The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582). The 16th century is regarded by historians as the century which saw the rise of Western civilization and the Islamic gunpowder empires. The

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

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 measurement, processing, and communication of financial and non financial information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. Accounting, which has been called the "languag ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

Copernicus Nicolaus Copernicus (; pl, Mikołaj Kopernik; gml, Niklas Koppernigk, german: Nikolaus Kopernikus; 19 February 1473 – 24 May 1543) was a Renaissance polymath, active as a mathematician, astronomer, and Catholic canon, who formulat ...

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

Tycho Brahe Tycho Brahe ( ; born Tyge Ottesen Brahe; generally called Tycho (14 December 154624 October 1601) was a Danish astronomer, known for his comprehensive astronomical observations, generally considered to be the most accurate of his time. He was ...

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 stars ...

through observational measurement of the 1572 appearance of a

Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...

supernova A supernova is a powerful and luminous explosion of a star. It has the plural form supernovae or supernovas, and is abbreviated SN or SNe. This transient astronomical event occurs during the last evolutionary stages of a massive star or whe ...

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

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

and

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

, and led to major revolutions in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

and science.

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He ...

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

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its 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 which ...

and

, becoming a major figure in the

Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transforme ...

. Spain and Portugal colonized large parts of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the sou ...

, followed by France and England in

Northern America Northern America is the northernmost subregion of North America. The boundaries may be drawn slightly differently. In one definition, it lies directly north of Middle America (including the Caribbean and Central America).Gonzalez, Joseph. 20 ...

and the

Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles ( es, link=no, Antillas Menores; french: link=no, Petites Antilles; pap, Antias Menor; nl, Kleine Antillen) are a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. Most of them are part of a long, partially volcanic island arc be ...

. The Portuguese became the masters of trade between

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, 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 refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around ...

, whereas the Spanish came to dominate the

Greater Antilles The Greater Antilles ( es, Grandes Antillas or Antillas Mayores; french: Grandes Antilles; ht, Gwo Zantiy; jam, Grieta hAntiliiz) is a grouping of the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, a ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, and opened trade across the

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

, linking the Americas with the Indies. English and French

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare 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 or deleg ...

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

colonialism Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their reli ...

established

mercantilism Mercantilism is an economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports for an economy. It promotes imperialism, colonialism, tariffs and subsidies on traded goods to achieve that goal. The policy aims to reduce ...

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

zero-sum game Zero-sum game is a mathematical representation in game theory and economic theory of a situation which involves two sides, where the result is an advantage for one side and an equivalent loss for the other. In other words, player one's gain is e ...

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

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...

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

expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...

and

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic powe ...

throughout the world until the

19th century The 19th (nineteenth) century began on 1 January 1801 ( MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 ( MCM). The 19th century was the ninth century of the 2nd millennium. The 19th century was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolish ...

or early

20th century The 20th (twentieth) century began on January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nucle ...

. The

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

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

papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

. In

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, the British-Italian Alberico Gentili wrote the first book on public international law and divided

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...

from

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...

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

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

being laid towards the end of the century. In the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

, the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

continued to expand, with the

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) 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 c ...

taking the title of

Caliph A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...

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

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

sect of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

under the rule of the

Safavid dynasty The Safavid dynasty (; fa, دودمان صفوی, Dudmâne Safavi, ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of modern Iranian history, as well as one of th ...

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

Sunni Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a dis ...

Muslim world The terms Muslim world and Islamic 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 and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. I ...

. In the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographical region in Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian Ocean from the Himalayas. Geopolitically, it includes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, In ...

, following the defeat of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

and

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also called the Karnata Kingdom, was a Hindu empire based in the region of South India, which consisted the modern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Goa and some parts of Telangana and Mahar ...

, new powers emerged, the

Sur Empire The Sur Empire ( ps, د سرو امپراتورۍ, dë sru amparāturəi; fa, امپراطوری سور, emperâturi sur) was an Afghan dynasty which ruled a large territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent for nearly 16 year ...

founded by

Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری) (1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان) , was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...

Deccan sultanates The Deccan sultanates were five Islamic late-medieval Indian kingdoms—on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range—that were ruled by Muslim dynasties: namely Ahmadnagar, Berar, Bidar, Bijapur, and Golconda. ...

, and the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

by Emperor

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā 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 hi ...

, a direct descendant of

Timur Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kü ...

and

Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...

. His successors

Humayun Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...

and

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

, enlarged the empire to include most of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

. The empire developed a strong and stable economy in the world, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture, which significantly influenced the course of Indian history. Japan suffered a severe civil war at this time, known as the

Sengoku period The was a period in History of Japan, Japanese history of near-constant civil war and social upheaval from 1467 to 1615. The Sengoku period was initiated by the Ōnin War in 1467 which collapsed the Feudalism, feudal system of Japan under the ...

, and emerged from it as a unified nation. China was ruled by the Ming dynasty and came into conflict with Japan and Japanese piracy over the control of Korea.

Significant events

1501–1509

Mona_Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched

* 1501:

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

returns to his native

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

to begin work on the statue ''

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

''. * 1501:

reunifies

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and rules over it until

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

. Safavids adopt a

branch of

. * 1501: First Battle of Cannanore between the Third Portuguese Armada and

Kingdom of Cochin The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy wa ...

under João da Nova and Zamorin of

Kozhikode Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...

'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 ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

. * 1502: First reported

African slaves Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean ...

in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

* 1502: The

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...

sacks Sarai in the

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

, ending its existence. *

1503 __NOTOC__ Year 1503 ( MDIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 20 – Seville in Castile is awarded exclusive rights to trade wit ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

defeats

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the

Battle of Cerignola The Battle of Cerignola was fought on 28 April 1503 between Spanish and French armies outside the town of Cerignola, Apulia, Kingdom of Naples (now in modern-day Italy), approximately west of Bari. The Spanish force under the command of G ...

. Considered to be the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms. *

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 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 on ...

begins painting the ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best kno ...

'' and completes it three years later. *

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed seer, who is best known for his book '' Les Prophéties'' (published in 1555), a collection ...

is born on either December 14 or December 21. * 1504: A period of

drought A drought is defined as 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, an ...

, with

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompan ...

in all of Spain. * 1504: Death of

Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...

;

Joanna of Castile Joanna (6 November 1479 – 12 April 1555), historically known as Joanna the Mad ( es, link=no, Juana la Loca), was the nominal Queen of Castile from 1504 and Queen of Aragon from 1516 to her death in 1555. She was married by arrangement to P ...

becomes the Queen. * 1504: Foundation of the Sultanate of Sennar by Amara Dunqas, in what is modern

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

* 1505:

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (; 26 October 149120 April 1521) was the 11th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1505 to 1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. Zhu Houzhao took the throne at only 14 with the era name Z ...

ascends the throne of

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. * 1505:

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

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

. * 1505:

Sultan Trenggono Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) 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 c ...

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:

completes the ''

''. * 1506: King

Afonso I of Kongo Mvemba a Nzinga, Nzinga Mbemba, Funsu Nzinga Mvemba or Dom Alfonso. (c. 1456–1542 or 1543), also known as King Afonso I, was the sixth ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo from the Lukeni kanda dynasty and ruled in the first half of the 16th century ...

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

* 1506: At least two thousand converted Jews are massacred in a

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

riot, Portugal. * 1506:

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

dies in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

. * 1506:

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

is invaded by

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turki ...

from the

. *

1507 __NOTOC__ Year 1507 ( MDVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * April 25 – Martin Waldseemüller publishes his '' Cosmographiae Introductio'' ("In ...

: 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 (WHO) c ...

in the

on the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

. It devastates the native

Taíno The Taíno were a historic Indigenous peoples of the Caribbean, indigenous people of the Caribbean whose culture has been continued today by Taíno descendant communities and Taíno revivalist communities. At the time of European contact in the ...

population. *

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

conquered Hormuz and

Muscat Muscat ( ar, مَسْقَط, ) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was ...

, among other bases in the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a mediterranean sea in Western Asia. The bo ...

, taking control of the region at the entrance of the

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

. *

1508 __NOTOC__ Year 1508 ( MDVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, attacks the Republic of Veni ...

: 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 *

– 1512:

paints the

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

. * 1509: 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 Edited ...

Calicut Kozhikode (), also known in English as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. It has a corporation limit population of 609,224 and a metropolitan population of more than 2 million, making it the second ...

with support of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

and the

in Battle of Diu marks the beginning of Portuguese dominance of the Spice trade and the

. * 1509: The Portuguese king sends Diogo Lopes de Sequeira to find

Malacca Malacca ( ms, Melaka) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the southern region of the Malay Peninsula, next to the Strait of Malacca. Its capital is Malacca City, dubbed the Historic City, which has bee ...

, the eastern terminus of Asian trade. After initially receiving Sequeira,

Sultan Mahmud Shah Sultan Mahmud Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah (died 1528) ruled the Sultanate of Malacca from 1488 to 1511, and again as pretender to the throne from 1513 to 1528. He was son to Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah. As a monarch, he was k ...

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 (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mo ...

nese fleet is also destroyed in Malacca. * 1509:

Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was an emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Empire, reigning from 1509 to 1529. He was the third monarch of the Tuluva dynasty, and is considered to be one of the ...

ascends the throne of

1510s

Retrato de Afonso de Albuquerque (após 1545) - Autor desconhecido

* 1509–

1510 Year 1510 ( MDX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January – Catherine of Aragon gives birth to her first child, a stillborn daughter. * ...

: The 'great

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...

' in various parts of Tudor England. *

of Portugal conquers Goa in India. * 1511:

of Portugal conquers

, the capital of the

Sultanate of Malacca The Malacca Sultanate ( ms, Kesultanan Melaka; Jawi script: ) was a 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, Paramesw ...

in present-day Malaysia. * 1512:

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. * 1512: The southern part (historical core) of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

is invaded by

Castile and Aragon Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of Roussillon, south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsul ...

. * 1512:

Qutb Shahi dynasty The Qutb Shahi dynasty also called as Golconda Sultanate (Persian: ''Qutb Shāhiyān'' or ''Sultanat-e Golkonde'') was a Persianate Shia Islam dynasty of Turkoman origin that ruled the sultanate of Golkonda in southern India. After the co ...

, founded by Quli Qutb Mulk, rules

Golconda Fort (Telugu: గోల్కొండ, romanized: ''Gōlkōnḍa'') is a historic fortress and ruined city located in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was originally called Mankal. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparu ...

Sultanate until 1687. * 1512: The first Portuguese exploratory expedition was sent eastward from Malacca (in present-day Malaysia) to search for the '

Spice Islands A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices are ...

' ( Maluku) led by

Francisco Serrão Francisco Serrão (died 1521) was a Portuguese explorer and a possible cousin of Ferdinand Magellan. His 1512 voyage was the first known European sailing east past Malacca through modern Indonesia and the East Indies. He became a confidant o ...

. Serrão is shipwrecked but struggles on to Hitu (northern Ambon) and wins the favour of the local rulers.Ricklefs (1991), page 24 *

1513 Year 1513 ( MDXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * March 9 – Pope Leo X (layman Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici) succeeds Pope Julius ...

: Machiavelli writes ''

The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...

'', a treatise about political philosophy *

: The Portuguese mariner

Jorge Álvares Jorge Álvares (died 8 July 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is credited as the first European to have reached China by sea during the Age of Discovery. His starting of settlements on an island in what is now Hong Kong is still considered a sign ...

lands at

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

, China, during the

. *

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

defeats the French at the Battle of the Spurs. *

: The Battle of Flodden Field in which invading Scots are defeated by

's forces. *

: Sultan

Selim I Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite las ...

("The Grim") orders the massacre of

Muslims in

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

(present-day Turkey). *

: Vasco Núñez de Balboa, in service of Spain arrives at the

(which he called Mar del Sur) across the

Isthmus of Panama The Isthmus of Panama ( es, Istmo de Panamá), also 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 and South America. It contains the country ...

. He was the first European to do so. * 1514: The Battle of Orsha halts Muscovy's expansion into

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whi ...

. * 1514: Dózsa rebellion (peasant revolt) in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

* 1514: The Battle of Chaldiran, the

gains decisive victory against

. * 1515: The

wrests Eastern

from the Safavids after the Battle of Chaldiran. * 1515: The

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

conquers the last beyliks of Anatolia, the Dulkadirs and the

Ramadanids The Ramadanid Emirate (Modern Turkish: ''Ramazanoğulları Beyliği'') was an autonomous administration and a ''de facto'' independent emirate that existed from 1352 to 1608 in Cilicia, taking over the rule of the region from the Armenian Kingdo ...

. *

1516 __NOTOC__ Year 1516 ( MDXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January – Juan Díaz de Solís discovers the Río de la Plata (in future A ...

– 1517: The

defeat the

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

s and gain control of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Pl ...

, and the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is ...

. * 1517: 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 ...

epidemic in Tudor England. * 1517: The

begins when

posts his

Ninety-five Theses The ''Ninety-five Theses'' or ''Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences''-The title comes from the 1517 Basel pamphlet printing. The first printings of the ''Theses'' use an incipit rather than a title which summarizes the content ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

. *

1518 __NOTOC__ Year 1518 ( MDXVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Exceptions France In France, the year 1518 lasted from 4 April 1518 to 23 April 1519. Since Constantine (ar ...

: 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. *

: Mir Chakar Khan Rind leaves

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western Asia, Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian S ...

and settles in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. *

Leo Africanus Joannes Leo Africanus (born al-Hasan Muhammad al-Wazzan, ar, الحسن محمد الوزان ; c. 1494 – c. 1554) was an Andalusian diplomat and author who is best known for his 1526 book '' Cosmographia et geographia de Affrica'', later ...

, 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 ( it, Leone 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 an ...

. *

: The

dancing plague of 1518 The Dancing Plague of 1518, or Dance Epidemic of 1518, was a case of dancing mania that occurred in Strasbourg, Alsace (modern-day France), in the Holy Roman Empire from July 1518 to September 1518. Somewhere between 50 and 400 people took to dan ...

begins in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label= Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label= Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the ...

, lasting for about one month. * 1519:

dies of natural causes on May 2. * 1519:

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 calligrapher, general, philosopher, politician, and writer during the Ming dynasty ...

, the Chinese philosopher and governor of

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

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 ( cartridge or shell) via the rear (breech) end of its barrel, as opposed to a muzzleloader, which loads ammunition via the front ( muzzle). Modern firearms are generally breec ...

Portuguese

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

, in order to suppress the rebellion of Prince

Zhu Chenhao Zhu Chenhao (; 1 July 1476 – 12 January 1521), or Prince of Ning (), art name Weitian (畏天), was a member of the Ming dynasty's imperial family. He was the 5th generation descendant of Zhu Quan, the 17th son of the Hongwu Emperor. He att ...

. * 1519:

Barbary pirates The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe ...

led by

Hayreddin Barbarossa Hayreddin Barbarossa ( ar, خير الدين بربروس, Khayr al-Din Barbarus, original name: Khiḍr; tr, Barbaros Hayrettin Paşa), also known as Hızır Hayrettin Pasha, and simply Hızır Reis (c. 1466/1478 – 4 July 1546), was an O ...

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

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bo ...

and

Toulon Toulon (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Tolon , , ) is a city on the French Riviera and a large port on the Mediterranean coast, with a major naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, and the Provence province, Toulon is th ...

in southern

. * 1519: Charles I of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, and the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

becomes Emperor of

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

(ruled until 1556). * 1519– 1522: Spanish expedition commanded by Magellan and Elcano are the first to Circumnavigate the Earth. * 1519–

1521 1521 ( MDXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) 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 ...

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

leads the

Spanish conquest of Mexico The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...

1520s

* 1520–

1566 __NOTOC__ Year 1566 ( MDLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 7 – Pope Pius V succeeds Pope Pius IV, as the 225th pope. * ...

: The reign of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ ...

marks the zenith of the

. * 1520: The first European diplomatic mission to

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, sent by the Portuguese, arrives at

Massawa Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahla ...

9 April, and reaches the imperial encampment of Emperor

Dawit II Dawit II ( gez, ዳዊት; – 2 September 1540), also known by the macaronic name Wanag Segad (ወናግ ሰገድ, ''to whom the lions bow''), better known by his birth name Lebna Dengel ( am, ልብነ ድንግል, ''essence of the vi ...

Shewa Shewa ( am, ሸዋ; , om, Shawaa), formerly romanized as Shua, Shoa, Showa, Shuwa (''Scioà'' in Italian), is a historical region of Ethiopia which was formerly an autonomous kingdom within the Ethiopian Empire. The modern Ethiopian capital A ...

9 October. * 1520:

forces under

defeat the

Adil Shahi The Adil Shahi or Adilshahi, was a Shia,Salma Ahmed Farooqui, ''A Comprehensive History of Medieval India: From Twelfth to the Mid-Eighteenth Century'', (Dorling Kindersley Pvt Ltd., 2011), 174. and later Sunni Muslim,Muhammad Qasim Firishta' ...

under at the Battle of Raichur * 1520: Sultan Ali Mughayat Shah of

Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a ...

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 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent ...

coast (in present-day Indonesia), and the pepper and gold producing lands on the east coast. * 1520: The Portuguese established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

in the village of Lamakera on the eastern side of

Solor Solor is a volcanic island located off the eastern tip of Flores island in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, in the Solor Archipelago. The island supports a small population that has been whaling for hundreds of years. They speak the lang ...

(in present-day Indonesia) as a transit harbour between Maluku and

. *

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

(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 more ...

, the Portuguese attempt to invade

China, but are expelled by Chinese naval forces. *

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

encountered by

Ferdinand Magellan Ferdinand Magellan ( or ; pt, Fernão de Magalhães, ; es, link=no, Fernando de Magallanes, ; 4 February 1480 – 27 April 1521) was a Portuguese explorer. He is best known for having planned and led the 1519 Spanish expedition to the Eas ...

. He was later killed in the Battle of Mactan in central Philippines in the same year. *

Jiajing Emperor The Jiajing Emperor (; 16September 150723January 1567) was the 12th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1521 to 1567. Born Zhu Houcong, he was the former Zhengde Emperor's cousin. His father, Zhu Youyuan (1476–1519), Prince of Xing, w ...

ascended the throne of

, China. *

: November,

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

Ternate Ternate is a city in the Indonesian province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands. It was the ''de facto'' provincial capital of North Maluku before Sofifi on the nearby coast of Halmahera became the capital in 2010. It is off the ...

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 Aroma compound, fragrance in fi ...

. *

Pati Unus Pati may refer to: * Pati, Barwani, in India * Pati (title), an honorific * Pati Regency Pati Regency ( jv, Pathi, ꦥꦛꦶ) is a regency ( id, kabupaten) in the northeastern region of Central Java Province, on the island of Java in Indone ...

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 (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

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 Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

and Sunda Kingdom granted Portuguese permit to build fortress in

Sunda Kelapa Sunda Kelapa ( su, , Sunda Kalapa) is the old port of Jakarta located on the estuarine of Ciliwung River. "Sunda Kalapa" ( Sundanese: "Coconut of Sunda") is the original name, and it was the main port of the Sunda Kingdom. The port is situated i ...

. *

1523 Year 1523 ( MDXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 20 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway. ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

gains independence from the

Kalmar Union The Kalmar Union ( Danish, Norwegian, and sv, Kalmarunionen; fi, Kalmarin unioni; la, Unio Calmariensis) was a personal union in Scandinavia, agreed at Kalmar in Sweden, that from 1397 to 1523 joined under a single monarch the three kingdo ...

. *

: The Cacao bean is introduced to Spain by

* 1524–

1525 __NOTOC__ Year 1525 ( MDXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 21 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is born when Conrad Grebel, F ...

German Peasants' War The German Peasants' War, Great Peasants' War or Great Peasants' Revolt (german: Deutscher Bauernkrieg) was a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. It failed because of intense oppositi ...

in the

. * 1524:

Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlanti ...

is the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

between

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. * 1524:

Ismail I Ismail I ( fa, اسماعیل, Esmāʿīl, ; July 17, 1487 – May 23, 1524), also known as Shah Ismail (), was the founder of the Safavid dynasty of Safavid Iran, Iran, ruling as its King of Kings (''Shahanshah'') from 1501 to 1524. His re ...

, the founder of

, dies and

Tahmasp I Tahmasp I ( fa, طهماسب, translit=Ṭahmāsb or ; 22 February 1514 – 14 May 1576) was the second shah of Safavid Iran from 1524 to 1576. He was the eldest son of Ismail I and his principal consort, Tajlu Khanum. Ascending the throne after ...

becomes king. OttomanJanissariesAndDefendingKnightsOfStJohnSiegeOfRhodes1522

Timurid Empire The Timurid Empire ( chg, , fa, ), self-designated as Gurkani (Chagatai language, Chagatai: کورگن, ''Küregen''; fa, , ''Gūrkāniyān''), was a PersianateB.F. Manz, ''"Tīmūr Lang"'', in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006 Tu ...

forces under

defeat the

Lodi dynasty The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he ...

at the

First Battle of Panipat The first Battle of Panipat, on 20 April 1526, was fought between the invading forces of Babur and the Lodi dynasty. It took place in North India and marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire and the end of the Delhi Sultanate. This was one o ...

, end of the

Delhi Sultanate The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).

. *

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

and Spanish forces defeat France at the Battle of Pavia,

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 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 on ...

is captured. * 1526: The Ottomans defeat the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coronation of the Hungarian monarch, c ...

at the

Battle of Mohács The Battle of Mohács (; hu, mohácsi csata, tr, Mohaç Muharebesi or Mohaç Savaşı) was fought on 29 August 1526 near Mohács, Kingdom of Hungary, between the forces of the Kingdom of Hungary and its allies, led by Louis II, and thos ...

. * 1526:

, founded by Babur, dominates

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

until

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, ''Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Jan ...

. * 1527: Sack of Rome with

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

escaping and the Swiss Guards defending the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

being killed. The sack of the city of Rome considered the end of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

. * 1527:

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...

begins in

. * 1527: The last ruler of

Majapahit Majapahit ( jv, ꦩꦗꦥꦲꦶꦠ꧀; ), also known as Wilwatikta ( jv, ꦮꦶꦭ꧀ꦮꦠꦶꦏ꧀ꦠ; ), was a Javanese Hindu-Buddhist thalassocratic empire in Southeast Asia that was based on the island of Java (in modern-day Indonesia ...

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 Sultan Fatah. * 1527: June 22, The Javanese Prince

Fatahillah Fatahillah, Fadhillah Khan, or Falatehan (Portuguese writing) was a commander of the Sultanate of Demak who is known for leading the conquest of Sunda Kelapa in 1527 and changing it name to Jayakarta. The conquest of Sunda Kelapa was one of his ...

of the Cirebon Sultanate successfully defeated the Portuguese armed forces at the site of the

Harbor. The city was then renamed

Jayakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta ...

, meaning "a glorious victory." This eventful day came to be acknowledged as Jakarta's Founding Anniversary. * 1527:

forces defeat the

Rajput Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...

led by

Rana Sanga Sangram Singh I (IAST: Rāṇā Saṅgrāma Siṃha; c. 1482 – 1528 CE), popularly known as Rana Sanga or Maharana Sanga, was an Indian ruler from the Sisodia dynasty. He ruled Mewar, the traditional territory of Guhilas (Sisodias) in presen ...

Mewar Mewar or Mewad is a region in the south-central part of Rajasthan state of India. It includes the present-day districts of Bhilwara, Chittorgarh, Pratapgarh, Rajsamand, Udaipur, Pirawa Tehsil of Jhalawar District of Rajasthan, Neemuch and ...

at the

Battle of Khanwa The Battle of Khanwa was fought at Khanwa on March 16, 1527. It was fought between the invading Timurid forces of Babur and the Rajput confederacy led by Rana Sanga for suprermacy of Northern India. The battle was a major event in Medieval ...

1529 __NOTOC__ Year 1529 ( MDXXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 2 – The Örebro Synod provides the theological foundation of th ...

: The

Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...

defeat the

at the siege of Vienna. *

: Treaty of Zaragoza defined the antimeridian of

Tordesillas Tordesillas () is a town and municipality in the province of Valladolid, Castile and León, central Spain. It is located southwest of the provincial capital, Valladolid at an elevation of . The population was c. 9,000 . The town is located ...

attributing the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located ...

to Portugal and

to Spain. *

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, serve ...

Ahmad Gragn Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sulta ...

defeats the

n Emperor

in the Battle of Shimbra Kure, the opening clash of the

Ethiopian–Adal War The Ethiopian–Adal War or Abyssinian-Adal War, also known in Arabic as the "Futuḥ al-Ḥabash" ( ar, فتوح الحبش, ''conquest of Abyssinia''), was a military conflict between the Christian Ethiopian Empire and the Muslim Adal Sulta ...

1530s The 1530s decade ran from January 1, 1530, to December 31, 1539. Year 1530 ( MDXXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius C ...

* 1531–

1532 Year 1532 (Roman numerals, MDXXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 22 – São Vicente, São Paulo, São Vicente is established as ...

: The

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Brit ...

breaks away from the

and recognizes

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

as the head of the Church. * 1531: The

Inca Civil War The Inca Civil War, also known as the Inca Dynastic War, the Inca War of Succession, or, sometimes, the War of the Two Brothers, was fought between half-brothers Huáscar and Atahualpa, sons of Huayna Capac, over succession to the throne of ...

is fought between the two brothers,

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa ( Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Em ...

and Huáscar. *

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru. Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...

leads the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. *

: Foundation of São Vicente, the first permanent Portuguese settlement in the Americas. * 1533:

Anne Boleyn Anne Boleyn (; 1501 or 1507 – 19 May 1536) was Queen of England from 1533 to 1536, as the second wife of King Henry VIII. The circumstances of her marriage and of her execution by beheading for treason and other charges made her a key f ...

becomes Queen of England. * 1533: Elizabeth Tudor is born. *

1534 __NOTOC__ Year 1534 ( MDXXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 15 – The Parliament of England passes the '' Act Respecting the ...

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier ( , also , , ; br, Jakez Karter; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French- Breton maritime explorer for France. Jacques Cartier was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of ...

claims Canada for France. *

: The Ottomans

capture Capture may refer to: *Asteroid capture, a phenomenon in which an asteroid enters a stable orbit around another body *Capture, a software for lighting design, documentation and visualisation *"Capture" a song by Simon Townshend *Capture (band), an ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

from the Safavids. *

Affair of the Placards The Affair of the Placards (french: Affaire des Placards) was an incident in which anti-Catholic posters appeared in public places in Paris and in four major provincial cities, Blois, Rouen, Tours and Orléans, in the night of the 17 to 18 October ...

, where King

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

becomes more active in repression of French Protestants. *

1535 __NOTOC__ Year 1535 ( MDXXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 18 – Lima, Peru, is founded by Francisco Pizarro, as ''Ciudad de l ...

: The

Münster Rebellion Münster (; nds, Mönster) is an independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a state dis ...

, an attempt of radical,

millennialist Millennialism (from millennium, Latin for "a thousand years") or chiliasm (from the Greek equivalent) is a belief advanced by some religious denominations that a Golden Age or Paradise will occur on Earth prior to the final judgment and futu ...

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

to establish a

theocracy Theocracy is a form of government in which one or more deities are recognized as supreme ruling authorities, giving divine guidance to human intermediaries who manage the government's daily affairs. Etymology The word theocracy originates fr ...

, ends in bloodshed. *

: The Portuguese in Ternate depose Sultan

Tabariji Tabariji or Tabarija (c. 1518–1545) was the Sultan of Ternate in Maluku, whose realm also included Makian and other east Indonesian islands. He reigned from 1533 to 1535, when he was deposed by the dominant Portuguese and exiled to India. He ...

(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:

Katherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until their annulment on 23 May 1533. She was previously P ...

dies in

Kimbolton Castle Kimbolton Castle is a country house in Kimbolton, Cambridgeshire, England. It was the final home of King Henry VIII's first wife, Catherine of Aragon. Originally a medieval castle but converted into a stately palace, it was the family seat of t ...

, in England. * 1536: In England,

is beheaded for adultery and treason. * 1536: Establishment of the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

in Portugal. * 1536: Foundation of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

(in present-day Argentina) by Pedro de Mendoza. *

1537 __NOTOC__ Year 1537 ( MDXXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January ** Bigod's Rebellion, an uprising by Roman Catholics against Henry ...

: The Portuguese establish

Recife That it may shine on all (Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South Am ...

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the ...

, north-east of

. *

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – ) was an English biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestant Reformation in the years leading up to his execu ...

's partial translation of the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

into English is published, which would eventually be incorporated into the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of ...

. * 1538:

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...

founds

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

. * 1538: Spanish–

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

fleet is defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the

Battle of Preveza The Battle of Preveza was a naval battle that took place on 28 September 1538 near Preveza in Ionian Sea in northwestern Greece between an Ottoman fleet and that of a Holy League assembled by Pope Paul III. It occurred in the same area in ...

. *

1539 __NOTOC__ Year 1539 ( MDXXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January – Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War – Battle of Naungyo, Burm ...

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...

explores inland North America.

1540s The 1540s decade ran from 1 January 1540, to 31 December 1549. References {{DEFAULTSORT:1540s ...

1540 Year 1540 ( MDXL) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 6 – King Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, his fourth Queen consort; the m ...

: The

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

, or the Jesuits, is founded by

Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian ...

and six companions with the approval of

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549. He came to ...

. *

founds the

Suri dynasty The Sur Empire ( ps, د سرو امپراتورۍ, dë sru amparāturəi; fa, امپراطوری سور, emperâturi sur) was an Afghan dynasty which ruled a large territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent for nearly 16 yea ...

, an ethnic

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

( Pathan) of the house of Sur, who supplanted the Mughal dynasty as rulers of North

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 __NOTOC__ Year 1541 ( MDXLI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 12 – Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago del Nuevo Extremo, whi ...

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, wh ...

founds

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

. *

: An

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

n military campaign by

Charles V of Spain Charles V of Spain may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of ...

(

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

) is unsuccessful. *

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

is encountered and explored by Francisco de Orellana. *

: Capture of Buda and the absorption of the major part of

by the

. *

: Sahib I Giray of

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a p ...

invades

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

. *

1542 __NOTOC__ Year 1542 ( MDXLII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * February 2 – Battle of Baçente: The Portuguese under Cristóvão da ...

: War resumes between

and

Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fr ...

. This time

is allied with the Emperor, while

James V of Scotland James V (10 April 1512 – 14 December 1542) was King of Scotland from 9 September 1513 until his death in 1542. He was crowned on 21 September 1513 at the age of seventeen months. James was the son of King James IV and Margaret Tudor, and du ...

and Sultan Suleiman I are allied with the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

. *

Akbar The Great Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

is born in the

Umarkot Fort Amarkot Fort ( ur, ; Sindhi: ), is a fort located in Umerkot, Sindh, also called Amarkot ( ur, ; Sindhi:), Umerkot was founded and ruled By Sodha Rajputs of Parmar Dynasty. It was named after its founder Rana Amar Singh Sodha. Emperor Akbar ...

: Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the island of

Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...

and

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

'' Las Islas Filipinas'' honoring

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

and became the official name of the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arch ...

. * 1543:

n/ Portuguese troops decisively defeat the Adal-Ottoman Muslim army led by Imam

at the Battle of Wayna Daga; Imam

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 or the , was a period in the history of Japan from the arrival of Europeans in 1543 to the first ''Sakoku'' Seclusion Edicts of isolationism in 1614. Nanban (南蛮 Lit. "Southern barbarian") is a Japanese word which had been used to designate ...

begins after Portuguese traders make contact with

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. *

1544 __NOTOC__ Events January–June * January 13 – At Västerås, the estates of Sweden swear loyalty to King Gustav Vasa and to his heirs, ending the traditional electoral monarchy in Sweden. Gustav subsequently signs an allianc ...

: The

defeat an

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texas ...

– Spanish army at the

Battle of Ceresole The Battle of Ceresole (; also Cérisoles) took place on 11 April 1544, during the Italian War of 1542–1546, outside the village of Ceresole d'Alba in the Piedmont region of Italy. A French army, commanded by François de Bourbon, Count of ...

. *

: Battle of the Shirts in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The

Frasers House of Fraser (also operating as Frasers) is a British department store group with 44 locations across the United Kingdom, which is now part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it w ...

and Macdonalds of Clan Ranald fight over a disputed chiefship; reportedly, 5 Frasers and 8 Macdonalds survive. * 1545: Songhai forces sack the Malian capital of Niani * 1545: The

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation, it has been described a ...

meets for the first time in Trent (in northern Italy). * 1546:

Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was in ...

is made chief architect of St. Peter's Basilica. * 1546:

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; Latin: ''Franciscus Xaverius''; Basque: ''Frantzisko Xabierkoa''; French: ''François Xavier''; Spanish: ''Francisco Javier''; Portuguese: ''Francisco Xavier''; 7 April 15063 December ...

works among the peoples of Ambon, Ternate and

Morotai Morotai Island ( id, Pulau Morotai) is an island in the Halmahera group of eastern Indonesia's Maluku Islands (Moluccas). It is one of Indonesia's northernmost islands. Morotai is a rugged, forested island lying to the north of Halmahera. It ha ...

(Moro) laying the foundations for a permanent mission. (to 1547) *

1547 Year 1547 ( MDXLVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 8 – The first Lithuanian-language book, a ''Catechism'' (, Simple Words ...

dies in the

Palace of Whitehall The Palace of Whitehall (also spelt White Hall) at Westminster was the main residence of the English monarchs from 1530 until 1698, when most of its structures, except notably Inigo Jones's Banqueting House of 1622, were destroyed by fire. ...

on 28 January at the age of 55. *

dies in the

Château de Rambouillet The Château de Rambouillet (), known in English as the Castle of Rambouillet, is a château in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the Île-de-France region in northern France, southwest of Paris. It was the summer residence of ...

on 31 March at the age of 52. *

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

becomes King of England and Ireland on 28 January and is crowned on 20 February at the age of 9. *

: Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

decisively dismantles the

Schmalkaldic League The Schmalkaldic League (; ; or ) was a military alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire during the mid-16th century. Although created for religious motives soon after the start of the Reformation, its members later came to ...

at the

Battle of Mühlberg The Battle of Mühlberg took place near Mühlberg in the Electorate of Saxony in 1547, during the Schmalkaldic War. The Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Lutheran Schmalk ...

. *

Grand Prince Grand prince or great prince (feminine: grand princess or great princess) ( la, magnus princeps; Greek: ''megas archon''; russian: великий князь, velikiy knyaz) is a title of nobility ranked in honour below emperor, equal of king ...

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Iva ...

is crowned tsar of (All) Russia, thenceforth becoming the first Russian tsar. * 1548:

Battle of Uedahara The was the first defeat suffered by Takeda Shingen, and the first field battle in Japan in which firearms were used. It took place in Shinano Province or the modern-day Nagano Prefecture. Battle The Battle of Uedahara was part of Shingen's ...

: Firearms are used for the first time on the battlefield in

, and

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

is defeated by

Murakami Yoshikiyo Murakami Yoshikiyo (村上義清, 1501–1573) was a Japanese samurai from the and retainer of the Uesugi clan during the Sengoku period of the 16th century. Yoshikiyo followed in fighting against both Takeda Nobutora and his son Takeda Shingen ...

. * 1548: Askia Daoud, who reigned from 1548 to 1583, establishes public libraries in

Timbuktu Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou; Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...

(in present-day Mali). * 1548: The

government of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

issues a decree banning all foreign trade and closes down all seaports along the coast; these Hai jin laws came during the

Wokou ''Wokou'' (; Japanese: ''Wakō''; Korean: 왜구 ''Waegu''), which literally translates to "Japanese pirates" or "dwarf pirates", were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the 13th century to the 16th century.

wars with

ese pirates. *

1549 __NOTOC__ Year 1549 ( MDXLIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Kingdom of England, it was known as "The Year of the Many-Headed Monster", because of the unusually high ...

Tomé de Sousa Tomé de Sousa (1503–1579) was the first governor-general of the Portuguese colony of Brazil from 1549 until 1553. He was a nobleman and soldier born in Rates, Póvoa de Varzim. Sousa was born a noble and participated in military expeditions in ...

establishes

Salvador Salvador, meaning " salvation" (or "saviour") in Catalan, Spanish, and Portuguese may refer to: * Salvador (name) Arts, entertainment, and media Music *Salvador (band), a Christian band that plays both English and Spanish music ** ''Salvador'' ( ...

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-larges ...

, north-east of

. *

: 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 The kris, or ''keris'' in the Indonesian language, is an asymmetrical dagger with distinctive blade-patterning achieved through alternating laminations of iron and nickelous iron (''pamor''). Of Javanese origin, the kris is famous for its dist ...

(in present-day Indonesia).

1550s

1550 __NOTOC__ Year 1550 ( MDL) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 6 – Spanish Captain Hernando de Santana founds the city of Valle ...

: The architect Mimar Sinan builds the

Süleymaniye Mosque The Süleymaniye Mosque ( tr, Süleymaniye Camii, ) is an Ottoman imperial mosque located on the Third Hill of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque was commissioned by Suleiman the Magnificent and designed by the imperial architect Mimar Sinan. An ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

. *

Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...

led by

Altan Khan Altan Khan of the Tümed (1507–1582; mn, ᠠᠯᠲᠠᠨ ᠬᠠᠨ, Алтан хан; Chinese: 阿勒坦汗), whose given name was Anda ( Mongolian: ; Chinese: 俺答), was the leader of the Tümed Mongols and de facto ruler of the Right Win ...

invade

and besiege

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

. *

–

1551 Year 1551 ( MDLI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January–February – Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow, and Tsar Ivan IV of Russi ...

: Valladolid debate concerning the human rights of the

Indigenous people of the Americas The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples. Many Indigenous peoples of the Am ...

. *

: Fifth outbreak of

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 ...

. John Caius of

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

writes the first full contemporary account of the symptoms of the disease. *

: North African

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

enslave the entire population of the Maltese island

Gozo Gozo (, ), Maltese: ''Għawdex'' () and in antiquity known as Gaulos ( xpu, 𐤂𐤅𐤋, ; grc, Γαῦλος, Gaúlos), is an island in the Maltese archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. The island is part of the Republic of Malta. After ...

, between 5,000 and 6,000, sending them to

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. *

1552 __NOTOC__ Year 1552 ( MDLII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 15 – Henry II of France and Maurice, Elector of Saxony, sign the Tr ...

: Russia conquers the

Khanate of Kazan The Khanate of Kazan ( tt, Казан ханлыгы, Kazan xanlıgı; russian: Казанское ханство, Kazanskoye khanstvo) was a medieval Tatar Turkic state that occupied the territory of former Volga Bulgaria between 1438 and 1552 ...

in central Asia. *

: Jesuit China Mission,

dies. * 1553: 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

. *

1554 __NOTOC__ Year 1554 ( MDLIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 5 – A great fire breaks out in Eindhoven, Netherlands. *January 11 ...

Missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

José de Anchieta and

Manuel da Nóbrega Manuel da Nóbrega (old spelling ''Manoel da Nóbrega'') (18 October 1517 – 18 October 1570) was a Portuguese Jesuit priest and first Provincial of the Society of Jesus in colonial Brazil. Together with José de Anchieta, he was very influe ...

establishes

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

, southeast

. *

: Princess Elizabeth is imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

upon the orders of

Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She ...

for suspicion of being involved in the Wyatt rebellion. * 1555: The

Muscovy Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company russian: Московская компания, Moskovskaya kompaniya) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint s ...

is the first major English

joint stock A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders a ...

trading company. *

1556 __NOTOC__ Year 1556 ( MDLVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 16 – Charles V, having already abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor, ...

: Publication in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

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. *

: The

Shaanxi earthquake The 1556 Shaanxi earthquake (formerly romanized ''Shensi''), known in Chinese colloquially by its regnal year as "" ('' Jiājìng Dàdìzhèn'') or officially by its epicenter as "" ('' Huàxiàn Dìzhèn''), occurred in the early morning of 23 ...

in China is history's deadliest known earthquake during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. *

: Georgius Agricola, the "Father of

Mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifacts. Specific studies within mineralogy include the proce ...

", publishes his '' De re metallica''. *

defeats Hemu at the

Second battle of Panipat The Second Battle of Panipat was fought on 5 November 1556, between Akbar and the king of Delhi, Hemu. Hemu had conquered Delhi and Agra a few weeks earlier by defeating Mughal forces under Tardi Beg Khan in the battle of Delhi and crowned hi ...

. *

: Russia conquers the

Astrakhan Khanate The Khanate of Astrakhan, also referred to as the Xacitarxan Khanate, was a Tatar state that arose during the break-up of the Golden Horde. The Khanate existed in the 15th and 16th centuries in the area adjacent to the mouth of the Volga river, a ...

. *

– 1605: During his reign,

expands the Mughal Empire in a series of conquests (in the Indian subcontinent). *

: Mir Chakar Khan Rind captures

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

with

. *

Pomponio Algerio Pomponio Algerio (1531 – 19 August 1556) was an Italian student who was executed for his Lutheran beliefs. Biography Algerio was born in Nola, and was a civil law student at the University of Padua, where his Lutheran theological beliefs attra ...

, radical theologian, is executed by boiling in oil as part of the Roman inquisition. * 1557: Habsburg Spain declares bankruptcy.

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 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 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

. * 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

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– 1600: 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:

, 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. * 1571: Pope Pius V completes the Holy League (Mediterranean), Holy League as a united front against the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turks. * 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. La masacre de San Bartolomé, por François Dubois

La masacre de San Bartolomé, por François Dubois

* 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:

, Safavid shah, dies. * 1576: The Battle of Haldighati is fought between the ruler of

, 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,

. Recognised as the reincarnation of two previous Lamas, Sonam Gyatso becomes the third Dalai Lama in the lineage. * 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

La batalla de Gravelinas, por Nicholas Hilliard

* 1580: Francis Drake, Drake's royal reception after his attacks on Spanish possessions influences

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 Toyotomi Hideyoshi, 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. * 1600: Giordano Bruno is burned at the stake for Christian heresy, heresy in Rome. Fülek megvétele 1593-ban

* 1600: Battle of Sekigahara in

. End of the Sengoku period, Warring States period and beginning of the Edo period. * 1600: 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. * 1600: Elizabeth I grants a charter to the British East India Company beginning the English advance in Asia. * 1600: Michael the Brave unifies the three Romanian 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:Alberico Gentili.jpg, Alberico Gentili, Dr Alberico Gentili, the Father of international law File:Vasili III of Russia.jpg, Vasily III, Grand Duke of Moscow by André Thévet File:Hernán Cortés anónimo.jpg, Hernán Cortés, Hernan Cortes File:Akbar1.jpg, Akbar, Akbar the Great File:Philip II, King of Spain from NPG.jpg,

File:François Ier Louvre.jpg,

of France File:Hans Holbein, the Younger, Around 1497-1543 - Portrait of Henry VIII of England - Google Art Project.jpg, Hans Holbein the Younger, c. 1536 – 1537, ''

,'' King of England and Ireland File:Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, III Duque de Alba, por Antonio Moro.jpg, Don Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, Fernando Álvarez de Toledo File:Ivan IV by anonim (18th c., GIM).jpg, Ivan IV the Terrible File:1590 or later Marcus Gheeraerts, Sir Francis Drake Buckland Abbey, Devon.jpg, Francis Drake, Sir Francis Drake File:Odanobunaga.jpg, Oda Nobunaga

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. *

: Juan Ponce de León sights Florida and Vasco Núñez de Balboa sights the eastern edge of the

. * 1519–1522, 22:

and Juan Sebastián Elcano lead the first circumnavigation of the World. * 1519–

: In America,

expeditions map the Gulf of Mexico coastline and bays. *

: Modern square root symbol (√) *

: Francisco Vásquez de Coronado sights the Grand Canyon. *

–1542, 42: Francisco de Orellana sails the length of the

. *

–1543, 43: Firearms are introduced into

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

. * 1589: William Lee (inventor), William Lee invents the stocking frame. * 1591: First flush toilet is introduced by John Harington (writer), Sir John Harrington of

, 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

1520s

1530s The 1530s decade ran from January 1, 1530, to December 31, 1539. Year 1530 ( MDXXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar The Julian calendar, proposed by Roman consul Julius C ...

1540s The 1540s decade ran from 1 January 1540, to 31 December 1549. References {{DEFAULTSORT:1540s ...

1550s

1560s

1570s

1580s

1590–1600

Undated

Gallery

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

See also

References

Further reading

External links