1597 In Europe

Events

January–June

* January 24 – Battle of Turnhout: Maurice of Nassau defeats a Spanish force under Jean de Rie of Varas, in the Netherlands.
* February – Bali is discovered, by Dutch explorer Cornelis Houtman.
* February 5 – In Nagasaki, Japan, 26 people are martyred by crucifixion. They practiced Catholicism, and were taken captive after all forms of Christianity were outlawed the previous year.
* February 8 – Sir Anthony Shirley, England's "best-educated pirate", raids Jamaica.
* February 24 – The last battle of the Cudgel War was fought on the Santavuori Hill in Ilmajoki, Ostrobothnia.
* March 11 – Amiens is taken by Spanish forces.
* After April 10 – The Serb uprising of 1596–97 ends in defeat for the rebels, at the field of Gacko (Gatačko Polje).
* April 23 – Probable first performance of William Shakespeare's ''The Merry Wives of Windsor''.
* April 27 – Johannes Kepler marries Barbara Muhleck.

July–December

* c. July – Thomas Nashe and Ben Jonson's satirical play '' The Isle of Dogs'' is performed at the Swan Theatre in London; it is immediately suppressed by the authorities and no copy survives.
* July 14 – Scottish poet Alexander Montgomerie is declared an outlaw, after the collapse of a Catholic plot.
* August 13 – The Siege of Namwon begins in Korea.
* August 14 – First Dutch Expedition to Indonesia: A Dutch expedition commanded by Cornelis de Houtman returns to Amsterdam, after having successfully reached Java. This achievement opens the Spice trade, which had until then been monopolised by the Portuguese, to the Dutch, who in the next years launch several more expeditions to the Indies.
* August 17 – Islands Voyage: Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and Sir Walter Raleigh set sail on an expedition to the Azores.
* August 19 – Rheinberg capitulates to forces led by Maurice of Naussau.
* August 24 – Christian IV of Denmark-Norway refuses to let Tycho Brahe return to Denmark.
* August 28 – Imjin War: Battle of Chilcheollyang – The Japanese fleet defeats the Koreans, in their only naval victory of the war.
* September 25 – Amiens is retaken from the Spanish by Anglo-French forces, led by Henry IV of France, after a four-month siege.
* October – John Gerard, a Jesuit priest, escapes from the Tower of London.
* October/November – The 3rd Spanish Armada is dispersed by a storm; a number of Spanish ships are captured off the coasts of Wales, Cornwall and Devon.
* October 26 – Battle of Myeongnyang: The Koreans, commanded by Yi Sunsin, are victorious over a Japanese invasion fleet.
* November 12 – Lingen capitulates to forces led by Maurice of Nassau.

Date unknown

* Abbas I ends the Uzbek raids on his lands.
* Yaqob succeeds his father Sarsa Dengel, as Emperor of Ethiopia at the age of 7.
* Jacopo Peri writes ''Dafne'', now recognised as the first opera.
* The first edition of Francis Bacon's ''Essays'' is published.
* Andreas Libavius publishes ''Alchemia'', a pioneering chemistry textbook.
* 12 million pesos of silver cross the Pacific. Although it is unknown just how much silver flowed from the Spanish base of Manila in the Philippines to the Ming Dynasty of China, it is known that the main port for the Mexican silver trade—Acapulco—shipped out 150,000 to 345,000 kg (4 to 9 million tael