ExpertModern History
Expert Modern History Quiz: Religious Wars and Treaties, 1494 to 1713
Expert Modern History quiz on the 1494 Spain-Portugal partition, 'cujus regio', the 1572 Paris massacre, the 1688 English revolution and the 1713 peace.
Modern History quizzes
Renaissance, Revolutions, World Wars
Modern history stretches from the end of the Middle Ages to the revolutions of the late eighteenth century. This theme explores the Italian Renaissance and Gutenberg's printing press, the voyages of Christopher Columbus, Magellan and Vasco da Gama, Luther's Reformation, the Wars of Religion, the reign of Louis XIV and the Enlightenment of Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau.
The Modern History questions help you check your sense of chronology, link treaties, battles and key figures to their period, and see how Europe changed between 1453 and 1789. Every quiz is free, with five difficulty levels from very easy to expert, and a short explanation after each answer.
Quizzes
HardModern History
Hard Modern History Quiz: Seven Years' War and Louis XIV's Wars
A hard Modern History quiz on the end of the Thirty Years' War, a bloody 1709 battle, Louis XIV's mercantilist minister and France losing Canada.
MediumModern History
Modern History Quiz: Edict of Nantes, Galileo and 1789 (Intermediate)
Intermediate Modern History quiz: Protestants in France, the Edict of Nantes revoked in 1685, the Thirty Years' War, heliocentrism and 4 August 1789.
EasyModern History
Modern History Quiz: Luther, Nelson and Napoleon's Fall (Easy)
Easy Modern History quiz: Martin Luther's movement, the sea route to India in 1498, Nelson's naval victory, Napoleon's last battle and the Enlightenment.
Very easyModern History
Modern History Quiz: Renaissance, 1492 and 1789 (Very Easy)
Very easy Modern History quiz: Renaissance art, the voyage of 1492, the 1789 revolution, a Corsican-born emperor and the printing press. Free.
Related themes
Frequently asked questions about Modern History
When does the modern era in history begin and end?
Historians usually place the start of the modern era (often called the early modern period in English) around 1453, the fall of Constantinople, or 1492, Columbus's first voyage to the Americas. The French tradition ends it in 1789 with the Revolution, while many English-language historians run it to about 1800.
Who invented the printing press in Europe?
Around 1450 the German goldsmith Johannes Gutenberg developed movable-type printing in Mainz. The Gutenberg Bible, printed around 1455, is the work most closely linked to him, and the new technique helped spread Renaissance and Reformation ideas across Europe.
What was the Thirty Years' War?
The Thirty Years' War was a major European conflict fought from 1618 to 1648. It began with religious and political tensions in the Holy Roman Empire, drew in many powers, and ended with the Peace of Westphalia, which reshaped the balance of power in Europe.