World History Timeline

Timeline

10 events

11th century

  1. 1086★★★★★

    Domesday Book compiled

    William I orders a great survey of land and property across England, recorded in the Domesday Book.

    PoliticsEconomy· United Kingdom

14th century

  1. 1315 – 1317★★★★★

    Great Famine in Europe

    Successive crop failures caused by bad weather bring mass famine to northern Europe, killing a significant share of the population.

    DisasterEconomy· United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland

15th century

  1. c. 15th century – c. 1860s★★★★★

    The transatlantic slave trade

    From the 16th to the 19th century, an estimated 12.5 million enslaved Africans were shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas, with profound consequences for both continents.

    Economy· Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Senegal, Angola, Brazil, United States, Portugal, United Kingdom

16th century

  1. December 31, 1600★★★★★

    English East India Company chartered

    Queen Elizabeth I grants a royal charter to the East India Company, which later comes to rule much of the Indian subcontinent.

    EconomyPolitics· United Kingdom, India

18th century

  1. January 5, 1769★★★★★

    James Watt patents his steam engine

    James Watt's patent for a separate condenser makes steam engines far more efficient, driving the Industrial Revolution.

    TechnologyEconomy· United Kingdom
  2. 1793★★★★★

    Macartney Embassy to China

    A British embassy led by Lord Macartney meets the Qianlong Emperor but fails to secure expanded trade.

    PoliticsEconomy· China, United Kingdom

19th century

  1. 1819★★★★★

    Founding of modern Singapore

    Stamford Raffles signs a treaty establishing a British East India Company trading post at Singapore, beginning the modern port city.

    PoliticsEconomy· Singapore, United Kingdom
  3. 1839 – 1842★★★★★

    First Opium War

    Britain wars with Qing China after it cracks down on the opium trade; the defeat opens what China calls the 'century of humiliation'.

    WarEconomy· China, United Kingdom

20th century

  1. April 3, 1948★★★★★

    Marshall Plan

    The United States enacts a large-scale economic aid programme to rebuild Western European economies after the Second World War.

    EconomyPolitics· United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands
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