1. From 800 B. C. until Present Day (The Quick Version)
European History
From 800 B. C. until Present Day
(The Quick Version)

2. The Greek Civilization 800 BC- 146 BC
The Birthplace of Western Civilization
Technological and societal advances:
Architecture (columns)
Olympic Games
Democracy
Theater (Drama)
Modern Education
Mathematics
Arts
Medicine
Why did the Greek Civilization fail?
Well-off lifestyle made people too satisfied.
Warring between city-states.
Over expansion of the empire without the money to rule the new lands.
The middle class that had arisen because of economic prosperity became poorer.

3. Roman Empire 27 BC – 476 AD Technological and societal advances:
-architecture (vaulted ceilings and arches).
-engineering (roads, aqueducts, and sewers.
- ruled 60 million people
- efficient government
- military tactics
- trade
- spread of Christianity
Why did the Roman Civilization fail?
1. New Christian beliefs conflicted with Roman government
2. The barbarians
3. Erosion of the government and military
4. Bad economy because of overexpansion.
5. Lead in the drinking water.
6. Division of the Empire.

4. The Rise of Christianity:100 BC-500 AD
New religion to spring from the Jews of Israel.
Preached forgiveness and personal salvation.
Persecuted by Romans at first.
Women were greatly valued members of the Christian society.
Christians did not fight back against Romans.
The belief system offered people who were suppressed societally or economically to believe they were moving forward to a better life in Heaven.
The eventual leader of the Christian movement was a very likable dude.
His self-sacrifice made Christians even more devout.
Christianity eventually becomes the official religion of Roman Empire.
Christianity unified Europe.

5. The Middle Ages (500 – 1200 AD) Period of time after the fall of Rome.
One of the worst periods of European history.
All the advances of Greece & Rome were nearly lost.
There was not huge government (the Roman Empire) to pay for things like schools, roads, art, or protection.
Many poor lived in the countryside where they were targets.
Normal people were worse off during the Middle Ages.
The Catholic Church was the supreme power.
Catholic Church preserved Roman tradition (such as art & education) but did not expand on them.
Feudalism was practiced with kings or queens loyal to the Church.
Poor people were forced to move to lands controlled by lords for protection.
The poor (peasants) were exploited to serve the feudal lord.
Democracy was lost. Many church and feudal leaders told the people that this is why Greece & Rome had fallen.
Since there was no large entity to invest in culture or societal advancement, European culture rolled to a stand still (no new ideas, inventions, or ways of thinking).

6. Muslim Invasion of Southern Europe
Islamic religion begins in early Middle Ages in present day Saudi Arabia and steadily grows.
An Islamic group, the Moors, moves into Spain during the 700s.
In the terrible Middle Ages, it was Muslim thinkers that preserved and expanded on much of the knowledge gained by the Greeks and the Romans.
Islamic Advances:
Mathematics (number system including “0”)
Astronomy & other sciences
Medicine
Navigation (would lead to the compass & astrolabe that would make the discovery of the New World possible 800 years later).
The invasion into Europe terrified the kings and church leaders of Europe.
This invasion and the eventual Islamic take over of Jerusalem sparked the Crusades.
Many historians give the Muslims the credit for preserving the ideas that will make up Western Civilization after the Middle Ages.

7. The Crusades AD
Everyone from peasants, knights, lords, and kings in search of wealth & riches.
Some left because their life was so awful and saw the Crusades as an escape.
The Crusades were where most Europeans had first contact with trade goods from Asia such as silk & spices.
To take back control of the Holy Land from the Muslims, Pope Urban calls for all men of faith in Europe to drop everything and go to the Holy Land to fight the Muslims.
The pope promised eternal salvation and that all sins that take place in the Holy Land will be automatically forgiven.
This leads to the slaughter of millions of Muslims.
There were three Crusades, and, eventually, they proved unsuccessful because the Muslims still controlled the Holy Land after the 3rd Crusade.

8. The Black Plague – 1350 AD
Came to Europe via trade ships from Asia on fleas on rats.
Disease struck trading countries first (like Italy).
One of the bad side effects of societies advancements (we become more interconnected).
Plague killed more than half the population of Europe (maybe 25 million people).
Christians believed they were being punished for sins.
Some Europeans blamed ethnic groups (like the Jews) for starting the disease.
Disease spread like wild fire because Europeans didn’t understand germs.
Disease broke down all civil structure. Governments were powerless. Parents abandoned sick children. Dead bodies piled in the streets.
It took 150 years for Europe’s population to recover.
Led to increased call for scientific & medical research.

9. The Renaissance AD
Rebirth of western civilization after the Crusades, the Middle Ages, and the Black Death.
Rediscovery of Greek and Roman thinking.
Funded by the rich families of Europe.
Saw the resurgence of art, education, and science for the first time in 800 years.
Many prominent figures complete work during this time period:
Michelangelo (Statue of David and the Sistine Chapel)
William Shakespeare (Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, Othello, Hamlet, & Macbeth)
Prince Henry the Navigator (Father of European Exploration)
Leonardo da Vinci (The Last Supper, The Mona Lisa, military technology)
Johannes Guttenberg (the printing press)
The new more open thinking of the Renaissance led to the Age of Exploration, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment.

10. The Age of Exploration (1400s-1600s)
The Age of Exploration got its start with sailors attempting to find quicker trade routes to Asia after the Crusades.
Started with the exploration of the African coast all the way to India.
A faster route was desired.
Columbus sailed west and discovered America.
This may have been the most Earth shattering event in human history (the world is round and there is a lot more land)
Explorers set off for the New World for the next or 200 years.

11. The Protestant Reformation (1500s)
The Catholic Church, the most powerful group in the world, had grown increasingly corrupt.
They sold salvation and indulgences to the rich.
The Catholic Church did not allow the average person to read the Bible.
The Guttenberg printing press ended this.
Martin Luther, a German monk, published his “protest” of 95 Catholic Church policies.
This led to the split of the Christian Church between Catholics & Protestants.
This split caused many wars over the next 200 years.

12. The Enlightenment (1600-1700s)
Time period where forward thinkers wanted to reform society using reason moving away from ideas rooted in religion, tradition, or mysticism.
Enlightenment thinking led to:
The French Revolution
The American Declaration of Independence
The Scientific Method
Less power for European kings & queens and more political power for the people.
Scientific ideas becoming the explanation of the natural world.

13. English Bill of Rights 1689
Document that essentially gave most power of government to the elected parliament and not the king or queen.
Also began listing specific rights the government would protect for its citizens.
This document basically did away with absolute monarchy in England.

14. French Revolution
Inspired by the American Revolution, it represented a complete upheaval of French society.
No more absolute monarchy, no more privileged aristocracy, or powerful religious leaders.
The people would lead for better or worse.
Seen as the greatest example in Europe of the Enlightenment.
The people became out of control with newly found power and little government.
This led to a the Committee for Public Safety being created that held executions of trouble makers or loyalists.
This was a great time of fear in France.
This ended with the rise to power of Napoleon Bonaparte, another dictator.
Also seen as how Enlightenment thinking can go wrong.

15. Industrial Revolution 1750s-1850s
Transition of the world to machine power and production.
Greatly increases the available goods for sale.
Well-being of the people increases with greater salaries and more food available.
New type of jobs are created.
Started in England with small factories.
Also led to pollution, exploitation of workers, and child labor.

16. The Rise of Industrial Capitalism
Born out of the industrial revolution, companies begin to grow massively and are only concerned with making profits at all costs.
The owners of these companies convince governments that this is better for the citizens. It will improve their lives.
Industrial capitalism believes for one company to become ultimately successful, all other companies must be purchased, absorbed, or destroyed.
Business owners attempt to form business monopolies to control an entire market (such as railroads or steel).
While owners of these businesses became very rich, the benefits promised to citizens are lacking.

17. Rise of Communism
Karl Marx, a German philosopher, saw the abuses of big businesses that created massive profits while exploiting workers.
He wrote the Communist Manifesto urging rebellion of the world’s workers to take control of the means of production.
Industrial Capitalists and governments were terrified of communism.
Governments who were profiting from businesses repressed communists.
This movement is a response to industrial capitalism.
After many failed attempts at revolution in many European countries, Russia becomes the first communist state in 1921.

18. World War 1 ( )
Seen as “The War to End All Wars”, WW1 saw 20 million killed world wide.
Started by Germany in an attempt to become the dominant European continental power.
Britain, France, & the U.S. defeated Germany and imposed the Treaty of Versailles on Germany.
This left Germany in shambles with no money and a weak government.

19. World War 2 ( )
20 years later in a weakened Germany, Adolf Hitler and his National Democratic Socialist Workers Party, or Nazis, takes power in Germany.
Called for the end to the terms of the Treaty of Versailles and a racially pure German state.
Germany invades Poland in September 1939.
Britain, France, USSR, and US fight Germany.
50 million die in war.
Germany defeated in May of 1945.
Europe is destroyed.
The U.S. rebuilds Western Europe.
This war ends dictators in Western Europe.

20. The Holocaust
6 Million Jewish people, Slavs from Eastern Europe, gypsies from Hungary, & mentally challenged men, women, & children were killed in death camps by Germany in order to make the “perfect German race”.
This event leads to Human Rights becoming a dominate fighting point between countries.

21. The European Union
Created out of the European Economic Community, the European Union was created by the Maastricht Treaty of 1992.
The EU was formed to end trade restrictions between member nations to create a unified economy that could compete with economic superpowers such as the U. S., China, & Japan.
The EU also works to resolve disputes between European countries before war can start.
Member nations in Europe have adopted one currency, called the Euro.
The EU has eased trade & labor restrictions so all countries can make more money.