istoryworld
All Events
Palladio publishes I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura ('The Four Books of Architecture'), which include his influential designs for villas
Pope Pius V excommunicates the English queen, Elizabeth I, causing a severe crisis of loyalty for her Catholic subjects
The Spanish governor general, Legazpi, makes his capital at Manila,and names the surrounding islands the Philippines after Philip II
Akbar builds his new palace of Fatehpur Sikri close to the shrine of a Sufi saint
The Philippines and its governor general are placed under the authority of the Spanish governor of New Spain, ruling from Mexico City
Roberto di Ridolfi, a Florentine banker, coordinates a scheme to win the English throne for Mary Queen of Scots
Galleys are rowed into battle for the last time at Lepanto, ending a fighting career of some 2500 years
Spanish and Venetian galleys defeat the Turks in the battle of Lepanto
John Dee brings back from Lorraine a cartload of special instruments for alchemy, to be installed in his laboratory at Mortlake
A massacre of French Protestants, known as the Huguenots, begins in Paris on St Bartholomew's Day
Luis de Camoëns publishes The Lusiads, the poem which becomes Portugal's national epic
Sea beggars seize the town of Brill and raise the flag of William of Orange (also known as William the Silent)
The tomb in Delhi of the Mughal emperor Humayun introduces the shape of dome which characterizes his dynasty's architecture
William of Orange declares himself a Calvinist and assumes the leadership of the united provinces of the Netherlands
Oda Nobunaga takes power into his own hands, after ruling for a while through the Ashikaga shogun
Venice cedes the island of Cyprus to the Turks, in spite of the Christian victory at Lepanto two years earlier
The city of Alkmaar is saved when the Dutch breach their own dikes, threatening the Spanish troops with death by drowning
The Ottoman empire finally asserts control over the north African coast, in the footsteps of Muslim pirates
Stefan Báthory, prince of Transylvania, is elected king of Poland
The armies of Spain develop a powerful version of the ancient phalanx, which becomes known as the Spanish square
English sailor and slave-trader John Hawkins turns the top-heavy carrack into the more seaworthy galleon
Soft-paste porcelain, in imitation of true porcelain from China, is successfully created for the Medici in Florence
The Pacification of Ghent unites all the provinces of the Netherlands in opposition to Spain
James Burbage builds London's first theatre and calls it the Theatre
Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe builds Uraniborg, on the island of Hven, and makes it the world's leading observatory
