Merchant guilds begin to form across Europe
The earliest types of guild formed as a confraternities of tradesmen. They were organized in a manner something between a professional association, a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society.
11th Century C.E.
The Chinese of the Song Dynasty invent the fire lance
The fire lance was a very early gunpowder weapon that appeared in 10th century China during the Jin-Song Wars.
The Chinese of the Song Dynasty invent dry docks
A dry dock is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform.
Early versions of the Bessemer process for producing steel are invented in East Asia
Economic historian Robert Hartwell writes that the Chinese of the Song Dynasty innovated a “partial decarbonization” method of repeated forging of cast iron under a cold blast.
Inuit culture emerges in the Arctic
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting Inuit Nunangat, the regions of Greenland, Canada, and Alaska
The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa flourishes in modern-day Sri Lanka
The Kingdom of Polonnaruwa was the Sinhalese kingdom from which Sri Lankan kings ruled the island from the 11th century until 1310 CE.
Construction begins at the Grand Ball Court of Chichen Itza
The Great Ballcourt of Chichen Itza, measuring 146 m x 36 m, is the largest in Mesoamerica.
Bi Sheng of China's Song Dynasty invents movable type
The world’s first movable type printing press technology for printing paper books was made of porcelain materials and was invented around C.E. 1040 in China during the Northern Song Dynasty by the inventor Bi Sheng.
Tughril Beg and Chaghri Beg found the Seljuk Empire
At its greatest extent, the Seljuk Empire controlled a vast area stretching from western Anatolia and the Levant to the Hindu Kush in the east, and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf in the south.
The Faroe Islands become a part of the Kingdom of Norway
Norsemen settled the Faroe Islands in the 9th century or 10th century. The islands were officially converted to Christianity around the year 1000, and became a part of the Kingdom of Norway in 1035.