Middle Ages
Edward I's Conquest of Wales (1282-1283): Fall of Llywelyn
English conquest of the Principality of Wales; Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was killed, Dafydd executed and Wales placed under English rule by the Statute of Rhuddlan (1284).
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Middle Ages
Oseberg Ship Burial (834): Norway's Finest Viking Ship Grave
The richest known Viking Age grave was excavated in 1904; its ship and finds are among the best-preserved objects of the period.
Middle Ages
Sack of Constantinople (1204): The Fourth Crusade's Betrayal
Crusaders and Venetians captured and plundered Constantinople, divided much of the Byzantine Empire and founded the Latin Empire, which lasted until 1261.
Early Modern
Battle of Kunersdorf (1759): Prussia's Worst Defeat in the War
Decisive Russian and Austrian victory; the Prussian army was shattered, but the allies failed to follow up and march on Berlin.
Early Modern
First Continental Congress (1774): The Colonies Unite in Protest
Twelve colonies agreed a joint statement of rights, a boycott of British trade and a petition to George III, and resolved to meet again in May 1775.
Early Modern
Chengde Mountain Resort (1703): The Qing Emperors' Summer Capital
A vast summer palace and ring of temples became the Qing court's second political centre, used to receive Mongol, Tibetan and foreign envoys.
Early Modern
Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664): Montecuccoli Halts the Turks
Allied Christian victory that stopped the Ottoman advance toward Austria, followed ten days later by the Peace of Vasvar on terms favourable to the Ottomans.
Early Modern
John Harrison's H4 Chronometer (1761) and the Longitude Prize
H4 proved that a clock could keep accurate time at sea, making it possible to find longitude; Harrison eventually received over 23,000 pounds but never the formal prize.
Early Modern
Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1587) at Fotheringhay
Mary was beheaded; Elizabeth disowned the act, and Philip II of Spain pressed ahead with the invasion of England.
Early Modern
Coronado Expedition (1540-1542): Searching for Cíbola
No gold was found; the expedition returned to Mexico in 1542, having made the first European contact with the Pueblo peoples and the Great Plains.
Contemporary
Cyclone Nargis (2008): Myanmar's Deadliest Natural Disaster
About 138,000 people were killed or went missing and some 2.4 million were severely affected, making Nargis the deadliest natural disaster in Myanmar's recorded history.
Contemporary
Kosovo War (1998–1999): Conflict and NATO Intervention
Yugoslav forces withdrew from Kosovo in June 1999, and the territory was placed under UN administration with a NATO-led peacekeeping force.