The History Book

198

THE FOUNDING OF THE

SAFAVID DYNASTY, PERSIA

(1501)

The Safavid dynasty rose to power

under Shah Ismail I, a leader of the

Twelver School of Shia Islam, which

believes in 12 imams as successors

to the prophet Muhammad. In a

series of military campaigns lasting

until 1509, Shah Ismail conquered

Persia (now Iran) and areas of Iraq,

in the name of Shia Islam. His

son, Shah Tahmasp (r. 1524–76),

defended these lands against the

neighboring Ottoman empire,

whose rulers followed the opposing

Sunni School of Islam. The Safavid

dynasty established strong Shia

rule in Persia, created an efficient

government and bureaucracy, and

lasted until 1736.

CHARLES V BECOMES

HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR

(1519)

One of the most powerful European

monarchs as Hapsburg king of

Spain and ruler of Burgundy and the

Netherlands, Charles V was elected

Holy Roman Emperor in 1519,

bringing much of central Europe and

northern Italy under his rule. This

gave him unprecedented power but

also brought challenges from the

empire’s neighbors—France on

one flank and the Ottomans on

the other—and from Protestants

within his territories. When Charles

abdicated, the Spanish crown

passed to his son Philip and the title

of emperor to his son Ferdinand.

THE START OF THE

DUTCH REVOLT

(1568)

In 1568, the Protestant northern

provinces of the Netherlands

rebelled against their Catholic ruler,

Philip II of Spain, and declared their

independence, beginning an

80-year period of war before their

Republic was recognized. Philip

had imposed his Catholic beliefs

uncompromisingly on his Dutch

subjects, so many Protestants

from the southern Netherlands,

which remained loyal to the crown,

moved north. This influx helped

the Republic, which soon grew

into a financially and culturally

stable nation thanks to sea trade,

scientific progress, and impressive

artistic achievements.

THE ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S

DAY MASSACRE

(1572)

In 16th-century France, violent

clashes, and, from 1562, civil

war, erupted between Catholics

and Protestants. One of the worst

episodes took place in 1572, when

the Protestant claimant to the

French throne, Henry of Navarre,

was married in Paris and several

thousand Protestants were

massacred. After Henry became

king of France, he issued the

Edict of Nantes in 1598, ordering

religious tolerance. However, the

edict was revoked in 1685 by Louis

XIV, who ruthlessly oppressed

France’s Protestant population;

FURTHER EVENTS

HENRY VIII BREAKS

WITH ROME

(1534)

English king Henry VIII faced a

dynastic crisis: he needed a male

heir to ensure the succession,

but he and his wife, Catherine of

Aragon, were unable to produce

one. Henry wanted to divorce

Catherine, but the Pope refused him

permission to do so. In response,

Henry cut off ties with Rome and

declared himself head of the church

in England. Although under Henry

the English church remained largely

Catholic in doctrine and practice,

the king’s move paved the way

for England’s later acceptance of

Protestantism. In addition, Henry

dissolved the monasteries, which

brought him a new source of land

and wealth, and removed a key link

with the Roman Catholic church.

CARTIER EXPLORES

CANADA

(1534–42)

French navigator Jacques Cartier

explored the northern coast of

Canada and Newfoundland, sailing

up the St. Lawrence River as far

as what later became Montreal.

Although he did not establish a

colony there, Cartier sparked the

French interest in Canada, and

his explorations were crucial when

French travelers began to found

settlements there and make claims

on the land in the 17th century.

Canada has had a significant

French heritage ever since.

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THE EARLY MODERN ERA 199

under his reign many Protestants

were imprisoned and many others

fled from the country.

THE SPANISH ARMADA

(1588)

In 1588, the Catholic monarch

Philip II of Spain attempted to

conquer Protestant England by

sending a fleet of 130 ships to

invade the country. After the

English succeeded in destroying

part of the fleet using fire ships,

a defeat at Gravelines sent the

remains of the Spanish Armada

retreating northward toward

Scotland, where many more ships

were wrecked by storms. Only 86

vessels made it back to Spain. The

defeat was a blow to Spain, ending

this campaign to capture England

for Catholicism and confirming

England’s status as a secure

Protestant nation under Elizabeth I.

THE JAPANESE INVASIONS

OF KOREA ARE DEFEATED

(1592–98)

The Japanese samurai leader

Toyotomi Hideyoshi launched

attempts to conquer Korea in

1592 and 1597, part of a larger

campaign that was intended to

culminate with an invasion of

China. Both times, Japan made

major advances, but the Koreans,

with the support of Chinese forces,

managed to fight back. However,

they were unable to expel the

Japanese completely, which led

to a stalemate on land, although

Korea’s Admiral Yi inflicted

frequent naval defeats on Japan.

Beaten at sea and confined to

a few fortresses on land, Japan

abandoned its attempts to invade.

Korea remained independent until

1910, after which there was a

35-year period of Japanese rule.

THE SIEGE OF DROGHEDA

(1649)

England’s parliamentarian leader

Oliver Cromwell launched his

campaign to conquer Ireland in

1649, after Irish Catholics took

control of the country from its

English administrators in 1641.

Once Cromwell had taken Dublin,

Drogheda became a base for Irish

Catholic leaders. Cromwell laid

siege to the town, massacring the

people inside its walls when they

refused to surrender. Most of the

garrison of about 2,500 men,

plus many civilians, were killed.

Although the killings did not

break the military code of the

time, their ruthlessness and the

sheer number of victims were

both unprecedented, and they

embittered future relations between

the English and the Irish Catholics.

THE DUTCH ESTABLISH A

COLONY AT CAPE TOWN

(1650)

Although Portuguese explorers

were the first Europeans to

discover the Cape of Good Hope

in the 15th century, it was the

Dutch who founded Cape Town.

In 1652, a group from the Dutch

East India Company under Jan

van Riebeeck established a colony

there, creating a stopping point

for Dutch ships on their way to

and from Asia. The settlement

became the center of a large

community of people of Dutch

origin, who dominated trade and

agriculture in the region, evolved

their own language—Afrikaans—

and played a central role in the

history of South Africa.

THE OTTOMAN SIEGE

OF VIENNA

(1683)

By 1683, the Turkish Ottoman

Empire was at its greatest extent

and included large areas of North

Africa, the Middle East, and

Eastern Europe. Austria was on

the empire’s western border, and

the Turks had already attempted

to conquer Vienna. In 1683 they

besieged the city for the last time:

the forces of the Habsburg-ruled

Holy Roman Empire and of Poland

came to defend Vienna, and the

Ottomans were vanquished. From

this point on, the Ottomans’ power

declined. No longer a threat to

Christian Europe, they steadily

lost their European territories.

THE BATTLE OF CULLODEN

(1746)

At the Battle of Culloden, Scotland,

an army being led by the Duke of

Cumberland, son of the Hanoverian

king George II, defeated a smaller

force of Jacobites (including many

from the Highland clans) under

Prince Charles Edward Stuart.

The Stuart prince had hoped to

restore his bloodline to the British

throne, but Culloden effectively

put an end to his campaign. It

also led to the disarming of the

Scottish Highlands, where Jacobite

support was strongest, the

dismantling of the clan system

there, and a ruthless suppression

of Highland culture that included

bans on wearing Highland dress

and speaking Gaelic.

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