Short answers, pulled from the story.
Freemasonry began as a practical trade of stonemasons building cathedrals and castles across medieval Europe with the earliest documents known as the Old Charges dating back to the Regius Poem around the year 1425.
The modern era of Freemasonry began on the 24th of June 1717 when four existing London lodges met at the Goose and Gridiron Ale House to form the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster.
Prince Hall Freemasonry started in 1775 when an African American named Prince Hall along with 14 other African American men was initiated into a British military lodge with a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Ireland.
The Catholic Church issued its first pronouncement against Freemasonry on the 28th of April 1738 with Pope Clement XII's In eminenti apostolatus.
The two Grand Lodges eventually reached a compromise and reunited on the 27th of December 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England.