( C . 1300 TO 1700)

( C . TO ) DATES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - AFRICA Plague * in Egypt ( - ) Ibn Batuta explores the Sahara Portuguese begin slave trading ( ) Songhai Empire in West Africa established based on trading networks across the Sahara. Portuguese expeditions and settlements along the west coast of Africa ( onwards) Portuguese convert the king of Bokongo to Christianity African slaves taken to work on sugar plantations in America ( ) Ottoman Turks conquer Egypt ( ) Oyo kingdom of Nigeria at the height of its power, centres for metal-working * Portuguese destroy the Kongo kingdom ( ) EUROPE Alhambra and Granada emerge as important cultural centres in Spain The Hundred Years’ War between England and France ( - ) The Black Death (a form of plague) spreads throughout Europe ( ) French peasants protest against high taxes ( ) Peasant revolt in Britain ( ) Geoffrey Chaucer writes The Canterbury Tales, one of the earliest compositions in English ( ) The first printed book appears in Europe; Leonardo da Vinci ( - ), painter, architect, inventor in Italy Establishment of the Tudor dynasty in England ( ) Coffee from South America is drunk in Europe for the first time ( )—tobacco, chocolate, tomatoes and turkey are also introduced. Martin Luther attempts to reform the Catholic Church ( ) Copernicus propounds theory about solar system ( ) William Shakespeare ( - ), dramatist in England Zacharias Janssen invents the microscope (1590s) One of the first novels, Don Quixote , written in Spanish ( ) William Harvey demonstrates that blood is pumped through the body by the heart ( ) Louis XIV king of France ( - ) Peter the Great ( - ) attempts to modernise Russia T IMELINE - III T HEMES IN W ORLD H ISTORY DATES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ASIA The Ming dynasty * in China ( onwards) Ottoman Turks capture Constantinople ( ) Portuguese entry into China opposed, driven out to Macao ( ) The first Kabuki play staged in Japan ( ) Shah Abbas ( - ) of Persia introduces European methods of