As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century lasted from 1501 through 1600.
Events
1500–1509
1510s
- 1511: Alfonso de Albuquerque of Portugal conquers Malacca, the capital of the Sultanate of Malacca.
- 1512: Copernicus writes Commentariolus, and moves the sun to the center of the solar system.
- 1512: The southern part (historical core) of the Kingdom of Navarre is invaded by Castile and Aragon.
- 1513: Machiavelli writes The Prince a novel about political philosophy
- 1513: The Portuguese mariner Jorge Álvares lands at Macau, China, during the Ming Dynasty.
- 1513: Henry VIII crush the French at the Battle of the Spurs.
- 1513: The Battle of Flodden Field in which invading Scots are defeated by Henry VIII's forces.
- 1513: Sultan Selim I ("The Grim") orders the massacre of Shia Muslims in Anatolia.
- 1514: The Battle of Orsha halts Muscovy's expansion into Eastern Europe.
- 1515: The Ottoman Empire wrests Eastern Anatolia from the Safavids after the Battle of Chaldiran.
- 1516-17: The Ottomans defeat the Mamluks and gain control of Egypt, Arabia, and the Levant.
- 1517: The Protestant Reformation begins when Martin Luther posts his 95 Theses in Saxony.
- 1518: Mir Chakar Khan Rind leaves Baluchistan and settled in Punjab.
- 1519: Leonardo da Vinci dies of natural causes at May 2.
- 1519: Wang Yangming, the Chinese philosopher and governor of Jiangxi province, describes his intent to use the fire power of the fo-lang-ji, a breech-loading Portuguese culverin, in order to suppress the rebellion of Prince Zhu Chen-hao.
- 1519: Barbary pirates led by Hayreddin Barbarossa raid Provence and Toulon in southern France.
- 1519: Charles I of Spain becomes Emperor of Holy Roman Empire as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (ruled until 1556).
- 1519-22: Spanish expedition commanded by Magellan and Elcano first to circle Earth
- 1519-21: Hernán Cortés leads the Spanish conquest of Mexico.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain.
1520s
1530s
1540s
1550s
- 1550: Mongols led by Altan Khan invade China and besiege Beijing.
- 1550-1551: Valladolid debate concerning the existence of souls in Amerindians
- 1551: Fifth outbreak of sweating sickness in England. John Caius of Shrewsbury writes the first full contemporary account of the symptoms of the disease.
- 1551: North African pirates enslave the entire population of the Maltese island Gozo, between 5,000 and 6,000, sending them to Libya.
- 1552: Russia conquers the Khanate of Kazan.
- 1553: Portuguese found a settlement at Macau.
- 1555: The Muscovy Company is the first major English joint stock trading company.
- 1556: Publication in Venice 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 Indian village Hochelaga. See [1]
- 1556: The Shaanxi Earthquake in China is history's deadliest known earthquake.
- 1556: Georgius Agricola, the "Father of Mineralogy", publishes his De re metallica.
- 1556: Akbar the Great defeats the Sultan of Bengal at the Second battle of Panipat
- 1556: Russia conquers the Astrakhan Khanate.
- 1556-1605: During his reign, Akbar expands the Mughal Empire in a series of conquests.
- 1556: Mir Chakar Khan Rind captured Delhi with Emperor Humayun.
- 1556: Pomponio Algerio, radical theologian, is executed by boiling in oil as part of the Roman inquisition.
- 1557: The Portuguese settle in Macau.
- 1557: Spain became the first sovereign nation in history to declare bankruptcy. Philip II of Spain had to declare four state bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1575 and 1596.
- 1558-1603: The Elizabethan era is considered the height of the English Renaissance.
- 1558-83: 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.
1560s
1570s
- 1570: Ivan the Terrible orders to massacre inhabitants of Novgorod.
- 1571: Pope Pius V completes the Holy League as a united front against the Ottoman Turks.
- 1571: The Holy League defeats a force of Ottoman galleys in the Battle of Lepanto.
- 1571: Crimean Tatars attack and sack Moscow, burning everything but the Kremlin.
- 1571: Spanish missionaries are murdered by Indians at the later Jamestown Settlement, Virginia.
- 1572: Brielle is taken from Habsburg Spain by Protestant Watergeuzen in the Capture of Brielle, in the Eighty Years' War.
- 1572: Spanish conquistadores apprehend the last Inca leader Tupak Amaru at Vilcabamba, Peru, and execute him in Cuzco.
- 1572: Catherine de' Medici instigates the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre which takes the lives of Protestant leader Gaspard de Coligny and thousands of Huguenots. The violence spreads from Paris to other cities and the countryside.
- 1573: After heavy losses on both sidee the Siege of Haarlem ends in a Spanish victory.
- 1574: in the Eighty Years' War the capital of Zeeland, Middelburg declares for the Protestans.
- 1574: After a siege of 4 months the Siege of Leiden ends in a comprehensive Dutch victory.
- 1575: Oda Nobunaga finally captures Nagashima fortress.
- 1576: Sack of Antwerp by badly paid Spanish soldiers.
- 1577-80: Francis Drake circles the World.
- 1578: King Sebastian of Portugal is killed at the Battle of Alcazarquivir.
- 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
- 1580: Drake's royal reception after his attacks on Spanish possessions, influences Philip II of Spain to build up the Spanish Armada. English ships in Spanish harbours are impounded.
- 1580: Spain unifies with Portugal under Philip II. The struggle for the throne of Portugal ends the Portuguese Empire. The Spanish and Portuguese crowns are united for 60 years, i.e. until 1640.
1580s
1590s
Significant people
- Henry VII of England, founder of the Tudor dynasty. Introduced ruthlessly efficient mechanisms of taxation which restored the kingdom after a state of virtual bankruptcy due to the effects of the Wars of the Roses (1457 - 1509).
- Zygmunt I the Old, King of Poland, established a conscription army and the bureaucracy needed to finance it (1467 - 1548).
- György Dózsa, leader of the peasants' revolt in Hungary (1470 - 1514)
- Martin Luther, German religious reformer (1483 - 1546).
- King Henry VIII of England, founder of Anglicanism (1491 - 1547).
- Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus (1491 - 1556).
- King Francis I of France, considered the first Renaissance monarch of his Kingdom (1494 - 1547).
- Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. Conqueror and legal reformer (1494 - 1566).
- King Gustav I of Sweden, restored Swedish sovereignty and introduced Protestantism in Sweden (1496-1560).
- Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and the first to reign as King of Spain. Involved in almost constant conflict with France and the Ottoman Empire while promoting the Spanish colonization of the Americas (1500 - 1558).
- Cuauhtémoc, the last Tlatoani of the Aztec, led the native resistance against the Conquistadores (1502 - 1525).
- Michel Nostradamus, French astrologer and doctor, author of Les Propheties, a book of world prophecies (1503 - 1566).
- Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi, Somali Imam and general (1507 - 1543).
- John Calvin, theologian, and reformer. Founder of Calvinism (1509 - 1564).
- Mary I of England. Attempted to counter the Protestant Reformation in her domains. Nick-named Bloody Mary for her Religious persecution (1516 - 1558).
- Andrea Amati, (c. 1520 – c. 1578) was the earliest maker of violins whose instruments still survive today.
- John Knox (c. 1510 – 1572) was a Scottish clergyman and leader of the Protestant Reformation who is considered the founder of the Presbyterian denomination.
- King Philip II of Spain, self-proclaimed leader of Counter-Reformation (1527 - 1598).
- Ivan IV of Russia, first Russian tsar (1533-1584).
- William the Silent, William I of Orange-Nassau, main leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish (1533-1584).
- Wanli Emperor, Emperor of China during the Ming Dynasty, aided Korea in the Imjin War, (1563 - 1620)
- Elizabeth I of England, central figure of the Elizabethan era (1533 - 1603). She was the granddaughter of the aforementioned Henry VII, daughter of Henry VIII and paternal half-sister of Mary I. Though some within her court thought of her merely as a bastard, due to the fact that her father executed her supposedly criminal mother Anne Boleyn, her reign is still considered one of the greatest ever in England's history.
- Oda Nobunaga , daimyo of the Sengoku period of Japanese civil war. First ruler of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1534 - 1582).
- Toyotomi Hideyoshi , daimyo of the Sengoku period of Japanese civil war. Second ruler of the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1536 - 1598).
- Edward VI of England, notable for further differentiating Anglicanism from the practices of the Roman Catholic Church (1537 - 1553).
- Lady Jane Grey, Queen regnant of England and Ireland. Notably deposed by popular revolt (1537 - 1554).
- Mary I of Scotland, First female head of the House of Stuart (1542 - 1587).
- Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, Dutch politician and Grand Pensionary, played a pivotal role in organizing the Dutch revolt against Spain (1542 - 1619).
- Admiral Yi Sun-sin , Korean admiral, respected as one of the greatest admirals in world history. (1545 - 1598).
- King Henry IV of France and Navarre, ended the French Wars of Religion and reunited the kingdom under his command (1553 - 1610).
- Michael the Brave, ruler of Walachia, national symbol of Romanians for uniting the three provinces under his rule in 1600 (1558 - 1601)
- Giovanni Battista Ramusio, diplomat and secretary of council of Ten of Venice Italy, author of Delle Navigationi et Viaggi. Third volume (terzo volume) containing plan La Terra de Hochelaga showing village of Hochelaga (1585 - 1657). See [2]
- Matteo Ricci, Italian Jesuit who traveled to Macau, China in 1582, and died in Beijing, (1552 - 1610)
Exploration
- See also: Exploration
Visual artists
- See also: Artists of the Tudor court, Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance painting, and Renaissance sculpture
- Michelangelo Buonarroti, Italian painter and sculptor (1475 - 1564).
- Caravaggio, Italian artist (1571 - 1610).
- Albrecht Dürer, German artist, (1471 - 1528)
- Hans Holbein the Younger, German artist, (1497 - 1543)
- Raphael, Italian painter, (1483 - 1520)
- Titian, Italian painter, (c. 1485 - 1576)
- Paolo Veronese, Italian painter, (1528 – April 19, 1588)
- Leonardo da Vinci famous artist and inventor and scientist (1452 – 1519).
- Qiu Ying, Chinese painter who belonged to the Wu School and used gongbi brush style (1494 - 1552)
Musicians and Composers
- See also: List of Baroque composers
Literature
- See also: Renaissance, 16th century in literature, Elizabethan literature, Renaissance literature, Early Modern literature, and Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature
- Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet and painter, (1483 - 1541)
- Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet (c. 1524 –1580).
- Baldassare Castiglione, Italian author (1478 - 1529)
- Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish author (1547 - 1616).
- John Donne, English metaphysical poet (1572 - 1631)
- John Ford, English dramatist (1586 - c. 1640).
- Thomas Heywood, English dramatist (c, early 1570s - 1641)
- Ben Jonson, English dramatist c.1572 - 1637)
- Thomas Kyd, English dramatist (1558 – 1594)
- Thomas Lodge, English dramatist (1558 - 1625)
- Niccolò Machiavelli, Italian author (1469 - 1527)
- Christopher Marlowe, English poet and dramatist (1564 – 1593).
- Michel de Montaigne, French essayist (1533 – 1592).
- Thomas More, English politician and author (1478 - 1535).
- Miyamoto Musashi, famous warrior in Japan, author of The Book of Five Rings, a treaty on strategy and martial combat. (1584 - 1645)
- François Rabelais, French author (c. 1493 - 1553).
- Mikołaj Rej, Polish writer (1505 - 1569).
- Pierre de Ronsard, French poet. Called the 'Prince of poets' of his generation. (1524 – 1585).
- William Shakespeare, English author (1564 - 1616).
- Edmund Spenser, English poet (c. 1552 - 1599)
- Lope de Vega, Spanish dramatist (1562 – 1635).
Science and Philosophy
- See also: Scientific Revolution
- Sir Francis Bacon, (1561 – 1626) was an English philosopher, statesman, and essayist. He is also known as a catalyst of the scientific revolution.
- Tycho Brahe, (1546 – 1601), Danish astronomer.
- Giordano Bruno, Italian philosopher and astronomer/astrologer (1548 - 1600).
- Nicolaus Copernicus, (1473 – 1543) astronomer, developed the heliocentric (Sun-centered) theory using scientific methods.
- Galileo Galilei (15643 – 1642) was a Tuscan (Italian) physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who played a major role in the scientific revolution.
- Konrad Gessner (1516 – 1565) was a Swiss naturalist, bibliographer, Botanist, His three-volume Historiae Animalium (1551-1558) is considered the beginning of modern zoology
- William Gilbert, also known as Gilbard, 1544 – 1603) was an English physician and a natural philosopher.
- Edward Wright, (baptized 1561; died 1615), English mathematician and cartographer who determined the mathematical basis of the Mercator projection and produced the first maps in England according to this method.
Inventions, discoveries, introductions
- Related article: List of 16th century inventions.
References
Decades and years
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