Dossier №32

1,492 AD

Christopher Columbus reaches islands in the Caribbean after sailing west from Spain.

The voyage connected worlds already inhabited by millions of people.

Columbus landed in the Caribbean while seeking a westward route to Asia. The crossing began sustained contact between Europe and the Americas, followed by conquest, forced labor, disease, ecological exchange, and profound demographic change.

1,347 AD

The Black Death reaches Mediterranean ports and begins spreading rapidly through Europe.

Trade routes carried both commerce and catastrophe.

Ships arriving in Sicily helped introduce the plague into European trading networks. The pandemic killed an enormous share of the population and transformed labor, religion, art, settlement, and political relations for generations.

1,896 AD

Athens hosts the first international Olympic Games of the modern era.

An ancient name was recast for a new international sporting movement.

Athletes from fourteen countries competed in events centered at the Panathenaic Stadium. The program and participation were far smaller than today, but the games established the modern Olympic cycle.

323 BC

Alexander the Great dies in Babylon without a clear adult successor.

A vast personal empire fractured almost immediately after its conqueror died.

Alexander’s generals and relatives fought over his territories in the Wars of the Successors. The resulting Hellenistic kingdoms spread Greek language and institutions while blending them with local traditions.

2,500 BC

The major sarsen stone circle at Stonehenge takes shape in prehistoric Britain.

The monument was built in stages rather than in a single mysterious campaign.

Communities had already used the landscape for generations before the great stones were raised. The site’s alignments, burials, feasting evidence, and distant materials point to ritual importance and broad social connections.