| 1453 AD Battle of Castillon-Charles VI became the first king to maintain a standing army, when he created a small French standing army. Knowing that the English were divided Charles decided to attack and reclaim Normandy. His attacks met little resistance. The English sent a fresh army led by Talbot against Charles, but at the battle of Chatillon the English were decisively defeated and the Hundred Years War came to an end. |
| 1453 AD Constantinople Falls to Forces of Muhammad II- The Byzantine Empire came to an end when the forces of Muhammad II captured Constantinople. Muhammad's forces had been kept at bay by an iron chain that kept his ship away. He brought 70 small ships overland. In addition Muhammad had 250,000 troops and a 1,200 pound cannon that breached the wall of Constantinople. When the walls were breached on May 29th the city fell and over a thousand years of Byzantine rule ended. |
| 1454 AD Treaty of Lodi -Under the term of the Treaty of Lodi hostilities ended between Venice, Milan and Florence. The peace treaty was reached due to the efforts of Pope Nicholas V. |
| 1455 AD War of the Roses Begun - The War of the Roses began in 1455. The war was a civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York. The war was limited to English nobility and involved few of the populace. The first battle of the war was the Battle of St Albans which took place near London. At that battle the Yorkist defeated the Royalist forces. |
| 1456 AD Cape Verde Islands Discovered - Cape Verde Islands off the African coast near Dakar was discovered by Alivse da Cadamosto who was employed in the service of Henry the Navigator. The islands were soon settled by the Portuguese who began to use it for the slave trade. |
| 1461 AD Battle of Towton Moors-War of Roses- The Royalist who wore red roses to battle were defeated by the Yorkist wearing white roses at the Battle of Towton Moors. The battle which was the bloodiest of the war, resulted in Edward being crowned Edward IV King of England. |
| 1471 AD Battle of Tewkesbury- The War of the Roses continued to wage. Edward married Elizabeth Woodville who had no money or rank. Edward handed out titles and money liberally so much so that he aroused the jealousy of the Earl of Warwick. Warwick arranged the ouster of Edward and the return of King Henry. When Warwick was killed in the battle of Barnet Henry was returned to jail, where he was killed immediately. Margaret, Henry's wife, continued the struggle, but at the Battle of Tewkesbury Margaret's son was killed and she was captured. |
| 1471 AD Kingdom of Anman Founded- Le Thanh-ton leading the Kingdom of Annam captured Vijaya the capital of the Cham, in present day Vietnam. |
| 1472 AD Ivan III the Great - In 1472 Ivan III- The Great, married the neice of the last Byzantine Emperor. The marriage, which took place ten years into his rule, increased Ivans prestige and helped him unify the various Russian principalities. |
| 1475 AD Treaty of Picquinty England's Edward IV invaded France in support of the Burgundians. Edward was bought off by a payment and the promise of an annual allowance by Louus XI under the terms of the Treaty of Picquinty. |
| 1477 AD Charles the Bald Killed - The Battle of Nancy is won by Swiss pikement fighting for Louis XI. Charles the Bald, the last of the Burgundy claimants to the throne, is killed in the battle. This effectively ended the incessant battles for the French crown. |
| 1479 AD Treaty of Alcacovas Under the treaty of Alcacovas Portugal abandoned its claim to the Castillian throne as well as its claim to the Canary Islands. The Spanish recognized the Portuguese primacy in Azores islands as well the North and West African coasts. |
| 1480 AD Treaty of Constantinople - The 15 year war between the Ottomans and Venice ended with the signing of the Treaty of Constantinople. Under the terms of the treaty Venice was forced to cede cities along the Albanian coast to the Ottomans. Furthermore the Venetians were forced to pay for the right to trade in the Black Sea. |
| 1485 AD Botticielli Paints The Birth of Venus -In 1485 The Birth of Venus was painted by Sandor Botticielli in Florence. It was Botticeilli’s most famous work. Botticielli also illustrated Dante’s Divana Commedia and worked on the Sistine Chapel |
| 1487 AD Dias Circles South Africa - Bartholomeu Dias the Portuguese explorer was blown off course and around the Cape of Good Hope. He became the first European explorer to circle Southern Africa. |
| 1491 AD Portuguese in Angola Portuguese explorers establish an embassy at Mbanza the capital of the Bantu State in the present Angola. The Kongo ruler converts to Catholicism. |
| 1492 AD Columbus Sets Sails For New World - Isabella, Queen of Spain financed the voyage of Christopher Columbus. His goal was to find a sea route to the Orient by sailing westward. He set sail on August 3, 1492 in his flagship the Santa Maria with 52 men aboard. Also sailing was the smaller Pinta and Nina. On October 12th land is sighted. |
| 1492 AD Jews Driven From Spain -The Jews of Spain were ordered out of Spain by July 31, 1492. Some Jews accept the cross and stayed, while over 100,000 left Spain, many traveling to the Ottoman Empire, while some settled in Portugal. |
| 1492 AD Moors Driven out of Spain -On January 2, 1492 Granada surrendered to Isabella and Ferdinand. Granada was the last Muslim Kingdom in Spain and this marked the final expulsion of the Moors from Spain. |
| 1492 AD Columbus Discovers America -In 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain to discover a westward passage to the Orient. His trip was financed by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. On October 12th, after several fearful weeks at sea, Columbus finally set foot on dry land. He landed at San Salvador. |
| 1493 AD Columbus' Second Voyage - After Columbus returns to Spain with strange animals, a live Indian and other unsusual items Queen Isabella grants Columbus enormous priviledges. He is sent back with 1,500 men and a fleet of 17 ships as the governor of the new land. |
| 1494 AD Treaty of Tordesillas - The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed which divided the world between Portuguese and Spanish lands. The Spanish received all of the land to the West and the Portuguese to the East. This gave Portugal Africa while Spain received all of the new world with the exception of Brazil. |
| 1497 AD John Cabot Discovers NewFoundland- John Cabot together with his son Sebastian discovered Newfoundland. He claims it for England. |
| 1498 AD Christopher Columbus Sets Sail for Third Voyage -In 1498 Christopher Columbus set sail for his third voyage to the New World. In the course of the voyage he discovered Trinidad. In addition he apparently landed in South America. |
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1498 AD Da Vinci paints The Last Supper- In 1498 Leonardo Da Vinci painted his most famous mural, The Last Supper. The mural depicts the last meal of Christ before being incarcerated.
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| 1498 AD Vasco de Gama Sails to India -Vasco De Gama, the Portuguese explorer, arrived in India. He established a trading post, thus creating a new trade route between Europe and the East. |
| 1498 AD Vasco De Gama lands in India -Following up on the discovery by Dias of the Cape of Good Hope, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama sets sail for India. In 1498, da Gama reached India. |
| 1498 AD Cabot Claims North America For Great Britain -On June 24th, John Cabot, sailing on behalf of King Henry of England, sighted the coast of New Foundland. He claimed lands for England. |
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