The early modern period is the era of European and world history that lies between the Middle Ages and the modern age, conventionally dated from about 1500 to about 1800, though the exact limits are debated and some start it in the fifteenth century. It saw the invention of the printing press, voyages of exploration that connected the continents, the establishment of European colonial empires, and the Atlantic slave trade. In Europe the Protestant Reformation divided Western Christianity, states grew stronger under absolute monarchs, and the Scientific Revolution and the Enlightenment changed ideas about nature and society. In Asia the Ottoman, Safavid, Mughal, Ming and Qing empires reached great power. The age closed with the political upheavals of the American and French revolutions.
Before and after
- from 15th century to 18th centuryAge of Discovery
- c. 1500sDavid
- c. 1500Modern period
- 15th centuryConstruction of Red Square
- from 15th century to 18th centuryEarly modern period
- from 1500 to 1785Khanate of Bukhara
- from 15th century to 16th centuryRise of Manueline
- 24 February 1500Birth of Charles V
- from 1501 to 1736Safavid dynasty
More in Civilizations & archaeology
- 6 August 1538Founding of Bogotá
- 1541Founding of Santiago
- from 1547 to 1721Tsardom of Russia
- from c. 1583 to 1997British Empire
- 1623Founding of Barbados
- 29 March 1693Founding of Curitiba
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas.