"A preview of a project I'm working on alongside Beyond Typus, Part 7.

The final, earliest and default bookmark: The Fall of Acre (19th of May, 1291)

This symbolic event will also lend its name to to working title of the addon, 1291-1837: The Fall of Acre, which will extend the date from the fall of the last of the Crusader Kings all the way to reign of Queen Victoria, just shy of 550 years of history.

Now that the earliest start date is known, let's reveal some of the previously withheld details from the other previews:

There will be 15 institutions, in addition to the 11 already previewed, there are:
1300 - Universities (normal start Bologna)
Historical date c. 1300. Universities, previously essentially guilds of students or teachers, begin to take on a more modern form & start to pop up in many European centres.
1350 - Renaissance (normal start Florence or Verona?)
Historical date 1345. The poet laureate Petrach discovers a selection of previously unknown letters by Roman Consul Cicero, sparking renewed interest in classical thought.
1400 - Banking (normal start Genoa)
Historical date 1407. The Bank of St. George is founded. Also the rise of the prominent Italian and German banks & the spread of banking across Europe & the Middle East.
1450 - Printing Press (normal start Mainz or Frankfurt?)
Historical date 1439. Johannes Gutenburg's new movable type printing press, inspired by East Asian designs but with certain key innovations, sparks the printing revolution.

21 levels (0-20) of technology replace 3 (0-2) for the period prior to 1440. Advanced civilisations will start at tech 6 (1286). Level 21 is the same as vanilla level 3 (1440), and thence follows the original vanilla pattern."