Europe/Timelines

The European heritage

Ancient Greece

- the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle and the concept of democracy as a system of government

- the poetry of Homer (the Iliad and the Odyssey)

- Euclid

The Roman Empire

- the rule of law and Pax Romana:

- the poetry of Virgil (the Aeneid)

Christianity

- the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and the other patristic philosophers: a doctrine of passive obediance to authority

- the art of Michelangelo and Benini

- the politics of the Holy Roman Empire and the reign of Charlemagne

The Enlightenment

- the philosophical writings of Denis Diderot, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau that gave priority to the power of reason over the claims of authority.

- the scientific method: Galileo on the importance of observation, and Isaac Newton on the rules of reasoning.

The development of the nation states

1648: Treaty of Westphalia

- created the Westphalian System of European sovereign states[1].

1689: Glorious Revolution

1690: John Locke Two Treatises of Government

1713: Treaty of Utrecht

- separates France from Spain; cedes the Spanish Netherlands to Austria; cedes Gibraltar and parts of Canada to Britain

~1750 The Industrial Revolution begins.

- the transition from a predominantly agricultural to a predominately industrial economy that started in Britain with the development of the steam engine.

1789: French Revolution

1799-1815 Napoleonic Wars

1806: Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and formation of the Federation of the Rhine.

1815: Congress of Vienna

- redefined the territorial map of Europe following the defeat of Napoleon; including the creation of the Confederation of Germany

1867: Austro-Hungarian Compromise

- united Austria with Hungary.

1914-18 First World War

1917: October Revolution

- the seizure of power by Lenin's Bolshevics, from the provisional government that had been formed by the revolutionary uprising of of February 1917.

1918: The collapse of Austro-Hungary, and the proclamation of the separate republics of Austria and Hungary.

1919: Paris Peace Conference (1919-1920)

- concluded the treaties of Versailles (with Germany), St Germain (with Austria), Trianon (with Hungary), Neuilly (with Bulgaria), Sèvres and Lausanne (with Turkey).

1929-35: Great Depression

1939-45 Second World War

1945: Partition of Germany

1946: Paris Peace Conference (1946-1947)

- concluded peace treaties with Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Rumania and Italy.

The development of a union of nation states

1949: Treaty of London - created the Council of Europe

1953: Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

1954: Brussels Treaty - created the Western Union

1957: Treaty of Rome - created the European Common Market

1973: Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe created the OSCE

1975: Signing of the Helsinki Final Act

1989: Fall of the Berlin Wall

1990: German reunification

1991: Collapse of the Soviet Union

1992: Treaty of Maastricht - created the European Union

1994: Opening of the Channel tunnel

1997: Treaty of Amsterdam

2003: Treaty of Nice

2008-10: Great Recession

2009: Treaty of Lisbon

2010: Eurozone crisis