fifteenthcentury

The fifteenth century refers to the period roughly from 1400 to 1499, though some historians use 1401–1500. It marks a transitional era, bridging the late Middle Ages and the early modern period. The century witnessed political consolidation, cultural transformation, and the beginnings of sustained global contact.

In Europe, centralized monarchies expanded their authority and the Renaissance gathered momentum in Italian city-states such as Florence and Venice, supported by patrons like the Medici. The invention of movable type by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1440s facilitated longer‑distance exchange of ideas. Notable political events included the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453, the end of the Hundred Years’ War in the same year, and the Wars of the Roses in England (1455–1487). The completion of the Reconquista in 1492 also occurred in this century.

Beyond Europe, the Ming dynasty in China consolidated power, undertook large building projects such as the Forbidden City, and sponsored Zheng He’s early 15th‑century voyages. The Ottoman Empire extended its reach in the eastern Mediterranean, culminating in the capture of Constantinople in 1453, which reshaped regional power dynamics.

The century also laid the groundwork for global exploration. Iberian navigators pushed down the African coast, and in 1492 Christopher Columbus reached the Americas, inaugurating longer‑term contact between continents. By the end of the century, Vasco da Gama had reached India by sea (circa 1498), establishing a maritime path to Asia that would transform global trade. The fifteenth century thus set in motion profound economic, cultural, and geopolitical changes that shaped the early modern world.