document_title: Gold standard

question_text: when did the united states go on the gold standard

question_tokens: when did the united states go on the gold standard

text: Gold standard

text: History

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Origin

text: The gold specie standard arose from the widespread acceptance of gold as currency.[5] Various commodities have been used as money; typically, the one that loses the least value over time becomes the accepted form.[6] Chemically, gold is of all major metals the one most resistant to corrosion.[citation needed]

text: The use of gold as money began thousands of years ago in Asia Minor.[7]

text: During the early and high Middle Ages, the Byzantine gold solidus, commonly known as the bezant, was used widely throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. However, as the Byzantine Empire's economic influence declined, so too did the use of the bezant.[8] In its place, European territories chose silver as their currency over gold, leading to the development of silver standards.[citation needed]

text: Silver pennies based on the Roman denarius became the staple coin of Mercia in Great Britain around the time of King Offa, circa 757–796 CE.[9] Similar coins, including Italian denari, French deniers, and Spanish dineros, circulated in Europe. Spanish explorers discovered silver deposits in Mexico in 1522 and at Potosí in Bolivia in 1545.[10] International trade came to depend on coins such as the Spanish dollar, the Maria Theresa thaler, and, later, the United States trade dollar.[citation needed]

text: In modern times, the British West Indies was one of the first regions to adopt a gold specie standard. Following Queen Anne's proclamation of 1704, the British West Indies gold standard was a de facto gold standard based on the Spanish gold doubloon. In 1717, Sir Isaac Newton, the master of the Royal Mint, established a new mint ratio between silver and gold that had the effect of driving silver out of circulation and putting Britain on a gold standard.[11][self-published source]

text: A formal gold specie standard was first established in 1821, when Britain adopted it following the introduction of the gold sovereign by the new Royal Mint at Tower Hill in 1816. The United Province of Canada in 1853, Newfoundland in 1865, and the United States and Germany (de jure) in 1873 adopted gold. The United States used the eagle as its unit, Germany introduced the new gold mark, while Canada adopted a dual system based on both the American gold eagle and the British gold sovereign.[citation needed]

text: Australia and New Zealand adopted the British gold standard, as did the British West Indies, while Newfoundland was the only British Empire territory to introduce its own gold coin. Royal Mint branches were established in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth for the purpose of minting gold sovereigns from Australia's rich gold deposits.[citation needed]

text: The gold specie standard came to an end in the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Empire with the outbreak of World War I.[citation needed]

text: Silver

text: From 1750 to 1870, wars within Europe as well as an ongoing trade deficit with China (which sold to Europe but had little use for European goods) drained silver from the economies of Western Europe and the United States. Coins were struck in smaller and smaller numbers, and there was a proliferation of bank and stock notes used as money.

text: United Kingdom

text: In the 1790s, the United Kingdom suffered a silver shortage. It ceased to mint larger silver coins and instead issued "token" silver coins and overstruck foreign coins. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Bank of England began the massive recoinage programme that created standard gold sovereigns, circulating crowns, half-crowns and eventually copper farthings in 1821. The recoinage of silver after a long drought produced a burst of coins. The United Kingdom struck nearly 40 million shillings between 1816 and 1820, 17 million half crowns and 1.3 million silver crowns.

text: The 1819 Act for the Resumption of Cash Payments set 1823 as the date for resumption of convertibility, which was reached by 1821. Throughout the 1820s, small notes were issued by regional banks. This was restricted in 1826, while the Bank of England was allowed to set up regional branches. In 1833 however, Bank of England notes were made legal tender and redemption by other banks was discouraged. In 1844, the Bank Charter Act established that Bank of England notes were fully backed by gold and they became the legal standard. According to the strict interpretation of the gold standard, this 1844 act marked the establishment of a full gold standard for British money.

text: United States

text: In the 1780s, Thomas Jefferson, Robert Morris and Alexander Hamilton recommended to Congress the value of a decimal system. This system would also apply to monies in the United States. The question was what type of standard: gold, silver or both.[12] The United States adopted a silver standard based on the Spanish milled dollar in 1785.

text: International

text: From 1860 to 1871 various attempts to resurrect bi-metallic standards were made, including one based on the gold and silver franc; however, with the rapid influx of silver from new deposits, the expectation of scarce silver ended.

text: The interaction between central banking and currency basis formed the primary source of monetary instability during this period. The combination of a restricted supply of notes, a government monopoly on note issuance and indirectly, a central bank and a single unit of value produced economic stability. Deviation from these conditions produced monetary crises.

text: Devalued notes or leaving silver as a store of value caused economic problems. Governments, demanding specie as payment, could drain the money out of the economy. Economic development expanded need for credit. The need for a solid basis in monetary affairs produced a rapid acceptance of the gold standard in the period that followed.

text: Japan

text: Following Germany's decision after the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War to extract reparations to facilitate a move to the gold standard, Japan gained the needed reserves after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895. For Japan, moving to gold was considered vital for gaining access to Western capital markets.[13]

text: Bimetallic standard

text: US: Pre-Civil War

text: In 1792, Congress passed the Mint and Coinage Act. It authorized the federal government's use of the Bank of the United States to hold its reserves, as well as establish a fixed ratio of gold to the U.S. dollar. Gold and silver coins were legal tender, as was the Spanish real. In 1792 the market price of gold was about 15 times that of silver.[12] Silver coins left circulation, exported to pay for the debts taken on to finance the American Revolutionary War. In 1806 President Jefferson suspended the minting of silver coins. This resulted in a derivative silver standard, since the Bank of the United States was not required to fully back its currency with reserves. This began a long series of attempts by the United States to create a bi-metallic standard.

text: The intention was to use gold for large denominations, and silver for smaller denominations. A problem with bimetallic standards was that the metals' absolute and relative market prices changed. The mint ratio (the rate at which the mint was obligated to pay/receive for gold relative to silver) remained fixed at 15 ounces of silver to 1 ounce of gold, whereas the market rate fluctuated from 15.5 to 1 to 16 to 1. With the Coinage Act of 1834, Congress passed an act that changed the mint ratio to approximately 16 to 1. Gold discoveries in California in 1848 and later in Australia lowered the gold price relative to silver; this drove silver money from circulation because it was worth more in the market than as money.[14] Passage of the Independent Treasury Act of 1848 placed the U.S. on a strict hard-money standard. Doing business with the American government required gold or silver coins.

text: Government accounts were legally separated from the banking system. However, the mint ratio (the fixed exchange rate between gold and silver at the mint) continued to overvalue gold. In 1853, the US reduced the silver weight of coins to keep them in circulation and in 1857 removed legal tender status from foreign coinage. In 1857 the final crisis of the free banking era began as American banks suspended payment in silver, with ripples through the developing international financial system. Due to the inflationary finance measures undertaken to help pay for the US Civil War, the government found it difficult to pay its obligations in gold or silver and suspended payments of obligations not legally specified in specie (gold bonds); this led banks to suspend the conversion of bank liabilities (bank notes and deposits) into specie. In 1862 paper money was made legal tender. It was a fiat money (not convertible on demand at a fixed rate into specie). These notes came to be called "greenbacks".[14]

text: US: Post-Civil War

text: After the Civil War, Congress wanted to reestablish the metallic standard at pre-war rates. The market price of gold in greenbacks was above the pre-War fixed price ($20.67 per ounce of gold) requiring deflation to achieve the pre-War price. This was accomplished by growing the stock of money less rapidly than real output. By 1879 the market price matched the mint price of gold. The coinage act of 1873 (also known as the Crime of ‘73) demonetized silver. This act removed the 412.5 grain silver dollar from circulation. Subsequently silver was only used in coins worth less than $1 (fractional currency). With the resumption of convertibility on June 30, 1879 the government again paid its debts in gold, accepted greenbacks for customs and redeemed greenbacks on demand in gold. Greenbacks were therefore perfect substitutes for gold coins. During the latter part of the nineteenth century the use of silver and a return to the bimetallic standard were recurrent political issues, raised especially by William Jennings Bryan, the People's Party and the Free Silver movement. In 1900 the gold dollar was declared the standard unit of account and a gold reserve for government issued paper notes was established. Greenbacks, silver certificates, and silver dollars continued to be legal tender, all redeemable in gold.[14]

text: Fluctuations in the US gold stock, 1862–1877

text:
US gold stock

1862
59 tons

1866
81 tons

1875
50 tons

1878
78 tons

text: The US had a gold stock of 1.9 million ounces (59 t) in 1862. Stocks rose to 2.6 million ounces (81 t) in 1866, declined in 1875 to 1.6 million ounces (50 t) and rose to 2.5 million ounces (78 t) in 1878. Net exports did not mirror that pattern. In the decade before the Civil War net exports were roughly constant; postwar they varied erratically around pre-war levels, but fell significantly in 1877 and became negative in 1878 and 1879. The net import of gold meant that the foreign demand for American currency to purchase goods, services, and investments exceeded the corresponding American demands for foreign currencies. In the final years of the greenback period (1862–1879), gold production increased while gold exports decreased. The decrease in gold exports was considered by some to be a result of changing monetary conditions. The demands for gold during this period were as a speculative vehicle, and for its primary use in the foreign exchange markets financing international trade. The major effect of the increase in gold demand by the public and Treasury was to reduce exports of gold and increase the Greenback price of gold relative to purchasing power.[15]

text: Gold exchange standard

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Towards the end of the 19th century, some silver standard countries began to peg their silver coin units to the gold standards of the United Kingdom or the United States. In 1898, British India pegged the silver rupee to the pound sterling at a fixed rate of 1s 4d, while in 1906, the Straits Settlements adopted a gold exchange standard against sterling, fixing the silver Straits dollar at 2s 4d.

text: Around the start of the 20th century, the Philippines pegged the silver peso/dollar to the U.S. dollar at 50 cents. This move was assisted by the passage of the Philippines Coinage Act by the United States Congress on March 3, 1903.[16] Around the same time Mexico and Japan pegged their currencies to the dollar. When Siam adopted a gold exchange standard in 1908, only China and Hong Kong remained on the silver standard.

text: When adopting the gold standard, many European nations changed the name of their currency, for instance from Daler (Sweden and Denmark) or Gulden (Austria-Hungary) to Crown, since the former names were traditionally associated with silver coins and the latter with gold coins.

text: Impact of World War I

text: Governments with insufficient tax revenue suspended convertibility repeatedly in the 19th century. The real test, however, came in the form of World War I, a test which "it failed utterly" according to economist Richard Lipsey.[5]

text: By the end of 1913, the classical gold standard was at its peak but World War I caused many countries to suspend or abandon it.[17] According to Lawrence Officer the main cause of the gold standard’s failure to resume its previous position after World War 1 was “the Bank of England's precarious liquidity position and the gold-exchange standard.” A run on sterling caused Britain to impose exchange controls that fatally weakened the standard; convertibility was not legally suspended, but gold prices no longer played the role that they did before.[18] In financing the war and abandoning gold, many of the belligerents suffered drastic inflations. Price levels doubled in the US and Britain, tripled in France and quadrupled in Italy. Exchange rates changed less, even though European inflations were more severe than America’s. This meant that the costs of American goods decreased relative to those in Europe. Between August 1914 and spring of 1915, the dollar value of US exports tripled and its trade surplus exceeded $1 billion for the first time.[19]

text: Ultimately, the system could not deal quickly enough with the large balance of payments deficits and surpluses; this was previously attributed to downward wage rigidity brought about by the advent of unionized labor, but is now considered as an inherent fault of the system that arose under the pressures of war and rapid technological change. In any case, prices had not reached equilibrium by the time of the Great Depression, which served to kill off the system completely.[5]

text: For example, Germany had gone off the gold standard in 1914, and could not effectively return to it because War reparations had cost it much of its gold reserves. During the Occupation of the Ruhr the German central bank (Reichsbank) issued enormous sums of non-convertible marks to support workers who were on strike against the French occupation and to buy foreign currency for reparations; this led to the German hyperinflation of the early 1920s and the decimation of the German middle class.

text: The US did not suspend the gold standard during the war. The newly created Federal Reserve intervened in currency markets and sold bonds to “sterilize”[vague] some of the gold imports that would have otherwise increased the stock of money.[citation needed] By 1927 many countries had returned to the gold standard.[14] As a result of World War 1 the United States, which had been a net debtor country, had become a net creditor by 1919.[20]

text: Abandonment of the gold standard

text: The gold specie standard ended in the United Kingdom and the rest of the British Empire at the outbreak of World War I, when Treasury notes replaced the circulation of gold sovereigns and gold half sovereigns. Legally, the gold specie standard was not repealed. The end of the gold standard was successfully effected by the Bank of England through appeals to patriotism urging citizens not to redeem paper money for gold specie. It was only in 1925, when Britain returned to the gold standard in conjunction with Australia and South Africa that the gold specie standard was officially ended.

text: The British Gold Standard Act 1925 both introduced the gold bullion standard and simultaneously repealed the gold specie standard. The new standard ended the circulation of gold specie coins. Instead, the law compelled the authorities to sell gold bullion on demand at a fixed price, but "only in the form of bars containing approximately four hundred ounces troy [12 kg] of fine gold".[21][22] John Maynard Keynes, citing deflationary dangers, argued against resumption of the gold standard.[23] By fixing the price at the pre-war rate of $4.86, Churchill is argued to have made an error that led to depression, unemployment and the 1926 general strike. The decision was described by Andrew Turnbull as a "historic mistake".[24]

text: Many other countries followed Britain in returning to the gold standard, this was followed by a period of relative stability but also deflation.[25] This state of affairs lasted until the Great Depression (1929–1939) forced countries off the gold standard. In September 19, 1931, speculative attacks on the pound forced Britain to abandon the gold standard. Loans from American and French Central Banks of £50,000,000 were insufficient and exhausted in a matter of weeks, due to large gold outflows across the Atlantic.[26][27][28] The British benefited from this departure. They could now use monetary policy to stimulate the economy. Australia and New Zealand had already left the standard and Canada quickly followed suit.

text: The interwar partially backed gold standard was inherently unstable, because of the conflict between the expansion of liabilities to foreign central banks and the resulting deterioration in the Bank of England's reserve ratio. France was then attempting to make Paris a world class financial center, and it received large gold flows as well.[29]

text: In May 1931 a run on Austria's largest commercial bank caused it to fail. The run spread to Germany, where the central bank also collapsed. International financial assistance was too late and in July 1931 Germany adopted exchange controls, followed by Austria in October. The Austrian and German experiences, as well as British budgetary and political difficulties, were among the factors that destroyed confidence in sterling, which occurred in mid-July 1931. Runs ensued and the Bank of England lost much of its reserves.

text: Depression and World War II

text: Great Depression

text: Some economic historians, such as Barry Eichengreen, blame the gold standard of the 1920s for prolonging the economic depression which started in 1929 and lasted for about a decade.[31] In the United States, adherence to the gold standard prevented the Federal Reserve from expanding the money supply to stimulate the economy, fund insolvent banks and fund government deficits that could "prime the pump" for an expansion. Once off the gold standard, it became free to engage in such money creation. The gold standard limited the flexibility of the central banks' monetary policy by limiting their ability to expand the money supply. In the US, the central bank was required by the Federal Reserve Act (1913) to have gold backing 40% of its demand notes.[32] Others including former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Nobel Prize-winner Milton Friedman place the blame for the severity and length of the Great Depression at the feet of the Federal Reserve, mostly due to the deliberate tightening of monetary policy even after the gold standard.[33] They blamed the US major economic contraction in 1937 on tightening of monetary policy resulting in higher cost of capital, weaker securities markets, reduced net government contribution to income, the undistributed profits tax and higher labor costs.[34] The money supply peaked in March 1937, with a trough in May 1938.[35]

text: Higher interest rates intensified the deflationary pressure on the dollar and reduced investment in U.S. banks. Commercial banks converted Federal Reserve Notes to gold in 1931, reducing its gold reserves and forcing a corresponding reduction in the amount of currency in circulation. This speculative attack created a panic in the U.S. banking system. Fearing imminent devaluation many depositors withdrew funds from U.S. banks.[36] As bank runs grew, a reverse multiplier effect caused a contraction in the money supply.[37] Additionally the New York Fed had loaned over $150 million in gold (over 240 tons) to European Central Banks. This transfer contracted the US money supply. The foreign loans became questionable once Britain, Germany, Austria and other European countries went off the gold standard in 1931 and weakened confidence in the dollar.[38]

text: The forced contraction of the money supply resulted in deflation. Even as nominal interest rates dropped, inflation-adjusted real interest rates remained high, rewarding those who held onto money instead of spending it, further slowing the economy.[39] Recovery in the United States was slower than in Britain, in part due to Congressional reluctance to abandon the gold standard and float the U.S. currency as Britain had done.[40]

text: In the early 1930s, the Federal Reserve defended the dollar by raising interest rates, trying to increase the demand for dollars. This helped attract international investors who bought foreign assets with gold.[36]

text: Congress passed the Gold Reserve Act on 30 January 1934; the measure nationalized all gold by ordering Federal Reserve banks to turn over their supply to the U.S. Treasury. In return the banks received gold certificates to be used as reserves against deposits and Federal Reserve notes. The act also authorized the president to devalue the gold dollar. Under this authority the president, on 31 January 1934, changed the value of the dollar from $20.67 to the troy ounce to $35 to the troy ounce, a devaluation of over 40%.

text: Other factors in the prolongation of the Great Depression include trade wars and the reduction in international trade caused by barriers such as Smoot–Hawley Tariff in the US and the Imperial Preference policies of Great Britain,[41] the failure of central banks to act responsibly,[42] government policies designed to prevent wages from falling, such as the Davis–Bacon Act of 1931, during the deflationary period resulting in production costs dropping slower than sales prices, thereby injuring business profits[43] and increases in taxes to reduce budget deficits and to support new programs such as Social Security. The US top marginal income tax rate went from 25% to 63% in 1932 and to 79% in 1936,[44] while the bottom rate increased over tenfold, from .375% in 1929 to 4% in 1932.[45] The concurrent massive drought resulted in the US Dust Bowl.

text: The Austrian School asserted that the Great Depression was the result of a credit bust.[46] Alan Greenspan wrote that the bank failures of the 1930s were sparked by Great Britain dropping the gold standard in 1931. This act "tore asunder" any remaining confidence in the banking system.[47] Financial historian Niall Ferguson wrote that what made the Great Depression truly 'great' was the European banking crisis of 1931.[48] According to Fed Chairman Marriner Eccles, the root cause was the concentration of wealth resulting in a stagnating or decreasing standard of living for the poor and middle class. These classes went into debt, producing the credit explosion of the 1920s. Eventually the debt load grew too heavy, resulting in the massive defaults and financial panics of the 1930s.[49]

text: World War II

text: Under the Bretton Woods international monetary agreement of 1944, the gold standard was kept without domestic convertibility. The role of gold was severely constrained, as other countries’ currencies were fixed in terms of the dollar. Many countries kept reserves in gold and settled accounts in gold. Still they preferred to settle balances with other currencies, with the American dollar becoming the favorite. The International Monetary Fund was established to help with the exchange process and assist nations in maintaining fixed rates. Within Bretton Woods adjustment was cushioned through credits that helped countries avoid deflation. Under the old standard, a country with an overvalued currency would lose gold and experience deflation until the currency was again valued correctly. Most countries defined their currencies in terms of dollars, but some countries imposed trading restrictions to protect reserves and exchange rates. Therefore, most countries' currencies were still basically inconvertible. In the late 1950s, the exchange restrictions were dropped and gold became an important element in international financial settlements.[14]

text: Bretton Woods

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: After the Second World War, a system similar to a gold standard and sometimes described as a "gold exchange standard" was established by the Bretton Woods Agreements. Under this system, many countries fixed their exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar and central banks could exchange dollar holdings into gold at the official exchange rate of $35 per ounce; this option was not available to firms or individuals. All currencies pegged to the dollar thereby had a fixed value in terms of gold.[5]

text: Starting in the 1959–1969 administration of President Charles de Gaulle and continuing until 1970, France reduced its dollar reserves, exchanging them for gold at the official exchange rate, reducing US economic influence. This, along with the fiscal strain of federal expenditures for the Vietnam War and persistent balance of payments deficits, led U.S. President Richard Nixon to end international convertibility of the U.S. dollar to gold on August 15, 1971 (the "Nixon Shock").

text: This was meant to be a temporary measure, with the gold price of the dollar and the official rate of exchanges remaining constant. Revaluing currencies was the main purpose of this plan. No official revaluation or redemption occurred. The dollar subsequently floated. In December 1971, the "Smithsonian Agreement" was reached. In this agreement, the dollar was devalued from $35 per troy ounce of gold to $38. Other countries' currencies appreciated. However, gold convertibility did not resume. In October 1973, the price was raised to $42.22. Once again, the devaluation was insufficient. Within two weeks of the second devaluation the dollar was left to float. The $42.22 par value was made official in September 1973, long after it had been abandoned in practice. In October 1976, the government officially changed the definition of the dollar; references to gold were removed from statutes. From this point, the international monetary system was made of pure fiat money.

text: Production of gold

text: An estimated total of 174,100 tonnes of gold have been mined in human history, according to GFMS as of 2012. This is roughly equivalent to 5.6 billion troy ounces or, in terms of volume, about 9,261 cubic metres (327,000 cu ft), or a cube 21 metres (69 ft) on a side. There are varying estimates of the total volume of gold mined. One reason for the variance is that gold has been mined for thousands of years. Another reason is that some nations are not particularly open about how much gold is being mined. In addition, it is difficult to account for the gold output in illegal mining activities.[50]

text: World production for 2011 was circa 2,700 tonnes. Since the 1950s, annual gold output growth has approximately kept pace with world population growth (i.e. a doubling in this period)[51] although it has lagged behind world economic growth (approximately 8-fold increase since the 1950s[52], and 4x since 1980[53]).

text: Theory

text: This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

text: Commodity money is inconvenient to store and transport in large amounts. Furthermore, it does not allow a government to manipulate the flow of commerce with the same ease that a fiat currency does. As such, commodity money gave way to representative money and gold and other specie were retained as its backing.

text: Gold was a preferred form of money due to its rarity, durability, divisibility, fungibility and ease of identification,[54] often in conjunction with silver. Silver was typically the main circulating medium, with gold as the monetary reserve. Commodity money was anonymous, as identifying marks can be removed. Commodity money retains its value despite what may happen to the monetary authority. After the fall of South Vietnam, many refugees carried their wealth to the West in gold after the national currency became worthless.[citation needed]

text: Under commodity standards currency itself has no intrinsic value, but is accepted by traders because it can be redeemed any time for the equivalent specie. A US silver certificate, for example, could be redeemed for an actual piece of silver.

text: Representative money and the gold standard protect citizens from hyperinflation and other abuses of monetary policy, as were seen in some countries during the Great Depression. Commodity money conversely led to deflation and bank runs.

text: Countries that left the gold standard earlier than other countries recovered from the Great Depression sooner. For example, Great Britain and the Scandinavian countries, which left the gold standard in 1931, recovered much earlier than France and Belgium, which remained on gold much longer. Countries such as China, which had a silver standard, almost entirely avoided the depression (due to the fact it was then barely integrated into the global economy). The connection between leaving the gold standard and the severity and duration of the depression was consistent for dozens of countries, including developing countries. This may explain why the experience and length of the depression differed between national economies.[55]

text: Variations

text: A full or 100%-reserve gold standard exists when the monetary authority holds sufficient gold to convert all the circulating representative money into gold at the promised exchange rate. It is sometimes referred to as the gold specie standard to more easily distinguish it. Opponents of a full standard consider it difficult to implement, saying that the quantity of gold in the world is too small to sustain worldwide economic activity at or near current gold prices; implementation would entail a many-fold increase in the price of gold.[citation needed] Gold standard proponents have said, "Once a money is established, any stock of money becomes compatible with any amount of employment and real income."[56] While prices would necessarily adjust to the supply of gold, the process may involve considerable economic disruption, as was experienced during earlier attempts to maintain gold standards.[57]

text: In an international gold-standard system (which is necessarily based on an internal gold standard in the countries concerned),[58] gold or a currency that is convertible into gold at a fixed price is used to make international payments. Under such a system, when exchange rates rise above or fall below the fixed mint rate by more than the cost of shipping gold, inflows or outflows occur until rates return to the official level. International gold standards often limit which entities have the right to redeem currency for gold.

text: Advantages

text:
Long-term price stability has been described as one of the virtues of the gold standard.[59] The gold standard makes it difficult for governments to inflate prices through expanding the money supply. Under the gold standard, significant inflation is rare, and hyperinflation is essentially impossible because the money supply can only grow at the rate that the gold supply increases. High inflation under a gold standard is seen only when warfare destroys a large part of an economy, reducing the production of goods, or when a major new gold source becomes available.[60] In the U.S., inflation occurred during the Civil War, which destroyed the economy of the South.[61] Inflation also followed the California Gold Rush that made large amounts of gold available for minting.[62] Historical data shows that the magnitude of short run swings in prices were far higher under the gold standard.[63][59]
The gold standard provides fixed international exchange rates between participating countries and thus reduces uncertainty in international trade. Historically, imbalances between price levels were offset by a balance-of-payment adjustment mechanism called the "price–specie flow mechanism".[60] Gold used to pay for imports reduces the money supply of importing nations, causing deflation, which makes them more competitive, while the importation of gold by net exporters serves to increase their money supply, causing inflation, making them less competitive.[64]
A gold standard does not allow some types of financial repression.[65] Financial repression acts as a mechanism to transfer wealth from creditors to debtors, particularly the governments that practice it. Financial repression is most successful in reducing debt when accompanied by inflation and can be considered a form of taxation.[66][67] In 1966 Alan Greenspan wrote "Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this, one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the gold standard."[68]

text: Disadvantages

text:
The unequal distribution of gold deposits makes the gold standard more advantageous for those countries that produce gold.[69] In 2010 the largest producers of gold, in order, were China, Australia, U.S., South Africa and Russia.[70] The country with the largest unmined gold deposits is Australia.[71]
Some economists believe that the gold standard acts as a limit on economic growth. "As an economy's productive capacity grows, then so should its money supply. Because a gold standard requires that money be backed in the metal, then the scarcity of the metal constrains the ability of the economy to produce more capital and grow."[72]
Mainstream economists believe that economic recessions can be largely mitigated by increasing the money supply during economic downturns.[73] A gold standard means that the money supply would be determined by the gold supply and hence monetary policy could no longer be used to stabilize the economy.[74] The gold standard is often blamed for prolonging the Great Depression, as under the gold standard, central banks could not expand credit at a fast enough rate to offset deflationary forces.[75]
Although the gold standard brings long-run price stability, it is historically associated with high short-run price volatility.[59][76] It has been argued by Schwartz, among others, that instability in short-term price levels can lead to financial instability as lenders and borrowers become uncertain about the value of debt.[76]
Deflation punishes debtors.[77][78] Real debt burdens therefore rise, causing borrowers to cut spending to service their debts or to default. Lenders become wealthier, but may choose to save some of the additional wealth, reducing GDP.[79]
The money supply would essentially be determined by the rate of gold production. When gold stocks increase more rapidly than the economy, there is inflation and the reverse is also true.[59][80] The consensus view is that the gold standard contributed to the severity and length of the Great Depression.[81][82]
Hamilton contended that the gold standard is susceptible to speculative attacks when a government's financial position appears weak. Conversely, this threat discourages governments from engaging in risky policy (see moral hazard). For example, the U.S. was forced to contract the money supply and raise interest rates in September 1931 to defend the dollar after speculators forced the UK off the gold standard.[82][83][84][85]
Devaluing a currency under a gold standard would generally produce sharper changes than the smooth declines seen in fiat currencies, depending on the method of devaluation.[86]
Most economists favor a low, positive rate of inflation of around 2%. This reflects fear of deflationary shocks and the belief that active monetary policy can dampen fluctuations in output and unemployment. Inflation gives them room to tighten policy without inducing deflation.[87]
A gold standard provides practical constraints against the measures that central banks might otherwise use to respond to economic crises.[88] Creation of new money reduces interest rates and thereby increases demand for new lower cost debt, raising the demand for money.[89]

text: Gold standard and Bitcoin

text: According to research produced by the Bank of Canada, the emerging Bitcoin economy has many similarities with the economy based on gold standard, in particular:[90][91]

text:
limited and predictable supply of the anchor of the monetary system
no central bank or monetary authority controls the supply
low or non-existent inflation
virtually no arbitrage costs for international transactions
Governments have less control over their domestic economies
Governments lose seigniorage revenues that they obtain from the ability to almost costlessly create money

text: Edward Hadas and Michael Hiltzik noted that monetary systems based on Bitcoin and gold have some similar disadvantages:

text:
independence from government[92][93]
price declines[92]
less spending during crisis times[92]

text: George Gilder, a proponent of gold standard, proposed breaking "the government monopoly on money" by using a combination of Bitcoin for the internet and treating gold in tax terms as currency.[94][95]

text: Advocates

text: A return to the gold standard was considered by the US Gold Commission back in 1982, but found only minority support.[96] In 2001 Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad proposed a new currency that would be used initially for international trade among Muslim nations, using the Islamic gold dinar, defined as 4.25 grams of pure (24-carat) gold. Mahathir claimed it would be a stable unit of account and a political symbol of unity between Islamic nations. This would purportedly reduce dependence on the US dollar and establish a non-debt-backed currency in accord with Sharia law that prohibited the charging of interest.[97] As of 2013[update] the global monetary system continued to rely on the US dollar as the main reserve currency.[98]

text: Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Alan Greenspan acknowledged he was one of "a small minority" within the central bank that had some positive view on the gold standard.[99] In a 1966 essay he contributed to a book by Ayn Rand, titled "Gold and Economic Freedom", Greenspan argued the case for returning to a 'pure' gold standard; in that essay he described supporters of fiat currencies as "welfare statists" intending to use monetary policy to finance deficit spending.[100] More recently he claimed that by focusing on targeting inflation "central bankers have behaved as though we were on the gold standard", rendering a return to the standard unnecessary.[101]

text: Similarly, economists like Robert Barro argued that whilst some form of "monetary constitution" is essential for stable, depoliticized monetary policy, the form this constitution takes—for example, a gold standard, some other commodity-based standard, or a fiat currency with fixed rules for determining the quantity of money—is considerably less important.[102]

text: The gold standard is supported by many followers of the Austrian School of Economics, free-market libertarians and some supply-siders.[103]

text: US politics

text: In the United States, strict constitutionalists object to the government issuing fiat currency through central banks. Some gold-standard advocates also call for a mandated end to fractional-reserve banking. Many similar alternatives have been suggested, including energy-based currencies, collections of currencies or commodities, with gold as one component.

text: Former congressman Ron Paul is a long-term, high-profile advocate of a gold standard, but has also expressed support for using a standard based on a basket of commodities that better reflects the state of the economy.[104]

text: In 2011 the Utah legislature passed a bill to accept federally issued gold and silver coins as legal tender to pay taxes.[105] As federally issued currency, the coins were already legal tender for taxes, although the market price of their metal content currently exceeds their monetary value. Similar legislation is under consideration in other US states.[106] The bill was initiated by newly elected Republican Party legislators associated with the Tea Party movement and was driven by anxiety over the policies of President Barack Obama.[107]

text: In 2013, the Arizona Legislature passed SB 1439, which would have made gold and silver coin a legal tender in payment of debt, but the bill was vetoed by the Governor.[108]

text: In 2015, some candidates for the 2016 presidential election advocated for a gold standard, based on concern that the Federal Reserve’s attempts to increase economic growth may create inflation. Economic historians did not agree with candidate's assertions that the gold standard would benefit the US economy.[109]

text: Critics

text: In 2012 a poll of 40 U.S. economists in the IGM Economic Experts Panel found that none of them agreed with a claim that a return to the gold standard would result in "price-stability and employment outcomes [that] would be better for the average American." The panel of polled economists included past Nobel Prize winners, former economic advisers to both Republican and Democratic presidents, and senior faculty from Harvard, Chicago, Stanford, MIT, and other well-known research universities. (The specific question posed to the economists was: "If the US replaced its discretionary monetary policy regime with a gold standard, defining a 'dollar' as a specific number of ounces of gold, the price-stability and employment outcomes would be better for the average American.") [3]

text: The economist Allan H. Meltzer of Carnegie Mellon University presented arguments against Ron Paul's advocacy of the gold standard since the 1970s. He sometimes summarizes his opposition by stating simply, "[W]e don’t have the gold standard. It’s not because we don’t know about the gold standard, it’s because we do."[110]


document_title: Timeline of the Middle Ages

question_text: what event is commonly associated with the beginning of the viking age

root

text: Timeline of the Middle Ages

text: Early Middle Ages[edit]

text: 3rd and 4th centuries[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

c. 400

Highland Maya fall to the lowland city of Teotihuacan
Begins the decline of Maya culture and language in some parts of the highlands.[1]

405

St. Jerome finished the Vulgate.
The Christian Gospel is translated into Latin.[2]

410
August 24
Rome is sacked by Alaric, King of the Visigoths.
Decisive event in the decline of the Western Roman Empire.[3]

431
June 22 – July 31
Council of Ephesus
Confirmed the original Nicene Creed,[4] and condemned the teachings of Nestorius, Patriarch of Constantinople, that led to his exile and separation with the Church of the East.

455
June 2
Rome is sacked by Genseric, King of the Vandals.[5]
Another decisive event in the Fall of Rome and held by some historians to mark the "end of the Roman Empire".[6]

476
September 4
Odoacer deposes the last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus
Considered by many to be the starting point of the Middle Ages[7]

c. 500

Tikal becomes the first great Maya city
Significant cultural exchange between the Maya of Tikal and the citizens of Teotihuacan.[1]

c. 500

Battle of Mons Badonicus.
The West Saxon advance is halted by Britons in England. Chiefly known today for the supposed involvement of King Arthur but because of the limited number of sources, there is no certainty about the date, location, or details of the fighting.[8][9]

507
Spring
The Franks under Clovis defeat the Visigoths in the Battle of Vouillé.
The Visigoths retreated into Spain.[10]

c. 524

Boethius writes his Consolation of Philosophy
It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity.[11]

525

Dionysius Exiguus publishes the Dionysius Exiguus' Easter table.
This initiated the Anno Domini era, used for the Gregorian and Julian calendars.

527
August 1
Justinian I becomes Eastern Roman Emperor.
Justinian is best remembered for his Code of Civil Law (529), and expansion of imperial territory retaking Rome from the Ostrogoths.

529–534

Justinian I publishes the Code of Civil Law.
This compiled centuries of legal writings and imperial pronouncements into three parts of one body of law.

529

Benedict of Nursia founds monastery at Monte Cassino.
The first of twelve monasteries founded by Saint Benedict, beginning the Order of Saint Benedict.

532
January 1
Nika Riots in Constantinople.
Nearly half the city being burned or destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed.[12]

533
December 15
Byzantines, under Belisarius, retake North Africa from the Vandals.
Vandal kingdom ends and the Reconquest of North Africa is completed.

535–554

Gothic War in Italy as a part of Justinian's Reconquest.
Byzantines retook Italy but crippled the Byzantine economy and left Italy unable to cope against the oncoming Lombards.

563

Saint Columba founds mission in Iona.
Constructed an abbey which helped convert the Picts to Christianity until it was destroyed and raided by the Vikings in 794.[13]

568

The Kingdom of the Lombards is founded in Italy.
Survived in Italy until the invasion of the Franks in 774 under Charlemagne.

c. 570

Muhammad is born.
Professed receiving revelations from a god, which were recorded in the Qur'an, the basis of Islamic theology, in which he is regarded as the last of the sent prophets.

577

The West Saxons continue their advance at the Battle of Deorham.
Led to the permanent separation of Cornwall, England from Wales.

581–618
March 4 – May 23
Sui Dynasty in China.
China unified once again during this period for the first time in almost 400 years.

590
September 3
Gregory the Great becomes Pope.
The missionary work reached new levels during his pontificate, revolutionized the way of worship for the Catholic Church (Gregorian Chants), liturgy, etc., and was soon canonized after his death.

597

Augustine arrives in Kent.
Christianization of England (Anglo-Saxons) begins.

598–668

Massive Chinese (Sui and Tang) invasions against Korean Goguryeo.
Contributed to the fall of the Sui Dynasty, and Goguryeo fell under the forces of the Tang and Silla.

c. 600

Deliberate fires set for unknown reasons destroy major buildings in Teotihuacan.[14]
Destroys the Teotihuacan civilization and empire. Tikal is now the largest city-state in Mesoamerica.[1]

tag: table

text: 5th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

602–629

Last great Roman-Persian War.
Long conflict leaves both empires exhausted and unable to cope with the newly united Arab armies under Islam in the 630s

604–609

Grand Canal in China is fully completed[15]
Its main role throughout its history was the transport of grain to the capital.

618–907
June 18 – June 1
Tang Dynasty in China.
The essential administrative system of this dynasty lasts for 286 years.

622
9 September – 23 September
Muhammad Migrates from Mecca to Medina.
Event will have designated first year of the Islamic Calendar, as Anno Hegirae.

626

Joint Persian-Avar-Slav Siege of Constantinople Constantinople saved, Avar power broken and Persians henceforth on the defensive

627
December 12
Battle of Nineveh.
The Byzantines, under Heraclius, crush the Persians.

632
June 8
Death of Muhammad.
By this point, all of Arabia is Muslim.

632–668

Establishment and expansion of Old Great Bulgaria.
The demise of Old Great Bulgaria lead to the founding of the First Bulgarian Empire and Volga Bulgaria by the sons of Kubrat.

632
June 8
Accession of Abu Bakr as first Caliph.
Though the period of his caliphate was not long, it included successful invasions of the two most powerful empires of the time.

633–634

Battle of Heavenfield.
Northumbrian army under Oswald defeat Welsh army.

638

Jerusalem captured by the Arab army, mostly Muslims, but with contingents of Syrian Christians.

641

Battle of Nehawand. Muslims conquer Persia.

643

Arab Army led by 'Amr ibn al-'As takes Alexandria.

645

In Japan, the Soga clan falls.
This initiates a period of imitation of Chinese culture, The Nara period begins a year later.

650

Slav occupation of Balkans complete.

c. 650

The city-state Xochicalco is founded by the Olmeca-Xicallanca.
Becomes an important cultural and commercial center.[16]

663

Synod of Whitby.
Roman Christianity triumphs over Celtic Christianity in England.

668

Ends of the Three Kingdoms period in Korea.
Established a Unified Silla which led to the North South States Period 30 years later.[17]

674–678

First Arab siege of Constantinople.
First time Islamic armies defeated, forestalling Islamic conquest of Europe.

681

Establishment of the Bulgarian Empire.
A country with great influence in the European history in the Middle Ages.

685

Battle of Dun Nechtain.
Picts defeat Northumbrians, whose dominance ends.

687

Battle of Tertry
Established Pepin of Herstal as mayor over the entire realms of Neustria and Austrasia, which further dwindled Merovingian power.

698

Arab army takes Carthage.
End of Byzantine rule in North Africa

698

North South States Period begins in Korea.
Silla and Balhae coexisted in the south and north of the peninsula, respectively, until 926[18][19]

text: 6th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

711

Umayyad conquest of Hispania under Tarik.
Will begin a period of Muslim rule within in the Al-Andalus (with various portions of Iberian peninsula) until nearly the end of the Fifteenth Century.

718

Second Arab attack on Constantinople, ending in failure.
The combined Byzantine–Bulgarian forces stop the Arab threat in Southeastern Europe.

726

Iconoclast movement begun in the Byzantine Empire under Leo III. This was opposed by Pope Gregory II, and an important difference between the Roman and Byzantine churches.

732
October
Battle of Tours. Charles Martel halts Muslim advance.
Significant moment that led to the forming of the Carolingian Empire for the Franks, and halted the advancement of the Moors in southwestern Europe.

735
26 May
Death of Bede.
Bede was later regarded as "the father of English history"

750
25 January
Beginning of Abbasid Caliphate.
Would become the longest lasting caliphate, until 1519 when conquered and annexed into the Ottoman Empire.

751

Pepin the Short founds the Carolingian dynasty.

754

Pepin promises the Pope central Italy. This is arguably the beginning of the temporal power of the Papacy.

768

Beginning of Charlemagne's reign.

778
15 August
Battle of Roncevaux Pass.

786
14 September
Accession of Harun al-Rashid to the Caliphate in Baghdad.

793

Sack of Lindisfarne. Viking attacks on Britain begin.
Generally considered the beginning of the Viking Age that would span over two centuries, and reach as far south as Hispania and as far east as the Byzantine Empire, and present day Russia.

794

Heian period in Japan.
Considered to be the last classical period of History of Japan. Chinese influence was at its strongest during this era in Japan.

795
29 July
Death of Offa.
Marks the end of Mercian dominance in England.

800
25 December
Charlemagne is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
With his crowning, Charlemagne's kingdom is officially recognized by the Papacy as the largest in Europe since the fall of the Roman Empire.

800

Gunpowder is invented (somewhere around 9th century)

text: 7th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

814
28 January
Death of Charlemagne.
Would be a factor towards the splitting of his empire almost 30 years later.

820

Algebrae et Alumcabola Algorithm
Huhammad ibn Musa- al-Khwarizmi

825

Battle of Ellandun. Egbert defeats Mercians.
Wessex becomes the leading kingdom of England.

827

Muslims invade Sicily.
First encounter of attempts to conquer Byzantine Sicily, until the last Byzantine outpost was conquered in 965.

840

Muslims capture Bari and much of southern Italy.

843

Division of Charlemagne's Empire between his grandsons with the Treaty of Verdun.
Sets the stage for the founding of the Holy Roman Empire and France as separate states.

843

Kenneth McAlpin becomes king of the Picts and Scots, creating the Kingdom of Alba.

862

Viking state in Russia founded under Rurik, first at Novgorod, then Kiev.

864

Christianization of Bulgaria.

866

Fujiwara period in Japan.
Would become the most powerful clan during the Heian period in Japan for around three centuries.

866

Viking Great Army arrives in England.
Northumbria, East Anglia, and Mercia were overwhelmed.

868

Earliest known printed book in China with a date.

871

Alfred the Great assumes the throne, the first king of a united England.
He defended England from Viking invaders, formed new laws and fostered a rebirth of religious and scholarly activities.

c. 872

Harold Fairhair becomes King of Norway.

874

Iceland is settled by Norsemen.

882

Kievan Rus' is established.
Would be sustained until the Mongol invasion of Rus' over four and a half centuries, despite peaking during the middle 11th century during the reign of Yaroslav the Wise.

885

Arrival of the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Bulgaria
Creation of the Cyrillic script; in the following decades the country became the cultural and spiritual centre of the whole Eastern Orthodox part of the Slavic World.

885–886

Vikings attack Paris.

893

Emperor Simeon I becomes ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in the Balkans.
Golden age of the First Bulgarian Empire (896–927). The Cyrillic alphabet was developed in the Preslav Literary School and Ohrid Literary School.[20][21][22]

896

Arpad and the Magyars are present in Pannonia.

899
27 October
Death of Alfred the Great.

c. 900

Lowland Maya cities in the south collapse.
Signifies the end of the Classic Period of Maya history. The Maya in northern Yucatán continue to thrive.

text: 9th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

907

Tang Dynasty ends with Emperor Ai deposed.
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in China commences.

910

King Edward the Elder of England, son of King Alfred, defeats the Northumbrian Vikings at the Battle of Tettenhall; they never raid south of the River Humber again.

910

Cluny Abbey is founded by William I, Count of Auvergne.
Cluny goes on to become the acknowledged leader of Western Monasticism. Cluniac Reforms initiated with the abbey's founding.

911

The Viking Rollo and his tribe settle in what is now Normandy by the terms of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte, founding the Duchy of Normandy.

917

Battle of Anchialus. Simeon I the Great defeats the Byzantines.
Recognition of the Imperial Title of the Bulgarian rulers.

919

Henry the Fowler, Duke of Saxony elected German King. First king of the Ottonian Dynasty.
Henry I considered the founder and first king of the medieval German state.

925

The first King of Croatia (rex Croatorum), Tomislav (910–928) of the Trpimirović dynasty was crowned.
Tomislav united Croats of Dalmatia and Pannonia into a single Kingdom, and created a sizeable state.

927

King Aethelstan the Glorious unites the heptarchy of The Anglo-Saxon nations of Wessex, Sussex, Essex, Kent, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria founding the Kingdom of England.

927

According to Theophanes Continuatus (The Continuer of Theophanes's Chronicle) – Tomislav of Croatia defeated Bulgarian army of Tsar Simeon I under Duke Alogobotur, in battle of the Bosnian Highlands.
Bulgarian expansion to the west was stopped.

927

Death of Simeon I the Great. Recognition of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, the first independent National Church in Europe.

929

Abd-ar-Rahman III of the Umayyad dynasty in al-Andalus (part of the Iberian peninsula) takes the title of Caliph or ruler of the Islamic world.
Beginning of the Caliphate of Córdoba (929–1031).

936

Wang Geon unified Later Three Kingdoms of Korea.

938

Ngo Quyen won the battle of Bach Dang against Chinese Southern Han army.
This event marked the independence of Vietnam after 1000 years under Chinese colony.

955

Battle of Lechfeld. Otto the Great, son of Henry the Fowler, defeats the Magyars.
This is the defining event that prevents the Hungarians from entering Central Europe.

c.960

Mieszko I becomes duke of Polans.
First historical ruler of Poland and de facto founder of the Polish State.

960

Song Dynasty begins after Emperor of Taizu usurps the throne from the Later Zhou, last of the Five Dynasties.
A 319-year period of Song rule (Northern & Southern combined) goes underway.

962

Otto the Great crowned the Holy Roman Emperor.
First to be crowned Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.

963–964

Otto deposes Pope John XII who is replaced with Pope Leo VIII.
Citizens of Rome promise not to elect another Pope without Imperial approval.

965–967

Mieszko I of Poland and his court embrace Christianity, which becomes national religion.

969

John I Tzimiskes and Nikephoros II are executed.
Sultane of Rums are proclaimed.

976

Death of John I Tzimiskes; Basil II (his co-emperor) takes sole power.
Under Basil II zenith of the power of Eastern Empire after Justinian.

978

Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir becomes de facto ruler of Muslim Al-Andalus.
Peak of power of Moorish Iberia under "Almanzor".

981

Basil II (called "Bulgar Slayer") begins final conquest of Bulgaria by Eastern Empire.
Conquest finished by 1018.

985

Eric the Red, exiled from Iceland, begins Scandinavian colonization of Greenland.

987

Succession of Hugh Capet to the French Throne.
Beginning of Capetian Dynasty.

988

Volodymyr I of Kiev embraces Christianity, which becomes national religion.

989

Peace and Truce of God formed.
The first movement of the Catholic Church using spiritual means to limit private war, and the first movement in medieval Europe to control society through non-violent means.

text: High Middle Ages[edit]

text: 10th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

c. 1001

Leif Ericson is to settle during the winter in present-day Canada at L'Anse aux Meadows.
Ericson is to be the first European to settle in the Americas during the Norse exploration of the Americas.

1016

Canute the Great becomes King of England after the death of Edmund Ironside, with whom he shared the English throne.
Danes become kings of England for the next 26 years before the last rise of the Anglo-Saxons before the Norman Conquest.

1018

The Byzantines under Basil II conquer Bulgaria after a bitter 50-years struggle.
Concludes the Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria.

1021

The Tale of Genji, written by Murasaki Shikibu, is completed sometime before this date.[23]
It is sometimes called the world's first novel, the first modern novel, the first psychological novel or the first novel still to be considered a classic.[24]

1025

The Canon of Medicine
Persian Avicenna set standard medical textbook through 18th century in Europe

1037

The Great Seljuk Empire is founded by Tughril Beg.
Would be a major force during the first two Crusades, and an antagonist to the Byzantine Empire over the next century.

1049

Pope Leo IX ascends to the papal throne.
Leo IX was the pope that excommunicated Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius (who also excommunicated Leo), which caused the Great Schism.

1050

The astrolabe, an ancient tool of navigation, is first used in Europe.
Early tool of marine navigators, astrologers, astronomers.

1050

Westminster Abbey
Edward the Confessor

1054

The East-West Schism which divided the church into Western Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy.
Tensions will vary between the Catholic and Orthodox churches throughout the Middle Ages.

1066

William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, invades England and becomes King after the Battle of Hastings.
End of Anglo-Saxon rule in England and start of Norman lineage.

1067

Pope Gregory VII elevated to the papal throne.
This begins a period of church reform.

1071

The Seljuks under Alp Arslan defeat the Byzantine army at Manzikert. The Normans capture Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy.
Beginning of the end of Byzantine rule in Asia Minor.

1075

Dictatus Papae in which Pope Gregory VII defines the powers of the pope.
Peak of the Gregorian Reform, and an immense factor in the Investiture Controversy.

1077

Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV walks to Canossa where he stands barefoot in the snow to beg forgiveness of the Pope for his offences, and admitting defeat in the Investiture Controversy.
This helps establish Papal rule over European heads of state for another 450 years.

1077

The Construction of the Tower of London begins.
The tower of London was the ultimate keep of the British Empire.

1086

The compilation of the Domesday Book, a great land and property survey commissioned by William the Conqueror to assess his new possessions.
This is the first such undertaking since Roman times.

1088

University of Bologna is formed.
It is the oldest university in Europe.

1095

Pope Urban issues the Crusades to capture the Holy Land, and to repel the Seljuk Turks from the Byzantine Empire from Alexios I Komnenos.
This would be the first of 9 Major Crusades, and a number of other crusades that would spread into the late 13th century.

1096

First Crusade. Jerusalem is re-taken from the Muslims on the urging of Pope Urban II.
This would lead to the beginning of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which would last for nearly two centuries; within the era of the Crusades to the Holy Land.

1098

The Cistercian Order is founded.
Was a return to the original observance of the Rule of St. Benedict.

text: 11th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

1100

Latin-translation of the great masters of Arabic medicine: Razes, Ibn Imran, Ibn Suleiman, and Ibn al-Jazzar
Constantine the African

1102

Kingdom of Croatia and Kingdom of Hungary formed a personal union of two kingdoms united under the Hungarian king. The act of union was deal with Pacta conventa, by which institutions of separate Croatian statehood were maintained through the Sabor (an assembly of Croatian nobles) and the ban (viceroy). In addition, the Croatian nobles retained their lands and titles.
Medieval Hungary and Croatia were (in terms of public international law) allied by means of personal union until 1526. Although, Hungarian-Croatian state existed until the beginning of the 20th century and the Treaty of Trianon.

1102

Synods of Westminster
End of simony, clerical marriages, slavery under Anselm of Canterbury

1106
9/28
Henry I of England defeats his older brother Robert Curthose, duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Tinchebrai, and imprisons him in Devizes castle; Edgar Atheling and William Clito are also taken prisoner.
This victory made a later struggle between England and the rising Capetian power in France inevitable.

1107

Through the Compromise of 1107, suggested by Adela, the sister of King Henry, the Investiture Struggle in England is ended.
This compromise removed one of the points of friction between the English monarchy and the Catholic Church.

1109

In the Battle of Naklo, Boleslaus III Wrymouth defeats the Pomeranians.
Polish access to the sea is re-established.

1109
8/24
In the Battle of Hundsfeld, Boleslaus III Wrymouth defeats Emperor Henry V.
German expansion to the centre of Europe is stopped.

1116

The Byzantine army defeats the Turks at Philomelion.
The Turks abandon the entire coastal area of Anatolia and all of western Anatolia

1117

The University of Oxford is founded.
It is the oldest university in the United Kingdom.

1118

The Knights Templar are founded to protect Jerusalem and European pilgrims on their journey to the city.
Becomes the most recognizable, and impactful military orders during the Crusades.

1121
12/25
St. Norbert and 29 companions make their solemn vows marking the beginning of the Premonstratensian Order.
This order played a significant role in evangelizing the Slavs, the Wends, to the east of the Holy Roman Empire.

1122
9/23
The Concordat of Worms was drawn up between Emperor Henry V and Pope Calixtus II.
This concordat ended the investiture struggle, but bitter rivalry between emperor and pope remained.

1123
3/18-3/27
The First Lateran Council followed and confirmed the Concordat of Worms.

1125

School of Glossators
Irnerius

1125

Lothair of Supplinburg, duke of Saxony, is elected Holy Roman Emperor instead of the nearest heir, Frederick of Swabia.
This election marks the beginning of the great struggle between the Guelfs and the Ghibellines.

1125–1127

Jingkang Incident
The Jurchen soldiers sack Kaifeng, bringing an end to the Northern Song Dynasty in China; the Song moves further south and makes Lin'an their new capital.

1130
12/25
Roger II is crowned King of Sicily, a Royal title given him by the Antipope Anacletus II.
This coronation marks the beginning of the Kingdom of Sicily and its Mediterranean empire under the Norman kings, which was able to take on the Holy Roman Empire, the Papacy, and the Byzantine Empire.

1130

Sic et Non
Peter Abelard

1135

The Anarchy begins in England.
This will mark a 19-year period of Government strife and Civil War between the supporters of Stephen and Matilda, and end with the crowning of Matilda's son, Henry II, and beginning the Plantagenet dynasty.

1139
April
The Second Lateran Council declared clerical marriages invalid, regulated clerical dress, and punished attacks on clerics by excommunication.
Enforces the major reforms that Gregory VII began to heavily campaign for several decades earlier.

1140

Decretum
Gratian

1144

Rebuild of Basilica of Saint Denis
Suger

1147–1149

The Second Crusade was in retaliation for the fall of Edessa, one of the first Crusader States founded in the First Crusade. It was an overall failure.
This was the first Crusade to have been led by European kings.

1150

Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, married Queen Petronilla of Aragon. They had been betrothed in 1137.
This marriage gave the Kingdom of Aragon access to the Mediterranean Sea, creating a powerful kingdom which expanded to control many of the Mediterranean lands.

1150

Sorbonne

1152

The Synod of Kells-Mellifont established the present diocesan system of Ireland (with later modifications) and recognized the primacy of Armagh.
This synod marks the inclusion of the Irish Church into mainstream European Catholicism.

1154

Common Law
Henry II

1158

The Hanseatic League is founded.
This marks a new period of trade and economic development for northern and central Europe.

1163

The first cornerstone is laid for the construction of Notre Dame de Paris.

1166

Stefan Nemanja united Serbian territories, establishing the Medieval Serbian state.
This marks the rise of Serbia which will dominate the Balkans for the next three hundred years. Allies of Serbia at this moment become the Hungarian Kingdom and the Republic of Venice.

1171

King Henry II of England lands in Ireland to assert his supremacy and the Synod of Cashel acknowledges his sovereignty.
With his landing, Henry begins the English claim to and occupation of Ireland which would last some seven and a half centuries.

1174
7/12
King William I of Scotland, captured in the Battle of Alnwick by the English, accepts the feudal lordship of the English crown and does ceremonial allegiance at York.
This is the beginning of the gradual acquisition of Scotland by the English.

1175

Hōnen Shōnin (Genkū) founds the Jōdo shū (Pure Land) sect of Buddhism.
This event marks the beginning of the Buddhist sectarian movement in Japan.

1176
5/29
At the Battle of Legnano, the cavalry of Frederick Barbarossa is defeated by the infantry of the Lombard League.
This is the first major defeat of cavalry by infantry, signaling the new role of the bourgeoisie.

1175

Latin-translation
Gerard of Cremona

1179

church schools
Third Council of the Lateran

1179
March
The Third Lateran Council limits papal electees to the cardinals alone, condemns simony, and forbids the promotion of anyone to the episcopate before the age of thirty.

1183

The final Peace of Constance between Frederick Barbarossa, the pope, and the Lombard towns is signed.
The various articles of the treaty destroyed the unity of the Empire and Germany and Italy underwent separate developments.

1183

The Taira clan are driven out of Kyōto by Minamoto Yoshinaka.
The two-year conflict which follows ends at the Battle of Dan no Ura (1185).

1184
November
Pope Lucius III issues the papal bull Ad Abolendam.
This bull set up the organization of the medieval inquisitions.

1185

Windmills are first recorded.

1185

Uprising of Asen and Peter. The reestablishment of the Bulgarian Empire.

1185

At the Battle of Dan no Ura, Minamoto Yoshitsune annihilates the Taira clan.
The elimination of the Taira leaves the Minamoto the virtual rulers of Japan and marks the beginning of the first period of feudal rule known as the Kamakura Period.

1186
1/27
The future emperor Henry VI marries Constance of Sicily, heiress to the Sicilian throne.
This marriage shifts the focus of the Guelphs/Ghibelline struggle to Sicily and marks the ruin of the House of Hohenstaufen.

1187

Saladin recaptures Jerusalem.
Would lead to the Third Crusade.

1188

Tractatus of Glanvil
Oxford Uninversity

1189
July 6
Richard I ascends the throne of England.
His heavy taxation to finance his European ventures created an antipathy of barons and people toward the crown, but his being absent enabled the English to advance in their political development.

1189–1192

The Third Crusade follows upon Saladin's uniting the Muslim world and recapturing Jerusalem.
Despite managing to win several major battles, the Crusaders did not recapture Jerusalem.

1192

Minamoto no Yoritomo is appointed Sei-i Taishōgun, or shōgun for short.
He is the first of a long line of military dictators to bear this title. The institution would last until 1913.

1193

Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji sack and burn the university at Nalanda.
This is the beginning of the decline of Buddhism in India.

1193

The first known merchant guild.

1199

Europeans first use compasses.

text: 12th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

1202

The Fourth Crusade sacked Croatian town of Zadar (Italian: Zara), a rival of Venice. Unable to raise enough funds to pay to their Venetian contractors, the crusaders agreed to sack the city despite letters from Pope Innocent III forbidding such an action and threatening excommunication.
Siege of Zara was the first major Crusade's action and the first attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders.

1204

Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade.
Considered to be the beginning of the decline of the Byzantine Empire.

1205

Battle of Adrianople. The Bulgarians under Emperor Kaloyan defeat Baldwin I.
Beginning of the decline of the Latin Empire.

1206

Genghis Khan was elected as Khagan of the Mongols and the Mongol Empire was established.
The Mongols would conquer much of Eurasia, changing former political borders.

1208

Pope Innocent III calls for the Albigensian Crusade which seeks to destroy a rival form of Christianity practiced by the Cathars.

1209

The University of Cambridge is founded.

1209

Founding of the Franciscan Order.
One of the more significant orders in the Roman Catholic church, founded by Saint Francis of Assisi.

1212

Spanish Christians succeed in defeating the Moors in the long Reconquista campaigns, after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa.
By 1238, only the small southern Emirate of Granada remained under Muslim control.

1215
15 June
The Magna Carta is sealed by John of England.
This marks one of the first times a medieval ruler is forced to accept limits on his power.

1215

Fourth Lateran Council. Dealt with transubstantiation, papal primacy and conduct of clergy. Proclaimed that Jews and Muslims should wear identification marks to distinguish them from Christians.

1216

Papal recognition of the Dominican Order.

1219

Serbian Orthodox Church becomes autocephalous under St. Sava, its first Archbishop.

1227
18 August
Genghis Khan dies.
His kingdom is divided among his children and grandchildren: Empire of the Great Khan, Chagatai Khanate, Mongolian Homeland, and the Blue Horde and White Horde. (Which would later become the Golden Horde.

1237–1240

Mongol invasion of Rus' resumes.
Causes the split of Kievan Rus' into three components (present day Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, greatly effects various regions of raided lands in other parts of Europe; Golden Horde formed.

1257

Founding of the University of Paris.

1257

Provisions of Oxford forced upon Henry III of England.
This establishes a new form of government-limited regal authority.

1258
29 January– 10 February
Siege of Baghdad
Mongols (the Ilkhanate) ensure control of the region; Generally considered the end of the Islamic Golden Age.

1258

The first Mongol invasion of Vietnam
The Mongol army was defeated by emperor Tran Thai Tong of Đại Việt

1272–73

The Ninth Crusade occurs.
Considered to be the Last Major Crusade to take place in the Holy Land.

1273
29 September
Rudolph I of Germany is elected Holy Roman Emperor.
This begins the Habsburg de facto domination of the crown that lasted until is dissolution in 1806.

1274

Thomas Aquinas' work, Summa Theologica is published, after his death.
Is the main staple of theology during the Middle Ages.

1279
19 March
Battle of Yamen.
Marks the end of the Song Dynasty in China, and all of China is under the rule of Kublai Khan as the emperor.

1282

Sicilian Vespers. Sicilians massacre Angevins over a six-week period, after a Frenchman harassed a woman.
Would mark a two decade period of war, and peace treaties mainly between Aragon, Sicily, and the Angevins.

1283

First regulated Catalan Courts.
Presided by king Peter III of Aragon for the whole Principality of Catalonia, it became in one of the first parliamentary bodies that banned the royal power to create legislation unilaterally.

1285

The second Mongol invasion of Vietnam
The Mongol army was defeated by emperor Tran Nhan Tong and general Tran Hung Dao.

1287

The third Mongol invasion of Vietnam
Decisive Vietnam victory. To avoid further conflict, Đại Việt agreed to a tributary relationship with the Yuan dynasty

1296

Edward I of England invades Scotland, starting the First War of Scottish Independence.

1297
11 September
The Battle of Stirling Bridge.
William Wallace emerges as the leader of the Scottish resistance to England.

1298

Marco Polo publishes his tales of China, along with Rustichello da Pisa.
A key step to the bridging of Asia and Europe in trade.

1299
27 July
The Ottoman Empire is founded by Osman I.
Becomes longest lasting Islamic Empire, lasting over 600 years into the 20th century.

text: Late Middle Ages[edit]

text: 13th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

1305
Wednesday August 23
William Wallace is executed for treason.

1307
Friday, October 13th
The Knights Templar are rounded up and murdered by Philip the Fair of France, with the backing of the Pope.
Hastens the demise of the order within a decade.

1307

Beginning of the Babylonian Captivity of the Papacy during which the Popes moved to Avignon.
Begins a period of over seven decades of the Papacy outside of Rome that would be one of the major factors of the Western Schism.

1310

Dante publishes his Divine Comedy.
Is one of the most defining works of literature during the Late Middle Ages, and among the most recognizable in all of literature.

1314
23–24 June
Battle of Bannockburn.
Robert the Bruce restores Scotland's de facto independence.

1325

The Mexica found the city of Tenochtitlan.
This would later be the epicenter and capital of the Aztec Empire until the Siege of Tenochtitlan 200 years later.[25]

1328

The First War of Scottish Independence ends in Scottish victory with the Treaty of Edinburgh-Northampton and de jure independence.

1323

Romance of the three kingdom

1333

Emperor Go-Daigo returns to the throne from exile, and begins the Kenmu restoration.
The Kamakura Shogunate comes to an end, and the Kenmu Restoration only lasts a few years before the Ashikaga Shogunate begins.

1337

The Hundred Years' War begins. England and France struggle for a dominating position in Europe and their region.
The war will span through three/four different war periods within a 116-year period.

1346
August 26th
Battle of Crécy.
English forces led by Edward III and Edward, the Black Prince defeat the French forces of Philip VI despite being outnumbered at least 4 to 1, with the longbow being a major factor in favor of England. Also considered to be the beginning of the end of classic chivalry.

1347

The Black Death ravages Europe for the first of many times. An estimated 20% – 40% of the population is thought to have perished within the first year.
The first of many concurrences of this plague, This was believed to have wiped out as many as 50% of Europe's population by its end.

1347

The University of Prague is founded.
It is the oldest Czech and German-Speaking University in the world

1364

Astrarium
Giovanni de dondi

1368

The fall of the Yuan Dynasty. Its remnants, known as Northern Yuan, continued to rule Mongolia.
The breakup of the Mongol Empire, which marked the end of Pax Mongolica.

1370

Tamerlane establishes the Timurid Dynasty.
During this 35-year period, Tamerlane would ravage his fellow Islamic states such as the Golden Horde and the Delhi Sultanate in order to accomplish his goal of a restored Mongol Empire.

1378

The Western Schism during which three claimant popes were elected simultaneously.
The Avignon Papacy ends.

1380

Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow led a united Russian army to a victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo.

1380

Chaucer begins to write The Canterbury Tales.
Chaucer's greatest work, and one of the foundations towards the formation of the Modern English language

1381

Peasants' Revolt in England.
Quickest-spread revolt in English history, and the most popular revolt of the Late Middle Ages.

1381

The Bible is translated into English by John Wycliffe.
First print published in English (Vulgate)

1386
October 18–19th
The University of Heidelberg is founded.
It is the oldest university in Germany.

1389
June 28th
Battle of Kosovo in Serbia.
This was in many respects the decisive battle between the Turks, led by Sultan Murat, and Christian army, led by the Serbs and their duke Lazar. The battle took place in Kosovo, the southern province of the Medieval Serbian Empire. After this battle Turkish empire continued to spread over the Balkans, to finally reach Vienna.

1392

Joseon Dynasty founded in Korea.
Becomes longest reigning Korean dynasty.

1396

The Battle of Nicopolis.
The last great Crusade fails. Bulgaria was conquered by the Ottomans

1397

The Kalmar Union is formed.
Queen Margaret I of Denmark unites the Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, and lasts until 1523.

1399

Richard II abdicates the throne to Henry of Bolingbroke, who becomes Henry IV of England.
End of Plantagenet Dynasty, beginning of the Lancaster lineage of kings.

text: 14th century[edit]

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

1402
July 20th
Battle of Ankara
Bayezid I is captured by Tamerlane's forces, causing the interregnum of the Ottoman Empire.

1405

Chinese naval expeditions of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean (to Eastern Africa) begin, under the leadership of Zheng He.
This will be the first of seven of the Ming Dynasty-sponsored expeditions, lasting until 1433.

1409

Ladislaus of Naples sells his "rights" on Dalmatia to the Venetian Republic for 100,000 ducats.
Dalmatia would with some interruptions remain under Venetian rule for nearly four centuries, until 1797.

1410

Battle of Grunwald
Major turning point in history of Poland and the Teutonic Order.

1415

Kingdom of Portugal conquers Ceuta.
Beginning of the Portuguese Empire. Beginning of the Age of Discovery.

1415
October 25
Battle of Agincourt. Henry V and his army defeat a numerically superior French army, partially because of the newly introduced English longbow.
The turning point in the Hundred Years' War for 15th-century England that leads to the signing of the Treaty of Troyes five years later, making Henry V heir to the throne of France.

1417

The Council of Constance ends.
The Western Schism comes to a close, and elects Pope Martin V as the sole pope.

1419

Hussite Wars begin after four years after the death of Jan Hus in central Europe, dealing with the followers of Jan Hus and those against them.
Although the war was a stalemate (ended around 1434), it was another factor that[clarification needed] between the Catholics and Protestants before the Protestant Reformation.

1428

Itzcoatl, the fourth Mexica king in Tenochtitlán, allied with Texcoco and Tlacopan, defeats Azcapotzalco.
Signifies the birth of the Aztec Empire and the start of an aggressive expansion lasting 90 years. Itzcoatl and his men began burning historic hieroglyphic books of conquered states, rewriting history with the Mexica at its center.[25]

1429

Joan of Arc lifts the siege of Orléans for the Dauphin of France, enabling him to eventually be crowned at Reims.
The battle at Orléans is the first of many which ultimately drive the English from continental Europe.

1431
30 May
Trial and execution of Joan of Arc.
Death of the woman who helped turn the Hundred Years' War in favor of the French over the past two years.

1434

The Medici family rises to prominence in Florence.
This ushers in a period of significance of the Medicis, such as bankers, popes, queens (regents) and dukes, throughout Europe (mainly Italy, especially the Florentine Republic), over the next three centuries.

1434

Aronolfini Portrait Jan Van Eyck
evidence on usage of convex mirror

1438

Prince Cusi Yupanqui becomes the first Inca emperor.
Inca civilization begins expanding and the Inca Empire is born.[25]

1439

Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press.
Literature, news, etc. becomes more accessible throughout Europe.

1442

Battle of Szeben
Third significant victory for the Hungarian forces led by Janos Hunyadi over the Ottoman forces.

1443

Hangul
Sejong

1444
November 10
Battle of Varna
Final battle of the Crusade of Varna; Ottomans are victorious over the Hungarian-Polish armies, and Władysław III of Poland dies.

1452

Coronation of Frederick III

1453

Constantinople falls to the Ottoman Turks.
End of the Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire to some); Constantinople becomes capital of Ottoman Empire.

1453

The Hundred Years' War ends.
England's once vast territory in France is now reduced to only Calais, which they eventually lose control of as well.

1455
May 22
Battle of St. Albans
Traditionally marks the beginning of the War of the Roses.

1456

Siege of Belgrade
Major Ottoman advances are halted for seven decades; last major victory for Hunyadi.

1459

Smederevo falls under the Turks
Marks the end of the Medieval Serbian Empire.

1461

The Empire of Trebizond falls to the Ottoman Turks.
Last Roman outpost to be conquered by the Ottomans.

1464

Dardanelles gun
Turkish Munir Ali

1467–1477

Ōnin War takes place in Japan.
First of many significant civil wars between shogunates that would continue for another century during the Muromachi period.

1475

The Khanate of Crimea is conquered and made a vassal state by the Ottoman Empire.
Venice is defeated and the Ottoman Empire becomes master of the Aegean Sea.

1485

Thomas Malory composes Le Morte d'Arthur
Perhaps the best-known work of Arthurian literature in English.

1485
August 22nd
Battle of Bosworth Field.
Richard III dies in battle, and Henry Tudor becomes king of England; last shift of Houses/kingship during the War of the Roses.

1487
June 16
Battle of Stoke.
Marks end of the War of the Roses.

1492

Reconquista ends.
Marks end of Moorish-Muslim rule within Iberian Peninsula; Unification of Spain and Portugal, respectively.

1492

Christopher Columbus reaches the New World.
Age of Discovery into the New World begins.

text: Events between the traditional end of the Middle Ages in 1492 and the beginning of the 16th century:

tag: p

text:
Year
Date
Event
Significance

1494
June 10
Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas and agree to divide the World outside of Europe between themselves.
Pope's ruling will lead to the division of Brazil and Spanish America, as well as the formation of the Spanish Philippines and Portuguese colonies in India and Africa.

1494–1559

The Italian Wars.
Italian Wars will eventually lead to the downfall of the Italian city-states.

1497

Vasco da Gama begins his first voyage from Europe to India and back.
Vasco da Gama was the first European to sail directly to Eastern Asia from Europe.

1499

Ottoman fleet defeats Venetians at the Battle of Zonchio.
The first naval battle that used cannons in ships.