Key Events in European History: From 1700 to 1939

Posted on Feb 21, 2025 in History

Key Events in European History (1700-1939)

18th Century

  • 1700-1748: Reign of Philip V of Spain
  • 1713: Treaty of Utrecht
  • 1759-1788: Reign of Carlos III of Spain
  • 1776: U.S. Declaration of Independence
  • 1776: Completion of work at the convent (Spain)
  • 1787: U.S. Constitution
  • 1789: Outbreak of the French Revolution
  • 1791: First Constitution of France
  • 1793: Second Constitution of France
  • 1799: Napoleon’s Coup d’état

19th Century

  • 1804: Napoleon crowned Emperor
  • 1807: Treaty of Fontainebleau
  • 1808: Mutiny of Aranjuez
  • 1808: Uprising of Madrid
  • 1813: Treaty of Valençay
  • 1814-1815: Congress of Vienna
  • 1814-1823: Reign of Ferdinand VII of Spain
  • 1820-1823: Liberal Triennium (Spain)
  • 1823: Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis
  • 1829: Independence of Greece
  • 1833: Death of Ferdinand VII of Spain
  • 1837: Spanish Constitution of 1837
  • 1870: Unification of Italy
  • 1871: Unification of Germany

20th Century

  • 1914-1918: World War I
  • March 3, 1918: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
  • 1922: March on Rome (October 27-28)
  • 1925: Treaty of Locarno
  • January 1933: Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany
  • 1934: Night of the Long Knives
  • 1939: Night of Broken Glass

Key Terms and Concepts

  • Antisemitism: Rejection of Jewish race, culture, and influence.
  • Bolsheviks: Radical revolutionary workers’ party led by Lenin.
  • Charter Granted: Royal document recognizing certain rights.
  • Cholera: Early 19th-century disease causing fever and dehydration.
  • Colbert: Economic theory aiming for maximum wealth through gold and silver.
  • Constituent Cortes: Assembly convened to draft a constitution.
  • Constitution: Fundamental law of a state.
  • Decree of New Plant: Decree abolishing the Crown of Aragon and imposing centralism.
  • Division of Powers: System with executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
  • Economic Protectionism: Government taxes on foreign goods to promote domestic industry.
  • Encyclopedia: Comprehensive collection of human knowledge.
  • Enlightened Absolutism: Absolute monarchs adopting Enlightenment ideas.
  • Fascism: Anti-democratic, authoritarian ideology with state intervention and nationalism.
  • Final Solution: Nazi plan to exterminate Jews and Gypsies.
  • Free Trade: External trade without state protection through tariffs.
  • Illustration (Enlightenment): Intellectual movement originating in 17th-century England.
  • Legislative Courts: Assembly developing laws based on a constitution.
  • Mensheviks: Moderate revolutionary workers’ party.
  • New Deal: Program with increased state intervention in the economy.
  • Physiocracy: Economic system prioritizing agriculture.
  • Rural Depopulation: Migration from rural to urban areas.
  • Salic Law: Law preventing women from reigning in Spain.
  • Soviet: Popular assemblies of peasants and workers.
  • Spirit of Locarno: Euphoria influencing society and economy.
  • Statement: Military uprising.
  • Stratified System: Social organization with privileged and unprivileged classes.
  • Totalitarianism: Dictatorial regime eliminating individual freedoms.
  • Treaty of Fontainebleau: Treaty between France and Spain for the invasion and division of Portugal.