverty?
The Great Depression
World War I begins with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary.
1900-Present
1914
Who was the 14th century ruler of the Mali Empire who distributed so much gold in Cairo during his pilgrimage to Mecca that he crashed the economy there?
Mansa Musa
In 1453, which city was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, putting an end to the Byzantine Empire?
Constantinople (Istanbul)
Toussaint Louverture led a slave revolt against French colonial rule in what revolution in the Western Hemisphere in 1804?
Haitian Revolution
What political ideology, characterized by a strong belief in the interests and culture of one's own nation, played a significant role in the breakup of Yugoslavia and the Soviet Union in the early 1990s?
Nationalism
The Protestant Reformation begins, with Martin Luther's publication of his Ninety-Five Theses.
1450-1750
1517
What was the name of the Chinese admiral who led several voyages of exploration to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa in the early 15th century?
Zheng He
The Portuguese established this type of empire which consisted of a series of forts, such as those in Hormuz and Goa, throughout the coastal regions of the Indian Ocean in this time period.
Trading Post Empire
Who was the English philosopher and political theorist who wrote the "Two Treatises of Government" and is widely considered to be one of the most influential Enlightenment thinkers?
John Locke
What movement, founded by Wangari Maathai in Kenya in 1977, focused on environmental conservation, women's rights, and community development through the planting of trees?
The Green Belt Movement
Ibn Battuta begins his travels with a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca.
1200-1450
(1325)
This sultanate, ruled by a military caste of former slave soldiers, ruled over the area of Egypt and Western Arabia from 1250 to 1517.
The Mamluk Sultanate
The rulers of this dynasty in China implemented restrictive policies when they came to power, such as the Hair Cutting Edict, towards ethnically Han Chinese.
Qing Dynasty
What was the period of peace and stability in Japan, between 1603 and 1867, that saw the development of a unique Japanese culture and the growth of the economy, under the rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate?
Edo Period
What ambitious economic and social campaign, launched in 1958 by the Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Mao Zedong, aimed to transform China from an agrarian economy into a modern industrialized society, but resulted in a famine that claimed the lives of millions of people?
The Great Leap Forward
Mughal Emperor Shah Jahān completes construction of the Taj Mahal in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.
1450-1750
1648
What was the capital city of the Aztec Empire founded in 1325 in the marshes of Lake Texcoco?
Tenochtitlan
Ivan IV launched an attack against this social class in Novgorod and forced them to relocate to Moscow to keep a close watch on them as class tensions rose in Russia.
The Boyars
Yaa Asantewaa was an influential Ashanti queen who led the War of the Golden Stool against the British in 1900 which resulted in her exile. What British colony did Ashanti (Asante) become a part of as result?
The Gold Coast
This year saw both the Rwandan genocide and the election of Nelson Mandela to president of South Africa after his decades-long prison sentence.
1994
The decisive Battle of Tondibi results in the fall of Songhai to the Saadi dynasty in Morocco. The invasion was initiated in an effort to gain control of the trans-Saharan trade in salt and gold.
1450-1750
(1591)