Date
Region
Event




Mid-15th c.
Middle East

Foundation of the Saud Dynasty



1450’s-1471
South Asia

Champa Civil Wars



1450’s-1529
South Asia

Thai Wars



1451-1526
South Asia

Lodī Kings Dominate Northern India



1454
East Asia

China Subdues Burma



1454
Europe
Sultan Mehmed II grants Venice trading privileges


1454-1466
Europe
Thirteen Years’ War


1454-1481
Middle East

Rise of the Ottoman Empire



Apr. 9, 1454
Europe

Peace of Lodi



1455-1485
Europe

Wars of the Roses



1456
South Asia
Battle of Kamphaeng Phet


1456
Africa
Ca’da Mosto, working for Portugal, discovers the Cape Verde Islands


1456
Europe
János Hunyadi prevents the Ottomans from conquering Belgrade


1456
Europe

Publication of Gutenberg’s Mazarin Bible



1456
Europe
Treaty of Iazhelbitsy


1457-1480’s
East Asia

Spread of Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism



Feb. 11, 1457
East Asia

Restoration of Zhengtong



Apr. 14, 1457-July 2, 1504
Europe

Reign of Stephen the Great



1458
South Asia
Ban La Tra Nguyet usurps the throne of Champa


1458-1490
Europe

Hungarian Renaissance



1459
South Asia

Rāo Jodha Founds Jodhpur



1459
Europe
Serbia becomes a province of the Ottoman Empire


Early 1460’s
Europe

Labor Shortages Alter Europe’s Social Structure



c. 1460
Europe
Ottomans take control of Greece


1460-1600
Africa

Rise of the Akan Kingdoms



July 10, 1460
Europe
Battle of Northampton


Dec. 30, 1460
Europe
Richard, duke of York, is killed in the Battle of Wakefield


1461
Middle East
Ottomans conquer Trebizond


1461
Europe
Vlad III the Impaler attacks the Ottoman Empire and captures Vidin


Mar. 29, 1461
Europe
Battle of Towton


1462
Central Asia
Astrakhan splits from the Golden Horde


1462
Europe

Founding of the Platonic Academy



c. 1462
Central Asia

Kazak Empire Is Established



1462
Europe

Regiomontanus Completes the EPITOME of Ptolemy’s ALMAGEST




1462
Europe
Vlad III the Impaler is dethroned


Beginning 1462
Europe
Hungary’s Matthias I Corvinus organizes a standing army of mercenaries known as the Black Army


Beginning 1462
Europe and Central Asia
Russian Colonial Wars


Sept., 1462
Europe
Battle of Puck


1463
South Asia
Battle of Doi Ba


1463
Europe
Ottomans expand into southern and central Bosnia


1463
Americas
Topa Inca becomes commander of the Incan army


1463-1464
Europe
Treaty of Wiener Neustadt


1463-1479
Europe and Middle East

Ottoman-Venetian War



Fall, 1463
Europe
Prussian League’s navy destroys the Teutonic Knights’ fleet


Sept. 12, 1463
Europe
Venice and Hungary form an alliance against the Ottoman Empire


1464
Europe
French nobles form the League of the Public Weal under Charles the Bold


1464
Europe
Ottomans begin their conquest of Albania


c. 1464-1591
Africa

Songhai Empire Dominates the Western Sudan



1465
Europe
Stephen the Great of Moldavia captures the Hungarian fortress at Kiliya


1465-Aug., 1467
Europe
Castilian Civil War


1465-1487
East Asia

Reign of Xianzong



July 16, 1465-Apr., 1559
Europe

French-Burgundian and French-Austrian Wars



c. 1466-1473
Africa
Siege of Djenné


Oct. 19, 1466
Europe

Second Peace of Thorn



1467
South Asia

End of King Parāakramabāhu VI’s Reign



1467
Europe
Charles the Bold becomes Duke of Burgundy


1467-1477
East Asia

Ōnin War



Nov., 1467
Europe
Matthias I Corvinus of Hungary invades Moldavia


Nov. 11, 1467
Middle East
Ak Koyunlu army destroys Kara Koyunlu army, ending the Kara Koyunlu Dynasty


Dec. 14, 1467
Europe
Battle of Baia ends the Hungarian invasion of Moldavia


1468
Europe
Ficino completes his Italian translations of Plato’s dialogues


1468
Central Asia
Khan Abū՚l-Khayr dies in battle with Girei’s forces


1468
Europe
Pact of Los Toros de Guisando between Isabella of Castille and Henry IV


1468
Africa
Sonni ՙAlī captures Timbuktu and massacres its Muslim inhabitants


c. 1468-1478
Europe
Bohemian-Hungarian War


1469
Middle East
Abū Saՙīd dies in the Battle of Karabakh


1469
Europe and Africa
Fernão Gomes purchases exclusive rights to explore Africa’s west coast from Afonso V of Portugal


1469-1481
South Asia

Reign of the Ava King Thihathura



1469-1492
Europe

Rule of Lorenzo de’ Medici



1469-1508
Middle East

Ak Koyunlu Dynasty Controls Iraq and Northern Iran



Oct. 19, 1469
Europe

Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella



1470’s
Middle East
Mehmed II founds eight major Muslim colleges (madrasas)


1470
Europe
Frederick III and Matthias I Corvinus meet in Vienna, quarrel, and renounce their friendship


1470
Europe
Novgorod becomes a vassal state of Poland


1470
Europe
Richard Neville, earl of Warwick, invades England; King Edward IV flees to Bruges


June, 1470
Europe
Ottomans attack Negroponte


Nov. 28, 1470
South Asia
Vietnam declares war on Champa


1471
Europe
Stephen the Great refuses to pay a tribute to the Ottoman Empire


1471-1493
Americas

Reign of Topa Inca



Apr. 14, 1471
Europe
Battle of Barnet: Edward IV defeats Warwick and reclaims the English throne


May 4, 1471
Europe
Battle of Tewkesbury


Mar. 18-22, 1471
South Asia

Battle of Vijaya



July 14, 1471
Europe
Battle of Shelon River


1472
Middle East
Mamlūk army drives Ak Koyunlu out of northern Syria


1472
Europe
Marriage of Ivan the Great and Sophia Palaeologus


c. 1472
Africa
Portuguese explorers reach the mouth of the Niger River


1472
Europe
Siege of Beauvais


Summer, 1472
Middle East
Venetian fleet under Pietro Mocenigo raids Izmir and Antalya


c. 1473
East Asia

Ashikaga Yoshimasa Builds the Silver Pavilion



1473
Europe

Jakob II Fugger Becomes a Merchant



1473
Middle East
Ottomans defeat the Ak Koyunlu at Tercan


c. 1473-1478
Europe
Hugo van der Goes paints the Portinari Altarpiece



1473-1600
Europe

Witch-Hunts and Witch Trials



Aug. 11, 1473
Middle East
Battle of Başkent


1474
East Asia

Great Wall of China Is Built



1474
Europe
Treaty of London: Charles the Bold and England’s Edward IV make plans to conquer and divide France


1474-1479
Europe

Castilian War of Succession



Late 15th c.
Africa

Mombasa, Malindi, and Kilwa Reach Their Height



Late 15th-mid-16th c.
Africa
Nomadic preachers bring Islamic Sufi mysticism to the western Sudan


1475
Europe
Crimean Khante submits to Ottoman authority


1475
South Asia
Yawnghwe submits to Avan authority


Jan. 10, 1475
Europe
Battle of Podul Inalt


July 4, 1475
Europe
Edward IV arrives in France to lead his invasion force


Aug. 29, 1475
Europe

Peace of Picquigny



1476
Europe and Central Asia
Ivan the Great refuses to pay tributes to the Golden Horde


Mar. 1, 1476
Europe
Battle of Toro


Mar. 2, 1476
Europe
Battle of Granson


June 22, 1476
Europe
Battle of Morat


July 26-Aug. 10, 1476
Europe
Mehmed II invades Moldavia


Dec. 24, 1476
Europe
Assassination of Galeazzo Maria Sforza


1477-1482
Europe

Work Begins on the Sistine Chapel



1477-1600
East Asia

Japan’s “Age of the Country at War”



Jan. 5, 1477
Europe
Charles the Bold dies in the Battle of Nancy


June 12, 1477-Aug. 17, 1487
Europe

Hungarian War with the Holy Roman Empire



Aug. 17, 1477
Europe

Foundation of the Habsburg Dynasty



Dec. 1, 1477
Europe
Hungary signs a peace treaty with the Holy Roman Empire


1478
Europe

Muscovite Conquest of Novgorod



1478-1482
Europe

Albanian-Turkish Wars End



c. 1478-1519
Europe

Leonardo da Vinci Compiles His Notebooks



Apr. 26, 1478
Europe

Pazzi Conspiracy



Nov. 1, 1478
Europe

Establishment of the Spanish Inquisition



1479
Europe
Hungary defeats the Ottomans at the Battle of Kenyérmező


1479
Europe
Ottomans occupy the Ionian Isles


1479-1481
Middle East
Gentile Bellini paints a portrait of Sultan Mehmed II


1480
Europe
Ottomans seize Otranto


1480-1502
Europe

Destruction of the Golden Horde



After 1480
Europe

Ivan the Great Organizes the “Third Rome”



1481
Europe
Aragon retakes Otranto


1481-1482
Africa

Founding of Elmina



1481-1499
Europe

Ludovico Sforza Rules Milan



1481-1512
Middle East

Reign of Bayezid II and Ottoman Civil Wars



Jan., 1481
Europe
Battle of Győr


May, 1481
Europe
Hungary signs a truce with the Holy Roman Empire


June, 1481
Middle East
Battle of Yenişehir


c. 1482
Africa
Portuguese explorers reach the mouth of the Congo River


1482-1484
Europe
War of Ferrara


1482-1492
Europe

Maximilian I Takes Control of the Low Countries



Mar., 1482
Europe
Hungary invades Austria


1483
Europe
Ottomans annex Herzegovina


1483-1485
Europe

Richard III Rules England



1484
Middle East
Construction of the mosque and complex at Nasriyya is completed


c. 1484
Europe
Sandro Botticelli paints the Birth of Venus



Mar. 11, 1484
Europe
Battle of Leitzersdorf


July, 1484
Europe
Ottomans capture Kiliya and Cetatea Albş


Nov., 1484
Europe
Frederick III, fleeing Vienna, resettles in Linz


1485
Europe
Muscovy annexes Tver’


c. 1485
Africa

Portuguese Establish a Foothold in Africa



1485
Europe
William Caxton publishes Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur



Beginning 1485
Europe

The Tudors Rule England



Jan. 29-June 1, 1485
Europe
Siege of Vienna


May, 1485-Apr. 13, 1517
Africa and Middle East

Mamlūk-Ottoman Wars



Aug. 22, 1485
Europe
Battle of Bosworth Field


1486
Europe
The Decretum majus is proclaimed, protecting the individual rights of Hungarian subjects


c. 1486
Europe
Krämer and Sprenger publish the Malleus maleficarum



c. 1486
East Asia
Sesshū paints his Long Landscape Scroll


1486-1487
Europe

Pico della Mirandola Writes ORATION ON THE DIGNITY OF MAN




Feb. 9, 1486
Middle East
First Battle of Adana


Mar. 15, 1486
Middle East
Second Battle of Adana


1487
Europe
Siege of Wiener Neustadt


1487
Europe
Torquemada becomes Grand Inquisitor of Spain


Aug., 1487-Dec., 1488
Africa

Dias Rounds the Cape of Good Hope



1488
East Asia
Japanese Ikko take control of Kaga Province


1488-1505
East Asia

Reign of Xiaozong



c. 1488-1594
South Asia

Khmer-Thai Wars



Mar. 5, 1488
East Asia

Composition of the RENGA Masterpiece MINASE SANGIN HYAKUIN




Aug. 16, 1488
Middle East
Battle of Aga-Cayiri


1489
South Asia

ՙĀdil Shah Dynasty Founded



1489
Europe
Poland signs a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, and Moldavia resumes paying tribute to the sultan


1489
Europe

Yorkshire Rebellion



1489-1517
South Asia
Sultan Sikandar Lodī rules Delhi


1490’s
Europe

Aldus Manutius Founds the Aldine Press



1490’s
Central Asia

Decline of the Silk Road



Beginning 1490
Europe

Development of the Camera Obscura



c. 1490
South Asia

Fragmentation of the Bahmani Sultanate



c. 1490
Europe
The Medici family become patrons of Michelangelo


1490
Europe
Moldavia invades Poland


c. 1490
Central Asia
Uzbeks gain control of Turkistan


1490-1492
Europe

Martin Behaim Builds the First World Globe



1491
Europe
Greek is first taught at Oxford University


1491
Europe
Treaty of Pressburg


1491-1545
Africa

Christianity Is Established in the Kingdom of Kongo



1492
Americas

Fall of Granada



1492
Europe

Jews Are Expelled from Spain



July, 1492
Europe
Peace of Kadzand


Oct. 12, 1492
Americas

Columbus Lands in the Americas



1493
South Asia
Battle of Tungabhadra River


1493-1521
Americas

Ponce de León’s Voyages



1493-1525
Americas

Reign of Huayna Capac



1493-1528
Africa

Reign of Mohammed I Askia



Aug. 19, 1493-Jan. 12, 1519
Europe

Reign of Maximilian I



1494
Europe
Ludovico Sforza receives the official title of duke of Milan


1494
Europe

Sebastian Brant Publishes THE SHIP OF FOOLS




June 7, 1494
Europe and Americas

Treaty of Tordesillas



Sept., 1494-Oct., 1495
Europe

Charles VIII of France Invades Italy



Sept., 1494-Apr., 1559
Europe
The Italian Wars


Dec. 1, 1494
Europe

Poynings’ Law



Beginning c. 1495
Europe

Reform of the Spanish Church



1495-1497
Europe

Leonardo da Vinci Paints THE LAST SUPPER




1495-1510
Americas

West Indian Uprisings



1496
Americas
Bartolomé Columbus founds Santo Domingo, capital of the first Spanish colony in the New World


1496
Europe
Philip, Duke of Burgundy, marries Joan of Castille


1496
Europe
Posthumous publication of the complete works of Pico della Mirandola


1496
Europe
Regiomontanus’s Epitome of Ptolemy’s Almagest is published


1497
Europe

Cornish Rebellion



1497
Europe
Ivan the Great passes the Sudebnik, a code of common law


1497-1503
Americas
Amerigo Vespucci’s voyages


Beginning 1497
Europe

Danish-Swedish Wars



June 24, 1497-May, 1498
Americas

Cabot’s Voyages



Aug., 1497
Europe
Poland invades Moldavia


Oct. 26, 1497
Europe
Battle of Codrii Cosminului


1498
Europe
Moldavia invades Poland


1498
Europe
Ottomans annex Moldavia


1498
South Asia
Vasco da Gama reaches India


Jan., 1498
Africa

Portuguese Reach the Swahili Coast



1499
Europe
Amerigo Vespucci becomes the first navigator to determine longitude using lunar distances


1499
Europe

Louis XII of France Seizes Milan



1499-1517
Europe

Erasmus Advances Humanism in England



1499-c. 1600
Europe

Russo-Polish Wars



Beginning c. 1500
World

Coffee, Cacao, Tobacco, and Sugar Are Sold Worldwide



1500
Europe
Aldus publishes Erasmus’s Adagia



c. 1500
Europe

Netherlandish School of Painting



c. 1500
Europe

Revival of Classical Themes in Art



c. 1500
Europe

Rise of Sarmatism in Poland



1500
Europe

Roman Jubilee



1500-1530’s
Americas

Portugal Begins to Colonize Brazil



Early 16th c.
Americas

Athapaskans Arrive in the Southwest



Early 16th c.
South Asia

Devotional Bhakti Traditions Emerge



Early 16th c.
Middle East

Fuzuli Writes Poetry in Three Languages



Early 16th c.
Americas

Rise of the Fur Trade



16th c.
East Asia

China’s Population Boom



16th c.
Americas

Decline of Moundville



16th c.
Europe

Evolution of the Galleon



16th c.
Americas

Iroquois Confederacy Is Established



16th c.
World

Proliferation of Firearms



16th c.
East Asia

Rise of the SHENSHI




16th c.
East Asia

Single-Whip Reform



16th c.
Africa

Trans-Saharan Trade Enriches Akan Kingdoms



16th c.
World

Worldwide Inflation



1501-1504
Europe
Michelangelo sculpts his David



1501-1507
Central Asia
Shaybānī-Timurid War


1501-1524
Middle East

Reign of Ismāՙīl I



1502
Middle East
Battle of Nakhichevan


1502
Africa and Americas

Beginning of the Transatlantic Slave Trade



1502
Europe
Muslims are expelled from Spain


1502
Africa
Portugal occupies Kilwa


1502-1520
Americas

Reign of Montezuma II



c. 1503
Europe
Leonardo da Vinci begins painting the Mona Lisa



1503
South Asia
Ramathibodi II of Ayutthaya oversees construction of an immense and priceless statue of the Buddha


1503-1513
Europe
Papacy of Julius II, the “Warrior Pope”


June, 1503
Central Asia
Battle of Akhsi


1504
Middle East
Ismāՙīl seizes Baghdad


Beginning 1504
Africa

Decline of the Ḥafṣid Dynasty



Sept. 22, 1504
Europe

Treaty of Blois



Nov. 26, 1504
Europe

Joan the Mad Becomes Queen of Castile



1505
South Asia
Earthquake destroys Āgra


1505
Africa
Portuguese sack and burn Mombasa


1505-1506
Central Asia
Siege of Khiva


1505-1515
South Asia

Portuguese Viceroys Establish Overseas Trade Empire



1505-1521
East Asia

Reign of Zhengde and Liu Jin



1506
Europe
Charles Habsburg becomes ruler of the Low Countries and the Franche-Comté


1506-1543
Africa
Afonso I rules Kongo


1507
Central Asia

End of the Timurid Dynasty



1508
Europe

Formation of the League of Cambrai



1508-1520
Europe

Raphael Paints His Frescoes



1508-1512 and 1534-1541
Europe

Michelangelo Paints the Sistine Chapel



1508-1572
Americas
Spanish conquest of the Americas


1509-1565
South Asia

Vijayanagar Wars



May 14, 1509
Europe
Battle of Agnadello


c. 1510
Europe

Invention of the Watch



1510
Europe
Muscovy annexes Pskov


1510-1578
Africa

Saՙdī Sharifs Come to Power in Morocco



Nov. 25, 1510
South Asia
Portugal captures Goa


Dec. 2, 1510
Central Asia

Battle of Merv Establishes the Shaybānīd Dynasty



1511
Central Asia
Bābur seizes Samarqand and Bukhara


1511-c. 1515
South Asia

Melaka Falls to the Portuguese



1512
Europe
Spain annexes Navarre


1512
Americas
Spain’s Law of Burgos is passed, establishing the encomienda system in the Americas


1512-1520
Middle East

Reign of Selim I



Apr. 11, 1512
Europe

Battle of Ravenna



Dec. 12, 1512
Central Asia
Battle of Ghazdivan


Beginning 1513
East Asia

Kanō School Flourishes



July-Dec., 1513
Europe

Machiavelli Writes THE PRINCE




Aug. 16, 1513
Europe
Battle of the Spurs


Aug. 22, 1513-July 6, 1560
Europe

Anglo-Scottish Wars



Sept. 9, 1513
Europe
Battle of Flodden


Sept. 29, 1513
Americas

Balboa Reaches the Pacific Ocean



1514
Europe

Hungarian Peasants’ Revolt



1514
Europe
Muscovy annexes Smolensk


1514-1555
Middle East
Turko-Persian Wars


1514-1598
East Asia

Portuguese Reach China



Aug. 23, 1514
Middle East
Battle of Chāldirān


1515
South Asia
Battle of Lampang


1515
Europe
Emperor Maximilian I, Vladislav II of Hungary, and Sigismund I, the Old, meet in Vienna and arrange marriages that will expand the Habsburg empire


1515-1529
Europe

Wolsey Serves as Lord Chancellor and Cardinal



Sept. 13-14, 1515
Europe

Battle of Marignano



1516
Europe
Ludovico Ariosto publishes Orlando furioso



1516
Europe

Sir Thomas More Publishes UTOPIA




c. 1516-1576
Europe
Titian paints his masterpieces


Jan. 23, 1516
Europe

Charles I Ascends the Throne of Spain



Aug. 18, 1516
Europe

Concordat of Bologna



Aug. 24, 1516
Middle East
Mamlūk sultan Qānṣawh dies at the Battle of Marj Dabiq


1517
Europe

Fracastoro Develops His Theory of Fossils



1517
Africa
Ottomans conquer Egypt


1517
East Asia
Portugal reaches Canton


Oct. 31, 1517
Europe

Luther Posts His Ninety-five Theses



1518
East Asia
Siege of Arai


Beginning 1519
Americas

Smallpox Kills Thousands of Indigenous Americans



1519-1522
World

Magellan Expedition Circumnavigates the Globe



Jan., 1519
America
Balboa is executed for treason


Apr., 1519-Aug., 1521
Americas

Cortés Conquers Aztecs in Mexico



June 28, 1519
Europe

Charles V Is Elected Holy Roman Emperor



Nov. 8, 1519
Americas
Meeting of Montezuma II and Cortés


1520-1522
Europe

Comunero Revolt



1520-1560
Europe
Western Europe experiences a temporary decrease in witch trials


1520-1566
Middle East

Reign of Süleyman



June 5-24, 1520
Europe

Field of Cloth of Gold



1521
Europe
Muscovy annexes Ryazan’


1521
East Asia
Portuguese are banned from all Chinese ports


1521-1559
Europe

Valois-Habsburg Wars



1521-1567
East Asia

Reign of Jiajing



Apr.-May, 1521
Europe

Luther Appears Before the Diet of Worms



1522
Europe
Battle of Bicocca


June 28, 1522-Dec. 27, 1522
Europe

Siege and Fall of Rhodes



Nov. 3, 1522-Nov. 17, 1530
Europe

Correggio Paints the ASSUMPTION OF THE VIRGIN




1523
Europe

Gustav I Vasa Becomes King of Sweden



1523
South Asia
Krishnadevaraya annexes parts of Bijāpur to Vijayanagar


1523
Europe
England enters the Valois-Habsburg conflict on the side of the Habsburgs


Spring, 1523
East Asia

Ōuchi Family Monopolizes Trade with China



Aug., 1523
Americas

Franciscan Missionaries Arrive in Mexico



1524-1529
South Asia
Bābur conquers northern India


June, 1524-July, 1526
Europe

German Peasants’ War



1525-1532
Americas

Huāscar and Atahualpa Share Inca Rule



1525-1600
Africa

Ottoman-Ruled Egypt Sends Expeditions South and East



Feb., 1525
Europe

Battle of Pavia



1526
Central Asia
Kazak Empire is divided into three territories


1526-1530
South Asia
Reign of Bābur


1526-1547
Europe

Hungarian Civil Wars



Beginning 1526
Europe and Middle East
Austro-Turkish Wars


Apr. 21, 1526
South Asia

First Battle of Panipat



Aug. 29, 1526
Europe

Battle of Mohács



1527
South Asia
Sack of Ava by the Maw Shans


1527-1543
Africa

Ethiopia’s Early Solomonic Period Ends



1527-1547
Americas

Maya Resist Spanish Incursions in Yucatán



1527-1554
Africa
Saՙdī-Wattasid Wars


1527-1561
Americas
Las Casas writes his History of the Indies



1527-1599
South Asia

Burmese Civil Wars



Mar. 17, 1527
South Asia

Battle of Khānua



May 6, 1527-Feb., 1528
Europe

Sack of Rome



1528
Africa
Askia Mūsā overthrows Mohammed I Askia


1528
Europe

Castiglione’s BOOK OF THE COURTIER Is Published



1528-1536
Americas

Narváez’s and Cabeza de Vaca’s Expeditions



1529
Europe
Peace of Cambrai


1529
Africa
Portuguese sack and burn a rebuilt Mombasa


1529-1574
Africa

North Africa Recognizes Ottoman Suzerainty



Mar. 7, 1529
Africa

Battle of Shimbra-Kure



Apr. 22, 1529
Europe and South Asia
Treaty of Zaragoza confirms Portugal’s claim to the Spice Islands


Sept. 27-Oct. 16, 1529
Europe

Siege of Vienna



1530’s-1540’s
Europe

Paracelsus Presents His Theory of Disease



1530
East Asia; South Asia
China recognizes Ayutthaya


Dec. 30, 1530
South Asia

Humāyūn Inherits the Throne in India



1531
East Asia
Hosokawa Takakuni dies in a coup


1531
South Asia
Ottoman navy helps Sultan Bahādur of Gujarat to repel Portuguese attempting to capture Diu


1531-1540
Europe

Cromwell Reforms British Government



1531-1585
Europe

Antwerp Becomes the Commercial Capital of Europe



Feb. 27, 1531
Europe

Formation of the Schmalkaldic League



1532
Europe
Charles V’s Lex Carolina makes witchcraft a criminal offense in the Holy Roman Empire


1532
Europe

Holbein Settles in London



1532
Europe
Machiavelli’s The Prince is published, five years after his death


1532-1536
East Asia

Temmon Hokke Rebellion



1532-1537
Americas

Pizarro Conquers the Incas in Peru



1532-1552
Europe
François Rabelais writes Gargantua and Pantagruel



1533
Europe
Catherine de Médicis marries Henry, duke of Orléans


1534
Africa
Barbarossa captures Tunis


1534-1535
Middle East

Ottomans Claim Sovereignty over Mesopotamia



Apr. 20, 1534-July, 1543
Americas

Cartier and Roberval Search for a Northwest Passage



Aug. 15, 1534
Europe

Founding of the Jesuit Order



Dec. 18, 1534
Europe

Act of Supremacy



Dec. 23, 1534-1540
Europe

Parmigianino Paints MADONNA WITH THE LONG NECK




1535
Africa
Charles V recaptures Tunis from the Ottomans


July, 1535-Mar., 1540
Europe

Henry VIII Dissolves the Monasteries



1536
Americas
Establishment of the Colegio de Santa Cruz in Tlatelolco Tenochtítlan


1536
Europe
France captures Turin


1536
Middle East

Turkish Capitulations Begin



1536 and 1543
Europe

Acts of Union Between England and Wales



Mar., 1536
Europe

Calvin Publishes INSTITUTES OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION




May 19, 1536
Europe
Anne Boleyn is executed


Oct., 1536-June, 1537
Europe

Pilgrimage of Grace



1537
Europe
The Bishops’ Book is published in England


1537
Europe and Americas

Pope Paul III Declares Rights of New World Peoples



c. 1538
Central Asia
Aq Nazak Khan reunifies Kazak Empire


1538
Europe
Charles V and Francis I meet at Nice and reaffirm the Peace of Cambrai


1538
Europe
Moldavia becomes a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire


Sept. 27-28, 1538
Middle East

Battle of Préveza



1539
South Asia

Jiajing Threatens Vietnam



May, 1539
Europe

Six Articles of Henry VIII



May 28, 1539-Sept. 10, 1543
Americas

De Soto’s North American Expedition



June, 1539
South Asia
Battle of Chausa


1540
Americas
Orrellana navigates the Amazon River


1540-1545
South Asia

Shēr Shāh Sūr Becomes Emperor of Delhi



Feb. 23, 1540-Oct., 1542
Americas

Coronado’s Southwest Expedition



Oct. 20-27, 1541
Africa

Holy Roman Empire Attacks Ottomans in Algiers



1542
Europe
Francis I allies with the Ottomans against the Habsburgs; the Ottoman fleet uses the French harbor of Toulon as a base to raid the coast of Western Europe


1542
South Asia
Muslims massacre Hindus at Raisin


1542
Africa
Saՙdīs capture the Portuguese fort at Agadir


1542-1543
Europe and Americas

The New Laws of Spain



Feb. 13, 1542
Europe
Catherine Howard is executed


June 27, 1542-c. 1600
Americas

Spain Explores Alta California



July 15, 1542-1559
Europe

Paul III Establishes the INDEX OF PROHIBITED BOOKS




1543
Europe

Copernicus Publishes DE REVOLUTIONIBUS




1543
Europe

Vesalius Publishes ON THE FABRIC OF THE HUMAN BODY




Autumn, 1543
East Asia

Europeans Begin Trade with Japan



1544
Europe
Coronation of Mary, Queen of Scots


1544-1628
Europe

Anglo-French Wars



Apr. 14, 1544
Europe
Battle of Cerisolles


July 19, 1544-Sept. 14, 1544
Europe
English Siege of Boulogne


Sept., 1544
Europe
Peace of Crépy


1545-1548
Americas

Silver Is Discovered in Spanish America



1545-1563
Europe

Council of Trent



Feb. 27, 1545
Europe

Battle of Ancrum Moor



1546
Europe

Fracastoro Discovers That Contagion Spreads Disease



1546
South Asia
Vijayanagar signs a treaty of nonaggression with the Portuguese


June, 1546-June, 1547
Europe
Schmalkaldic War


Jan. 16, 1547
Europe

Coronation of Ivan the Terrible



Jan. 28, 1547-July 6, 1553
Europe

Reign of Edward VI



Apr. 24, 1547
Europe
Battle of Mülberg


Sept. 10, 1547
Europe
Battle of Pinkie


1548-1600
South Asia

Siamese-Burmese Wars



1549
East Asia
Battle of Kajiki Castle: First use of firearms in Japanese warfare


1549
Europe
French Siege of Boulogne


1549
Europe

Kett’s Rebellion



1549-1552
East Asia

Father Xavier Introduces Christianity to Japan



1549-1570’s
Europe

La Pléiade Promotes French Poetry



Mid-16th c.
Europe

Development of the Caracole Maneuver



1550’s
Europe
Sofonisba Anguissola develops her style of mannerist painting


1550’s
Europe

Tartaglia Publishes THE NEW SCIENCE




1550’s-1587
East Asia

Japanese Pirates Pillage the Chinese Coast



1550’s-c. 1600
Europe

Educational Reforms in Europe



1550-1571
East Asia

Mongols Raid Beijing



1550-1593
East Asia

Japanese Wars of Unification



Jan.-May, 1551
Europe

The Stoglav Convenes



c. 1552
Europe
France captures the Three Bishoprics of Lorraine


1552
Europe and Americas

Las Casas Publishes THE TEARS OF THE INDIANS




1552
Middle East

Struggle for the Strait of Hormuz



1552-1555
Central Asia
Kazak Empire repels invasions from Mongolia and Kobdo


1553
Europe

Servetus Describes the Circulatory System



July, 1553
Europe

Coronation of Mary Tudor



July 10-19, 1553
Europe
Lady Jane Grey is queen of England for nine days


Sept., 1553
East Asia

First Battle of Kawanakajima



Oct. 27, 1553
Europe
Servetus is burned as a heretic


1554
Africa
The last Wattasid is killed; Marrakech becomes the capital of Saՙdīan Morocco


Jan. 25-Feb. 7, 1554
Europe

Wyatt’s Rebellion



1555-1556
Europe

Charles V Abdicates



Sept. 25, 1555
Europe

Peace of Augsburg



1556-1605
South Asia

Reign of Akbar



Jan. 23, 1556
East Asia

Earthquake in China Kills Thousands



Summer, 1556
Europe and Central Asia

Ivan the Terrible Annexes Astrakhan



1557-1574
Africa
Reign of Abdallah al-Ghālib in Morocco


1557-1582
Europe

Livonian War



Aug. 10, 1557
Europe
Battle of Saint-Quentin


1558-1593
South Asia

Burmese-Laotian Wars



1558-1603
Europe

Reign of Elizabeth I



Jan. 1-8, 1558
Europe

France Regains Calais from England



July 13, 1558
Europe
Battle of Gravelines


1559-1561
Middle East

Süleyman’s Sons Wage Civil War



Apr. 3, 1559
Europe

Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis



May, 1559-Aug., 1561
Europe

Scottish Reformation



c. 1560’s
Europe

Invention of the “Lead” Pencil



Apr. or May, 1560
Europe

Publication of the Geneva Bible



June 12, 1560
East Asia

Battle of Okehazama



1562-1565
Americas
French Huguenots attempt to colonize South Carolina and Florida, but the Spanish drive them away


Mar., 1562-May 2, 1598
Europe

French Wars of Religion



1563
East Asia
Jesuit missionary Luis Frois settles in Japan


1563-1584
Europe

Construction of the Escorial



Jan., 1563
Europe

Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England



Jan. 20, 1564
Europe

Peace of Troyes



June, 1564
Europe

Tintoretto Paints for the Scuola di San Rocco



1565
South Asia

Spain Seizes the Philippines



Jan., 1565
South Asia
Battle of Talikota


May 18-Sept. 8, 1565
Europe

Siege of Malta



Sept., 1565
Americas

St. Augustine Is Founded



1566-1574
Middle East

Reign of Selim II



July 22, 1566
Europe

Pius V Expels the Prostitutes from Rome



1567
Europe

Palestrina Publishes the POPE MARCELLUS MASS




1567-1572
East Asia

Reign of Longqing



July 29, 1567
Europe

James VI Becomes King of Scotland



1568
Europe
Battle of Langside: Supporters of Mary, Queen of Scots are defeated, and Mary flees to England, where Elizabeth I imprisons her


1568
Americas
Jesuits found the first missionary school for North American Indians at Havana


1568
East Asia

Oda Nobunaga Seizes Kyōto



c. 1568-1571
Europe and Central Asia

Ottoman-Russian War



1568-1648
Europe

Dutch Wars of Independence



Feb. 23, 1568
South Asia

Fall of Chitor



1569
Europe

Mercator Publishes His World Map



1569
East Asia
Siege of Odawara


Nov. 9, 1569
Europe

Rebellion of the Northern Earls



Feb. 25, 1570
Europe

Pius V Excommunicates Elizabeth I



July, 1570-Aug., 1571
Middle East

Siege of Famagusta and Fall of Cyprus



c. 1571-1603
Africa
Bornu-Kanem Empire reaches the height of its power, using firearms purchased from the Ottoman Turks


Oct. 7, 1571
Europe

Battle of Lepanto



1572-1574
Europe

Tycho Brahe Observes a Supernova



1572-1589
Europe
Siege of La Rochelle


Aug. 24-25, 1572
Europe

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre



1573-1582
East Asia
Oda Nobunaga deposes the shogun and unifies half of Japan under his rule


1573-1620
East Asia

Reign of Wanli



1574-1595
Middle East

Reign of Murad III



c. 1574-1600
East Asia
Japan’s Azuchi-Momoyama Period


Mid-1570’s
Americas

Powhatan Confederacy Is Founded



1575
Europe
Diana Mantuana moves to Rome and receives papal permission to print and sell her engravings, becoming the first sanctioned woman engraver.


1575
Europe
Saint Philip Neri founds the Institute of the Oratory in Rome


1575
Europe

Tallis and Byrd Publish CANTIONES SACRAE




1575-1680
Africa
Portuguese take control of the Angolan coast


Mar. 3, 1575
South Asia

Mongol Conquest of Bengal



June 28, 1575
East Asia
Battle of Nagashino


Nov., 1575
Europe

Stephen Báthory Becomes King of Poland



1576
Europe

James Burbage Builds The Theatre



1576-1612
Europe

Reign of Rudolf II



June 7, 1576-July, 1578
Americas

Frobisher’s Voyages



1577
South Asia

Ram Dās Founds Amritsar



1578
East Asia
Battle of Mimigawa


1578
Central Asia

First Dalai Lama Becomes Buddhist Spiritual Leader



1578
Europe
Joseph of Volokolamsk is canonized


1578
Europe
Raphael Holinshed publishes his Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland



1578-1590
Middle East

The Battle for Tabrīz



1578-1603
Africa
Reign of Aḥmad al-Manṣūr


Aug. 4, 1578
Africa

Battle of Ksar el-Kebir



June 17, 1579
Americas

Drake Lands in Northern California



1580’s-1590’s
Europe

Galileo Conducts His Early Experiments



1580
Europe
Formula of Concord


1580
East Asia
Surrender of the Ōsaka Honganji, the last major military stronghold of Pure Land Buddhism


1580-1581
Europe

Spain Annexes Portugal



1580-1587
South Asia

Rebellions in Bihar and Bengal



1580-1595
Europe

Montaigne Publishes His ESSAYS




c. 1580-c. 1600
South Asia

Siamese-Cambodian Wars



1581
Central Asia
Kabul falls to Akbar


1581-1597
Central Asia

Cossacks Seize Sibir



July 26, 1581
Europe

The United Provinces Declare Independence from Spain



1582
Europe

Gregory XIII Reforms the Calendar



1582
East Asia
Battle of Yamakazi


1582
East Asia
Oda Nobunaga commits suicide


1582-1598
East Asia
Toyotomi Hideyoshi completes the unification of Japan


Summer, 1582
Europe
Sir Philip Sidney writes Astrophel and Stella



July 21, 1582
Central Asia

Battle of the Tobol River



1583-1600
Europe

Bruno’s Theory of the Infinite Universe



1583-1610
East Asia

Matteo Ricci Travels to Beijing



1584
Europe
Assassination of William of Orange


1584
Europe
Lavinia Fontina becomes the first woman publicly commissioned to produce a painting


1584-1585
Europe
Siege of Antwerp


1584-1613
Europe and Central Asia

Russia’s Time of Troubles



July 4, 1584-1590
Americas

Lost Colony of Roanoke



July 7, 1585-Dec. 23, 1588
Europe

War of the Three Henrys



Sept. 14, 1585-July 27, 1586
Americas

Drake’s Expedition to the West Indies



c. 1586-1593
Europe
Christopher Marlowe writes his dramas


Feb., 1586
South Asia

Annexation of Kashmir



1587
East Asia

Toyotomi Hideyoshi Hosts a Ten-Day Tea Ceremony



1587
East Asia
Toyotomi Hideyoshi issues an edict prohibiting piracy


1587-1629
Middle East

Reign of ՙAbbās the Great



Feb. 8, 1587
Europe
Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots


Apr., 1587-c. 1600
Europe

Anglo-Spanish War



Oct. 20, 1587
Europe
Battle of Courtras


1588-1602
Europe

Rise of the English Madrigal



July 31-Aug. 8, 1588
Europe

Defeat of the Spanish Armada



Dec. 23, 1588
Europe
Assassination of the third duke of Guise


1589
Europe

Russian Patriarchate Is Established



1589
Middle East

Second Janissary Revolt in Constantinople



c. 1589-1613
Europe

Shakespeare Writes His Dramas



Aug. 2, 1589
Europe

Henry IV Ascends the Throne of France



1590’s
Europe

Birth of Opera



1590
Europe
Edmund Spenser publishes The Faerie Queene



1590
East Asia

Odawara Campaign



Beginning 1590
Europe
Russo-Swedish Wars


Mar. 14, 1590
Europe
Battle of Ivry


1591
Africa

Fall of the Songhai Empire



Beginning 1591
South Asia
Mogul conquest of the Deccan


After 1591
Africa
The Hausa states become a center of trans-Saharan trade in the wake of Songhai’s fall


1592
Africa
Mombasa falls to Portugal and Malindi


1592
East Asia

Publication of Wu Chengen’s THE JOURNEY TO THE WEST




July 8, 1592-July 10, 1592
East Asia
Battle of the Yellow Sea


1592-1599
East Asia

Japan Invades Korea



1593-1606
Europe and Middle East

Ottoman-Austrian War



1594-1595
East Asia

Taikō Kenchi Survey



1594-1600
Europe

King Michael’s Uprising



c. 1595
Europe
Zacharias Janssen produces the first compound microscope


1596
Americas

Ralegh Arrives in Guiana



Oct., 1596-Feb., 1597
East Asia


SAN FELIPE Incident



1597-Sept., 1601
Europe

Tyrone Rebellion



Oct. 31, 1597
Europe

John Dowland Publishes AYRES




1598
Central Asia

Astrakhanid Dynasty Is Established



1598
Americas
Tepic Indian miners revolt against the Spanish


Jan., 1598-Feb., 1599
Americas

Oñate’s New Mexico Expedition



Apr. 13, 1598
Europe

Edict of Nantes



May 2, 1598
Europe

Treaty of Vervins



Aug. 14, 1598
Europe
Battle of Yellow Ford


Dec., 1598-May, 1599
Europe

The Globe Theatre Is Built



1599
Europe

Castrati Sing in the Sistine Chapel Choir



c. 1600
Americas
Spain imports sheep into the American Southwest


1600
Europe

William Gilbert Publishes DE MAGNETE




Oct. 21, 1600
East Asia

Battle of Sekigahara



Dec. 31, 1600
Europe and South Asia

Elizabeth I Charters the East India Company