istoryworld
All Events
Francis Drake sails from Plymouth, heading west for the Pacific and the East Indies
Domenikos Theotokopoulos moves to Spain, where he becomes known as El Greco
Francis Drake seizes a Spanish vessel laden with gold and silver in the Pacific, formerly a safe area for Spain
The Union of Arras and the Union of Utrecht split the Netherlands into Catholic and Protestant camps
Queen Elizabeth buys the lease of Barn Elms for her spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham
Five tribal troups form a League of Five Nations, commonly known as the Iroquois League or Confederacy, against their common enemy the Huron
A Spanish army marches into Portugal to claim the crown for the king of Spain, Philip II
The first Jesuit missionaries arrive in England, with Edmund Campion among their number
Francis Drake returns to England after his three-year voyage round the world and is knighted by Queen Elizabeth on board his Golden Hind
French author Michel de Montaigne, in his library tower, produces Europe's first volume of essays – published in this year under the simple title Essais
William Chamberlen invents the obstetrical forceps
In the Oath of Abjuration the northern provinces of the Netherlands formally reject the rule of the Spanish king, Philip II
The first dramatic ballet, the Balet Comique de la Reine, is presented during French wedding festivities
Tasso, in Gerusalemme Liberata ('Jerusalem Liberated'), turns the first crusade into a romantic epic
Finland is granted the status of a separate grand duchy within the realm of Sweden
The new and more accurate Gregorian calendar is introduced by Gregory XIII in the papal states
The 18-year-old William Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway in Stratford-upon-Avon
The Jesuit Matteo Ricci arrives in China, and becomes the first western student of Chinese civilization
Humphrey Gilbert claims Newfoundland on behalf of England's queen Elizabeth
John Dee sets off for six years of travel in Europe, during which his laboratory and library in Mortlake is plundered by former associates and rivals
Two English ships, sent on reconnaissance by Walter Raleigh, reach Roanake Island off the coast of North Carolina
The local tribe of Indians, the Secotan, welcome the English visitors, offering them a profusion of meat, fish, fruit and vegetables in return for hatchets and axes
England's queen Elizabeth sends 6000 troops to support the Dutch rebels against Spain
Catholics are now the martyrs in England, their numbers almost matching the Protestant martyrs of the previous reign
Roanoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina, is settled by the first English colonists in America – with disastrous results
