Timeline of European Environmental History

  • End Ice Age
  • Mesolithic
  • Flooding North Sea
  • Neolithic
  • Bronze and Iron Age
  • Roman period
  • 536 event
  • Medieval Warm Period
  • Black Death
  • Little Ice Age
  • Agriculture revolution
  • Coal
  • Industrial Revolution
  • Romantic movement
  • Conservation movement
  • 20th century
  • 8000 BC
  • 7000 BC
  • 5000 BC
  • 2100 BC
  • 1 AD
  • 536 AD
  • 1000 AD
  • 1350 AD
  • 1650 AD
  • 1750 AD
  • 1800 AD
  • 1900 AD
  • 2000 AD
 Prehistory & Roman Middle Ages Early Modern period Modern period

The Timeline of European Environmental History is a chronological exploration of the history of the interaction between human culture and nature, with a special focus on northwest Europe. The Timeline is based on the personal research and teaching interests of the author and is therefore selective in content and scope and with a focus on the British Isles. Nevertheless, the timeline aims to provide a reference tool for students, educators, scholars, and anyone interested in environmental history and related subjects. The Timeline extends from prehistory to the present day and will continue to expand in scope and depth over time. Use the slider at the top of this page for navigation.

Structure and navigation

The basic structure of the Timeline of European Environmental History is chronological and divided in blocks representing the main periods in European history. These periods are: prehistory & Roman period, Middle Ages, Early Modern period represented by the Little Ice Age, modern era represented by the Industrial Revolution and the 20th century. Of course this is an arbitrary periodization and the beginning and end of each period differ throughout Europe, apart from the 20th century. The beginning of the Industrial Revolution for example starts later in Italy than in the British Isles.

Each page has a timeline slider at the top of the page which can be used to navigate through time by dragging the slider right or left or by clicking on the periods. You can go to individual topics by clicking the images on the timeline slider.