Dossier №261

2,016 AD

United Kingdom voters choose to leave the European Union in a national referendum.

This question uses 2016 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

The result brought down a prime minister and opened years of negotiation before formal withdrawal.

1,488 AD

Bartolomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa for Portugal.

This question uses 1488 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

The voyage proved the Atlantic and Indian oceans were connected by sea and opened the way toward a route to Asia.

1,478 AD

The Spanish monarchs receive papal authority to establish a new inquisition.

This question uses 1478 AD as its sourced chronological anchor.

The institution pursued religious conformity under royal control and became an instrument of coercion, trial, and expulsion.

202 BC

Liu Bang becomes emperor after the collapse of the Qin and years of civil war.

This question uses 202 BC as its sourced chronological anchor.

The Han dynasty created durable institutions and cultural reference points that shaped Chinese imperial history.

1,800 BC

Cretan administrators use the undeciphered script now called Linear A.

This question uses 1800 BC as its sourced chronological anchor.

The script recorded the language of Minoan palace economies, but its surviving signs have not yielded a secure decipherment.