John Cabot reaches Labrador, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland from Bristol. He reports on seeing huge fishing grounds off the cost of Newfoundland and brings back an Eskimo to show his sponsor, Henry VII
Rising in Cornwall
Vasco de Gama sets sail from Lisbon to find a sea route to India round the southern cape of Africa discovered by Diaz in 1487
Vasco de Gama discovers sea route to India as he arrives at Calicut on the Malabar Coast, Columbus' third voyage discovers Trinidad and the Orinoco River, Spanish settle 200 colonists in Hispaniola and bring back 600 Caribs to Spain to be sold into slavery, Louis XII becomes King of France
Vasco de Gama returns to Portugal with pepper, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon, Venice goes to War with Ottoman Empire, Swiss gain notional independence at Peace of Basel, Amerigo Vespucci explores South America
Oxford University institutes degrees in Music for first time, First political cartoons appear in Europe lampooning French-Italian War
1500
Portuguese navigator Gaspar de Corte-Real makes landfall on North America, Columbus is arrested for tyrranical and barbaric rule as governor of Hispaniola, Pedro Cabal reaches India to load up with spices but on his return journey he is blown off course onto Brazil which he claims for Portugal
Music printed with movable type for first time
First recorded Caesarian operation
1501
Henry VII declines invitation from Pope to lead a Crusade against Turks
Joao de Nova discovers St Helena, Vasco de Gama blockades Red Sea and so disrupts Egyptian trade routes and elevates Lisbon's control of spice trade, Amerigo Vespucci makes second voyage to South America but for the Portuguese this time, Gaspar de Corte-Real returns to North America and takes 57 Indians as slaves however his ship sinks on return voyage with the loss of everyone on board, Spanish colonists import slaves from Africa for the first time
Michelangelo carves David
Michelangelo's Works
1502
First voyage of Anglo-Portuguese syndicate to North America by Fernandes on behalf of Henry VII
The Prince of Wales Arthur Tudor dies
Safavid dynasty comes to power in Persia, Queen Isabella expels all Moors who refuse to convert to Christianity, Columbus makes fourth and final voyage to New World discovering St. Lucia, Honduras and Costa Rica, Amerigo Vespucci returns and his account leads to his name being used to describe the New Continent, Montezuma II ascends to the throne of the Aztecs, Vasco de Gama sets up Portuguese colony at Cochin, India
Peter Heinlein constructs the Nuremberg Egg regarded as the first watch
1503
Henry Tudor betrothed to Arthur's widow Catherine of Argaon
Spanish establish a Colonial Office in Madrid to deal with American affairs, The Spanish governor of Hispaniola seeks permssion to begin regular importing of slaves to deal with labour shortage, Venice sign peace treaty with Turks, Zanzibar becomes a Portuguese colony
Mona Lisa started by Leonardo Da Vinci
Nicolaus Copernicus made doctor of canon law at Ferrara, Christopher Columbus observes bouncing ball of rubber for first time
1504
Henry VII places guilds and trade companies under Crown supervision
Columbus returns from his final voyage of exploration, Queen Isabella dies, Treaty of Lyon sees French cede control of Naples to Spanish, Venetians send ambassadors to Sultan of Turkey to propose construction of a canal at Suez to attempt to win back trade lost to the Portuguese
1505
Henry denounces marriage contract with Catherine of Aragon
Ceylon discovered by Portuguese, Portuguese send Francisco de Almeida to India as its first viceroy
Pope Julius II calls Michelangelo to Rome, Raphael's Madonna and Child Enthroned with the Saints
Scipione del Ferro solves a form of cubic equation
1506
Treaty of Windsor
Death of Columbus in relative obscurity, Miccoli Macchiavelli creates first national army in Italy with the Florentine militia
Publication of Alvise Cadamosto's account of his exploration of Gambia as Navigazioni
1508
Claims that Sebastian Cabot explored North America as far as Hudson's Bay whilst searching for North West Passage
Juan Ponce de Lyon explores and colonises Puerto Rico, Portuguese begin colonisation of Mozambique, Portuguese fleet sunk by combined Egyptian and Gujarati fleet
Pope Julius II commissions Michelangelo to paint Sistine Chapel
1509
Henry VII dies and is replaced by Henry VIII
Spanish explorer Alonso de Ojeda explores Columbia, Battle of Diu in Indian Ocean sees Portuguese fleet destroy a Muslim fleet and so seizes control of Spice Trade, France goes to war with Venice, Spanish bishop Bartolome de Las Casas prosposes that each Spanish settler bring their own slaves from Africa rather than attempting to enslave local Indians
Lucas van Leyden's The Temptation of St. Anthony, Alexander Barclay's Ship of Fools
First attempts to restrict right to practice medicine to licensed doctors
Henry VIII has his two of his father's ministers beheaded for misuse of Crown revenues
Afonso de Albuquerque establishes colony at Goa for Portuguese, Explorers sail up to Charleston
Death of Botticelli and Giorgione
Leonardo da Vinci designs horizontal water wheel which becomes the basis of the water turbine
1511
Henry VIII begins reforms of England's Navy
Henry VIII joins Holy League
Pope joins with Venice to drive French out of Italy, Albuquerque captures Malacca and discovers route to Amboina further cementing Portuguese control of Spice Trade, Spanish forces under Diego Velazquez gain control of Cuba, African slaves begin to arrive in Cuba especially as native Carib population is reducing alarmingly quickly upon contact with the Europeans
Titian's Triumph of Christ
Erasmus becomes professor of Greek at Cambridge
1512
English fishermen begin to use Newfoundland fishing grounds, They often go ashore to dry the fish and revictual before returning to England to sell them
English Navy begins to build double deck ships of over 70 guns and 1,000 tons, England goes to War with France (until 1514)
Spanish import more slaves into Hispaniola, The Portuguese abandon Kilwa
Sistine Chapel completed
Copernicus' Commentariolus explains that the earth and the other planets turn around the Sun.
Battle of Flodden sees English defeat Scots, James IV is killed
Vasco de Balboa becomes first European to sight the Pacific Ocean from the Darien Isthmus, Portuguese explorer Jorge Alvarez reaches Canton in China, Portuguese discover Reunion and Mauritius, Portuguese establish factory at Calicut
The Corporation of Trinity House founded in London to help provide navigational help for ships entering and leaving the River Thames in anticipation of increased trade
Louis XII marries Henry's sister Mary Tudor confirming Anglo-French truce
Pope Leo X claims 'Not only the Christian religion but nature cries out against slavery and the slave trade', 1,500 Spanish settlers arrive in Panama, Santiago founded by Diego de Velazquez de Cuellar, The Pineapple arrives in Europe for first time,
Margaret Tudor Queen regent of Scotland flees to England, Anglo-French Peace Treaty signed, Thomas Wolsey appointed Cardinal and Lord Chancellor of England
Portuguese Afonso de Albuquerque takes Hormuz at the entrance of the Persian Gulf however on his return to Goa he discovers that he has been dismissed, Spanish found Havana, Spanish explorer Juan de Solis discovers the Plate Estuary, Spanish explorer Juan de Bermudez discovers Bermuda, Death of Louis XII of France who is replaced by Francis I, French defeat Swiss and Venetians at Maiganano before concluding peace treaty
Lateran Council forbids the printing of any books without the permission of the Catholic Church, Raphael appointed the Architect in Chief of St Peter's Rome, Erasmus' Education of a Christian Prince
1516
Princess Mary born to Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon
First Sugar from New World is brought to Carlos I of Spain from Hispaniola, Indigo arrives in Europe for first time, Castilian Regent Jiminez forbids the importation of slaves into the colonies of Spain but King Carlos I ruling from Flanders continues to issue licences allowing the importation of slaves into the colonies, Ottomans defeat Egyptian Mamelukes at Battle of Marjdabik
Peter Martyr's Decades about the discoveries of the New World
1517
Evil May Day Riots in London sees 60 rioters hanged
Martin Luther posts 95 theses on door at Wittenberg, Portuguese found a factory at Columbo in Ceylon, Ottomans take Cairo, Coffee arrives in Europe for first time, Archduke Charles grants monopoly on slave trade to Florentine merchants, Spanish explorer Francisco de Cordoba discovers traces of Mayan civilisation in the Yucatan
Flemish composer Heinrich Isaac dies, Seville Cathedral completed
1518
Peace of London between England, France, Emperor Maximilian I, Pope and Spain devised by Cardinal Wolsey
Martin Luther summoned to Diet of Augsburg but refuses to recant, Spanish import slaves to Hispaniola to cultivate Sugar Cane, Spanish explorer Juan de Grijalva explores coast of Yucatan and Mexico, Barbary States of Algiers and Tunis founded
Titian's Bacchanal, Porcelain arrives in Europe from Asia
Spectacles for the shortsighted are introduced, Royal College of Physicians in London is founded, Adam Riese publishes his first book on practical arithmetic
1519
Ferdinand Magellan Portuguese navigator in service of Spain sets off to become the first to Circumnavigate the globe, Cortes brings Arabian horses from Spain to North American continent, Cortes takes Montezuma II prisoner and controls Aztec Empire through him, Spanish explorer Domenico de Pineda explores Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Vera Cruz
Henry meets Francois I at Calais at Field of Cloth of Gold, Henry VIII signs commercial treaty with French, Charles V Holy Roman Emperor visits Henry at Dover
Martin Luther excommunicated by Pope Leo X, Denmark invades Sweden, Ferdinand Magellan negotiates Straits of Magellan and enters the South Sea which he renames Pacific Ocean, Portuguese traders settle in China, Beginning of Anabaptist movement in Germany
Henry VIII writes The Golden Book refuting Luther, Duke of Buckingham executed by Henry VIII
Diet of Wurms orders Luther to recant but he refuses, Ferdinand Magellan killed at Philippines, Belgrade falls to Ottomans, Tenochtitlan conquered by Cortes who kills Montezuma also, Francisco de Gordillo explores American Atlantic coastline up to South Carolina
Bible translated into German
Manufacture of silk introduced to France
1522
Henry VIII joins war against French
Portuguese expelled from China blamed for increase in piracy, Slave Revolt in Hispaniola, Holy Roman Empire drives French out of Milan, Remnants of Magellan's expedition returns to Seville, Pascuel de Andagoya leads overland expedition from Panama to discover Peru, Francisco Montano climbs Mount Popocatepetl in Mexico, Spaniard force arrives in Guatemala, Turks take Rhodes from Knights of St John
First Marine Insurance policies issued in Florence, Jamaica settlement founded by Spanish, Zwingli publishes 67 articles attacking Pope and transubstantiation, Two of Luther's followers burnt alive at Brussels
Treaty of Malmo confirms Swedish independence from Denmark, Giovanni de Verrazano discovers New York Bay and Hudson River, Protestant Princes in Germany meet at Ulm to defy Catholic Emperor Charles, Portuguese establish base at Aden, Spaniard Pedro de Alvarado conquers Mayans in Guatemala
Death of Holbein the Elder
Petrus Apianus' Cosmographia the first textbook on theoretical geography
1525
Hops brought to England for first time from Artois, Peace between France and England
First use of muskets at Pavia by Spanish as they help Germans defeat French and Swiss, Moghuls invade Punjab, Albert von Brandenburg assumes title Duke of Prussia
Titian's Vanitas
Durer compiles first German manual on Geometry
1526
Anglo-Scottish peace treaty signed
Battle of Mohacs sees Hungarians defeated by Turks, Congolese King complains to Portuguese that their merchants are taking his subjects to sell as slaves in Brazil, Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro explores Gulf of Guayaquil where he is greeted by Incas as an incarnation of a previous king of theirs, Battle of Panipat sees Moghuls defeat Lord of Delhi and take Agra, Portuguese vessels visit New Guinea for first time
Holbein the Younger visits England for first time
1527
Sir Hugh Willoughby searches for a North East Passage through the Arctic Ocean, John Rut searches for North West Passage
Henry VIII requests for dispensation to divorce Catherine of Aragon
Sebastian Cabot explores Plate Estuary and builds fortifications of Santa Espirtu in Paraguay, Rome sacked by Holy Roman Emperor
Holbein's Sir Thomas More
Paracelsus lectures on medicine at University of Basel
1528
John Rut returns from Americas having explored the East Coast extensively but failing to find the longed for route to the Orient
Riots in Kent as weavers protest against Wolsey's policy of changing principle wool trading port from Antwerp to Calais, Reformation arrives in Scotland, outbreaks of plague
Paris becomes capital of France, Mombasa rebels against Portuguese rule, Giovanni Verrazzano killed by natives whilst on an expedition in Brazil, Augsberg banker Bartholomaus Welser gains permission to colonise Brazil, Siege of Naples
Francisco Pizarro granted Governor for Life of Peru, Venezuela and Colombia explored and settled by Welser of Augsburg, Ottomans conquer Algeria, Peace of Cambrai between France and Holy Roman Empire joined by England, Ottomans advance towards Vienna
Altdorfer's Battle of Issus
Giovanni Battista da Monte re-introduces concept of clinical examinations of patients at Padua
1530
Knights Hospitaller (Order of St John) settle in Malta, Antwerp exchange founded
Regnier Gemma Frisius suggests that longitude could be calculated by means of differences in times, Agricola's De re metallica treatise on minerology, Peter Martyr's Decades de orbe novo on the discoveries of the New World
Henry VIII recognised as Supreme Head of Church of England
Nicolas Villegagnon discovers the site of Rio de Janeiro, Francisco Pizarro marches from Panama to Peru with 300 conquistadors in order to conquer Inca Empire, Major Earthquake in Lisbon
Parmigianino's Cupid Carving His Bow
The Great Comet (later called Halley's) arouses waves of panic and concern
1532
Sugar Cane cultivated in Brazil, John Calvin brings Reformation to France, Charles X settles his Holy Roman Empire in Madrid, Pizarro seizes Inca King and paralyses Inca state
Holbein the Younger settles in England, Macchiavelli's The Prince published for first time (written in 1513)
1533
Henry VIII marries Anne Boleyn
Pizarro has Inca king executed by strangling, Pizarro enters Cuzco
Holbein's The Ambassadors
First use of Lunatic Asylums
1534
Kildare Rebellion
Henry VIII breaks with Rome through Act of Supremacy
Jacques Cartier sets sail for France to discover new route to Cathay, Cartier discovers Gulf of St. Lawrence, Jesuit Order founded
After finishing Tomb of the Medici Michelangelo moves from Florence to Rome
Sir Thomas More executed for failing to take the oath of the king's supremacy, London Exchange founded
Diego de Almagro heads south from Peru to explore Chile (until 1537), Charles V conquers Tunis and frees 20,000 Christian slaves, Jacques Cartier returns to St. Lawrence to site of Montreal but is frozen in for the winter
Holbein's King Henry VIII Portrait, MIles Coverdale's First English Bible
Diving Bell used for first time
1536
Dissolution of monasteries begin, Anne Boleyn executed, Henry marries Jane Seymour, Pilgramage of Grace risings
Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires and searches for additional routes to Peru, Cortes discovers Lower California
Holbein the Younger made court painter to Henry VIII
India rubber mentioned for the first time
1537
Death of Jane Seymour, Pilgramage of Grace rising put down
Papal Bull of Paul III prohibits enslavement of New World Indians, Gustavus of Sweden ends the Hanseatic League's Baltic monopoly
Niccolo Fontana intiates the science of ballistics
1538
Pope calls on all Christians to attack and destroy the English king
Destruction of relics and shrines
Ottomans take Yemen and Aden, Bogota founded by Gonzalo Jimenez de Queseda, Holy League goes to war with Ottomans
Titiian's The Venus of Urbino
Mercator uses North America on his map for first time
1539
English begin coastal fort construction project as France and Holy Roman Empire form anti-English League
Marriage treaty for Henry VIII to marry Anne of Cleves
Hernando de Soto explores Florida, Marcos de Niza explores Arizona and New Mexico, Potatoes arrive in Spain from Quito
First Christmas Tree at Strasbourg Cathedral
Ambroise Pare pioneers manufacture of artificial limbs, Olaus Magnus' Map of the World
1540
Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, Marriage declared null and void, Thomas Cromwell executed, Henry VIII marries Katherine Howard
Potato introduced to France, Pope Paul III recognises Jesuit Order, Hernando Cortes returns to Spain, Spanish explorer Hernando de Alarcon discovers River Colorado, Lopez de Cardenas discovers Grand Canyon, Dutch sailor Jon Greenlander lands in Greenland and discovers last Norse colonist lying dead outside his hut with a dagger in his hand, Treaty between Turkey and Venice
Ether produced from alcohol and Sulphuric Acid, Michael Servetus discovers pulmonary circulation of the blood
1541
Henry VIII declares himself as King of Ireland and Head of the Irish Church
John Knox leads Calvinist Reformation in Scotland
Francisco de Orellana descends the Amazon River, Portuguese send troops to Ethiopia under Christopher de Gama to expel Somalis, Jacques Cartier makes third expedition to Quebec, Catholic missionary Francis X sails from Lisbon to Orient stopping at Mozambique, Malindi and Socotra, Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago in Chile, Francisco Pizarro completes conquest of Peru but is assassinated, Coronado's expedition from New Mexico to Texas, Oklahoma and then Kansas, Hernando de Soto discovers Mississippi River
Henry VIII has Katherine Howard executed, Battle of Solway Moss sees Henry VIII defeat James V, Mary Queen of Scots comes to the throne of Scotland
Spanish settler travel 600 miles inland from Brazilian Coast to settle at Asuncion, Hernando de Soto dies on banks of Mississippi, Pople Paul III initiates Universal Inquisition in an attempt to halt the spread of the Protestant Reformation, Gonzalo Pizarro reaches mouth of Amazon River, Francis Xavier arrives in Goa
Andreas Vesalius' De Fabrica on modern anatomy
1543
Henry VIII marries Catherine Parr, England goes to war with France (until 1545)
First Portuguese arrive in Japan when a Chinese ship they were travelling on was ship wrecked
Death of Holbein the Younger
Death of Nicolaus Copernicus, Spanish navigator submits a design for a steamboat
1544
English capture Boulougne and menace Paris
Silver mines discovered at Potosi in Peru, Treaty of Crespy-en-Valois ends war between Holy Roman Empire and France
Master John's Mary I
Georg Agricola initiates the study of physical geology, Sebastian Munster's Cosmographia, Michael Stifel's Arithmetica Integra
1545
Mary Rose sinks in Solent as French fleet attempts to challenge English naval power in the Channel
Council of Trent instigates reforms in Catholic Church but also escalates hostility to Protestant teachings, Mughal Emperor Humayun takes Kandahar, Charles V makes truce with Turks
John Tavener dies
First European botanical garden established in Padua, Geronimo Cardano works out Scipione del Ferro's equations of the third and fourth degree
1546
Peace of Ardres ends war between England and France
Mayans rise up against Spanish but are defeated, Portuguese troops in Diu in India rout a Gujarati army, Martin Luther dies, Attempts to discover El Dorado in Venezuela are suspended
Michelangelo designs the dome and undertakes the completion of St Peter's Basilica in Rome
Gerardus Mercator states that the earth has a magnetic pole, Valerius Cordus' Dispensatorium
1547
Sebastian Cabot returns to the employ of the English bringing valuable information on the Spanish and Portuguese explorations with him
Death of Henry VIII who is replaced by Edward VI, Scottish royalists besiege St. Andrews Castle to capture John Knox and send him into exile
Death of Francis I of France who is replaced by Henry II
Guinea pepper plant grown in England for first time, Mary Queen of Scots departs for France
Battle of Xaquixaguane in Peru sees Gonzalo Pizzaro defeated by Pedro de la Gasca and executed, Turks occupy Tabriz in Persia, Silver mines of Zaatecar in Mexico opened up by Spanish
Sir Thomas Gresham founds seven professorships in London
1549
Thomas Seymour is executed
The Portuguese Governor of Brazil Thome de Souza founds Sao Salvador, Jesuit Missionaries arrive in South America
Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer
1550
Leix and Offaly Plantations in Ireland
John Knox is released from slave galley by English, Treaty of Boulogne between France and England, English troops withdraw from Scotland, Sir William Cecil becomes Secretary of State, First recorded game of cricket
Inflation affects Europe as silver from South America begins to arrive in large quantities
Michelangelo's The Deposition
Rhaeticus publishes his trignometric tables
1551
Thomas Wyndham sails to Guinea
First licensing of alehouses and taverns in England and Wales
Turks fail to capture Malta from Knights of St. John but go on to capture Tripoli, Henri II of France disavows Council of Trent and declares war on Charles V, Francis Xavier leaves Japan after converting 150 people to Christianity
Palestrina made director of music at St. Peter's in Rome
Konrad von Gesner's Historiae Animalium
1552
Thomas Wyndham brings back sugar and molasses from Guinea
Duke of Somerset the former Lord Protector of England is executed
Portuguese ship Sao Joao runs aground at Natal only 25 of the 600 make it to Sofola, Francis Xavier dies at Canton, Ivan IV begins conquests of Kazan and Astrakhan and turning the Volga into a Russian possession
Titian's Self Portrait
Bartolommeo Eustachio's Tabulae anatomicaen detailing the Eustachian tube and valve
1553
Richard Chancellor reaches Moscow by way of White Sea after attempt to find route to Cathay via a North East Passage comes to grief in the Arctic Ocean, Thomas Wyndham journeys to Benin
Edward VI dies and is replaced by Mary, Lady Jane Grey had been claimed as Queen before being replaced by Mary
Sultan Suleiman of Turkey makes peace with Persia
Titian's Danae
Camera Obscura is improved by Giambattista della Porta who adds a convex lens
1554
John Locke's voyage to Guinea
Queen Mary marries Philip of Spain, Lady Jane Grey executed, Princess Elizabeth sent to Tower of London
France invades Netherlands
Trinity College Oxford founded, Titian's Venus and Adonis, Palestrina's first Book of Masses
1555
Queen Mary officially restores Catholicism as state religion of England, Beginning of persecution of Protestants including Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley
Japanese pirates besiege Nanjing, Pope Paul IV orders that Rome's Jewish quarter be walled creating a Ghetto, French colony established in Bay of Rio de Jaineiro
Michelangelo's Pieta
Tobacco brought for the first time to Spain from the Americas
1556
Thomas Cranmer burned at the stake
Charles V abdicates the throne of Spain to his son Philip and the Holy Roman Empire to his brother Ferdinand
Suleiman's Mosque in Constantinople is completed
1557
Mary Tudor declares war on France in support of her Spanish husband
Portuguese found Sao Paulo, Portuguese found Macao, Start of Livonian War, Both Spain and France suffer financial problems
1558
England loses Calais its last possession on mainland Europe, John Dee becomes technical adviser to Muscovy Company
Mary Queen of Scots marries Dauphin of France, Mary I dies and replaced by Elizabeth
An Alliance of native Indians destroys Spanish colonial settlements in Chile, A smallpox epidemic in Brazil severely reduces population of Portuguese colonies leading to an increase in demand for African slaves, Francis II of France dies and repaced by Charles IX, Conspiracy of Amboise, Turkish fleet defeats Spanish one off Tripoli, Madrid becomes capital of Spain
Palladio completes Villa Foscari
First Scientific Society founded at Naples by Giambattista della Porta
1561
Anthony Jenkinson of the English Muscovy Company reaches Isfahan through Russia and attempts to initiate trade with Persia
Mary Queen of Scots returns to Scotland from France
Edict of Orleans halts persecution of Huguenots in France
Michelangelo's St. Maria degli Angeli in Rome
Gabriele Fallopius' Observationes anatomicae
1562
John Hawkins begins first expedition to trade slaves between West Africa and the New World, Shane O'Neill rebellion begins in Ireland
English troops occupy Le Havre
Massacre of French Huguenots at Vassy initiating new round of Civil Wars, French Huguenot attempt to colonise Florida
Titian's The Rape of Europa
Pierre Franco performs bladder and cataract operations
Peace of Amboise ends first War of Religion in France
John Foxe's Book of Martyrs
Ambroise Pare'sCinq Livres de Chirurgie
1564
English Merchant Adventurers granted Royal Charter, John Hawkins leaves on second voyage to the New World, Spanish closed Antwerp and prevented it from trading with England
Peace of Troye ends war between England and France
Spanish occupy Philippines and build Manila
Death of Michelangelo
Death of Andreas Vesalius
1565
John Hawkins introduces tobacco and Sweet Potatoes to England
Mary Queen of Scots marries Lord Darnley
Portuguese colony of Rio de Janeiro is founded, Ottoman's besiege Malta
Palladio's S. Giorgia Maggaiore in Venice, Titian'sThe Death of Actaeon
Royal College of Physicians allowed to carry out human dissections
Mary Queen of Scots flees to England where she is imprisoned
Treaty of Longjumeau ends Second Wars of Religion in France
Pieter Brueghel's The Peasant Dance
Costanzo Varolio studies anatomy of the human brain, Gerardus Mercator devises cylindrical projection for charts
1569
Return of Francis Drake and John Hawkins after defeat at San Juan de Ulua, Desmond Rebellion (until 1573)
Rebellion in Northern England
Mughals defeat Rajput power in India, Ottoman's attack Astrakhan but fail with heavy losses, Poland united with Lithuania with the Union of Lublin
Death of Pieter Bruegel
Mercator publishes his World Map projection with lines of longitude and latitude drawn as straight lines
1570
Indian tribes of north-east America form the Iroquois Confederation
Papal Bull against heretic Elizabeth encouraging Catholics to 'deprive her of her throne', Earl of Moray assassinated succeeded as Regent of Scotland by Earl of Lennox
Peace of St Germain-en-Laye ends third civil war in France with Huguenots gaining amnesty, Japanese open Nagasaki to trade with Portuguese, Turks sack Nicosia in Cyprus, Turks declare war on Venice, Peace of Stettin recognises Swedish independence from Denmark, Ivan the Terrible beings reign of Terror as he enters Novgorod
Palladio's Four Books on Architecture
Abraham Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum the first modern atlas with 53 detailed maps
Earl of Lennos is killed and replaced as Regent of Scotland by Earl of Mar
Crimean Tartars sack Moscow, Spanish move administrative centre of Philippines from Cebu to Manila, Battle of Lepanto sees Ottoman Fleet defeated by Maritime League (Venice, Genoa, Malta and Spain)
Titian's Christ Crowned with Thorns
1572
Francis Drake beings attacks on Spanish possessions in the New World
Earl of Northumberland executed for treason, Earl Mar dies and replaced as Regent of Scotland by Earl of Morton
St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France as Catholics slaughter Huguenots, Dutch War of Independence begins, Conquistadors capture Vilcabamba the last Inca stronghold and execute last Inca Sun King
William Byrd and Thomas Tallis organists at the Chapel Royal, Thomas Tallis' Spem in alium
Tycho Brahe discovers the 'New Star' in the Milky Way
1573
Francis Drake sees Pacific Ocean from Panama Isthmus before raiding Nombre de Dios and seizing Spanish gold and silver
Sir Francis Walsingham becomes Secretary of State
Peace of Constantinople ends war between Turks and Venice, Spanish capture Haarlem
Charles IX dies and is replaced by Henry III, Spain loses Tunis to Turks, Juan Fernandez discovers islands in the Pacific Ocean which are named after him
Longleat House completed
Conrad Dasypodius builds Strasbourg Clock
1575
Freedom from arrest is granted to Members of Parliament and their servants
Luanda is founded by Portuguese in Angola, Moghuls capture Bengal, Fighting in Netherlands and Lowlands
El Greco arrives in Spain from Crete, William Byrd and Thomas Tallis' Cantiones Sacrae
Tycho Brahe builds observatory at Uraniborg, First European imitations of Chinese porcelain constructed in Venice and Florence
1576
Martin Frobisher discovers Frobisher Bay and Baffin Island whilst searching for the North-West Passage
Peace of Chastenoy ends fifth War of Religion in France, Spanish forces on rampage in Antwerp, Congress of Ghent
Death of Titian
Francois Viete introduces decimal fractions, Robert Norman discovers magnetic 'dip' or 'variation', Clusius' Flowers of Spain and Portugal which helps create modern botany
1577
Francis Drake starts Circumnavigation of the World (completed in 1580)
Henry of Navarre recognised as Huguenot champion, Peace of Bergerac ends Sixth War of Religion
Palestrina is told to restore the purity of Gregorian Chant in church music
Levant Trading Company founded in London for trading with Ottoman Empire, Francis Drake passes through Straits of Magellan and enters Pacific Ocean, Elizabeth grants Humphrey Gilbert permission to take and colonise 'all remote and heathen lands not in the actual possession of any Christian Prince', Martin Frobisher returns from Canada without discovering North-West Passage
James VI takes over as King of Scotland from his regents
Otomo Yoshishige becomes first Japanese Lord to convert to Christianity, Portuguese sign peace treaty with Munhumutapa kingdom in the south Zambesi basin, King of Portugal is killed fighting Moors in North Africa
Catacombs of Rome discovered
1579
Second Desmond Rebellion (until 1583), The Eastland Company or North Sea Company was formed to trade with Scandanavia and the Baltic, Father Thomas Stephens becomes first English person to settle in India in Goa
Mughals conquer Afghanistan, Russia begins its conquest of Siberia
First known appearance of 'Greensleeves'
Gallileo discovers isochronous property of the pendulum, William Borough's Discourse on the Variation of the Compass or Magneticall Needle
1582
James VI kidnapped by Protestant nobles
Mughal Emperor Akbar seeks toleration between major religions of Indian sub-continent, Portuguese Matteo Ricci begins intensive study of Chinese language and culture at Macao, Japanese Christian delegation travels to Rome to seek an audience with Pope
Richard Hakluyt's Divers Voyages Touching the Discovery of America and the Islands Adjacent
Urbain Hemand investigates the anatomy of teeth
1583
Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland whilst searching for the North-West Passage, He dies on return voyage, Expedition to Mesopotamia, India and Persian Gulf led by Ralph Fitch and John Eldred
First life insurance policies in England, Throgmorton plot for Spanish invasion of England
Andre Cesalpino's De Plantis the first modern classification of plants
1584
Walter Raleigh despatches a reconnoitering expedition to North America as a precursor to sending English colonists to Virginia, they bring back two American Indians to the Court of Elizabeth
William of Orange assassinated on the orders of Philip II, Dutch trading post founded at Archangel in Russia
1585
Roanoke Colony founded, , Ralph Lane discovers Chesapeake Bay, The Primrose affair sees English vessels in Spanish ports attacked and seized, Francis Drake leads expedition to Caribbean, John Davis discovers the Davis Strait whilst searching for a North-West Passage
Elizabeth decides to send an army to help the Dutch in their war against the Spanish
Another Religious war breaks out in an attempt to stop Henry of Navarre becoming the King of France
Death of Thomas Tallis
Jamaican Ginger is the first Oriental spice to be grown in the New World and then successfully imported into Europe, Simon Stevin's La Disme which uses decimal fractions and the law of equilibrium, Bartholomew Newsam constructs first English travelling and standing clocks, Lucas Janszoon Waghearen's Spiegel der Zeevaart detailing sailing directions and techniques, Potatoes appear in England for first time
1586
Francis Drake attacks Santa Domingo, Drake stops off at Roanoke and brings back most of the colonists including Ralph Lane, Thomas Cavendish begins his Circumnavigation of the World (until 1588)
Babington Plot
Widespread fighting in Low Countries, Mughals annex Kashmir, Pope agrees financial aid to Spanish to help send an Armada against England
John White leads second attempt at establishing a colony at Roanoke, First English child born Virginia Dare at Roanoke Colony, John White returns to England leaving colonists in place
Mary Queen of Scots executed by Elizabeth, Francis Drake attacks Cadiz
Emperor Hideyoshi banishes Portuguese missionaries from Japan, Pope Sixtus V proclaims Catholic Crusade for an invasion of England
Russian Orthodox Church splits from Constantinople Patriarchy creating new Russian Patriarchate, Henry III of France killed replaced by Henry IV, Forks used for the first time in Eurorpe at the French Court
Emperor of Morroco takes Timbuktu, Persians and Turks end war, Civil War in France
Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene, El Greco's St. Jerome
Galileo's De Motu describing experiments on dropping of various bodies
1591
James Lancaster leaves Plymouth on first voyage to East Indies, Ralph Fitch returns from eight year overland journey through the Middle East and India
Brazil is closed to all immigration accept from Portugal
William Shakespeare's Henry VI
Francois Viete's In artem analyticum isagoge on using letters for algebraic quantities
1592
James Lancaster rounds Malay peninsula, Elizabeth supplies Sultan of Morroco with arms to attack Songhai Empire in Africa
Portuguese settle in Mombasa, Spanish navigator Juan de Fuca explores the Pacific Coast of North America, Japanese invade Korea, Mughals take Sindh
Tintoretto's The Last Supper
Ruins of Pompeii discovered, Galileo's Della Scienza Mechanica explaining the problems of raising weights
1593
Coal mining becomes increasingly popular as firewood becomes scarce
Henry IV becomes a Catholic, Chinese forces enter Korea to repel Japanese, Spanish Franciscans arrive in Japan
Shakespeare's Richard III
Giambattista della Porta describes binocular vision
1594
James Lancaster loads up with Spices in India challenging the Portuguese monopoly on trade there, Lisbon closes its spice market to English traders as a consequence, Death of Martin Frobisher, Sir Richard Hawkins sails around Cape Horn and plunders Valparaiso before being taken prisoner at San Maeto Bay
Mughals take Kandahar, Edict of St. Germain-en-Laye grants freedom of worship to Huguenots
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Christopher Marlowe's Dido
Galileo's Golden Rule
1595
Walter Raleigh explores Orinoco River in South America whilst searching for El Dorado, O'Neill Rebellion (until 1601), Francis Drake and John Hawkins' final expedition to the Caribbean and Panama, Death of John Hawkins at Puerto Rico
Spanish land force in Cornwall to attack Penzance and Mousehole
Dutch begin sending out ships to challenge Portuguese control of the spice trade
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
Mercator's Atlas published posthumously
1596
Death of Francis Drake off Panama, Pacification of Ireland intensifies
English sack Cadiz, Tomatoes arrive in England, England and Netherlands make alliance with France against Spanish
William Barents discovers Spitzbergen and Barents Sea, Spanish capture Calais, Peace between China and Japan
Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice
Galileo invents Thermometer, Ludolph von Ceulen calculates ratio of the diameter to the circumference of a circle to twenty places
1597
Death of Francis Drake off Panama, English Act of Parliament prescribes sentences of transportation to colonies for convicted criminals for first time, English merchants expelled from Holy Roman Empire, Robert Devereux sails to Azores to capture Spanish treasure fleet but fails
Second Spanish Armada scattered by storms
Dutch arrive at Batavia, William Barents dies in Arctic Ocean whilst searcing for North-East Passage, 26 Japanese Christians crucified
Dutch take Mauritius, France and Spain end war, Philip II dies and succeeded by Philip III
Shakespeare's Henry V
Carlo Ruini writes manual on Veterinary Science, Tycho Brahe's Astronomia Instaurata, Korean Admiral Yisunsin clads ships in iron, Spain and Netherlands offer large prizes for anyone who can show a reliable way of calculating Longitude
1599
Earl of Essex lands in Ireland with 17,000 troops but is defeated at Arklow
Elizabeth sends organ to Sultan of Turkey, She has Essex arrested when he leaves Ireland without permission
Dutch fleet of eight ships arrives at Malacca, Dutch set up trading posts at Banda, Amboina and Ternate
