1450s

The 1450s refers to the decade from 1450 through 1459, a period of transition between the late Middle Ages and the early modern era in Europe and the broader Eurasian world. It was marked by decisive political shifts, major conflicts, and technological changes that helped reshape trade, governance, and culture.

A sequence of events reshaped Europe and the surrounding regions. In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II, ending the Byzantine Empire and altering power in southeastern Europe and Mediterranean trade routes. The same decade saw the conclusion of the decisive phase of the Hundred Years’ War, with English continental possessions largely lost following the 1453 Castillon. In 1456, Mehmed II’s siege of Belgrade was repelled by John Hunyadi, delaying further Ottoman expansion into central Europe. Italy’s balance of power began to shift with the 1454 Treaty of Lodi among Milan, Venice, and Florence, creating a temporary stabilization that influenced subsequent Italian wars.

Domestically in England, 1455 marked the start of the Wars of the Roses, a protracted civil conflict over the royal succession between rival branches of the Plantagenet dynasty. By contrast, the decade also witnessed a landmark technological development: around 1455 Johannes Gutenberg’s movable-type printing press produced the Gutenberg Bible, a milestone in the dissemination of printed books and literacy.

In the broader Atlantic world, Portuguese exploration along the West African coast intensified, laying early groundwork for long-distance maritime trade and the later age of exploration. The 1450s thus feature a mix of military upheaval, state formation, and technological innovation that helped usher in early modern dynamics.