The 16th century began with the Julian year

1501 Year 1501 ( MDI) was a common year starting on Friday in the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 17 – Cesar Borgia returns triumphantly to Rome, from Romagna. * February 1 – The Duchy of Bavaria-Dachau, c ...

(represented by the

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

MDI) and ended with either the Julian or the Gregorian year

1600 In the Gregorian calendar, it was the first century leap year and the last until the year 2000. Events January–March * January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25. * January 20 – Hugh O'Neill, Earl of ...

(MDC), depending on the reckoning used (the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

in Italy and Europe saw the emergence of important artists, authors and scientists, and led to the foundation of important subjects which include

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath who formulated a mathematical model, model of Celestial spheres#Renaissance, the universe that placed heliocentrism, the Sun rather than Earth at its cen ...

proposed the heliocentric universe, which was met with strong resistance, and

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe, ; 14 December 154624 October 1601), generally called Tycho for short, was a Danish astronomer of the Renaissance, known for his comprehensive and unprecedentedly accurate astronomical observations. He ...

refuted the theory of

celestial spheres The celestial spheres, or celestial orbs, were the fundamental entities of the cosmological models developed by Plato, Eudoxus, Aristotle, Ptolemy, Copernicus, and others. In these celestial models, the apparent motions of the fixed star ...

through observational measurement of the 1572 appearance of a

Milky Way The Milky Way or Milky Way Galaxy is the galaxy that includes the Solar System, with the name describing the #Appearance, galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars in other arms of the galax ...

supernova A supernova (: supernovae or supernovas) is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. A supernova occurs during the last stellar evolution, evolutionary stages of a massive star, or when a white dwarf is triggered into runaway nuclear fusion ...

. These events directly challenged the long-held notion of an immutable universe supported by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

and

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, and led to major revolutions in

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

and science.

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

became a champion of the new sciences, invented the first thermometer and made substantial contributions in the fields of

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

and

, becoming a major figure in the

Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of History of science, modern science during the early modern period, when developments in History of mathematics#Mathematics during the Scientific Revolution, mathemati ...

in Europe. Spain and Portugal colonized large parts of Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, followed by France and England in

Northern America Northern America is the northernmost subregion of North America, as well as the northernmost region in the Americas. The boundaries may be drawn significantly differently depending on the source of the definition. In one definition, it lies dir ...

and the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...

. The Portuguese became the masters of trade between

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, the coasts of Africa, and their possessions in the

Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found i ...

, whereas the Spanish came to dominate the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, together with Navassa Island and the Cayman Islands. Seven island states share the region of the Greater Antille ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and opened trade across the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

, linking the Americas with the Indies. English and French

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s began to practice persistent theft of Spanish and Portuguese treasures. This era of

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

established

mercantilism Mercantilism is a economic nationalism, nationalist economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports of an economy. It seeks to maximize the accumulation of resources within the country and use those resources ...

as the leading school of economic thought, where the economic system was viewed as a

zero-sum game Zero-sum game is a Mathematical model, mathematical representation in game theory and economic theory of a situation that involves two competition, competing entities, where the result is an advantage for one side and an equivalent loss for the o ...

in which any gain by one party required a loss by another. The mercantilist

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

encouraged the many intra-European wars of the period and arguably fueled European expansion and

imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...

throughout the world until the

19th century The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was Abolitionism, ...

or early

20th century The 20th century began on 1 January 1901 (MCMI), and ended on 31 December 2000 (MM). It was the 10th and last century in the 2nd millennium and was marked by new models of scientific understanding, unprecedented scopes of warfare, new modes of ...

. The

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

in central and northern Europe gave a major blow to the authority of the

papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. In

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, the British-Italian

Alberico Gentili Alberico Gentili (14 January 155219 June 1608) was an Italian jurist, a tutor of Queen Elizabeth I, and a standing advocate to the Spanish Embassy in London, who served as the Regius Professor of Civil Law at the University of Oxford for 21 ye ...

wrote the first book on public international law and divided

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...

from

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

and Catholic theology. European politics became dominated by religious conflicts, with the groundwork for the epochal

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

being laid towards the end of the century. In the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

continued to expand, with the

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

taking the title of

caliph A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

, while dealing with a resurgent Persia. Iran and Iraq were caught by a major popularity of the

Shia Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

sect of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

under the rule of the

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...

of warrior-mystics, providing grounds for a Persia independent of the majority-

Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...

Muslim world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

. In the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, following the defeat of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries.

and

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

, new powers emerged, the

Sur Empire The Sur Empire was an empire ruled by the Afghan (ethnonym), Afghan-origin Sur dynasty in North India, northern India for nearly 16 or 18 years, between 1538/1540 and 1556, with Sasaram (in modern-day Bihar) serving as its capital. It was fou ...

founded by

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...

Deccan sultanates The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Indian Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They were created from the disintegrati ...

, Rajput states, and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

by Emperor

Babur Babur (; 14 February 148326 December 1530; born Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad) was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his father and mother respectively. He was also ...

, a direct descendant of

Timur Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timurid dynasty. An undefeat ...

and

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; August 1227), also known as Chinggis Khan, was the founder and first khan (title), khan of the Mongol Empire. After spending most of his life uniting the Mongols, Mongol tribes, he launched Mongol invasions and ...

. His successors

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

and

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

, enlarged the empire to include most of

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

. Japan suffered a severe civil war at this time, known as the

Sengoku period The was the period in History of Japan, Japanese history in which civil wars and social upheavals took place almost continuously in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Kyōtoku incident (1454), Ōnin War (1467), or (1493) are generally chosen as th ...

, and emerged from it as a unified nation under

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as and , was a Japanese samurai and ''daimyō'' (feudal lord) of the late Sengoku period, Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods and regarded as the second "Great Unifier" of Japan.Richard Holmes, The World Atlas of Warfare: ...

. China was ruled by the Ming dynasty, which was becoming increasingly isolationist, coming into conflict with Japan over the control of Korea as well as

Japanese pirates ''Wokou'' ( zh, c=, p=Wōkòu; ; Hepburn: ; ; literal Chinese translation: "dwarf bandits"), which translates to "Japanese pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 17th century.

. In Africa,

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

had begun to spread in

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

and

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. Until the

Scramble for Africa The Scramble for Africa was the invasion, conquest, and colonialism, colonisation of most of Africa by seven Western European powers driven by the Second Industrial Revolution during the late 19th century and early 20th century in the era of ...

in the late 19th century, most of Africa was left uncolonized.

Significant events

1501–1509

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

returns to his native

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

to begin work on the statue ''

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

''. *

reunifies

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and rules over it until

1736 Events January–March * January 12 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, becomes the Second Field Marshal of Great Britain. * January 23 – The Civil Code of 1734 is passed in Sweden. * January 26 – Stanislaus I of P ...

. Safavids adopt a

branch of

. *

: First Battle of Cannanore between the Third Portuguese Armada and

Kingdom of Cochin The kingdom of Cochin or the Cochin State, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It originated in the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until i ...

under

João da Nova João da Nova (; ; ; in Maceda, Ourense, Galicia, Spain – July 16, 1509, in Kochi, India) was a Galician-born explorer in the service of Portugal. He is credited as the discoverer of Ascension and Saint Helena islands. The Juan de Nova ...

and Zamorin of

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

's navy marks the beginning of Portuguese conflicts in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. * 1502: First reported African slaves in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

* 1502: The

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate, self-defined as the Throne of Crimea and Desht-i Kipchak, and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary, was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the longest-lived of th ...

sacks Sarai in the

Golden Horde The Golden Horde, self-designated as ''Ulug Ulus'' ( in Turkic) was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the division of ...

, ending its existence. * 1503:

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

defeats

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the Battle of Cerignola. Considered to be the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms. * 1503:

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

begins painting the ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

'' and completes it three years later. * 1503:

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinisation of names, Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French Astrology, astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed Oracle, seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéti ...

is born on either December 14 or December 21. *

1504 __NOTOC__ Year 1504 ( MDIV) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – French troops of King Louis XII surrender Gaeta to the Spanish, under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba. * J ...

: A period of

drought A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, ...

, with

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

in all of Spain. *

: Death of

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I (; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''Isabel la Católica''), was Queen of Castile and List of Leonese monarchs, León from 1474 until her death in 1504. She was also Queen of Aragon ...

;

Joanna of Castile Joanna of Castile (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad (), was the nominal queen of Castile from 1504 and queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Castile ...

becomes the Queen. *

: Foundation of the Sultanate of Sennar by Amara Dunqas, in what is modern

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

* 1505:

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (26 October 149120 April 1521), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Wuzong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houzhao, was the 11th List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1505 to 1 ...

ascends the throne of

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. * 1505:

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

enters St. Augustine's Monastery at Erfurt, Germany, on 17 July and begins his journey to instigating the

. * 1505: Sultan Trenggono builds the first Muslim kingdom in Java, called Demak, in Indonesia. Many other small kingdoms were established in other islands to fight against Portuguese. Each kingdom introduced local language as a way of communication and unity. *

1506 Year 1506 (Roman numerals, MDVI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 14 – The Classical antiquity, classical statue of ''Laocoön and His Sons'' is unearthed in Rome. ...

completes the ''

''. *

: King

Afonso I of Kongo Mvemba a Nzinga, Nzinga Mbemba, Funsu Nzinga Mvemba or Dom Alfonso ( – 1542 or 1543),The Encyclopedia of African-American Heritage by Susan Altman, Chapter M, page 181 also known as King Afonso I, was the sixth ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo fr ...

wins the battle of Mbanza Kongo, resulting in Catholicism becoming Kongo's state religion. *

: At least two thousand converted Jews are massacred in a

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

riot, Portugal. *

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

dies in

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

. *

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

is invaded by

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

from the

. * 1507: The first recorded epidemic of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

in the

on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ) is an island between Geography of Cuba, Cuba and Geography of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and the second-largest by List of C ...

. It devastates the native

Taíno The Taíno are the Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles and surrounding islands. At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now The ...

population. * 1507:

Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and ''conquistador''. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across ...

conquered Hormuz and

Muscat Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

, among other bases in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

, taking control of the region at the entrance of the

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from an ocean or their seas into a landmass, larger and typically (though not always) with a narrower opening than a bay (geography), bay. The term was used traditionally for large, highly indented navigable bodies of s ...

. * 1508: The Christian-Islamic power struggle in Europe and West Asia spills over into the Indian Ocean as Battle of Chaul during the Portuguese-Mamluk War * 1508–

1512 Year 1512 (Roman numerals, MDXII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 2 – Svante Nilsson (regent of Sweden), Svante Nilsson, regent of Sweden since 1504, dies at the a ...

paints the

Sistine Chapel ceiling The Sistine Chapel ceiling (), painted in fresco by Michelangelo between 1508 and 1512, is a cornerstone work of High Renaissance Renaissance art, art. The Sistine Chapel is the large papal chapel built within the Vatican City, Vatican betwee ...

. *

1509 Year 1509 (Roman numerals, MDIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 21 – The Kingdom of Portugal, Portuguese first arrive at the Seven Islands of Bombay and land at M ...

: The defeat of joint fleet of the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, and the

Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature. It is the nineteenth large ...

with support of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

and the

in Battle of Diu marks the beginning of Portuguese dominance of the

Spice trade The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in t ...

and the

. *

: The Portuguese king sends

Diogo Lopes de Sequeira Diogo Lopes de Sequeira (1465–1530) was a Portuguese '' fidalgo'', sent to analyze the trade potential in Madagascar and Malacca. He arrived at Malacca on 11 September 1509 and left the next year when he discovered that Sultan Mahmud Shah was ...

to find

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

, the eastern terminus of Asian trade. After initially receiving Sequeira, Sultan Mahmud Shah captures and/or kills several of his men and attempts an assault on the four Portuguese ships, which escape.Ricklefs (1991), p.23 The

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

nese fleet is also destroyed in Malacca. *

: Krishnadevaraya ascends the throne of

1510s The 1510s decade ran from January 1, 1510, to December 31, 1519. References {{DEFAULTSORT:1510s ...

–

1510 Year 1510 (Roman numerals, MDX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 23 – An 18-year-old Henry VIII of England jousts anonymously at Richmond, London, Richmond, Surrey ...

: The 'great plague' in various parts of

Tudor England Tudor most commonly refers to: * House of Tudor, Welsh and English royal house of Welsh origins ** Tudor period, a historical era in England and Wales coinciding with the rule of the Tudor dynasty Tudor may also refer to: Architecture * Tudor a ...

. *

of Portugal conquers

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

in India. * 1511:

of Portugal conquers

, the capital of the

Sultanate of Malacca The Malacca Sultanate (; Jawi script: ) was a Malays (ethnic group), Malay sultanate based in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks as the founding year of the sultanate by King of Singapura, Parameswa ...

in present-day Malaysia. *

writes ''

Commentariolus The ''Commentariolus'' (''Little Commentary'') is Nicolaus Copernicus's brief outline of an early version of his revolutionary heliocentric theory of the universe. After further long development of his theory, Copernicus published the mature ver ...

'', and proclaims the Sun the center of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

. *

: The southern part (historical core) of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

is invaded by Castile and Aragon. *

Qutb Shahi dynasty The Sultanate of Golconda (; ) was an early modern kingdom in southern India, ruled by the Persianate, Shia Islamic Qutb Shahi dynasty of Turkoman origin. After the decline of the Bahmani Sultanate, the Sultanate of Golconda was established ...

, founded by Quli Qutb Mulk, rules

Golconda Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani ...

Sultanate until

1687 Events January–March * January 3 – With the end of latest of the Savoyard–Waldensian wars in the Duchy of Savoy between the Savoyard government and Protestant Italians known as the Waldensians, Victor Amadeus III, Duke o ...

. *

: The first Portuguese exploratory expedition was sent eastward from Malacca (in present-day Malaysia) to search for the '

Spice Islands In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for ...

' ( Maluku) led by Francisco Serrão. Serrão is shipwrecked but struggles on to

Hitu Hitu is an Austronesian language of the Central Malayo-Polynesian subgroup spoken on Ambon Island in eastern Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean ...

(northern Ambon) and wins the favour of the local rulers.Ricklefs (1991), page 24 * 1513: Machiavelli writes ''

The Prince ''The Prince'' ( ; ) is a 16th-century political treatise written by the Italian diplomat, philosopher, and Political philosophy, political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli in the form of a realistic instruction guide for new Prince#Prince as gener ...

'', a treatise about political philosophy * 1513: The Portuguese

mariner A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship. While the term ''sailor' ...

Jorge Álvares lands at

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

, China, during the

. * 1513:

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

defeats the French at the Battle of the Spurs. * 1513: The Battle of Flodden Field in which invading Scots are defeated by

's forces. * 1513: Sultan

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

("The Grim") orders the massacre of

Muslims in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

(present-day Turkey). * 1513:

Vasco Núñez de Balboa Vasco Núñez de Balboa (; c. 1475around January 12–21, 1519) was a Spanish people, Spanish explorer, governor, and conquistador. He is best known for crossing the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513, becoming the first European to ...

, in service of Spain arrives at the

(which he called Mar del Sur) across the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama, historically known as the Isthmus of Darien, is the narrow strip of land that lies between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, linking North America, North and South America. The country of Panama is located on the i ...

. He was the first European to do so. *

1514 Year 1514 ( MDXIV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 10 – A great fire breaks out, in the Rialto of Venice. * February 12 – War of the League of Cambrai: In ...

: The Battle of Orsha halts

Muscovy Muscovy or Moscovia () is an alternative name for the Principality of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to: *Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555 *Muscovy duck (''Cairina mosch ...

's expansion into

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

. *

: Dózsa rebellion (peasant revolt) in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

: The

Battle of Chaldiran The Battle of Chaldiran (; ) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia from Safavid Iran. It marked ...

, the

gains decisive victory against

. * 1515: Ascension of

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

following the death of

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), also known as Louis of Orléans was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples (as Louis III) from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second ...

. * 1515: The

wrests Eastern

from the Safavids after the

. * 1515: The

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

conquer the last beyliks of Anatolia, the Dulkadirs and the Ramadanids. *

1516 __NOTOC__ Year 1516 ( MDXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, there is also a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 20 – Juan Díaz de Solís arr ...

–

1517 Year 1517 ( MDXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 22 – Battle of Ridaniya: The Holy Ottoman army of the sultan Selim I defeats the Mamluk army in Egypt, comm ...

: The

defeat the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

s and gain control of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, and the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

. *

: The

Sweating sickness Sweating sickness, also known as the sweats, English sweating sickness, English sweat or ''sudor anglicus'' in Latin, was a mysterious and contagious disease that struck England and later continental Europe in a series of epidemics beginning i ...

epidemic in

. *

: The

begins when

posts his Ninety-five Theses in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. * 1518: The Treaty of London was a non-aggression pact between the major European nations. The signatories were Burgundy, France, England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, the Papal States and Spain, all of whom agreed not to attack one another and to come to the aid of any that were under attack. * 1518: Mir Chakar Khan Rind leaves

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

and settles in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

. * 1518:

Leo Africanus Johannes Leo Africanus (born al-Ḥasan ibn Muḥammad ibn Aḥmad al-Wazzān al-Zayyātī al-Fasī, ; – ) was an Andalusi diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later publish ...

, also known as al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi, an Andalusian Berber diplomat who is best known for his book '' Descrittione dell’Africa'' (Description of Africa), is captured by Spanish pirates; he is taken to Rome and presented to

Pope Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Med ...

. * 1518: The dancing plague of 1518 begins in

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, lasting for about one month. *

1519 __NOTOC__ Year 1519 ( MDXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar, the 1519th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 519th year of the 2nd millennium, the 19th year of the 16th century, ...

dies of natural causes on May 2. *

Wang Yangming Wang Shouren (, 26 October 1472 – 9 January 1529), courtesy name Bo'an (), art name Yangmingzi (), usually referred to as Wang Yangming (), was a Chinese statesman, general, and Neo-Confucian philosopher during the Ming dynasty. After Zhu ...

, the Chinese philosopher and governor of

Jiangxi ; Gan: ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = , translit_lang1_type3 = , translit_lang1_info3 = , image_map = Jiangxi in China (+all claims hatched).svg , mapsize = 275px , map_caption = Location ...

province, describes his intent to use the firepower of the ''fo-lang-ji'', a

breech-loading A breechloader is a firearm in which the user loads the ammunition from the breech end of the barrel (i.e., from the rearward, open end of the gun's barrel), as opposed to a muzzleloader, in which the user loads the ammunition from the ( muzzle ...

Portuguese

culverin A culverin was initially an ancestor of the hand-held arquebus, but the term was later used to describe a type of medieval and Renaissance cannon. The word is derived from the antiquated "culuering" and the French (from " grass snake", follo ...

, in order to suppress the rebellion of Prince Zhu Chenhao. *

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

led by

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa (, original name: Khiḍr; ), also known as Hayreddin Pasha, Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1483 – 4 July 1546), was an Ottoman corsair and later admiral of the Ottoman Navy. Barbarossa's ...

, a Turk appointed to ruling position in Algiers by the Ottoman Empire, raid

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

in southern

. *

: Death of Emperor Maximilian; Charles I of

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, and the

Low Countries The Low Countries (; ), historically also known as the Netherlands (), is a coastal lowland region in Northwestern Europe forming the lower Drainage basin, basin of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta and consisting today of the three modern "Bene ...

becomes Emperor of

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain (as Charles I) from 1516 to 1556, and Lord of the Netherlands as titular Duke of Burgundy (as Charles II) ...

(ruled until 1556). *

– 1522: Spanish expedition commanded by Magellan and Elcano are the first to

Circumnavigate Circumnavigation is the complete navigation around an entire island, continent, or astronomical body (e.g. a planet or moon). This article focuses on the circumnavigation of Earth. The first circumnavigation of the Earth was the Magellan Exped ...

the Earth. *

–

1521 1521 ( MDXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar, the 1521st year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 521st year of the 2nd millennium, the 21st year of the 16th century, and the 2nd year o ...

Hernán Cortés Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca (December 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions o ...

leads the

Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was a pivotal event in the history of the Americas, marked by the collision of the Aztec Triple Alliance and the Spanish Empire. Taking place between 1519 and 1521, this event saw the Spanish conquistad ...

1520s

1520 Year 1520 ( MDXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March *January 19 – King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes, at Lake Åsunden in Sweden. The Swedish regent St ...

–

1566 __NOTOC__ Year 1566 (Roman numerals, MDLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 7 – Cardinal Michele Ghislieri is 1565–1566 papal conclave, elected as the new Pope ...

: The reign of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

marks the zenith of the

. *

: The first European diplomatic mission to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

, sent by the Portuguese, arrives at

Massawa Massawa or Mitsiwa ( ) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea Region, Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahlak Archipelago. It has been a historically important port for ...

9 April, and reaches the imperial encampment of Emperor Dawit II in

Shewa Shewa (; ; Somali: Shawa; , ), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa, is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa is located at it ...

9 October. *

forces under Krishnadevaraya defeat the

Adil Shahi The Sultanate of Bijapur was an early modern kingdom in the western Deccan and South India, ruled by the Muslim Adil Shahi (or Adilshahi) dynasty. Bijapur had been a '' taraf'' (province) of the Bahmani Kingdom prior to its independence in 14 ...

under at the Battle of Raichur *

: Sultan Ali Mughayat Shah of

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

begins an expansionist campaign capturing Daya on the west

Sumatran Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi.2), including adjacent i ...

coast (in present-day Indonesia), and the pepper and gold producing lands on the east coast. *

: The Portuguese established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

in the village of Lamakera on the eastern side of Solor (in present-day Indonesia) as a transit harbour between Maluku and

. *

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

(in present-day Serbia) is captured by the Ottoman Empire. *

: After building fortifications at

Tuen Mun Tuen Mun () or Castle Peak is an area near the mouth of Tuen Mun River and Castle Peak Bay in the New Territories, Hong Kong. It was one of the earliest settlements in what is now Hong Kong and can be dated to the Neolithic period. In the mo ...

, the Portuguese attempt to invade

China, but are expelled by Chinese naval forces. *

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

encountered by

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer best known for having planned and led the 1519–22 Spanish expedition to the East Indies. During this expedition, he also discovered the Strait of Magellan, allowing his fl ...

. He was later killed in the

Battle of Mactan The Battle of Mactan (; ) was fought on a beach in Mactan Island (now part of Cebu, Philippines) between Spanish forces led by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan along with local allies, and Lapulapu, the chieftain of the island, on th ...

in central Philippines in the same year. *

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (16September 150723January 1567), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizong of Ming, personal name Zhu Houcong, art name, art names Yaozhai, Leixuan, and Tianchi Diaosou, was the 12th List of emperors of the Ming ...

ascended the throne of

, China. *

: November,

's expedition reaches Maluku (in present-day Indonesia) and after trade with

Ternate Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...

returns to Europe with a load of

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, ...

. *

: Pati Unus leads the invasion of

(in present-day Malaysia) against the Portuguese occupation. Pati Unus was killed in this battle, and was succeeded by his brother, sultan Trenggana. * 1522:

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

falls to the Ottomans of

Sack of Rome of 1527 by Johannes Lingelbach 17th century

* 1522: The Portuguese ally themselves with the rulers of

(in present-day Indonesia) and begin construction of a fort. * 1522: August, Luso-Sundanese Treaty signed between Portugal and Sunda Kingdom granted Portuguese permit to build fortress in Sunda Kelapa. * 1523: Sweden Foundation of Modern Sweden, gains independence from the Kalmar Union. * 1523: The Cacao bean is introduced to Spain by

* 1524–1525: German Peasants' War in the

. * 1524: Giovanni da Verrazzano is the first European to explore the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of North America between South Carolina and Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland. * 1524: Ismail I, the founder of

, dies and Tahmasp I becomes king. OttomanJanissariesAndDefendingKnightsOfStJohnSiegeOfRhodes1522

* 1525: Timurid Empire forces under

defeat the Lodi dynasty at the First Battle of Panipat, end of the

. * 1525: Holy Roman Empire, German and Spanish Empire, Spanish forces defeat France at the Battle of Pavia,

is captured. * 1526: The Ottomans defeat the Kingdom of Hungary at the Battle of Mohács. * 1526:

, founded by Babur. * 1527: Sack of Rome (1527), Sack of Rome with Pope Clement VII escaping and the Swiss Guards defending the Vatican City, Vatican being killed. The sack of the city of Rome considered the end of the Italian Renaissance. * 1527: Protestant Reformation begins in Sweden. * 1527: The last ruler of Majapahit falls from power. This state (located in present-day Indonesia) was finally extinguished at the hands of the Demak. A large number of courtiers, artisans, priests, and members of the royalty moved east to the island of Bali; however, the power and the seat of government transferred to Demak under the leadership of Pangeran, later Raden Patah, Sultan Fatah. * 1527: June 22, The Javanese Prince Fatahillah of the Sultanate of Cirebon, Cirebon Sultanate successfully defeated the Portuguese armed forces at the site of the Sunda Kelapa Harbor. The city was then renamed Jayakarta, meaning "a glorious victory." This eventful day came to be acknowledged as Jakarta's Founding Anniversary. * 1527:

forces defeat the Rajput led by Rana Sanga of Mewar at the Battle of Khanwa * 1529: The Austrians defeat the

at the Siege of Vienna (1529), siege of Vienna. * 1529: Treaty of Zaragoza (1529), Treaty of Zaragoza defined the antimeridian of Treaty of Tordesillas, Tordesillas attributing the Moluccas to Portugal and

to Spain. * 1529: Imam Ahmad Gurey defeats the

n Emperor Dawit II of Ethiopia, Dawit II in the Battle of Shimbra Kure, the opening clash of the Ethiopian–Adal War.

1530s

* 1531–1532: The History of the Church of England, Church of England breaks away from the

and recognizes Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII as the head of the Church. * 1531: The Inca Civil War is fought between the two brothers, Atahualpa and Huáscar. * 1532: Francisco Pizarro leads the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. * 1532: Foundation of São Vicente, São Paulo, São Vicente, the first permanent Portuguese settlement in the Americas. * 1533: Anne Boleyn becomes Queen of England. * 1533: Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth Tudor is born. * 1534: Jacques Cartier claims Canada for France. * 1534: The Ottomans Capture of Baghdad (1534), capture Baghdad from the Safavid Iran, Safavids. * 1534: Affair of the Placards, where King Francis I of France, Francis I becomes more active in repression of French Protestants. * 1535: The Münster Rebellion, an attempt of radical, Millennialism, millennialist, Anabaptists to establish a theocracy, ends in bloodshed. * 1535: The Portuguese in Ternate depose Sultan Tabariji of Ternate, Tabariji (or Tabarija) and send him to Portuguese Goa where he converts to Christianity and bequeaths his Portuguese godfather Jordao de Freitas the island of Ambon.Ricklefs (1991), page 25 Hairun becomes the next sultan. * 1536: Catherine of Aragon dies in Kimbolton Castle, in England. ImperioOtomanoSimplificado-en

* 1536: In England, Anne Boleyn is beheaded for adultery and treason. * 1536: Establishment of the Portuguese Inquisition, Inquisition in Portugal. * 1536: Foundation of Buenos Aires (in present-day Argentina) by Pedro de Mendoza. * 1537: The Portuguese Empire, Portuguese establish Recife in Pernambuco, north-east of

. * 1537: William Tyndale's partial translation of the Bible into English is published, which would eventually be incorporated into the King James Bible. * 1538: Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada founds Bogotá. * 1538: Spanish Empire, Spanish–Republic of Venice, Venetian fleet is defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Preveza. * 1539: Hernando de Soto (explorer), Hernando de Soto explores inland North America.

1540s

*1540: The Jesuits, Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits, is founded by Ignatius of Loyola and six companions with the approval of Pope Paul III. *1540:

founds the Sur Empire, Suri dynasty in

, an ethnic Pashtuns, Pashtun (Pathan) of the house of Sur Dynasty, Sur, who supplanted the Mughal dynasty as rulers of North India during the reign of the relatively ineffectual second Mughal emperor

. Sher Shah Suri decisively defeats Humayun in the Battle of Bilgram (May 17, 1540). *1541: Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago in Chile. *1541: An Algerian military campaign by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V of Spain (Habsburg) is unsuccessful. *1541: Amazon River is encountered and explored by Francisco de Orellana. *1541: Siege of Buda (1541), Capture of Buda and the absorption of the major part of

by the

. *1541: Sahib I Giray of Crimean Khanate, Crimea invades Grand Duchy of Moscow, Russia. *1542: The Italian War of 1542–1546 War resumes between

and Emperor Charles V. This time

is allied with the Emperor, while James V of Scotland and Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, Suleiman I are allied with the French people, French. *1542: Akbar The Great is born in the Rajput Umarkot Fort *1542: Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the island of Samar and Leyte ''Philippines, Las Islas Filipinas'' honoring Philip II of Spain and became the official name of the archipelago. *1543:

n/ Portuguese troops defeat the Adal army led by Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, Ahmad Gurey at the Battle of Wayna Daga; Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, Ahmad Gurey is killed at this battle. * 1543:

publishes his theory that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun *1543: The Nanban trade period begins after Portuguese traders make contact with Japan. *1544: The France, French defeat an Holy Roman Empire, Imperial–Spanish Empire, Spanish army at the Battle of Ceresole. *1544: Battle of the Shirts in Scottish clan, Scotland. The Clan Fraser, Frasers and Macdonalds of Clan Ranald fight over a disputed chiefship; reportedly, 5 Frasers and 8 Macdonalds survive. *1545: Songhai Empire, Songhai forces sack the Mali Empire, Malian capital of Niani, Mali, Niani *1545: The Council of Trent meets for the first time in Trent (in northern Italy). *1546: Michelangelo Buonarroti is made chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica. *1546: Francis Xavier works among the peoples of Ambon, Ternate and Morotai (Moro) laying the foundations for a permanent mission. (to 1547) *1547:

dies in the Palace of Whitehall on 28 January at the age of 55. *1547: Francis I of France, Francis I dies in the Château de Rambouillet on 31 March at the age of 52. *1547: Edward VI of England, Edward VI becomes King of England and Ireland on 28 January and is crowned on 20 February at the age of 9. *1547: Emperor Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V decisively dismantles the Schmalkaldic League at the Battle of Mühlberg. *1547: Grand Duchy of Moscow, Grand Prince Ivan the Terrible is crowned tsar of (All) Russia, thenceforth becoming the Tsar of Russia#Tsars of Russia, first Russian tsar. *1548: Battle of Uedahara: Firearms are used for the first time on the battlefield in Japan, and Takeda Shingen is defeated by Murakami Yoshikiyo. * 1548: Askia Daoud, who reigned from 1548 to 1583, establishes public libraries in Timbuktu (in present-day Mali). *1548: The

government of China issues a decree banning all foreign trade and closes down all seaports along the coast; these Hai jin laws came during the Wokou wars with Japanese pirates. *1549: Tomé de Sousa establishes Salvador, Bahia, Salvador in Bahia, north-east of

. *1549: Arya Penangsang with the support of his teacher, Sunan Kudus, avenges the death of Raden Kikin by sending an envoy named Rangkud to kill Sunan Prawoto by Keris Kyai Satan Kober (in present-day Indonesia).

1550s

* 1550: The architect Mimar Sinan builds the Süleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul. * 1550: Mongols led by Altan Khan invade Ming Dynasty, China and besiege Beijing. * 1550–1551: Valladolid debate concerning the human rights of the Indigenous people of the Americas. * 1551: Fifth outbreak of sweating sickness in England. John Caius of Shrewsbury writes the first full contemporary account of the symptoms of the disease. * 1551: North African Barbary pirates, pirates enslave the entire population of the Maltese island Gozo, between 5,000 and 6,000, sending them to Libya. * 1552: Russia conquers the Khanate of Kazan in central Asia. * 1552: Jesuit China Mission, Francis Xavier dies. * 1553: Mary I of England, Mary Tudor becomes the first queen regnant of England and restores the Church of England under Papal authority. * 1553: The Portuguese found a settlement at History of Macau, Macau. * 1554: Missionary, Missionaries José de Anchieta and Manuel da Nóbrega establishes São Paulo, southeast

. * 1554: Elizabeth I of England, Princess Elizabeth is imprisoned in the Tower of London upon the orders of Mary I of England, Mary I for suspicion of being involved in the Wyatt's rebellion, Wyatt rebellion. * 1555: The Muscovy Company is the first major English Joint stock company, joint stock trading company. * 1556: Publication in Venice of Delle Navigiationi et Viaggi (terzo volume) by Giovanni Battista Ramusio, secretary of Council of Ten, with plan ''La Terra de Hochelaga'', an illustration of the Hochelaga (village), Hochelaga. * 1556: The Shaanxi earthquake in China is history's deadliest known earthquake during the

. * 1556: Georgius Agricola, the "Father of Mineralogy", publishes his ''De re metallica''. * 1556:

defeats Hemu at the Second battle of Panipat. * 1556: Russia conquers the Astrakhan Khanate. * 1556–1605: During his reign,

expands the Mughal Empire in a series of conquests (in the Indian subcontinent). 1555-56 CE World Map

* 1556: Mir Chakar Khan Rind captures Delhi with

. * 1556: Pomponio Algerio, radical theologian, is executed by boiling in oil as part of the Roman Inquisition. * 1557: Habsburg Spain declares bankruptcy. Philip II of Spain had to declare four National bankruptcy, state bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1575 and 1596. * 1557: The Portuguese settle in

(on the western side of the Pearl River Delta across from present-day Hong Kong). * 1557: The

capture

, all but isolating

from the rest of the world. * 1558: Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth Tudor becomes Queen Elizabeth I at age 25. * 1558–1603: The Elizabethan era is considered the height of the English Renaissance. * 1558–1583: Livonian War between Poland, Grand Principality of Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark and Russia. * 1558: After 200 years, the Kingdom of England loses Calais to France. * 1559: With the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis, the Italian Wars conclude. * 1559: Sultan Hairun of Ternate (in present-day Indonesia) protests the Portuguese's Christianity, Christianisation activities in his lands. Hostilities between

and the Portuguese.

1560s

Akbar shoots Jaimal at the siege of Chitor

* 1560: Ottoman navy defeats the Spanish Empire, Spanish fleet at the Battle of Djerba. * 1560: Elizabeth Bathory is born in Nyirbator, Hungary. * 1560: By winning the Battle of Okehazama, Oda Nobunaga becomes one of the pre-eminent warlords of Japan. * 1560: Jeanne d'Albret declares Calvinism the official religion of Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. * 1560: St. Lazarus' Church, Macau, Lazarus Church, Macau * 1561: Sir Francis Bacon is born in London. * 1561: The battles of Kawanakajima, fourth battle of Kawanakajima between the Uesugi and Takeda at Hachimanbara takes place. * 1561: Guido de Bres draws up the Belgic Confession of Protestant faith. * 1562: Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor

reconciles the Muslim and Hindu factions by marrying into the powerful Rajput Hindu caste. * 1562–1598: French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots. * 1562: Massacre of Wassy and Battle of Dreux in the French Wars of Religion. * 1562: Portuguese Dominican Order, Dominican priests build a palm-trunk fortress which Javanese people, Javanese Muslims burned down the following year. The fort was rebuilt from more durable materials and the Dominicans commenced the Christianity, Christianisation of the local population. * 1563: Black Death, Plague outbreak claimed 80,000 people in Elizabethan era, Elizabethan

. In London alone, over 20,000 people died of the disease. * 1564:

born on February 15 * 1564: William Shakespeare baptized 26 April * 1565:

defeat the

at the Battle of Talikota. * 1565: Mir Chakar Khan Rind dies at aged 97. * 1565: Estácio de Sá establishes Rio de Janeiro in

. * 1565: The Knights Hospitaller, Hospitallers, a Crusading Order, defeat the

at the siege of Malta (1565). * 1565: Miguel López de Legazpi establishes in Cebu the first Spanish settlement in the

starting a period of Spanish colonization that would last over three hundred years. * 1565: Spanish navigator Andres de Urdaneta discovers the maritime route from Asia to the Americas across the

, also known as the ''tornaviaje''. * 1565: Royal Exchange, London, Royal Exchange is founded by Thomas Gresham. *

, ruler of the

, dies on September 7, during the battle of Szigetvar. *

–1648: Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Netherlands. *

: Da le Balle Contrade d'Oriente, composed by Cipriano de Rore. * 1567: After 45 years' reign,

died in the Forbidden City, Longqing Emperor ascended the throne of

. * 1567: Mary, Queen of Scots, is imprisoned by Elizabeth I. * 1568: The Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvanian Diet (assembly), Diet, under the patronage of the prince John Sigismund Zápolya, the former king of Hungary, inspired by the teachings of Ferenc Dávid, the founder of the Unitarian Church of Transylvania, promulgates the Edict of Torda, the first law of freedom of religion and of conscience in the World. * 1568–1571: Morisco Revolt in Spain. * 1568–

: The Azuchi-Momoyama period in Japan. * 1568: Hadiwijaya sent his adopted son and son in-law Senopati, Sutawijaya, who would later become the first ruler of the Mataram Sultanate, Mataram dynasty of Indonesia, to kill Arya Penangsang. * 1569: Rising of the North in England. * 1569: Mercator 1569 world map published by Gerardus Mercator. * 1569: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth is created with the Union of Lublin which lasts until 1795. * 1569: Peace treaty signed by Sultan Hairun of Ternate and Governor Lopez De Mesquita of Portugal.

1570s

* 1570: Ivan the Terrible, tsar of Russia, orders the massacre of inhabitants of Novgorod. * 1570: Pope Pius V issues ''Regnans in Excelsis'', a papal bull excommunicating all who obeyed Elizabeth I and calling on all Catholics to rebel against her. * 1570: Sultan Hairun of Ternate (in present-day Indonesia) is killed by the Portuguese. Babullah of Ternate, Babullah becomes the next Sultan. * 1570: 20,000 inhabitants of Nicosia in Cyprus were massacred and every church, public building, and palace was looted. Cyprus fell to the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turks the following year. * 1571: Pope Pius V completes the Holy League (Mediterranean), Holy League as a united front against the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turks, responding to the fall of Cyprus to the Ottomans. * 1571: The Spanish-led Holy League navy destroys the

navy at the Battle of Lepanto (1571), Battle of Lepanto. * 1571: Crimean Khanate, Crimean Tatars attack and Russo-Crimean Wars, sack Moscow, burning everything but the Moscow Kremlin, Kremlin. * 1571: Native Americans in the United States, American Indians kill Spanish missionaries in what would later be Jamestown, Virginia. * 1571: Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi establishes Manila, Philippines as the capital of the Spanish East Indies. * 1572: Brielle is taken from Habsburg Spain by Protestant Watergeuzen in the Capture of Brielle, in the Eighty Years' War. * 1572: Conquistador, Spanish conquistadores apprehend the last Inca Empire, Inca leader Tupak Amaru at Vilcabamba, Peru, and execute him in Cuzco. * 1572: Jeanne d'Albret dies aged 43 and is succeeded by Henry IV of France, Henry of Navarre. * 1572: Catherine de' Medici instigates the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre which takes the lives of Protestant leader Gaspard II de Coligny, Gaspard de Coligny and thousands of Huguenots. The violence spreads from Paris to other cities and the countryside. * 1572: First edition of the epic The Lusiads of Luís Vaz de Camões, three years after the author returned from the East. * 1572: The 9 years old Crown prince, Taizi, Zhu Yijun ascended the throne of Ming dynasty, known as Wanli Emperor. * 1573: After heavy losses on both sides the siege of Haarlem ends in a Spain, Spanish victory. * 1574: in the Eighty Years' War the capital of County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Middelburg, Zeeland, Middelburg declares for the Protestants. * 1574: After a siege of 4 months the siege of Leiden ends in a comprehensive Dutch Revolt, Dutch rebel victory. * 1575: Oda Nobunaga finally captures Nagashima fortress. * 1575: Following a five-year war, the Ternateans under Sultan Babullah of Ternate, Babullah defeated the Portuguese. * 1576: Tahmasp I, Safavid shah, dies. * 1576: The Battle of Haldighati is fought between the ruler of Mewar, Maharana Pratap and the

's forces under Emperor

led by Raja Man Singh. * 1576: Sack of Antwerp by badly paid Spaniards, Spanish soldiers. * 1577–1580: Francis Drake Circumnavigation, circles the world. * 1577: Ki Ageng Pemanahan built his palace in Pasargede or Kotagede. * 1578: King Sebastian of Portugal is killed at the Battle of Alcazarquivir. * 1578: The Portuguese establish a fort on Tidore but the main centre for Portuguese activities in Maluku becomes Ambon. * 1578: 3rd Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso is conferred the title of Dalai Lama by Tumed Mongol ruler, Altan Khan. Recognised as the reincarnation of two previous Lamas, Sonam Gyatso becomes the third Dalai Lama in the lineage. * 1578: Governor-General Francisco de Sande officially declared war against Bruneian Sultanate (1368–1888), Brunei in 1578, starting the Castilian War, Castilian War of 1578. * 1579: The Union of Utrecht unifies the northern Netherlands, a foundation for the later Dutch Republic. * 1579: The Union of Arras unifies the southern Netherlands, a foundation for the later states of the Spanish Netherlands, the Austrian Netherlands and Belgium. The Image of Irelande - plate03

* 1579: The British navigator Sir Francis Drake passes through Maluku and transit in

on his circumnavigation of the world. The Portuguese establish a fort on Tidore but the main centre for Portuguese activities in Maluku becomes Ambon.

1580s

* 1580: Francis Drake, Drake's royal reception after his attacks on Spanish possessions influences Philip II of Spain to build up the Spanish Armada. English ships in Spanish harbours are impounded. * 1580: Spain unifies with Portugal under Philip II of Spain, Philip II. The struggle for the throne of Portugal ends the Portuguese Empire. The Spanish and Portuguese crowns are Iberian Union, united for 60 years, i.e. until 1640. * 1580–1587: Nagasaki comes under control of the Jesuits. * 1581: Dutch Act of Abjuration, declaring abjuring allegiance to Philip II of Spain. * 1581: Bayinnaung dies at the age of 65. * 1582: Oda Nobunaga commits seppuku during the Honnō-ji Incident coup by his general, Akechi Mitsuhide. * 1582: Pope Gregory XIII issues the Gregorian calendar. The last day of the Julian calendar was Thursday, 4 October 1582 and this was followed by the first day of the Gregorian calendar, Friday, 15 October 1582 * 1582: Yermak Timofeyevich conquers the Siberia Khanate on behalf of the Stroganovs. * 1583: Denmark builds the world's first theme park, Dyrehavsbakken, Bakken. * 1583: Death of Sultan Babullah of Ternate. * 1584–1585: After the Siege of Antwerp (1584-1585), siege of Antwerp, many of its merchants flee to Amsterdam. According to Luc-Normand Tellier, "At its peak, between 1510 and 1557, Antwerp concentrated about 40% of the world trade...It is estimated that the port of Antwerp was earning the Spanish crown seven times more revenues than the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Americas." * 1584: Gedhe Pamanahan, Ki Ageng Pemanahan died. Sultan Pajang raised Sutawijaya, son of Ki Ageng Pemanahan as the new ruler in Mataram Sultanate, Mataram, titled "Loring Ngabehi Market" (because of his home in the north of the market). * 1585: Akbar annexes Kashmir and adds it to the History of Afghanistan#Mughals, Uzbeks, and Safavids, Kabul Subah Fusta_by_Jan_Huygen_van_Linschoten

* 1585: Colony at Roanoke Colony, Roanoke founded in North America. * 1585–1604: The Anglo-Spanish War (1585), Anglo-Spanish War is fought on both sides of the Atlantic. * 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots is executed by Elizabeth I. * 1587: The reign of Abbas I of Persia, Abbas I marks the zenith of the

. * 1587: Troops that would invade Pajang Mataram Sultanate storm ravaged the eruption of Mount Merapi. Sutawijaya and his men survived. * 1588: Mataram into the kingdom with Sutawijaya as Sultan, titled "Senapati Ingalaga Sayidin Panatagama" means the warlord and cleric Manager Religious Life. * 1588: England repulses the Spanish Armada. * 1589: Spain repulses the English Armada. * 1589: Catherine de' Medici dies at aged 69.

1590–1600

* 1590: Siege of Odawara (1590), Siege of Odawara: the Late Hōjō clan, Go-Hojo clan surrender to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Japan is unified. * 1591: List of Crimean khans, Gazi Giray leads a huge Tatar expedition against Moscow. * 1591: In Mali, Morocco, Moroccan forces of the Sultan Ahmad I al-Mansur Saadi, Ahmad al-Mansur led by Judar Pasha defeat the Songhai Empire at the Battle of Tondibi. * 1592–1593: John Stow reports 10,675 Black Death, plague deaths in London, a city of approximately 200,000 people. * 1592–1598: Korea, with the help of

China, repels Hideyoshi's invasions of Korea, two Japanese invasions. * 1593–1606: The Long War (Ottoman wars), Long War between the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turks. * 1594: St. Paul's College, Macau, founded by Alessandro Valignano. * 1595: First Dutch expedition to Indonesia sets sail for the East Indies with two hundred and forty-nine men and sixty-four cannons led by Cornelis de Houtman.Ricklefs (1991), page 27 * 1596: Birth of René Descartes. * 1596: June, de Houtman's expedition reaches Banten the main pepper port of West Java where they clash with both the Portuguese and Indonesians. It then sails east along the north coast of

losing twelve crew to a Javanese attack at Sidayu and killing a local ruler in Madura. * 1597: ''Romeo and Juliet'' is published. * 1597: Cornelis de Houtman's expedition returns to the Netherlands with enough spices to make a considerable profit. * 1598: The Edict of Nantes ends the French Wars of Religion. * 1598: Abbas I of Persia, Abbas I moves Safavids capital from Qazvin to Isfahan in 1598. * 1598–1613: Russia descends into anarchy during the Time of Troubles. * 1598: The Portuguese require an armada of 90 ships to put down a Solorese uprising. (to 1599) * 1598: More Dutch fleets leave for Indonesia and most are profitable. Sekigaharascreen

* 1598: The province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México is established in Northern New Spain. The region would later become a territory of Mexico, the New Mexico Territory in the United States, and the US State of New Mexico. * 1598: Death of

, known as the unifier of Japan. * 1599: The Mali Empire is defeated at the Battle of Jenné. * 1599: The van Neck expedition returns to Europe. The expedition makes a 400 per cent profit. (to 1600) * 1599: March, Leaving Europe the previous year, a Second Dutch Expedition to Indonesia (1598-1600), fleet of eight ships under Jacob van Neck was the first Dutch fleet to reach the ‘Spice Islands’ of Maluku. *

: Giordano Bruno is burned at the stake for Christian heresy, heresy in Rome. *

: Battle of Sekigahara in Japan. End of the Sengoku period, Warring States period and beginning of the Edo period. *

: The Portuguese win a major naval battle in the bay of Ambon.Ricklefs (1991), page 28 Later in the year, the Dutch join forces with the local Hituese in an anti-Portuguese alliance, in return for which the Dutch would have the sole right to purchase spices from Hitu. *

: Elizabeth I grants a charter to the British East India Company beginning the English advance in Asia. *

: Michael the Brave unifies the three principalities: Wallachia, Moldavia and Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvania after the Battle of Șelimbăr from 1599.

Undated

*The Histories (Polybius), Polybius' ''The Histories'' translated into Italian language, Italian, English language, English, German language, German and French language, French.Polybius: ''The Rise Of The Roman Empire'', Page 36, Penguin, 1979. * Mississippian culture disappears. * Medallion rug, variant Star Ushak style,

(modern Turkey), is made. It is now kept at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Gallery

File:Hernán Cortés anónimo.jpg, Hernán Cortés, Hernan Cortes (1485–1547) File:Hans Holbein, the Younger, Around 1497-1543 - Portrait of Henry VIII of England - Google Art Project.jpg,

, (1491–1547) King of England and Ireland File:Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, III Duque de Alba, por Willem Key.jpg, Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo (1507–1582) File:EmperorSuleiman.jpg,

, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1520–1566) File:Ivan IV by anonim (18th c., GIM).jpg, Ivan IV the Terrible (1530–1584) File:Odanobunaga.jpg, Oda Nobunaga (1534–1582) File:1590 or later Marcus Gheeraerts, Sir Francis Drake Buckland Abbey, Devon.jpg, Francis Drake, Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540 – 1596) File:Alberico Gentili.jpg,

, (1552–1608) the Father of international law File:Philip II, King of Spain from NPG.jpg, Philip II of Spain, King of Spain (1556–1598) File:Akbar1.jpg, Akbar, Akbar the Great, Mughal emperor (1556–1605)

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

: ''Related article: Timeline of historic inventions#16th century, List of 16th century inventions.'' * The Columbian Exchange introduces many plants, animals and diseases to the Old World, Old and

s. * Introduction of the spinning wheel revolutionizes textile production in Europe. * The letter J is introduced into the English alphabet. * 1500: First portable watch is created by Peter Henlein of Germany. * 1513: Juan Ponce de León sights Florida and

sights the eastern edge of the

. *

– 1522:

and Juan Sebastián Elcano lead the first circumnavigation of the world. *

–1540: In America, Hernando de Soto (explorer), Hernando de Soto expeditions map the Gulf of Mexico coastline and bays. * 1525: Modern square root symbol (√) * 1540: Francisco Vásquez de Coronado sights the Grand Canyon. * 1541–1542, 42: Francisco de Orellana sails the length of the Amazon River. * 1542–1543, 43: Firearms are introduced into Japan by the Portuguese. * 1543:

publishes his theory that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun * 1545: Theory of complex numbers is first developed by Gerolamo Cardano of Italy. * 1558: Camera obscura is first used in Europe by Giambattista della Porta of Italy. * 1559–1562: Spanish settlements in Alabama/Florida and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia confirm dangers of hurricanes and local native warring tribes. * 1565: Spanish settlers outside New Spain (Mexico) colonize Florida's coastline at St. Augustine, Florida, St. Augustine. * 1565: Invention of the graphite pencil (in a wooden holder) by Conrad Gesner. Modernized in 1812. * 1568: Gerardus Mercator creates the first Mercator projection map. * 1572: Supernova SN 1572 is observed by

in the

. * 1582: Gregorian calendar is introduced in Europe by Pope Gregory XIII and adopted by Catholic countries. * c. 1583:

of Pisa, Italy identifies the constant swing of a pendulum, leading to development of reliable timekeepers. * 1585: earliest known reference to the 'Wheelbarrow#Chinese sailing carriage, sailing carriage' in China. * 1589: William Lee (inventor), William Lee invents the stocking frame. * 1591: First flush toilet is introduced by John Harington (writer), Sir John Harrington of England, the design published under the title 'The Metamorphosis of Ajax'. * 1593:

invents a thermometer. * 1596: William Barents discovers Spitsbergen. * 1597: Opera in

by Jacopo Peri.

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:16th Century 16th century, Centuries Early modern period 2nd millennium

Significant events

1501–1509

1510s The 1510s decade ran from January 1, 1510, to December 31, 1519. References {{DEFAULTSORT:1510s ...

1520s

1530s

1540s

1550s

1560s

1570s

1580s

1590–1600

Undated

Gallery

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

See also

References

Further reading

External links