1500 – 1799
Early Modern
- c. 1500Leonardo returns to Florence
After visits to Mantua and Venice, Leonardo goes back to Florence, at the end of 1499 or early in 1500.
- April 22, 1500Pedro Álvares Cabral sights Brazil
A Portuguese fleet under Cabral, bound for India, sights Monte Pascoal on the Bahia coast on 22 April 1500 and claims the land for Portugal. Dates for the landing at Porto Seguro vary between sources.
- August 23, 1500Francisco de Bobadilla arrests Columbus at Santo Domingo
A royal investigator, Bobadilla, arrives at Santo Domingo on 23 August 1500, takes over the government of Hispaniola and sends Columbus and his brothers to Spain in chains after colonists' complaints. Historians dispute his fairness.
- c. 1501Spain permits the shipment of enslaved Africans to Hispaniola
Around 1501 the Spanish crown allows Christianised, Spanish-speaking enslaved Africans to be taken to Hispaniola. Ovando soon asks for the shipments to stop, but demand grows as Taíno numbers fall. Sources give 1501 or 1503.
- 1501Petrucci prints the Harmonice Musices Odhecaton in Venice
Ottaviano Petrucci published the first book of polyphonic music printed from movable type. It spread the Franco-Flemish style across Europe. Its dedication is dated 15 May 1501; the exact printing date is unknown.
- April 1501Aldus Manutius prints a pocket Virgil in italic type
In April 1501 the Aldine Press issues Virgil in a small octavo format, set in a new italic type cut by Francesco Griffo, the first italic type made for Aldus.
- 1502Leonardo maps the town of Imola
Working for Borgia, Leonardo draws a plan of Imola seen from directly above, a method unusual at the time. Most sources place it in autumn 1502.
- 1502Bartolomé de las Casas sails to Hispaniola with Nicolás de Ovando
Las Casas travels with his father in Ovando's 1502 fleet to Hispaniola, where he receives land and enslaved Taíno labourers under the encomienda system he would later condemn. One source gives 1499.
- 1502Moctezuma II succeeds his uncle Ahuitzotl as ruler of the Aztec Empire
In 1502 Moctezuma II becomes tlatoani of Tenochtitlan, ruling the empire until 1520, when the Spanish arrive and he dies in circumstances sources dispute.
- 1502Nicolás de Ovando arrives as governor of Hispaniola and sets up the encomienda
Ovando sails with about 30 ships and arrives at Santo Domingo in 1502. He introduces the encomienda, in which Taíno are assigned to Spanish colonists as forced labour in return for instruction in Christianity.
- August 1502Leonardo becomes military engineer to Cesare Borgia
Leonardo is appointed military architect and engineer to Cesare Borgia, commander of the papal army, and inspects fortifications across central Italy.
- c. 1503Florence commissions The Battle of Anghiari
The Florentine Republic commissions Leonardo to paint a mural in the Palazzo Vecchio. He leaves it unfinished in 1505. Sources date the commission to October 1503 or to 1504.
- c. 1503Leonardo begins the Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci starts the portrait now hung in the Louvre.
- May 1503 – April 1504Josquin serves Duke Ercole I d'Este at Ferrara
Josquin des Prez arrived at the Este court by May 1503 and left by April 1504; there he wrote the Missa Hercules Dux Ferrariae, printed by Petrucci in 1505.
- November 1, 1503Giuliano della Rovere is elected Pope Julius II
Giuliano della Rovere is elected pope on 1 November 1503. He will lay the foundation of a new St. Peter's in 1506, commission Michelangelo's Sistine ceiling in 1508 and convene the Fifth Lateran Council in 1512.
- 1504Hernán Cortés sails to Hispaniola and settles at Azua
In 1504 Cortés reaches Santo Domingo, where he receives an encomienda and a post as notary in Azua. Seven years later he will join Diego Velázquez's conquest of Cuba.
- 1506Leonardo returns to Milan
Leonardo goes back to Milan, now under French rule.
- April 18, 1506Julius II lays the foundation stone of the new St. Peter's Basilica
On 18 April 1506 Pope Julius II lays the foundation stone of a new basilica in Rome, to Donato Bramante's design. It replaces the fourth-century church of Constantine, which had stood for more than a thousand years.
- 1508 – October 31, 1512Michelangelo paints the Sistine Chapel ceiling for Julius II
Commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1508, Michelangelo paints nine scenes from Genesis, with prophets and sibyls, on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. The full work is unveiled on 31 October 1512.
- July 10, 1509Birth of John Calvin at Noyon
Jean Cauvin is born at Noyon, France. Trained first for the priesthood and then for law, he becomes the reformer of Geneva and a founding figure of the Reformed tradition. He dies in Geneva in 1564.
- c. 1510Leonardo dissects human bodies with Marcantonio della Torre at Pavia
Leonardo da Vinci works with the anatomist Marcantonio della Torre at Pavia on human dissections, planning a treatise that was never published. Della Torre died of plague in 1511. Some drawings may date to 1513.
- 1511Diego Velázquez begins the Spanish conquest of Cuba
Governor Diego Velázquez leads Spanish forces from Hispaniola into Cuba in 1511 against the Taíno, led by the cacique Hatuey. Cuba becomes a base for later expeditions to Mexico.
- December 21, 1511Antonio de Montesinos denounces the treatment of the Taíno in a sermon at Santo Domingo
On 21 December 1511 the Dominican friar Antonio de Montesinos tells the colonists of Hispaniola that their abuse of the Taíno is a sin. Bartolomé de las Casas hears it, and it leads to the Laws of Burgos.
- May 3, 1512 – March 16, 1517The Fifth Lateran Council meets in Rome
Called by Julius II in response to a rival council at Pisa, the council (3 May 1512–16 March 1517) annuls Pisa and sets reforms such as a minimum age of 30 for bishops. Few of its decrees were put into practice.
- December 1512The Laws of Burgos regulate the treatment of Indigenous people in the Spanish colonies
In response to Montesinos's sermon, Ferdinand II issues the Laws of Burgos in December 1512, the first Spanish code for the Americas. They limit labour and require conversion but do not end encomienda or slave raids.
- 1513Las Casas serves as chaplain in Velázquez's conquest of Cuba
In 1513 Las Casas accompanies Diego Velázquez and Pánfilo de Narváez's forces in Cuba as chaplain and receives an encomienda near Cienfuegos. He later describes the massacres he saw there.
- March 9, 1513Giovanni de' Medici is elected Pope Leo X
Giovanni de' Medici, second son of Lorenzo the Magnificent and a cardinal since the age of 13, is elected pope on 9 March 1513. He backs Raphael's work in the Vatican and on St. Peter's.
- 1514 – 1520The Complutensian Polyglot, the first printed polyglot Bible, is produced in Alcalá
Funded by Cardinal Cisneros, the six-volume Bible in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and Latin is printed at Alcalá de Henares in 1514–1517 and issued in 1520–21. It holds the first printed Greek New Testament.
- c. 1514Las Casas gives up his encomienda and begins to speak out
While preparing a Pentecost sermon in 1514, Las Casas decides the encomienda is unjust and gives up his enslaved labourers. Some accounts date the formal act to 1515.
- 1516Erasmus publishes the first Greek New Testament on sale
In 1516 Desiderius Erasmus's Novum Instrumentum, with the Greek text beside his own Latin, is printed by Johann Froben in Basel. Its Greek became the basis of the Textus Receptus used by Luther and the King James Bible.
- c. 1516Las Casas presents the Memorial de Remedios and is named Protector of the Indians
In 1516, in Spain, Las Casas submits a reform plan and is made 'Protector of the Indians' in a Hieronymite commission. His plan proposed importing enslaved Africans; he later called that proposal a grave error.
- 1516Leonardo enters the service of Francis I of France
Leonardo moves to France at the invitation of King Francis I, who gives him use of the Manoir du Cloux (now Clos Lucé) near Amboise. He never returns to Italy.
- 1516Pomponazzi argues from Aristotle against the soul's immortality
Pietro Pomponazzi's On the Immortality of the Soul (1516), following Alexander of Aphrodisias, holds that Aristotle's soul cannot exist apart from the body. The Venetian Senate orders it burned in 1517; Leo X's admonition is revoked in 1518 after Bembo intervenes.
- August 18, 1516Concordat of Bologna between Francis I and Pope Leo X
The agreement let the king of France nominate bishops and abbots, with the pope confirming them. It gave the crown lasting control over the French church, which stayed Catholic through the Reformation.
- 1517Daniel Bomberg prints the first Rabbinic Bible in Venice
In 1517 the Venetian printer Daniel Bomberg issues the first Mikraot Gedolot, the Hebrew Bible with Aramaic translations and commentaries. A corrected second edition under Jacob ben Hayyim became the standard.
- September 4, 1517Luther attacks Aristotle in theology
Luther's 97 theses against scholastic theology, dated 4 September 1517, reject Aristotle's place in theology: thesis 41 calls virtually his whole Ethics "the worst enemy of grace" and thesis 50 says Aristotle is to theology as darkness is to light.
- October 31, 1517Luther's Ninety-five Theses
Martin Luther's challenge to indulgences sparks the Protestant Reformation.
- c. 1518Smallpox spreads through the Taíno population of Hispaniola
The first recorded smallpox epidemic reaches Hispaniola in late 1518 or 1519 and kills a large share of surviving Taíno. Estimates of their numbers vary widely, and forced labour and violence had already reduced them.
- August 18, 1518Charles V licenses the direct shipment of 4,000 enslaved Africans to the Americas
On 18 August 1518 Charles V grants Lorenzo de Gorrevod a licence for up to 4,000 enslaved Africans to be carried directly from Africa to the Spanish Indies, an early step in the transatlantic slave trade.
- 1519Savoy crushes Geneva's pro-Swiss party and executes Philibert Berthelier
In 1519 Geneva's council seeks an alliance with Fribourg. Charles III of Savoy invades, Philibert Berthelier, leader of the pro-Swiss Eidguenots, is executed and the council's powers are suspended.
- 1519Cortés founds Veracruz and takes command of the expedition on the Mexican coast
After landing near the site at Easter, on 21 or 22 April 1519, Cortés founds the town of Veracruz, the base for the expedition. The article places the founding in early June; other accounts earlier.
- 1519 – 1533Enriquillo's Taíno revolt in the Bahoruco mountains of Hispaniola
The cacique Enriquillo rebels against Spanish colonists in 1519 and holds out in the Bahoruco mountains for years. A peace agreement is reached in 1533, after Charles V's envoy offers his people freedom to settle where they choose.
- 1519Havana is founded on its present site on Cuba's northern coast
A settlement founded on Cuba's south coast in 1514 is moved, and the present city of Havana is founded on the north coast in 1519. It becomes the main port of Spain's Caribbean shipping.
- February 10, 1519Hernán Cortés sails from Cuba for Mexico despite the governor's order
On 10 February 1519 Cortés leaves Cuba with an expedition to the mainland, though governor Diego Velázquez had cancelled his commission. It begins the conquest of the Aztec Empire.
- May 2, 1519Death of Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo dies at the Château du Clos Lucé in Amboise, France, at the age of 67.
- June 1519 – July 1519Luther is drawn into the Leipzig Debate with Johann Eck
In June and July 1519 Johann Eck debates Andreas Karlstadt and then Martin Luther at Leipzig's Pleissenburg castle. It widens to purgatory, indulgences and papal authority, and leads Leo X to censure Luther in 1520.
- August 31, 1519 – September 1519Tlaxcala makes peace with Cortés and allies against the Mexica
After fighting that begins on 31 August 1519, the Tlaxcalans, who had cost the Spanish about a fifth of their men and half their cavalry, make peace in September. Their armies later become essential to the conquest.
- October 1519Spanish and Tlaxcalan forces massacre the people of Cholula
In October 1519 Cortés's men and their Tlaxcalan allies kill unarmed Cholulans and sack the city on the road to Tenochtitlan. The exact day is not given in the sources used.
- November 8, 1519Cortés and Moctezuma II meet as the Spanish enter Tenochtitlan
On 8 November 1519 Cortés enters the Aztec capital, a city of more than 200,000 people by most estimates, and meets Moctezuma II. The Spanish hold the ruler captive within the following weeks.
- 1520 – 1521Las Casas's attempt at a peaceful settlement at Cumaná, Venezuela, fails
Las Casas gets a royal concession in 1520 to found farming settlements without conquest on the Venezuelan coast. The colony is destroyed by local people in his absence in 1521, and Las Casas withdraws to a Dominican house.
- May 1520Pedro de Alvarado's men attack Aztec nobles at the festival of Toxcatl
In mid-May 1520, while Cortés is away fighting Narváez, Alvarado's forces attack Aztec elites at the Toxcatl festival in Tenochtitlan. The killings provoke the uprising that drives the Spanish out.
- June 30, 1520The Spanish are driven out of Tenochtitlan on the Noche Triste
On 30 June 1520 Cortés's army retreats from the city with heavy losses, estimated at about 400 to 1,000 Spaniards and many allies. Moctezuma II had died days earlier; sources disagree on who killed him.
- October 1520 – December 1520A smallpox epidemic devastates the Valley of Mexico
From about October to December 1520 smallpox, introduced by the Spanish, spreads through central Mexico, killing the Aztec ruler Cuitláhuac on 4 December. Estimates of the dead run into the millions.
- December 10, 1520Luther burns the papal bull Exsurge Domine at Wittenberg
Leo X's bull of 15 June 1520 condemned 41 propositions from Luther's writings and gave him sixty days to recant. On 10 December Luther burns it publicly at Wittenberg's Elster Gate, and is excommunicated in January 1521.
- April 18, 1521Luther refuses to recant at the Diet of Worms
Before Emperor Charles V's Diet at Worms, Luther refuses on 18 April 1521 to recant his books. The Edict of Worms (25 May) outlaws him and bans his writings, but is never enforced in Germany, where princes protect him.
- May 1521 – August 13, 1521Cortés besieges Tenochtitlan, which falls on 13 August 1521
The siege begins in May 1521, with sources giving 10 or 22 May. After more than 90 days the Aztec defenders surrender on 13 August and Cuauhtémoc is captured. Estimates put Aztec dead at about 200,000.
- August 27, 1521Death of Josquin des Prez at Condé-sur-l'Escaut
Josquin des Prez, the most celebrated composer of his generation, died on 27 August 1521 at Condé-sur-l'Escaut in Hainaut.
- October 1521Pope Leo X names Henry VIII Defender of the Faith
Leo X grants Henry VIII the title for his Assertio septem sacramentorum, which defends the sacraments and papal authority against early Protestant ideas. The pope later revokes it, and Parliament restores it by statute in 1543.
- December 1521Enslaved Africans rise on Diego Columbus's sugar estate near Santo Domingo
In late December 1521 about 20 enslaved people, mostly Wolof, rise on Diego Columbus's plantation near Santo Domingo. It is widely regarded as the first documented slave revolt in the Americas; it is put down.
- December 30, 1521 – October 12, 1524Cortés governs New Spain as its first governor
From 30 December 1521 until 12 October 1524, according to the infobox of the source used, Cortés governs the conquered Aztec lands as the first governor of New Spain.
- 1522Bartolomé de las Casas enters the Dominican order in Santo Domingo
After the Cumaná failure Las Casas becomes a novice at the Dominican Santa Cruz monastery in Santo Domingo in 1522 and takes his vows in 1523. He spends years in study and writing.
- September 1522Luther publishes his German New Testament
Luther's German New Testament, the 'September Bible', appears in Wittenberg in September 1522. His complete Bible follows in 1534 from Hans Lufft's press, and helps move German toward a standard written form.
- January 29, 1523Zurich's council backs Zwingli after the First Zurich Disputation
On 29 January 1523 Zurich's council lets Huldrych Zwingli keep preaching and rules that preachers must teach only what Scripture supports. In 1525 his new communion service replaces the Mass.
- April 23, 1523Charles V names the first inquisitor general of the Netherlands
On 23 April 1523 Charles V appoints Frans van der Hulst inquisitor general of the Seventeen Provinces, after edicts in 1521 banned Reformed worship. More than 1,300 people are executed as heretics there between 1523 and 1566.
- November 19, 1523Giulio de' Medici is elected Pope Clement VII
Giulio de' Medici is elected pope on 19 November 1523. Under the Peace of Barcelona of 1529 Charles V agrees to restore the Medici in Florence, and Clement installs his nephew Alessandro as duke in 1530.
- 1524 – 1526Cortés leads an expedition to Honduras against Cristóbal de Olid
From 1524 to 1526 Cortés marches to Honduras against Cristóbal de Olid, who had claimed the territory, and takes Cuauhtémoc with him; Cuauhtémoc is executed on the way. The trip takes him away from Mexico for months.
- May 1524The Twelve Franciscans arrive in New Spain to begin the conversion of the Aztec heartland
A group of twelve Franciscans led by Martín de Valencia reaches Veracruz in May 1524, with one source giving 13 May. They begin the mass evangelisation of central Mexico.
- August 24, 1524 – 1525The German Peasants' War rises against the lords
From August 1524 peasants rise across German lands, adopting the Twelve Articles in March 1525. Luther urges the nobles to crush them, and the rebels lose at Frankenhausen on 15 May 1525. Up to 100,000 are killed.
- September 1524 – December 1525Luther answers Erasmus on free will with On the Bondage of the Will
Erasmus defends human free will in On Free Will (September 1524). Luther replies in December 1525 with On the Bondage of the Will, arguing that sin leaves people unable to save themselves and that salvation is God's act alone.
- February 1525Cortés has the last Aztec rulers executed during the Honduras expedition
In February 1525, on the march to Honduras, Cortés executes Cuauhtémoc and two other former rulers of the Triple Alliance. The exact day is not given in the source used.
- June 13, 1525Luther marries the former nun Katharina von Bora
Martin Luther marries Katharina von Bora, who fled Nimbschen Abbey in 1523, on 13 June 1525; a public ceremony follows on 27 June. They live in Wittenberg's Black Cloister, and the marriage becomes a model for Protestant clerical marriage.
- 1526Tyndale's English New Testament is printed at Worms
The first complete printed English New Testament, translated by William Tyndale, appears at Worms in 1526. Bishop Tunstall has copies bought and burned; Tyndale is arrested at Antwerp in 1535 and burned near Vilvoorde in October 1536.
- February 20, 1526Geneva allies with Bern and Fribourg against Savoy
On 20 February 1526 Geneva signs a treaty of alliance with the Swiss cities of Bern and Fribourg, breaking from Savoyard rule. The Council of Two Hundred is also created that year.
- August 29, 1526Suleiman I destroys the Hungarian army at Mohács; Habsburgs inherit Bohemia and Hungary
King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia dies at Mohács, triggering the Habsburg inheritance contract. Ferdinand, brother of Emperor Charles V, takes Bohemia and a disputed claim to Hungary, a rival king being Zápolya.
- c. 1527Huayna Capac dies, possibly in an epidemic that reached the Andes before the Spanish
The Inca emperor dies around 1527 (sources give 1525 to 1528), perhaps of smallpox, an attribution that is disputed. His heir Ninan Cuyochi also dies, leaving a succession dispute between his sons.
- 1527 – c. 1561Las Casas writes his Historia de las Indias
Las Casas works on his history of the first decades of Spanish colonisation in the Caribbean from 1527 and finishes it around 1559-1561. He restricts its publication for forty years, and it is not printed until 1875.
- May 6, 1527Imperial troops sack Rome and besiege Clement VII
On 6 May 1527 the unpaid army of Charles V, with some 14,000 German Landsknechts and 6,000 Spanish soldiers, storms Rome. Clement VII surrenders on 6 June and agrees to a 400,000-ducat ransom. The sack is often called the end of the High Renaissance.
- May 1528Cortés returns to Spain with treasure and is honoured by Charles V
Arriving in May 1528 with treasure and 40 Aztecs, Cortés is received with honour at court and decorated with the Order of Santiago. He then pleads for confirmation of his rights in New Spain.
- 1529Cortés is named Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca
In 1529 Charles V grants Cortés the title of Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca and the style of don. The source gives no day or month.
- 1529 – 1532Huáscar and Atahualpa fight a civil war for the Inca throne
From about 1529 to 1532 the sons of Huayna Capac fight over the empire. Atahualpa's generals defeat and capture Huáscar at Quipaipán in April 1532, just before the Spanish arrive.
- 1529Francisco Pizarro obtains the Crown's licence to conquer Peru
After earlier expeditions along the Pacific coast, Pizarro secures permission in 1529 to conquer the land. The source gives no month or place for the licence.
- April 1529Lutheran estates protest at the Diet of Speyer, giving 'Protestants' their name
The Diet of Speyer, opened 15 March 1529, overturns the 1526 settlement and enforces the Edict of Worms. Lutheran princes and cities lodge a formal protest in April, from which the name 'Protestants' comes.
- September 27, 1529 – October 1529Suleiman I besieges Vienna for the first time
Suleiman's army, backing John Zápolya against Ferdinand of Habsburg, besieges Vienna. Charles V is busy in Italy, but the defenders hold and the Ottomans withdraw before winter.
- October 1, 1529 – October 4, 1529Luther and Zwingli fail to agree on the Eucharist at the Marburg Colloquy
Philip of Hesse hosts Luther, Zwingli, Melanchthon, Oecolampadius and Bucer at Marburg Castle on 1–4 October 1529. They agree on fourteen of fifteen points but not on Christ's presence in the Eucharist, so the Protestants stay divided.
- February 24, 1530Clement VII crowns Charles V Holy Roman Emperor at Bologna
Pope Clement VII crowns Charles V Holy Roman Emperor at Bologna on 24 February 1530. Charles is the last emperor to receive a papal coronation.
- June 25, 1530The Augsburg Confession is presented to Charles V
On 25 June 1530 Lutheran estates present their statement of faith to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg. Written by Melanchthon, Luther and others, it becomes the main confession of the Lutheran Church.
- February 27, 1531Protestant princes form the Schmalkaldic League
On 27 February 1531, at Schmalkalden, Philip of Hesse and John Frederick of Saxony lead Lutheran princes and cities into a defensive alliance against Emperor Charles V.
- 1532Alessandro de' Medici becomes the first hereditary Duke of Florence
Named head of state after the 1530 siege of Florence, Alessandro de' Medici arrives in 1531 and is made hereditary duke in 1532, ending the Florentine Republic. Sources give the grant as spring 1532.
- 1532Guillaume Farel begins preaching the Reformation in Geneva
In 1532 the French reformer Guillaume Farel starts preaching in Geneva under the protection of Protestant Bern. His sermons turn the dispute with the bishop and Savoy into a religious one.
- 1532Francisco Pizarro lands in Peru with about 168 men
On his third voyage, in 1531 to 1532, Pizarro reaches Peru with about 168 Spaniards, 106 on foot and 62 on horseback, and heads inland towards the Inca emperor Atahualpa.
- November 16, 1532Pizarro ambushes Atahualpa's party at Cajamarca and captures the Inca emperor
On 16 November 1532 Pizarro's men attack Atahualpa's unarmed entourage in Cajamarca's plaza and seize him. Estimates put the Inca dead at about 2,000 to 3,000; most sources report no Spanish deaths.
- December 20, 1532 – May 3, 1533Atahualpa offers a room of gold and silver for his freedom
The captive emperor offers to fill a room once with gold and twice with silver. Deliveries begin on 20 December 1532, and by 3 May 1533 Pizarro has received all the treasure. Atahualpa is not freed.
- 1533Spanish authorities garrote Atahualpa at Cajamarca
Tried on charges that include the murder of his brother Huáscar, Atahualpa is garrotted in 1533 after accepting baptism, which spares him burning. Sources disagree on the day: 26 July or 29 August.
- May 23, 1533Cranmer declares Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon void
On 23 May 1533 Thomas Cranmer, consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury that March, rules Henry VIII's marriage to Catherine of Aragon invalid. He crowns Anne Boleyn queen on 1 June.
- July 1533Bishop Pierre de la Baume flees Geneva for good
After re-entering Geneva on 3 July 1533 with troops from Catholic Fribourg, Bishop Pierre de la Baume flees the city in July 1533 and never returns, leaving Geneva without its prince-bishop.
- November 15, 1533Pizarro's army enters Cusco, the Inca capital
On 15 November 1533 the Spanish enter Cusco. Pizarro first installs Túpac Huallpa, who dies, and then Manco Inca, who later turns against the Spanish.
- 1534John III divides Brazil into hereditary captaincies
From 1534 the Crown grants the Brazilian coast as 15 hereditary captaincies to 12 donees. Only four, São Vicente, Pernambuco, Ilhéus and Porto Seguro, survive beyond 1549; the others are never settled or are overrun by Indigenous peoples.
- 1534Luther publishes his complete German Bible
In 1534 Martin Luther completes his translation of the Old Testament, and the full Bible appears in Wittenberg. It helps establish High German as a literary language and remains widely used.
- February 1534 – June 24, 1535Anabaptists seize Münster and set up a short-lived kingdom
Anabaptists take control of Münster in February 1534, and John of Leiden later takes royal regalia and absolute power. The prince-bishop's forces retake the city on 24 June 1535, and its leaders are executed in January 1536.
- August 15, 1534Ignatius of Loyola and six companions take vows at Montmartre
On 15 August 1534 Ignatius of Loyola and six fellow students of the University of Paris, among them Francis Xavier, Diego Laínez and Peter Faber, take vows together at Montmartre. The group grows into the Society of Jesus.
- November 3, 1534The Act of Supremacy makes Henry VIII head of the Church of England
Parliament passes the Act of Supremacy on 3 November 1534, declaring Henry VIII 'the only supreme head on Earth of the Church of England' and ending papal authority; royal assent follows on 18 December. A Treason Act punishes denial.
- 1535Coverdale's Bible, the first complete printed English Bible, appears
In 1535 Miles Coverdale's translation, built largely on Tyndale and Latin and German versions, is printed on the Continent. Research in 1997 identified the printer as Merten de Keyser of Antwerp.
- 1535Olivétan's French Bible is printed at Neuchâtel
In 1535 Pierre Robert Olivétan, a cousin of Calvin, publishes at Neuchâtel the first French Bible translated from Hebrew and Greek rather than Latin. Calvin writes its Latin preface; it is the first French Protestant Bible.
- January 18, 1535Francisco Pizarro founds Lima, the 'City of the Kings'
On 18 January 1535 Pizarro founds Lima, which becomes the capital of Spanish Peru and remains so until 1821.
- April 17, 1535Charles V appoints Antonio de Mendoza first viceroy of New Spain
The royal commissions of 17 April 1535 appoint Mendoza viceroy; another account dates the decree creating the viceroyalty to 12 October. He takes office on 14 November 1535 and serves until about 1550.
- July 6, 1535Thomas More is beheaded for refusing the Oath of Supremacy
Thomas More, the humanist author of Utopia, is beheaded on Tower Hill on 6 July 1535. He had refused the Oath of Supremacy, which recognised Henry VIII as Supreme Head of the Church of England.
- August 10, 1535Geneva's Grand Council bans the Catholic Mass
On 10 August 1535 Geneva's Grand Council resolves to prohibit the celebration of Mass, after Farel and others stir crowds to destroy images in churches. The same resolution forbids further icon-breaking.
- 1536Cortés leads his last major expedition and reaches Baja California
In 1536 Cortés explores the Pacific coast of northwestern Mexico and is credited with discovering the Baja California peninsula. In 1539 Francisco de Ulloa names the Gulf of California the 'Sea of Cortés'.
- 1536 – 1541Henry VIII dissolves England's monasteries
Between 1536 and 1541 Henry VIII closes England's monasteries, starting with houses worth under £200 a year. About 625 communities are dissolved, and much of their land passes to the Crown and is sold to fund his wars.
- 1536Guillaume Farel persuades John Calvin to stay in Geneva
In summer 1536 Calvin, passing through Geneva on his way to Strasbourg, is persuaded by Guillaume Farel to stay and help organise the city's new Reformed church.
- 1536 – 1541Michelangelo paints the Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel
Michelangelo paints the Last Judgment on the Sistine Chapel's altar wall between 1536 and 1541, begun for Clement VII and completed under Paul III. Critics attack its nudity, and Daniele da Volterra later paints drapery over nearly 40 figures.
- January 6, 1536The Franciscans open the Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco for sons of Nahua nobles
Opened on 6 January 1536, the college teaches the sons of Nahua leaders the trivium and quadrivium, though a school had run there since 1533. It is often called the first European higher-education school in the Americas.
- January 22, 1536Bern invades Savoy's Vaud and lifts the threat to Geneva
On 22 January 1536 Hans Franz Nägeli leads about 6,000 Bernese into Savoy's barony of Vaud, in part to protect Geneva. Bern takes Vaud and Lausanne but lets Geneva keep its independence.
- March 1536Calvin publishes the first Institutes of the Christian Religion in Basel
The first, Latin edition of Calvin's Institutes appears at Basel in March 1536. He expands it repeatedly, with a French edition in 1541 and a fifth, final Latin edition at Geneva in 1559.
- April 1536 – 1537Manco Inca rises against the Spanish and besieges Cusco
In April 1536 Manco Inca tries to retake Cusco, and the siege lasts until the following spring. He eventually withdraws and later flees to Vilcabamba.
- May 21, 1536Geneva swears to live by the Protestant faith and becomes a republic
On 21 May 1536 Geneva's General Council takes a public oath to the Protestant faith and confiscates Church property. The city, now free of its bishop and Savoy, is proclaimed a Protestant republic.
- October 1536 – February 1537The Pilgrimage of Grace rises in northern England
From the Lincolnshire Rising of 1 October 1536, northern rebels led by Robert Aske protest the break with Rome and the dissolution of the monasteries. Henry VIII breaks his promises, and about 216 people are executed, including Aske.
- October 1536William Tyndale is strangled and burned at Vilvoorde
In early October 1536 (traditionally 6 October) the English translator William Tyndale is executed for heresy near Brussels. Much of his wording later survives in the King James Bible.
- January 1537Cosimo I becomes Duke of Florence after Alessandro's assassination
After his cousin Alessandro is murdered on 6 January 1537, Cosimo I de' Medici, aged 17, succeeds him as Duke of Florence. He strengthens Medici power, expands Florentine territory and becomes a major patron of the arts.
- 1537 – 1538Las Casas and the Dominicans try peaceful conversion in Tuzulutlán, Guatemala
From 1537 Las Casas and fellow Dominicans enter the unconquered highlands of Tuzulutlán, the 'Land of War', to convert people by preaching and not force. The region is later renamed Verapaz ('True Peace'); he is recalled in 1538.
- 1537Manco Inca founds the Neo-Inca State at Vilcabamba
After the failed siege, Manco Inca withdraws to the mountains of Vilcabamba around 1537 and sets up a successor state that resists Spain for decades. It is sacked in 1539 and again in 1572.
- 1537 – 1538Diego de Almagro seizes Cusco and is defeated and executed in 1538
Diego de Almagro seizes Cusco in 1537, is defeated at the Battle of Las Salinas in 1538 and executed that year. It opens a civil war between the conquistadors.
- 1537Pope Paul III declares in Sublimis Deus that the Indigenous peoples of the Americas are rational beings
In 1537 Paul III issues Sublimis Deus, saying the Indians are fully human, may not be enslaved and should be converted peacefully. Las Casas's writing and Dominican allies helped bring it about.
- March 9, 1537Cardinals present Paul III with the Consilium de emendanda ecclesia
A commission of cardinals under Gasparo Contarini reads its report on Church abuses to Paul III on 9 March 1537, criticising papal fiscal abuses and simony. It is never implemented; it leaks in 1538, and Luther publishes it with sarcastic notes.
- 1538Calvin and Farel are banished from Geneva
At Easter 1538 Geneva's council banishes Guillaume Farel and John Calvin after a dispute over church discipline. Farel settles in Neuchâtel, and Calvin lives in exile until he is recalled in 1541.
- April 1539The Great Bible is published and ordered into every English church
The first edition of the Great Bible, edited by Myles Coverdale for Thomas Cromwell and largely based on Tyndale, appears in April 1539. Cromwell's 1538 order puts a copy of the Bible in English in every church.
- c. 1540Birth of Francis Drake near Tavistock, Devon
Francis Drake, later England's best-known privateer, is born at Crowndale farm near Tavistock. No record survives; estimates range from about 1539 to 1544, and c. 1540 is the usual figure.
- 1540 – 1542The Caxcan peoples rise against Spanish rule in the Mixtón War
In 1540 Caxcan towns in northern New Spain revolt against the encomienda. Pedro de Alvarado dies on 4 July 1541 after a failed assault, and Viceroy Mendoza's army takes Mixtón in early 1542, enslaving survivors.
- September 27, 1540Paul III approves the Society of Jesus
Paul III confirms the Society of Jesus on 27 September 1540 with the bull Regimini militantis ecclesiae. Ignatius of Loyola and his six companions found an order devoted to missions and teaching, with a special obedience to the pope.
- 1541Cortés returns to Spain and joins Charles V’s expedition against Algiers
After going back to Spain in 1541, Cortés joins Charles V's naval expedition against Algiers under Andrea Doria and nearly drowns in a storm. In 1544 he seeks money owed by the crown and is ignored.
- 1541Almagro's supporters assassinate Francisco Pizarro
In 1541 supporters of the executed Diego de Almagro, led by his son Diego de Almagro II, kill Pizarro. The source used gives no day.
- August 1541Ottomans occupy Buda and partition Hungary into three parts
Suleiman's troops take Buda by a ruse, annexing central Hungary as an Ottoman province. Royal Hungary stays Habsburg and Transylvania goes to Zápolya's heir; the division lasts until 1699.
- September 1541Calvin returns to Geneva and its church order is set
Expelled in 1538, Calvin returns to Geneva in September 1541 at the city's request. The Ecclesiastical Ordinances of 20 November create its ministerial orders and the Consistory, a church disciplinary court.
- 1542Charles V issues the New Laws limiting the encomienda
In 1542, after criticism by Las Casas and others, Charles V issues the New Laws to limit encomienda holders' authority over Indigenous people. They are poorly enforced and provoke revolt among colonists in Peru.
- 1542Paul III founds the Roman Inquisition
In 1542 Paul III founds the Roman Inquisition to prosecute heresy, at the urging of Giovanni Pietro Carafa, later Paul IV, after the failed Regensburg Colloquy of 1541. It targets Protestantism in Italy and later tries Giordano Bruno and Galileo.
- May 6, 1542Francis Xavier reaches Goa to begin the Jesuit mission in Asia
Francis Xavier, who left Lisbon on 7 April 1541, arrives at Goa, the capital of Portuguese India, on 6 May 1542. The Jesuit begins missionary work in Asia that takes him to Japan in 1549.
- November 20, 1542Charles V creates the Viceroyalty of Peru in the New Laws
Signed at Barcelona on 20 November 1542, the New Laws establish the Viceroyalty of Peru, with Lima as its capital. Blasco Núñez Vela is appointed its first viceroy in March 1543.
- 1543Boscán and Garcilaso's poems bring Italian verse to Spain
Barcelona prints Boscán's works with those of Garcilaso de la Vega, who died in 1536. Their Italian-style sonnets and hendecasyllables transform Spanish poetry.
- 1543Copernicus publishes De revolutionibus
A heliocentric model of the cosmos appears in print.
- June 1543Vesalius publishes De humani corporis fabrica in Basel
Andreas Vesalius, aged 28 and formerly professor of anatomy at Padua, publishes his illustrated De humani corporis fabrica, printed by Oporinus in Basel. Based on his own dissections, it corrects about 300 of Galen's errors.
- 1544Las Casas is consecrated bishop of Chiapas
Las Casas is made bishop of Chiapas in southern Mexico in 1544, after helping shape the New Laws of 1542. His refusal to absolve encomenderos who held enslaved people leads to conflict with colonists.
- 1545 – 1590Bernardino de Sahagún and Nahua scholars compile the Florentine Codex
From 1545 until his death in 1590 the Franciscan Sahagún works with Nahua elders and former Tlatelolco students on a twelve-book study of Aztec life in Nahuatl and Spanish. The final version is dated 1569 in the source used.
- 1545Silver is found at Cerro Rico and the mining town of Potosí is founded
In 1545 the Andean prospector Diego Huallpa is traditionally credited with discovering the silver of Cerro Rico; the town's founding is dated 1 April 1545. It produces an estimated 60% of the world's mined silver in the second half of the century.
- December 13, 1545The Council of Trent opens to answer the Protestant Reformation
The Council of Trent opens on 13 December 1545 in northern Italy. It meets in three periods until 1563 and issues decrees on scripture, tradition, justification and the sacraments, while most Protestants stay away.
- 1546Zacatecas is founded after the discovery of rich silver veins
In 1546 Juan de Tolosa founds the town of Zacatecas after one of the world's richest silver veins is found nearby. Silver mining draws roads and settlers into Chichimeca lands.
- February 18, 1546Death of Martin Luther at Eisleben
Martin Luther dies at Eisleben, his birthplace, on 18 February 1546, aged 62. The Schmalkaldic War between Charles V and the Protestant princes begins later that year.
- April 8, 1546The Council of Trent defines the canon of Scripture
On 8 April 1546, in its fourth session, the Council of Trent lists the sacred books as found in the Vulgate, including the deuterocanonical books that Protestants reject, and treats tradition as a source beside Scripture.
- January 16, 1547Ivan IV is crowned first tsar of Russia with Byzantine imperial ritual
Ivan IV is crowned in Moscow's Dormition Cathedral by Metropolitan Macarius with a rite modelled on Byzantine precedent, presenting Moscow as heir to the Roman and Byzantine emperors.
- January 28, 1547Death of Henry VIII at Whitehall
Henry VIII dies at the Palace of Whitehall on 28 January 1547, aged 55, and is succeeded by his son Edward VI, under whom Cranmer pushes Protestant reform further.
- April 24, 1547Charles V defeats the Schmalkaldic League at Mühlberg
On 24 April 1547 imperial forces rout the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League and capture John Frederick of Saxony, who loses his electoral title to his cousin Maurice. The Augsburg Interim follows in 1548.
- December 2, 1547Hernán Cortés dies in Castilleja de la Cuesta
Cortés, born c. 1485 in Medellín, dies on 2 December 1547 in Spain, having been named Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca in 1529. His birth year is uncertain; the source gives his age at death as 61 or 62.
- 1548Pedro de la Gasca defeats and executes Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro, who had killed the first viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela, is defeated near Cusco in 1548 by the royal envoy Pedro de la Gasca and executed for treason.
- May 15, 1548Charles V issues the Augsburg Interim after defeating the Protestants
On 15 May 1548, after Mühlberg, Charles V orders Protestants to readopt Catholic practices, allowing only clerical marriage and communion in both kinds. Many pastors refuse, and it is mostly enforced where his army holds power.
- c. 1549Enslaved Africans are brought to Brazil's plantations
The first arrival of enslaved Africans cannot be dated; the earliest firm mark is 1549, and they become the preferred plantation labour from the 1570s. About 5.5 million Africans are brought to Brazil between 1540 and the 1860s, by one estimate.
- March 29, 1549Tomé de Sousa founds Salvador as seat of Brazil's first governor-general
In 1549 Tomé de Sousa, Brazil's first governor-general, arrives with six ships and the first six Jesuits and founds Salvador, which is dated to 29 March. The city is Brazil's capital until 1763 and a major port for sugar and the slave trade.
- June 9, 1549The first Book of Common Prayer is imposed in England
Parliament passes the Act of Uniformity on 21 January 1549, and the first Book of Common Prayer, largely edited by Thomas Cranmer, must be in use from Whitsunday, 9 June. Cranmer's stricter revision follows in 1552.
- August 15, 1549Francis Xavier lands at Kagoshima, beginning the Christian mission to Japan
Francis Xavier goes ashore at Kagoshima on 15 August 1549, beginning the first Christian mission to Japan. His ship had reached Japan on 27 July, but he was not allowed into port until 15 August.
- 1550 – 1590The Chichimeca War begins over the silver roads of northern New Spain
From late 1550 attacks on Spanish roads and caravans lead to decades of war with the Zacatecos and other Chichimeca peoples. The viceroy declares the 'Purchase for Peace' policy a success in 1590, though the war's exact end is unclear.
- August 1550 – April 1551Las Casas debates Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda at Valladolid over the conquest
A council of theologians and jurists hears Las Casas and Sepúlveda argue whether Spain's conquests and the treatment of the Indigenous peoples are just. The result is inconclusive, and both sides claim victory.
- 1551Robert Estienne numbers the verses of the New Testament
In his 1551 Greek–Latin New Testament, printed in Geneva, Robert Estienne first prints verse numbers, and does so for the Hebrew Bible in 1553. They complete the chapter-and-verse system still used to cite Scripture.
- 1551Palestrina becomes choirmaster of the Cappella Giulia, St Peter's
Pope Julius III appointed Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina maestro di cappella of the Cappella Giulia in Rome in 1551. In 1554 he dedicated to the pope his first book of Masses.
- September 21, 1551A royal decree founds the Royal University of Mexico
A decree of 21 September 1551 creates the university in Mexico City, which is inaugurated on 25 January 1553. Whether it or Lima's San Marcos is the oldest university in the Americas depends on how founding is counted.
- 1552Las Casas's Brevísima relación de la destrucción de las Indias is printed in Seville
Las Casas's short account of Spanish violence against Indigenous peoples, written about 1542, is printed in Seville in 1552. It is widely read and translated, and used in later arguments about Spanish colonisation.
- October 27, 1553Michael Servetus is burned for heresy at Geneva
Geneva's council burns Michael Servetus for anti-Trinitarian views on 27 October 1553, after Calvin denounced him. Catholic authorities at Vienne had already condemned him in absentia in June.
- 1554The anonymous Lazarillo de Tormes launches the picaresque novel
La vida de Lazarillo de Tormes appears anonymously in 1554, with editions printed in Burgos, Alcalá de Henares and Antwerp. It founds the picaresque genre of rogue narrators.
- November 30, 1554England is reconciled with Rome under Mary I
On 30 November 1554 Cardinal Pole absolves Parliament and the realm of heresy and schism. The Second Statute of Repeal, introduced on 26 December, reunites England with Rome after Henry VIII's break.
- 1555Villegaignon founds France Antarctique in Guanabara Bay
In 1555 the French naval officer Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon founds a colony near present-day Rio de Janeiro, in Guanabara Bay. The French hold it until the Portuguese expel them in 1567.
- 1555French corsair Jacques de Sores captures and burns Havana
In 1555 Jacques de Sores takes and burns Havana but leaves without the great wealth he hoped to find. Sources give July or August for the attack. It pushes Spain to fortify the city and to organise convoys.
- 1555Calvin's opponents fail in an attempted coup in Geneva
In 1555 the Libertines led by Ami Perrin, who resisted Calvin's church discipline, attempt a coup in Geneva and call for the massacre of the French. It fails, and Perrin is sentenced in absentia.
- February 4, 1555 – 1558Mary I's government burns Protestants as heretics
From 4 February 1555, when John Rogers is burned, Mary I's government burns Protestants under revived heresy laws. At least 280 people are executed by the end of her reign in 1558, which earns her the name 'Bloody Mary'.
- May 23, 1555Giovanni Pietro Carafa is elected Pope Paul IV
Giovanni Pietro Carafa is elected pope on 23 May 1555, taking the name Paul IV. A founding Inquisitor, he strengthens the Roman Inquisition, issues the Index of forbidden books and restricts the Jews of Rome.
- July 1555Paul IV's bull Cum nimis absurdum creates the Roman Ghetto
In July 1555 Paul IV's bull Cum nimis absurdum requires Rome's roughly 2,000 Jews to live in a walled ghetto locked at night, wear yellow hats and accept limits on trades and property. Sources date it 14 or 17 July.
- September 25, 1555The Peace of Augsburg lets each prince choose Lutheranism or Catholicism
Negotiated by Ferdinand I for Charles V, the peace of 25 September 1555 lets rulers make Lutheranism or Catholicism the faith of their lands; dissenters may emigrate. Calvinism gains legal recognition only in 1648.
- October 25, 1555 – February 24, 1558Charles V abdicates and divides his lands between Philip II and Ferdinand I
Charles V gives up the Netherlands (25 October 1555) and Spain (16 January 1556) to his son Philip II. His brother Ferdinand receives the Empire, as the Imperial Diet accepts on 24 February 1558. Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs part ways.
- March 21, 1556Thomas Cranmer is burned at the stake at Oxford
Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, withdraws his recantations and is burned at Oxford on 21 March 1556. The principal editor of the Book of Common Prayer is later honoured as a martyr by the Church of England.
- 1559Calvin founds the Academy of Geneva
In 1559 John Calvin founds the Academy of Geneva to train pastors for Reformed churches. It later becomes the University of Geneva and draws students from across Protestant Europe.
- 1559Paul IV's Index bans the complete works of about 550 authors
The 1559 Index issued under Paul IV bans the entire works of about 550 authors, including Erasmus, Machiavelli, Aretino and Rabelais, and unapproved Bible editions. An earlier Roman list of 1557 had been withdrawn; Trent's revised Index followed in 1564.
- 1559Ramusio's Navigationi et viaggi prints an Italian text of Marco Polo
The second volume of Giovanni Battista Ramusio's Delle navigationi et viaggi (1559) includes an Italian version of Polo's Travels, a widely used text of the book in the Renaissance.
- April 1559Elizabeth I's Parliament passes the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity
In April 1559 Elizabeth I's Parliament abolishes the pope's authority and makes her Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The Act of Uniformity, passed by about three votes in the Lords, restores a revised Book of Common Prayer.
- 1560English exiles publish the Geneva Bible
In 1560 English Protestant exiles in Geneva, led by William Whittingham, publish the first complete English Bible translated from the original languages, with Calvinist notes. The Pilgrims later carry it on the Mayflower.
- 1560 – 1581Cosimo I has Vasari build the Uffizi in Florence
Giorgio Vasari begins the Uffizi in 1560 for Cosimo I, housing Florence's magistracies and guilds under one roof; it is completed in 1581. Its top floor becomes the Medici gallery, and it opens to the public in 1769.
- August 1560The Scottish Parliament abolishes papal authority and bans the Mass
In August 1560, after English help ends the fighting with the Treaty of Edinburgh, Scotland's Parliament approves the Scots Confession, abolishes papal jurisdiction and bans the Mass. Mary Queen of Scots does not endorse the acts.
- 1562 – 1598The French Wars of Religion begin between Catholics and Huguenots
Conflict between Catholic and Protestant (Huguenot) factions, entangled with noble rivalries and a weakened Valois crown, broke into open civil war in 1562 and continued intermittently until 1598.
- 1562Teresa of Ávila founds the reformed Carmelite convent of St Joseph
Teresa of Ávila founds the reformed Carmelite convent of St Joseph in Ávila in 1562, starting the Discalced Carmelite reform. The older order opposes her, and Inquisition cases against her and her associates are dropped in 1579.
- 1563The Heidelberg Catechism is published in the Calvinist-leaning Palatinate
In 1563 Elector Frederick III of the Palatinate has the Heidelberg Catechism, mainly by Zacharias Ursinus, approved by a synod. Calvinism is not covered by the 1555 Peace of Augsburg, which tolerates only Lutherans.
- December 4, 1563The Council of Trent closes and Pius IV confirms its decrees
The Council of Trent ends on 4 December 1563 after 25 sessions in three periods, and Pius IV confirms its decrees on 26 January 1564. It issued 17 dogmatic decrees that shaped Catholic doctrine, liturgy and censorship.
- c. 1564Havana becomes the rendezvous port of Spain's treasure fleets
Under the convoy system set up in the mid-1560s, the New Spain and Tierra Firme fleets gather at Havana before crossing to Spain. Sources date the system from 1561, 1564 or 1566.
- May 27, 1564Death of John Calvin in Geneva
John Calvin dies in Geneva on 27 May 1564, aged 54. The school he founded there in 1559 later becomes the University of Geneva, and Geneva remains a centre of the Reformed tradition.
- March 1, 1565Estácio de Sá founds Rio de Janeiro
On 1 March 1565 Estácio de Sá, nephew of the governor-general Mem de Sá, founds São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro near Sugarloaf Mountain, as a base against the French and their Indigenous allies.
- 1566Death of Bartolomé de las Casas in Madrid
Las Casas dies in Madrid in July 1566, aged 81 (the day is given as 17 or 18 July). He is buried at the Atocha monastery.
- April 5, 1566 – April 8, 1566Dutch nobles petition Margaret of Parma and are called "Beggars"
On 5 April 1566 about 300 nobles march through Brussels to petition the regent Margaret of Parma against the heresy laws. At a banquet on 8 April they toast themselves as "beggars", a name the rebels keep.
- August 10, 1566The Beeldenstorm: Calvinist crowds strip Catholic churches in the Netherlands
From 10 August 1566, starting at Steenvoorde, Calvinist crowds destroy images in Catholic churches across the Netherlands, reaching Antwerp on 20 August. Philip II sends the Duke of Alba with an army in 1567, which leads to the Dutch Revolt.
- January 20, 1567The Portuguese defeat the French and their allies in Guanabara Bay
On 20 January 1567 the Portuguese win the decisive battle against the French of France Antarctique and their Indigenous allies. Estácio de Sá dies of his wounds a month later; Mem de Sá then moves the city to Morro do Castelo.
- August 22, 1567The Duke of Alba arrives in Brussels and sets up the Council of Troubles
Philip II sends the Duke of Alba to crush the unrest. He enters Brussels on 22 August 1567, takes over as governor and sets up the Council of Troubles, which Dutch people call the Council of Blood, to punish heresy and rebellion.
- 1568Dutch rebels win the Battle of Heiligerlee
In 1568 the rebels defeat a Spanish army at Heiligerlee in Groningen, the first Dutch victory of the Eighty Years' War. Spanish forces soon reverse it. The usual day, 23 May, is not given by the pages I checked.
- 1568 – 1573Plantin prints the Antwerp Polyglot for Philip II
From 1568 to 1573 Christophe Plantin prints the eight-volume Biblia Regia in Antwerp, with Benito Arias Montano overseeing the texts and Philip II paying. It proves Plantin's Catholic loyalty and nearly ruins him.
- 1568Spanish fleet defeats Hawkins and Drake at San Juan de Ulúa
In 1568, at San Juan de Ulúa (Veracruz, Mexico), a Spanish fleet destroys most of John Hawkins's slave-trading expedition. Drake escapes in the Judith, and the episode fuels his later raids on Spain.
- June 5, 1568Counts Egmont and Horn are beheaded in Brussels
Alba has the Catholic nobles Egmont and Horn, who had opposed the Inquisition, arrested in September 1567. They are beheaded in Brussels on 5 June 1568, and their deaths provoke protests across the Netherlands.
- 1569Cosimo I de' Medici becomes the first Grand Duke of Tuscany
Pope Pius V raises Cosimo I de' Medici to Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1569, giving the Medici a higher rank. Sources differ on the day (Cosimo's article gives 21 August).
- 1569Alonso de Ercilla publishes the first part of La Araucana
The first part of Alonso de Ercilla's epic poem La Araucana is printed in Madrid in 1569. It recounts the Spanish war against the Mapuche in Chile, in which Ercilla fought.
- 1569Casiodoro de Reina publishes the first complete Spanish Bible
In 1569 Casiodoro de Reina, a former Spanish monk turned Protestant, prints the first complete Spanish Bible in Basel, the 'Biblia del Oso'. Cipriano de Valera revises it in 1602, the basis of the Reina-Valera.
- 1569 – 1581Viceroy Francisco de Toledo reorganises Spanish Peru
Toledo governs from 1569 to 1581 and sets up the administrative framework that lasts for generations. He uses the Inca mita system of forced labour to supply the Potosí silver mines and the Huancavelica mercury mines.
- January 1570The Inquisition's tribunal is established in Lima
In January 1570 the Holy Office opens a tribunal in Lima, with jurisdiction over Spain's possessions from Panama southward. Viceroy Toledo's fleet brings the first inquisitors, and it operates until 1820.
- October 7, 1571Holy League defeats the Ottoman fleet at Lepanto
A Holy League of Spain, Venice and the papacy under Don John of Austria destroys most of the Ottoman fleet off western Greece. The league then falls apart and the Ottomans rebuild.
- April 1, 1572The Sea Beggars capture Brielle and Holland and Zeeland rise
On 1 April 1572 the Sea Beggars, exiled rebels turned privateers, take the port of Brielle. Cities across Holland and Zeeland then join the revolt, and William of Orange is reinstated as stadtholder.
- May 24, 1572Drake sails from Plymouth to raid Nombre de Dios on the Spanish Main
On 24 May 1572 Drake leaves Plymouth with two ships and 73 men to attack Spain's Caribbean treasure route. He is wounded in the attack on Nombre de Dios, then spends months raiding Spanish shipping.
- June 24, 1572Spanish forces enter Vilcabamba and end the Neo-Inca State
After Viceroy Toledo declares war on 14 April 1572, Spanish forces enter Vilcabamba on 24 June and find it deserted. The last independent Inca state ends.
- August 24, 1572St. Bartholomew's Day massacre of Huguenots in Paris
During the wedding celebrations of Henry of Navarre, King Charles IX ordered the killing of Huguenot leaders, and mobs in Paris and other cities then massacred thousands of Protestants. It began the night of 23-24 August 1572.
- September 24, 1572Túpac Amaru I, the last Inca ruler, is executed in Cusco
On 24 September 1572 Viceroy Toledo has Túpac Amaru I beheaded in Cusco after a trial, in front of 10,000 to 15,000 witnesses. Many argue Toledo exceeded his authority, and Philip II reportedly disapproved.
- November 1572A new star challenges Aristotle's unchanging heavens
A new star appears in early November 1572 and outshines Jupiter by the 11th. In De nova stella (1573), Tycho Brahe compares observations, including Jerónimo Muñoz's, to show it lies beyond the Moon, contradicting the Aristotelian view of an unchangeable realm of stars.
- 1573Drake becomes the first Englishman to see the Pacific
During his 1572-73 raids, Drake is led by Cimarrón allies to a ridge on the Isthmus of Panama and sees the Pacific Ocean in 1573. He vows to sail an English ship there.
- c. 1573Toledo adapts the Inca mita to supply forced labour for Potosí
Around 1573 Viceroy Toledo turns the Inca mita system into a Spanish draft of Indigenous workers for the silver mines of Potosí, with a separate mita for the mercury mines of Huancavelica. Sources date it between 1572 and 1575.
- January 14, 1573The Florentine Camerata meets at Count Bardi's house
The earliest recorded meeting of the Florentine circle of humanists and musicians, patronised by Count Giovanni de' Bardi, took place on 14 January 1573. Its debates on ancient Greek drama led to the first operas.
- October 12, 1576Rudolf II succeeds Maximilian II as Holy Roman Emperor
Rudolf II becomes emperor on 12 October 1576, also ruling Bohemia, Hungary and Austria. His reign is later seen as one whose mistakes helped lead to the Thirty Years' War, though recent historians reassess that view.
- November 1576Mutinous Spanish troops sack Antwerp in the Spanish Fury
In November 1576 Spanish soldiers, unpaid since the governor's death, sack Antwerp. As many as 17,000 people are killed and about 1,000 buildings burned, which pushes most provinces towards the rebels.
- November 8, 1576The Pacification of Ghent unites the Netherlands against Spanish troops
On 8 November 1576, days after the sack of Antwerp, most provinces of the Netherlands, Catholic and Calvinist, agree at Ghent to expel the Spanish troops. The union lasts only a few years.
- 1577The Formula of Concord settles Lutheran disputes
In 1576–1577 Jakob Andreä, Martin Chemnitz and others write the Formula of Concord for Elector Augustus of Saxony. About two-thirds of German Lutherans, including three electors, subscribe, and it draws a firm line against Calvinism.
- December 13, 1577 – September 26, 1580Drake sails around the world in the Golden Hind
Drake leaves Plymouth on 13 December 1577 and returns on 26 September 1580. He is the first Englishman to circle the globe, and raids Spanish ports and ships along the Pacific coast.
- 1578Drake sacks Valparaíso, Chile
In 1578 the Golden Hind plunders the Spanish port of Valparaíso and takes a ship loaded with Chilean wine. Drake had earlier been wounded by Mapuche archers on Mocha Island; the sack feeds local legend.
- 1579The Corral de la Cruz opens as Madrid's first permanent theatre
Built in 1579, the Corral de la Cruz becomes Madrid's first permanent playhouse. Such open-air corrales de comedias gave Golden Age drama a stable public stage.
- January 23, 1579The Union of Utrecht binds the northern provinces together
On 23 January 1579 Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht and part of Groningen sign the Union of Utrecht, with freedom of conscience. Southern provinces had joined the Catholic Union of Arras on 6 January. It becomes the basis of the Dutch Republic.
- March 1579Drake captures the Spanish treasure ship Cacafuego off Peru
Off the coast of Peru, in early 1579, Drake takes the Nuestra Señora de la Concepción, nicknamed Cacafuego. Its silver and gold make it the richest prize of his circumnavigation.
- June 1579Drake lands in California and claims Nova Albion for Elizabeth I
In June 1579 the Golden Hind anchors at a bay on the Pacific coast of North America, probably near Point Reyes. Drake claims the land for England as Nova Albion; the exact site is disputed.
- 1580 – 1640Philip II of Spain also becomes king of Portugal, uniting the Iberian crowns
After the death of Sebastian at Alcácer Quibir in 1578 and of Cardinal Henry, Philip II claims the Portuguese throne in 1580 and is recognised by the Cortes of Tomar in 1581. Portugal and its empire stay under the Habsburgs until 1640.
- c. 1581Vincenzo Galilei publishes the Dialogo della musica antica et della moderna
The Florentine lutenist and theorist Vincenzo Galilei attacked polyphony for obscuring the text and urged solo song that followed speech, an idea central to the birth of monody and opera. Published 1581-1582.
- 1581Ivan Fedorov prints the Ostrog Bible, the first complete Church Slavonic Bible
In 1581 Ivan Fedorov prints at Ostroh, under Prince Konstanty Ostrogski, the first complete Bible in Church Slavonic, also the first in Cyrillic type. It becomes a model for later Russian editions.
- April 4, 1581Drake is knighted aboard the Golden Hind at Deptford
On 4 April 1581 Drake is knighted on his ship at Deptford. Elizabeth I's reward for the circumnavigation also shows her support for his raids on Spain.
- July 26, 1581The States General depose Philip II in the Act of Abjuration
On 26 July 1581 the States General at The Hague declare that Philip II has forfeited his rule over the provinces of the Union of Utrecht and release officials from their oaths to him. The Netherlands is effectively independent.
- 1582 – 1610English Catholics publish the Douay–Rheims Bible
The English College's Catholic translation from the Vulgate appears with the New Testament at Rheims in 1582, mainly by Gregory Martin, and the Old Testament at Douai in 1609–1610. It is a Counter-Reformation answer to Protestant Bibles.
- December 19, 1582 – 1588The Cologne War begins when Elector Gebhard Truchsess turns Protestant
On 19 December 1582 the Elector of Cologne, Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg, announces his conversion and then marries without resigning. Pope and chapter depose him in 1583, and war lasts to 1588, with Bavaria's Ernst winning.
- 1583Rudolf II moves the imperial court to Prague
In 1583 Rudolf II moves his court from Vienna to Prague, which becomes an imperial capital. He supports astronomers such as Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler and gathers a major collection of art and curiosities.
- 1584Geneva seals an "eternal" alliance with Bern and Zurich
In 1584 Geneva strengthens its ties to the Protestant Swiss cities of Bern and Zurich through an "eternal treaty", giving the city allies against renewed pressure from the dukes of Savoy.
- July 10, 1584William of Orange is assassinated in Delft
On 10 July 1584 Balthasar Gérard shoots William of Orange in Delft, four years after Philip II declared him an outlaw with a reward for his death. William led the revolt from the Beeldenstorm onwards.
- August 17, 1585Antwerp surrenders to the Duke of Parma
On 17 August 1585, after a siege begun in July 1584, Antwerp surrenders to Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma. Protestants are given four years to leave, many for Amsterdam, and the city's population falls from about 100,000 to 40,000.
- September 1585 – July 22, 1586Drake leads a fleet of 21 ships against Spain's Caribbean colonies
From September 1585 to July 1586 Drake raids Spanish settlements, including Santo Domingo, Cartagena and St Augustine, in the first big English naval offensive of the war with Spain.
- January 1586Francis Drake captures and ransoms Santo Domingo
Francis Drake's English fleet takes Santo Domingo, the Spanish colonial capital on Hispaniola, in early January 1586 and extorts a ransom (given as 25,000 ducats by one source). He then sails for Cartagena.
- June 6, 1586Drake burns St Augustine in Spanish Florida
On 6 June 1586, returning from the Caribbean, Drake's fleet attacks and burns the Spanish settlement of St Augustine in Florida. He then visits Roanoke and takes the colonists home.
- April 1587Drake raids Cádiz and delays the Spanish Armada
In April 1587 Drake enters Cádiz harbour and destroys dozens of ships and stores meant for Spain's invasion fleet. He calls it 'singeing the King of Spain's beard'; the damage postpones the Armada by about a year.
- April 4, 1588Christian IV becomes King of Denmark-Norway at ten
Christian IV succeeds his father on 4 April 1588, aged ten, and is crowned on 29 August 1596. He reigns until 1648, the longest reign in Scandinavian history, and later leads Denmark into the war as Duke of Holstein.
- July 1588Drake serves as vice admiral as England defeats the Spanish Armada
In July 1588, as vice admiral under Lord Howard of Effingham, Drake fights the Spanish Armada in the Channel. The invasion of England fails.
- 1589Drake and Norris's 'English Armada' fails against Spain
In 1589 a large English expedition under Drake and Sir John Norris attacks Corunna and Lisbon, hoping to destroy Spanish ships and raise Portugal in revolt. It fails at heavy cost; estimates of the dead vary widely.
- August 1589Henry IV becomes king, founding the Bourbon dynasty
After Henry III's assassination, Henry of Navarre inherited the French throne as its first Bourbon king. He had to fight the Catholic League for years and converted to Catholicism in 1593 to win acceptance.
- 1590 – 1592Sixtus V and Clement VIII issue an official Vulgate
Pope Sixtus V's 1590 Vulgate, the first papally authorized edition, is halted after his death and recalled in 1592 for errors. Clement VIII's revision replaces it and stays the Catholic standard text.
- c. 1591The Coimbra Jesuits publish commentaries on Aristotle
From 1591 the Jesuits of Coimbra, under Pedro da Fonseca ("the Aristotle of Portugal"), publish commentaries on Aristotle drawn from their lectures, partly to counter pirated copies. Widely used in the 17th century, they may have influenced Descartes and Leibniz.
- 1593 – 1606The Long Turkish War between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans begins
In 1593 Emperor Rudolf II goes to war with the Ottoman Empire over Hungary. The war lasts thirteen years until the Peace of Zsitvatorok in 1606 and strains the Habsburgs' finances and their relations with their own Estates.
- February 2, 1594Death of Palestrina in Rome
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, whose smooth polyphony became a model of Catholic church music, died in Rome on 2 February 1594. The tale that his Missa Papae Marcelli saved polyphony at Trent is not accepted by historians.
- January 28, 1596Drake dies of dysentery off Portobelo, Panama
On 28 January 1596, during his last expedition to the Spanish Caribbean, Drake dies of dysentery aboard ship off Portobelo. He is buried at sea in a lead coffin.
- 1597Giovanni Gabrieli publishes the Sacrae symphoniae in Venice
Gabrieli, organist at St Mark's Basilica, issued works for separated choirs and instruments that developed into the Baroque concertato style and drew pupils such as Heinrich Schütz from across Europe.
- c. 1597Peri and Rinuccini stage Dafne in Florence, the first opera
Jacopo Peri and the poet Ottavio Rinuccini produced Dafne, generally regarded as the first opera; its music is lost. Sources give 1597 or 1598 (some earlier), so the date is approximate.
- 1598Ferdinand of Styria begins a strict Counter-Reformation in Inner Austria
From 1598 Archduke Ferdinand, later Emperor Ferdinand II and a Jesuit-educated Catholic, expels Protestant pastors and teachers from Inner Austria, with Graz as his base, and installs Catholic priests.
- April 13, 1598Edict of Nantes grants Huguenots religious rights
Henry IV granted French Protestants freedom of conscience, limited public worship and legal protections, largely ending the Wars of Religion and restoring royal authority.
- 1599Mateo Alemán publishes Guzmán de Alfarache
The first part of Mateo Alemán's Guzmán de Alfarache appears in Madrid in 1599. A bestseller across Europe, it popularises the picaresque novel after Lazarillo de Tormes.
- 1599The Jesuit Ratio Studiorum prescribes Aristotle
The Jesuits issue their final Ratio Studiorum in 1599 (the text is dated 1598). It prescribes Aristotle as the standard author for philosophy, physics and mathematics, and Aquinas for theology, in a school network that reaches 444 schools within a century.
- October 5, 1600Marie de' Medici marries Henry IV of France by proxy in Florence
The proxy wedding of Marie de' Medici and Henry IV takes place in Florence Cathedral on 5 October 1600. The religious ceremony follows at Lyon on 17 December. She later serves as regent of France from 1610 to 1617.
- October 6, 1600Peri's Euridice premieres at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence
Staged on 6 October 1600 for the wedding of Maria de' Medici and Henry IV of France, Euridice by Jacopo Peri (libretto by Rinuccini) is the earliest surviving opera.
- 1602Caccini publishes Le nuove musiche in Florence
Giulio Caccini's collection of madrigals and arias for solo voice with basso continuo, dated February 1601 in Florentine reckoning but issued in July 1602, made the new monodic style a model across Italy.
- March 20, 1602The Dutch East India Company is founded
On 20 March 1602 the States General merge rival trading companies into the United East India Company (VOC), largely at Johan van Oldenbarnevelt's urging. It gets a 21-year monopoly in Asia and sells tradable shares.
- December 12, 1602Geneva repels Savoy's surprise attack in the Escalade
In the night of 11–12 December 1602 (Old Style), troops of Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy try to take Geneva by scaling its walls. The defenders repel them, and Savoy's last attempt to take the city by force fails.
- July 1603Treaty of Saint-Julien: Savoy accepts Geneva's independence
In July 1603 Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy accepts a lasting peace with Geneva at Saint-Julien, recognising its independence. Sources give 12 or 21 July, possibly a calendar difference.
- 1605 – 1606Spain depopulates northern and western Hispaniola in the Devastations of Osorio
On Philip III's order, Governor Antonio de Osorio forces the people of Puerto Plata, Monte Cristi, Bayajá and Yaguana to move near Santo Domingo to stop smuggling. The abandoned lands later attract foreign settlers and runaway slaves.
- 1605Cervantes publishes the first part of Don Quixote
El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha is published in Madrid in 1605. Often called the first modern novel, it parodies chivalric romances and is the Golden Age's best-known work.
- 1605Monteverdi defends the seconda pratica against Artusi
Answering the theorist Giovanni Maria Artusi's attacks of 1600 and 1603, Claudio Monteverdi announced in the preface to his fifth book of madrigals his 'second practice', in which the text governs the music.
- c. 1605Runaway slaves found the quilombo of Palmares
In 1605, by the article's dating, escaped enslaved Africans settle at Serra da Barriga in northeastern Brazil, though Portuguese complaints of flight into the area date from 1602. It grows into the largest fugitive community in colonial Brazil.
- November 5, 1605The Gunpowder Plot against James I is foiled in London
On the night of 4–5 November 1605 Guy Fawkes is caught guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords. English Catholics led by Robert Catesby had plotted to kill James I, and harsher anti-Catholic laws follow.
- 1606 – 1607Religious riot at Donauwörth leads to Catholic Bavaria occupying the Protestant town
In 1606 the Lutheran majority of Donauwörth bars a Catholic procession and a riot follows. In 1607 an imperial law lets the Duke of Bavaria punish the town, which Bavaria then occupies and re-Catholicises.
- April 1606 – April 1607Paul V places Venice under interdict
In April 1606 Pope Paul V lays an interdict on Venice after it asserts control over its clergy and church property. Venice, backed by Paolo Sarpi, resists, and French mediation ends the quarrel in April 1607.
- November 11, 1606Peace of Zsitvatorok ends the Long Turkish War
Emperor Rudolf II and Sultan Ahmed I agree peace on the Zsitva River after 13 years of inconclusive war. The Ottomans keep Eger and Kanizsa, and the treaty sets the Habsburg-Ottoman frontier for half a century.
- February 24, 1607Monteverdi's L'Orfeo premieres at the Gonzaga court in Mantua
Claudio Monteverdi's opera, to a libretto by Alessandro Striggio, was first performed on 24 February 1607 for Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga. It is the earliest opera still regularly staged.
- 1608Matthias marches on Prague and forces Rudolf II to cede Hungary, Austria and Moravia
In 1608 Archduke Matthias, the emperor's brother, marches on Prague and forces Rudolf II to hand over Hungary, Austria and Moravia. Rudolf keeps Bohemia and the imperial title for the moment.
- May 14, 1608Protestant princes form the Protestant Union at Auhausen
On 14 May 1608 Protestant princes and cities led by Elector Frederick IV of the Palatinate form the Union at Auhausen, after Donauwörth and the Diet's demand for church lands taken since 1552. Lutheran Saxony stays out.
- 1609Lope de Vega sets out his rules for the new Spanish drama
Lope de Vega's verse treatise Arte nuevo de hacer comedias (1609) defends mixing tragedy and comedy and breaking the classical unities. It codifies the comedia nueva.
- March 25, 1609 – November 12, 1614The Jülich-Cleves succession crisis begins and draws in Europe's powers
Duke John William of Jülich-Cleves dies childless on 25 March 1609, and Brandenburg and Palatinate-Neuburg claim his duchies. Union, League, France and Spain take sides. The Treaty of Xanten divides them on 12 November 1614.
- April 9, 1609 – April 9, 1621Spain and the Dutch Republic sign the Twelve Years' Truce
On 9 April 1609, at Antwerp, Spain's Habsburg rulers agree to treat the United Provinces as free states for twelve years. Spain sees it as temporary and recognises Dutch independence only in 1648. The truce ends on 9 April 1621.
- July 9, 1609Rudolf II grants the Letter of Majesty to Bohemia's Protestants
On 9 July 1609 Rudolf II, as King of Bohemia, signs the Letter of Majesty. It grants Protestants religious freedom and a committee of the Estates, the Defensors, to guard it. Its violation is later a cause of the 1618 revolt.
- July 10, 1609Catholic princes form the Catholic League under Maximilian of Bavaria
On 10 July 1609 Catholic princes and prince-bishops meet at Munich and form a League under Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria. It is a defensive alliance meant to counter the Protestant Union, and it lasts as a military force in the war.
- January 1610Galileo observes the Moons of Jupiter
Telescope observations show bodies orbiting another planet.
- 1610 – August 1613Monteverdi publishes the Vespers, then becomes maestro di cappella at St Mark's
Monteverdi's Vespro della Beata Vergine, dedicated to Pope Paul V, appeared in 1610. After leaving Mantua he was appointed maestro di cappella at St Mark's, Venice, in August 1613 and held the post until his death.
- March 13, 1610Galileo publishes Sidereus Nuncius and dedicates it to the Medici
Published in Venice on 13 March 1610, Galileo's Sidereus Nuncius is dedicated to his former pupil Cosimo II de' Medici. He names Jupiter's four moons after the Medici brothers, which helps him win a Medici court post.
- May 14, 1610Henry IV is assassinated in Paris by François Ravaillac
A Catholic zealot stabbed Henry IV in his carriage. His nine-year-old son Louis XIII succeeded under the regency of Marie de' Medici.
- May 14, 1610Henry IV of France is assassinated while preparing war on the Habsburgs
On 14 May 1610 François Ravaillac stabs Henry IV in Paris. Historians widely believe Henry was about to launch a campaign against the Habsburgs over Jülich. His widow Marie de' Medici, as regent, reduces the promised French force.
- September 19, 1610Frederick V becomes Elector Palatine at fourteen
On 19 September 1610 the Calvinist Frederick V, aged 14, becomes Elector Palatine on his father's death and head of the Protestant Union. He later accepts the Bohemian crown in 1619 and loses it at White Mountain in 1620.
- 1611Covarrubias publishes the Tesoro de la lengua castellana
Sebastián de Covarrubias's Tesoro de la lengua castellana o española appears in Madrid in 1611, the first major dictionary of Spanish, with etymologies and cultural lore.
- 1611 – January 20, 1613Denmark and Sweden fight the Kalmar War for control of the Baltic
In 1611 Christian IV of Denmark-Norway attacks Sweden at the start of the Kalmar War. The Treaty of Knäred on 20 January 1613 forces Sweden to pay a heavy indemnity, but Sweden keeps its territory, bar Älvsborg.
- 1611The King James Bible is published
Approved at the Hampton Court Conference in 1604, the Authorized Version is made by about 47 scholars and published in 1611 by Robert Barker. It draws on Tyndale and the Geneva Bible and long dominates English Bible reading.
- May 1611Matthias is crowned King of Bohemia after Rudolf II is forced out
In May 1611 Matthias is crowned King of Bohemia after he forces his brother Rudolf II to cede the kingdom. Rudolf keeps only the imperial title until his death.
- October 30, 1611Gustavus Adolphus becomes King of Sweden at sixteen
On 30 October 1611 Gustavus Adolphus becomes King of Sweden on his father Charles IX's death, aged sixteen, in the middle of the Kalmar War. He is declared of age in January 1612 and reorganises Swedish government and army.
- January 20, 1612Rudolf II dies in Prague and Matthias becomes emperor
Rudolf II dies in Prague on 20 January 1612. Matthias is elected emperor later that year and moves the court from Prague to Vienna, leaving Bohemia without an imperial residence.
- 1613Cervantes publishes the Novelas ejemplares
Miguel de Cervantes publishes twelve short stories as the Novelas ejemplares in Madrid in 1613, bringing the Italian novella to Spanish literature in an original form.
- c. 1613Luis de Góngora writes the Soledades, peak of culteranismo
Góngora composes the Soledades c. 1613, a dense, Latinate poem that circulates in manuscript. It defines culteranismo and sparks a long literary feud with Quevedo.
- February 14, 1613Frederick V of the Palatinate marries Elizabeth Stuart in London
On 14 February 1613 the Calvinist Elector Palatine marries Elizabeth, daughter of James I of England, at Whitehall. The match ties the Protestant Union's leader to England's royal house.
- 1614 – 1615Last Estates General before 1789 meets in Paris
Convened in the unrest after Henry IV's death during Louis XIII's minority, it achieved little and was dissolved. The French crown did not summon the Estates General again for 175 years.
- 1615Cervantes publishes the second part of Don Quixote
The Segunda parte del ingenioso caballero don Quijote de la Mancha appears in Madrid in 1615, a year before Cervantes died, answering a spurious 1614 sequel by 'Avellaneda'.
- 1615Heinrich Schütz moves to Dresden as court composer to the Elector of Saxony
Schütz, who had studied with Giovanni Gabrieli in Venice (1609-1612), took up service at the Saxon court in Dresden in 1615 and carried Italian Baroque idioms into German church music.
- 1617Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs agree the secret Treaty of Oñate
In 1617 Philip III of Spain agrees to back Ferdinand of Styria's succession in Bohemia and Hungary. In return Ferdinand gives Spain the route linking Italy to the Netherlands and rights in Alsace. Sources give March, June or July.
- June 29, 1617Ferdinand of Styria is crowned King of Bohemia
On 29 June 1617 the Catholic Archduke Ferdinand, known for his Counter-Reformation in Inner Austria, is crowned King of Bohemia as Matthias's heir. Bohemian Protestants fear for the Letter of Majesty.
- May 23, 1618Protestant nobles throw royal regents from a window at Prague Castle
On 23 May 1618 Bohemian Protestant leaders throw the Catholic regents Martinitz and Slavata and their secretary Fabricius from a window of the Bohemian Chancellery. All survive. The act starts the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years' War.
- August 29, 1618 – May 13, 1619Johan van Oldenbarnevelt is arrested and later beheaded in the Dutch Republic
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt, chief architect of the Twelve Years' Truce and protector of the Remonstrants, is imprisoned on 29 August 1618 and beheaded on 13 May 1619, four days after the Synod of Dort closes. Hugo Grotius gets a life sentence.
- November 13, 1618 – May 9, 1619The Synod of Dort condemns Arminianism and sets out Reformed doctrine
From 13 November 1618 to 9 May 1619 the Dutch Reformed Church meets at Dordrecht, expels the Remonstrants (Arminians) on 14 January 1619 and issues the Canons of Dort, often summed up as the "Five Points of Calvinism".
- 1619A Bohemian army under Count Thurn reaches the walls of Vienna
In 1619 the Bohemian rebel army, led by Count Thurn, advances into Austria and reaches the walls of Vienna, threatening the new ruler Ferdinand at his own capital. The Bohemian estates also seek allies in Hungary and the Empire.
- March 20, 1619Emperor Matthias dies in Vienna, leaving the Bohemian crisis to Ferdinand
Emperor Matthias dies on 20 March 1619, aged 62, without surviving children. His cousin Ferdinand of Styria, already crowned King of Bohemia, inherits the Habsburg lands as Bohemia is in open revolt.
- August 1619 – September 1619Gábor Bethlen of Transylvania invades Royal Hungary and joins the revolt
In August 1619 the Calvinist Prince of Transylvania, Gábor Bethlen, invades Habsburg-ruled Royal Hungary and in September takes Košice, where Protestant supporters proclaim him leader of Hungary and protector of Protestants.
- August 26, 1619Bohemian estates depose Ferdinand II and elect Frederick V as king
In August 1619 the Bohemian estates depose Ferdinand II and on 26 August elect the Calvinist Frederick V of the Palatinate as king. Sources date the deposition 19 or 26 August. Frederick accepts on 28 September.
- August 28, 1619Ferdinand II is elected Holy Roman Emperor at Frankfurt
On 28 August 1619, two days after Bohemia deposed him, Ferdinand II is elected emperor at Frankfurt unanimously, with the Palatine delegation first objecting. Frederick V himself votes for him. He is crowned on 9 September.
- November 4, 1619Frederick V is crowned King of Bohemia in Prague
On 4 November 1619 the Calvinist Elector Palatine is crowned Frederick I of Bohemia. His reign ends a year later at White Mountain, which earns him the nickname "Winter King".
- 1620Bacon publishes the Novum Organum
Francis Bacon's Novum Organum (1620), "New Instrument", is a rival to Aristotle's Organon. It rejects syllogistic logic for induction and says Aristotle made his natural philosophy "a mere slave to his logic". It also lists four "idols" that distort thought.
- c. 1620 – c. 1623The Kipper und Wipper debasement crisis hits the German lands
From about 1620 to 1623 German rulers and cities debase their coinage to pay for war. Inflation, riots and soldiers refusing coins follow, and debased money is later declared illegal and withdrawn.
- July 3, 1620 – May 14, 1621The Protestant Union declares neutrality at Ulm and is later dissolved
By the Treaty of Ulm on 3 July 1620 the Protestant Union declares neutrality and refuses to back Frederick V. Ferdinand II later orders it to disband its army, and it is formally dissolved on 14 May 1621.
- August 1620Gábor Bethlen is elected King of Hungary at Banská Bystrica
In August 1620 the Diet at Banská Bystrica elects the Calvinist Gábor Bethlen King of Hungary, in defiance of Ferdinand II. Sources give 20 or 25 August. He never has himself crowned and renounces the title in 1621.
- August 1620Spain's Army of Flanders invades the Lower Palatinate
In late August 1620 Ambrogio Spinola's Spanish Army of Flanders enters the Lower Palatinate from the Netherlands and takes Kreuznach and Oppenheim. This opens the Palatinate campaign, which lasts until August 1623.
- November 8, 1620Imperial and League forces crush the Bohemian army at White Mountain
On 8 November 1620 Tilly and Bucquoy rout Christian of Anhalt's Bohemian army near Prague in about an hour. Frederick V flees, and the Bohemian Revolt collapses.
- June 21, 1621Twenty-seven Bohemian rebel leaders are executed in Prague's Old Town Square
On 21 June 1621 twenty-seven leaders of the Bohemian Revolt, nobles, knights and burghers, are executed in Old Town Square. Twelve heads hang from the Old Town Bridge Tower until the Saxon invasion of 1631.
- December 31, 1621Peace of Nikolsburg: Bethlen renounces the Hungarian crown for religious guarantees
On 31 December 1621 Gábor Bethlen gives up the title of King of Hungary. He gets religious freedom for Hungarian Protestants, the title of Imperial Prince, seven counties, three fortresses and a Silesian duchy.
- April 27, 1622 – June 1622Tilly defeats the Protestant armies in the Palatinate at Wimpfen and Höchst
In spring 1622 Tilly's Catholic League army invades the Palatinate and beats Protestant forces at Mingolsheim (27 April), Wimpfen (early May, sources give 6 or 8) and Höchst (June).
- September 19, 1622Heidelberg falls to Tilly after an eleven-week siege
On 19 September 1622 Tilly takes Heidelberg, capital of the Electoral Palatinate, after eleven weeks. Mannheim falls soon after, and Frederick V, already in exile, flees to the United Provinces.
- February 1623Ferdinand II transfers the Palatine electoral dignity to Maximilian of Bavaria
In February 1623 Ferdinand II strips Frederick V of his electorate and gives it to Maximilian I of Bavaria, leader of the Catholic League. Maximilian also gains the Upper Palatinate, and Catholics now hold a majority among the electors.
- August 6, 1623Tilly defeats Christian of Brunswick at Stadtlohn and ends the Palatine phase
On 6 August 1623 Tilly destroys Christian of Brunswick's Protestant army at Stadtlohn near the Dutch border. Frederick V signs an armistice, which ends the Bohemian-Palatine phase of the war.
- May 8, 1624 – April 30, 1625The Dutch West India Company captures Salvador and loses it a year later
A Dutch fleet takes Salvador on 8 May 1624, and the Portuguese governor surrenders. A combined Spanish and Portuguese fleet retakes the city on 30 April 1625.
- August 12, 1624Cardinal Richelieu becomes chief minister of Louis XIII
Richelieu centralised royal power by curbing noble privileges, crushing Huguenot political power (La Rochelle, 1627-28) and using intendants, while steering France against the Habsburgs in the Thirty Years' War.
- May 9, 1625Christian IV of Denmark takes command of the Lower Saxon Circle and enters the war
On 9 May 1625 Christian IV, elected military commander of the Lower Saxon Circle, takes up arms against Ferdinand II as Duke of Holstein. His intervention opens the Danish phase of the war, financed by England and the Dutch.
- July 25, 1625Wallenstein is commissioned to raise an imperial army for Ferdinand II
On 25 July 1625 Albrecht von Wallenstein, made Duke of Friedland that year, receives his commission to raise an army for Ferdinand II at his own expense. It grows to tens of thousands, and sources differ on whether 30,000 or 50,000.
- December 9, 1625England, the Dutch Republic and Denmark ally at The Hague against the emperor
On 9 December 1625 England, the Dutch Republic and Denmark-Norway sign the Treaty of The Hague, under which the English and Dutch are to fund Christian IV. France, Sweden and Venice do not join, and the funds fall short.
- 1626Quevedo's picaresque novel El Buscón is published
Francisco de Quevedo's satirical picaresque novel El Buscón is first printed in Zaragoza in 1626, though written much earlier, c. 1604. It is a masterpiece of conceptismo.
- April 25, 1626Wallenstein routs Mansfeld at the Dessau Bridge over the Elbe
On 25 April 1626 Wallenstein's imperial army overpowers Ernst von Mansfeld's Protestant army as it tries to cross the Elbe at Dessau, the only land link between Magdeburg and Dresden. Mansfeld loses nearly half his army.
- August 27, 1626Tilly defeats Christian IV of Denmark at Lutter
On 27 August 1626 Tilly's Catholic League army defeats Christian IV at Lutter am Barenberge. The Danes lose all their artillery and thousands of men, and many German allies desert Christian.
- 1627Ferdinand II issues the Renewed Land Ordinance, making Catholicism Bohemia's only religion
In 1627 Ferdinand II's Renewed Land Ordinance makes the Bohemian lands hereditary Habsburg possessions, strips the Estates of their powers and allows only Catholicism, except for Jews. It stays in force, modified, until 1848.
- 1627Schütz's Dafne is staged at Torgau, traditionally the first German opera
Heinrich Schütz set a German translation of Rinuccini's Dafne for a court wedding at Torgau in 1627. The music is lost, but the work is traditionally regarded as the first German opera.
- September 10, 1627 – October 28, 1628Richelieu besieges La Rochelle and crushes the Huguenots' military power
Royal forces besiege the Huguenot stronghold of La Rochelle from August 1627 until it surrenders on 28 October 1628, despite three failed English relief expeditions. Its population falls from about 27,000 to 5,000.
- December 26, 1627 – June 19, 1631The War of the Mantuan Succession divides France, Spain and the emperor
Duke Vincenzo II of Mantua dies on 26 December 1627 without heirs. France and Venice back Charles of Nevers, Spain and the Empire another claimant. Imperial troops sack Mantua on 18 July 1630, and Cherasco confirms Nevers on 19 June 1631.
- 1628 – 1629Paulista bandeirantes raid and destroy the Jesuit missions of Guairá
In 1628-29 bandeirantes from São Paulo, led by Manuel Preto, destroy the Jesuit missions of Guairá and enslave their Guaraní. Estimates of captives range from about 5,000 to 100,000, and raids on other missions go on until 1632.
- 1628Ferdinand II deposes the Dukes of Mecklenburg and gives the duchy to Wallenstein
In early 1628 Ferdinand II deposes the hereditary Duke of Mecklenburg and installs Wallenstein, who by 1627 has also occupied Pomerania and Jutland. From April 1628 Wallenstein is also imperial admiral of the Baltic.
- May 13, 1628 – August 4, 1628Stralsund resists Wallenstein with Danish and Swedish help
From 13 May to 4 August 1628 Stralsund holds out against Wallenstein. On 23 June it signs a twenty-year alliance with Gustavus Adolphus, who sends troops. It is Wallenstein's first setback and Sweden's foothold in the Empire.
- September 7, 1628 – September 8, 1628Piet Hein captures Spain's treasure fleet at Matanzas Bay
On 7–8 September 1628 the Dutch West India Company's Piet Hein captures the Spanish silver fleet in Matanzas Bay, Cuba, taking goods worth about 11.5 million guilders. The loss strains Spain's war effort in the Netherlands.
- March 6, 1629Ferdinand II issues the Edict of Restitution
On 6 March 1629 Ferdinand II orders Protestants to return church lands secularised after 1555, which would change rulers in two archbishoprics, twelve bishoprics and over 100 religious houses. Protestant electors protest, and the Peace of Prague later revokes it.
- May 22, 1629Denmark makes peace with the emperor in the Treaty of Lübeck
On 22 May 1629 Wallenstein and Christian IV sign the Treaty of Lübeck, ratified by Ferdinand II on 7 June. Christian keeps his lands but gives up his claims to the Lower Saxon bishoprics and stays out of imperial affairs. Denmark declines as a power.
- September 26, 1629Sweden and Poland sign the Truce of Altmark, freeing Gustavus Adolphus for Germany
On 26 September 1629, with French mediation, Sweden and Poland-Lithuania agree a six-year truce. Sweden keeps Livonia and the revenue from Polish ports, which funds its entry into the Thirty Years' War in 1630.
- c. 1630Tirso de Molina's El burlador de Sevilla introduces Don Juan
El burlador de Sevilla, attributed to Tirso de Molina and dated c. 1630, stages the first literary version of the Don Juan legend, a seducer punished by a stone guest.
- February 1630 – 1654The Dutch take Olinda and Recife and begin their rule in northeastern Brazil
In February 1630 the Dutch West India Company takes Olinda, and Recife by 3 March. Dutch Brazil lasts until 1654, when the Portuguese regain the northeast.
- July 6, 1630Gustavus Adolphus lands on Usedom and brings Sweden into the war
On 6 July 1630 (26 June Old Style) Gustavus Adolphus lands his army on Usedom, off Pomerania, and Sweden enters the war. Sources differ on the force, from about 4,000 to 13,000 men. He occupies Pomerania under the Treaty of Stettin.
- August 13, 1630Ferdinand II dismisses Wallenstein at the Diet of Regensburg
On 13 August 1630 Ferdinand II decides at Regensburg to dismiss Wallenstein, whom he suspects of planning a coup. Envoys announce it in September, and Wallenstein gives his army to Tilly and retires to Jičín.
- January 23, 1631France agrees to finance Sweden in the Treaty of Bärwalde
On 23 January 1631 Richelieu's France agrees to pay Sweden 400,000 Reichstaler a year, and Sweden to keep an army of 36,000 in Germany. Gustavus Adolphus must respect Catholic worship and Bavaria's neutrality. Richelieu fights the Habsburgs by proxy.
- May 20, 1631Imperial and League troops storm and burn Magdeburg
On 20 May 1631, after a two-month siege, Tilly's and Pappenheim's troops storm Magdeburg. Fire destroys about 1,700 of 1,900 buildings and some 20,000 people die. Gustavus Adolphus does not relieve it, and "Magdeburg mercy" becomes a byword.
- September 17, 1631Gustavus Adolphus and Saxony defeat Tilly at Breitenfeld
On 17 September 1631 the Swedish-Saxon army defeats Tilly's Imperial-League army near Leipzig. The Saxons break early but the Swedes counterattack. It is the Protestants' first major victory and opens southern Germany to Sweden.
- 1632Ferdinand II recalls Wallenstein after Tilly's defeats
In 1632, after Gustavus Adolphus's victories at Breitenfeld and the Lech and Tilly's death, Ferdinand II recalls Wallenstein. He raises a new army within weeks and drives the Saxons from Bohemia.
- February 1632Galileo publishes the Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems
Printed at Florence in February 1632, Galileo's Dialogue pits Simplicio's Aristotelian and Ptolemaic views against Salviati, who cites the novae of 1572 and 1604 and sunspots against unchanging heavens. In 1633 he is found "vehemently suspect of heresy" and the book banned.
- April 15, 1632Gustavus Adolphus crosses the Lech at Rain and Tilly is mortally wounded
On 15 April 1632 Gustavus Adolphus defeats the Catholic League at Rain on the Lech. Tilly's thigh is shattered and he dies two weeks later. Maximilian of Bavaria retreats, leaving Bavaria open to Swedish invasion.
- May 17, 1632Gustavus Adolphus enters Munich
On 17 May 1632 Gustavus Adolphus's army enters Munich, capital of Maximilian of Bavaria, the leader of the Catholic League. Bavaria is widely pillaged. The Swedes then advance on Nuremberg.
- September 3, 1632Wallenstein repels Gustavus Adolphus's assault at the Alte Veste near Nuremberg
On 3 September 1632 Gustavus Adolphus attacks Wallenstein's entrenched camp at the Alte Veste, near Nuremberg, and is repulsed with about 2,500 casualties. Short of supplies, he withdraws south on 19 September.
- November 16, 1632Gustavus Adolphus is killed at the Battle of Lützen
On 16 November 1632 (6 November Old Style) Gustavus Adolphus is killed leading a cavalry charge at Lützen. The Swedes hold the field against Wallenstein, who withdraws to Bohemia, but Sweden loses its king and the war goes on.
- April 1633Sweden and the German circles form the Heilbronn League
In April 1633 Chancellor Axel Oxenstierna forms the Heilbronn League with the Swabian, Franconian and Rhenish circles to continue the war after Gustavus Adolphus's death. Sources give 23 or 27 April. Members pay under a third of what they pledge.
- January 24, 1634 – February 18, 1634Ferdinand II removes Wallenstein from command and declares him a traitor
On 24 January 1634 Ferdinand II signs a secret patent removing Wallenstein, and on 18 February an open patent charges him with treason and orders him brought to Vienna "dead or alive". Wallenstein had been negotiating secretly with Saxony, Sweden and France.
- February 25, 1634Wallenstein is murdered at Eger
On the night of 25 February 1634, Scottish and Irish officers in Wallenstein's own force kill his loyal officers at a feast at Cheb Castle. Captain Walter Devereux then spears Wallenstein. Ferdinand II rewards the assassins.
- September 5, 1634 – September 6, 1634Imperial and Spanish forces crush the Swedes at Nördlingen
On 5–6 September 1634 an Imperial-Spanish army routs the Swedish-German army of Horn and Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar at Nördlingen. Some 12,000 to 14,000 are killed or captured. Swedish power in southern Germany ends, and France soon enters the war.
- c. 1635Calderón de la Barca writes La vida es sueño
Pedro Calderón de la Barca's philosophical drama La vida es sueño, written c. 1635 and printed in 1636, explores fate and free will. It is a high point of Spanish Baroque theatre.
- April 30, 1635France and Sweden sign the Treaty of Compiègne
Richelieu and Oxenstierna ally France and Sweden against the Habsburgs, renewing Bärwalde's subsidies, with no separate peace. The date is Old Style (30 April); Sweden delays ratification until France declares war on Spain.
- May 19, 1635France declares war on Spain
On 19 May 1635 Louis XIII declares war on Spain and invades the Spanish Netherlands, openly entering the Thirty Years' War. It begins the Franco-Spanish War, which outlasts Westphalia and ends in 1659.
- May 30, 1635Ferdinand II and Saxony make the Peace of Prague
On 30 May 1635 (Old Style) Ferdinand II and Saxony sign the Peace of Prague. It effectively revokes the Edict of Restitution, sets 1627 as the cutoff for church property and bans alliances in the Empire. Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar fights on for France.
- August 1636Spanish army reaches Corbie, threatening Paris
In August 1636 a Spanish incursion from the Netherlands under the Cardinal-Infante takes Corbie in Picardy. Supply problems force it to retreat, and the attempt is not repeated.
- October 4, 1636Swedes defeat the Imperial-Saxon army at Wittstock
On 4 October 1636 Banér and Leslie rout Hatzfeldt's Imperial and Saxon army, which loses all its artillery. It restores Swedish prestige, but Brandenburg allies with the emperor.
- 1637The Dutch Statenvertaling is published
Ordered by the Synod of Dort in 1618 and paid for by the Dutch Republic, the Statenvertaling appears in 1637. It is the first Dutch Bible made directly from Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and the Reformed Church's standard text.
- 1637Teatro San Cassiano opens in Venice as the first public opera house
Opened in 1637 with Francesco Manelli's L'Andromeda, it was the first theatre to sell opera tickets to a paying public, moving the art form from courts to a commercial audience.
- February 15, 1637Ferdinand III succeeds his father as emperor
Elected King of the Romans at Regensburg on 22 December 1636, Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor when Ferdinand II dies on 15 February 1637. He rules through to Westphalia.
- October 21, 1639Dutch fleet destroys a Spanish armada at the Downs
On 21 October 1639 Maarten Tromp attacks Oquendo's fleet, anchored in neutral English waters, with fireships. Spain loses many ships and its hope of contesting Dutch sea power in the Channel.
- 1640Corpus de Sang: Catalan revolt breaks out in Barcelona
Riots by harvesters and townsfolk against billeted Spanish troops and the crown's demands begin the Reapers' War. Sources date it to Corpus Christi in May or 7 June 1640, so only the year is given.
- December 1, 1640Portugal revolts against Spain and acclaims John IV
On 1 December 1640 nobles and wealthy townsmen revolt and acclaim John IV, Duke of Braganza, ending 60 years of Habsburg rule. Spain accepts Portugal's sovereignty only in 1668.
- January 17, 1641Catalonia proclaims a republic under French protection
On 17 January 1641 the Junta de Braços accepts a Catalan Republic under French protection. After defeat at Martorell on 23 January, Pau Claris recognises Louis XIII as Count of Barcelona.
- January 26, 1641Franco-Catalan forces defeat Spain at Montjuïc
On 26 January 1641 Franco-Catalan forces win the Battle of Montjuïc outside Barcelona, securing the city for the rebels. Barcelona falls to Spain only in 1652.
- December 1641Hamburg preliminaries open the road to the Westphalian congress
In December 1641 Sweden, France and the empire negotiate a preliminary peace at Hamburg, which sets the way for the talks at Münster and Osnabrück. The page gives no day.
- November 2, 1642Torstensson defeats the Imperial army at Breitenfeld
On 2 November 1642 Torstensson's Swedes defeat Archduke Leopold Wilhelm and Piccolomini, who lose all 46 guns. Sweden gains Leipzig, but Saxony still does not make peace.
- December 4, 1642Cardinal Richelieu dies and Mazarin takes over
Richelieu dies in Paris on 4 December 1642, aged 57, having named Mazarin as successor. Mazarin's authority grows after Louis XIII's death on 14 May 1643, when Anne of Austria confirms him.
- January 1643Philip IV dismisses the Count-Duke of Olivares
In January 1643, after the Catalan and Portuguese revolts and a court intrigue, Philip IV dismisses his favourite Olivares. He retires and dies at Toro in 1645.
- May 14, 1643Louis XIV becomes king of France at age four
Louis XIV succeeded Louis XIII in 1643, with his mother Anne of Austria as regent and Cardinal Mazarin as chief minister. His reign lasted 72 years, the longest of any European monarch.
- May 19, 1643Condé defeats the Spanish at Rocroi
On 19 May 1643 the 21-year-old Duke of Enghien, later the Great Condé, defeats Melo's army at Rocroi. It ends the Spanish tercios' aura of invincibility. Estimates of Spanish losses vary widely.
- May 20, 1643 – October 28, 1643Dutch fleet under Brouwer raids Chiloé and occupies Valdivia
From May to October 1643 a Dutch expedition sacks Carelmapu and Castro, then occupies the ruined city of Valdivia, hoping for gold and a base against Spanish Peru. It leaves in October.
- November 29, 1643Death of Claudio Monteverdi in Venice
Monteverdi died on 29 November 1643, the year his last opera, L'incoronazione di Poppea, was first staged in Venice. He is the central figure in the passage from Renaissance to Baroque music.
- c. 1644 – 1648Peace congress meets at Münster and Osnabrück
From about 1644 delegations meet in Münster and Osnabrück, Catholic and Lutheran cities, with no exact opening date. 109 delegations take part and talks run until 1648 while fighting continues.
- February 1645Spain resettles Valdivia and begins its fortress system
In February 1645 a Spanish fleet from Callao reaches Valdivia and resettles it after the Dutch occupation, beginning the Valdivian fort system.
- March 6, 1645Swedes destroy the Imperial army at Jankau
On 6 March 1645 Torstensson defeats Hatzfeldt, who is captured, at Jankau in Bohemia. Hunger and exhaustion stop the Swedes from exploiting it, and they leave Bohemia by February 1646.
- August 3, 1645Condé and Turenne win at Nördlingen, at heavy cost
On 3 August 1645 near Alerheim, Enghien and Turenne defeat the Bavarians under Mercy, who is killed. French losses are heavy and the strategic gain is small, and Bavaria gets only a breathing space.
- August 13, 1645Denmark yields territory to Sweden at Brömsebro
On 13 August 1645 Denmark–Norway cedes Gotland, Ösel, Jämtland, Härjedalen and (for 30 years) Halland. It ends the Torstenson War and confirms Sweden's dominance in the Baltic.
- March 14, 1647France, Sweden and Bavaria sign the Truce of Ulm
On 14 March 1647 Elector Maximilian I of Bavaria accepts a truce with France and Sweden and drops his alliance with Ferdinand III. He breaks it on 14 September, returning to the emperor.
- 1648Pope Innocent X declares the Westphalian settlement void
Innocent X condemns the peace as "null, void, invalid, iniquitous, unjust, damnable, reprobate, inane" and without effect for all time. The page gives no date for the brief, so only the year is shown.
- 1648 – 1653The Fronde: revolts of Parlement and nobles against the crown
Civil wars during Louis XIV's minority pitted the Parlement of Paris and great nobles against the regency and Mazarin. The crown won, and the young Louis resolved to concentrate power in the monarchy.
- January 30, 1648Spain recognises the Dutch Republic at Münster
On 30 January 1648 Philip IV and the States General sign a separate peace at Münster, ending the Eighty Years' War. Spain recognises Dutch sovereignty; oaths are sworn on 15 May. It is not part of the Westphalian treaties.
- April 19, 1648 – February 19, 1649The Portuguese defeat the Dutch at the Battles of Guararapes
Two battles near Recife, on 19 April 1648 and 19 February 1649, turn the war in Portugal's favour. The Dutch are later besieged in Recife, which falls in 1654.
- May 17, 1648Franco-Swedish army wins at Zusmarshausen
On 17 May 1648 Wrangel and Turenne defeat the Imperial-Bavarian army, killing Melander. Montecuccoli's rearguard saves it from destruction. It is the last major battle on German soil, and Bavaria is plundered.
- August 20, 1648Condé crushes the Spanish at Lens
On 20 August 1648 Condé defeats Archduke Leopold Wilhelm's Spanish army, which loses about half its men. Often called the last major battle of the war, it adds pressure for peace, though the Fronde limits France.
- October 24, 1648Peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War
On 24 October 1648 treaties are signed at Osnabrück (emperor and Sweden) and Münster (emperor and France). The war killed an estimated 4.5 to 8 million people. Historians now doubt that the texts founded modern state sovereignty.
- October 24, 1648The Empire recognises Swiss independence
On 24 October 1648 Westphalia grants the Swiss Confederation legal independence from the Holy Roman Empire. Basel's mayor Johann Rudolf Wettstein, accredited in 1647, had lobbied for it at Münster.
- October 24, 1648Brandenburg-Prussia gains Farther Pomerania and four bishoprics
Westphalia gives Brandenburg-Prussia Farther Pomerania and the bishoprics of Magdeburg, Halberstadt, Kammin and Minden. The border with Swedish Pomerania is left open.
- October 24, 1648France gains Alsatian cities and confirms Metz, Toul and Verdun
At Münster France keeps Metz, Toul and Verdun, and receives the Alsatian Décapole cities (not Strasbourg or Mulhouse) and Pinerolo. The Franco-Spanish war continues.
- October 24, 1648Westphalia restores the Lower Palatinate and creates an eighth electorate
Charles I Louis regains the Lower Palatinate and a new, eighth electoral vote, while Bavaria keeps the Upper Palatinate and the Palatinate's former electoral vote, ending the dispute that began in 1623.
- October 24, 1648Westphalia recognises Calvinism and fixes 1624 as the religious norm
The treaties give Calvinism legal standing beside Catholicism and Lutheranism, take 1 January 1624 as the normative year for each state's religion, and end rulers' power to impose their faith on subjects. Half of the imperial court's judges must be Protestant.
- October 24, 1648Sweden gains Western Pomerania, Wismar, Bremen and Verden
At Osnabrück Sweden receives an indemnity of five million thalers, Western Pomerania, Wismar and the prince-bishoprics of Bremen and Verden as hereditary fiefs, with seats in the Imperial Diet.
- January 1654The Dutch surrender Recife and leave Brazil
After a siege of about two years, the Dutch capitulate at Recife in January 1654 (26 or 28 January, depending on the source). The Dutch lose their Brazilian colony.
- April 1655English Western Design force fails to take Santo Domingo, then seizes Jamaica
In April 1655 Cromwell's expedition under Penn and Venables is repulsed outside Santo Domingo, losing about a thousand men. The fleet turns to weakly held Jamaica and takes it in May.
- 1661Louis XIV begins his personal rule after Mazarin's death
On Cardinal Mazarin's death Louis XIV declined to appoint another chief minister and governed himself, with Colbert and Louvois running finance and the army, the model of French absolutism.
- 1661Lully becomes superintendent of Louis XIV's royal music
The Florence-born Jean-Baptiste Lully was made superintendent of the music of Louis XIV in 1661 and naturalised as a French subject that December, beginning his control of French court music.
- 1663John Eliot's Massachusett Bible is printed in Cambridge, Massachusetts
In 1663 the Puritan missionary John Eliot, with Massachusett assistants such as James Printer, publishes a complete Bible in the Massachusett language, the first in an Indigenous American language. The New Testament came out in 1661.
- 1665Louis XIV names Bertrand d'Ogeron governor of Tortuga and the coast of Saint-Domingue
In 1665 France appoints Bertrand d'Ogeron to govern the buccaneers and settlers on Tortuga and the north-western coast of Hispaniola. He promotes tobacco planting and brings in indentured labourers, laying the base of Saint-Domingue.
- 1670Spinoza's Tractatus questions the Bible's authorship
Published anonymously in 1670 with a false Hamburg imprint, Spinoza's Theological-Political Treatise urges reading the Bible critically like any text and denies that Moses wrote the Pentateuch. Banned in 1674.
- 1672Lully takes over the Académie royale de musique, the Paris opera
In 1672 Lully acquired Pierre Perrin's opera privilege and directed the Académie royale de musique, where with the poet Quinault he created French tragédie en musique, beginning with Cadmus et Hermione in 1673.
- 1678Richard Simon's critical history of the Old Testament is suppressed
In 1678 the French priest Richard Simon publishes his Histoire critique du Vieux Testament, questioning Moses's authorship of much of the Pentateuch. Royal authorities seize and destroy the printing.
- May 25, 1681Calderón de la Barca dies, closing the Golden Age
Pedro Calderón de la Barca dies in Madrid on 25 May 1681. Many scholars take his death as the cultural end of the Spanish Golden Age; others end it at the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees.
- 1682Louis XIV moves the royal court to Versailles
Louis XIV made the palace of Versailles the permanent seat of the court and government, drawing the high nobility into ceremonial life under royal supervision.
- September 12, 1683Polish-Imperial army lifts the Ottoman siege of Vienna
A relief army led by Jan III Sobieski of Poland and Emperor Leopold I's forces routs Kara Mustafa's Ottoman army outside Vienna. It is the last great Ottoman threat to central Europe and opens the Habsburg reconquest of Hungary.
- March 1685Louis XIV issues the Code Noir for slavery in the French colonies
The March 1685 edict of 60 articles sets the legal framework for slavery in France's Caribbean colonies, requiring baptism of the enslaved while permitting harsh punishments. It was registered in Saint-Domingue in 1687.
- October 18, 1685Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes (Edict of Fontainebleau)
Louis XIV ended legal toleration of Protestants, ordering their churches destroyed. Hundreds of thousands of Huguenots fled France over the following years, taking skills and capital abroad.
- March 22, 1687Death of Jean-Baptiste Lully in Paris
Lully died on 22 March 1687 of gangrene after striking his foot with a conducting staff during a Te Deum celebrating Louis XIV's recovery from surgery. He had refused amputation.
- July 5, 1687Newton's Principia
Newton publishes the laws of motion and universal gravitation.
- c. 1689Purcell's Dido and Aeneas is performed at a girls' school in Chelsea
Henry Purcell's only fully sung opera, to a libretto by Nahum Tate, was staged at Josias Priest's boarding school in Chelsea by the end of 1689. Some scholars date its composition to about 1683, for the court.
- c. 1695Gold is discovered in the interior of Brazil, starting the gold rush
In the 1690s, with 1695 given for the strike at Rio das Velhas by Manuel Borba Gato, gold is found in Minas Gerais. Vila Rica, now Ouro Preto, is founded in 1698; about 800 tonnes of gold go to Portugal in the 18th century.
- November 20, 1695Zumbi is captured and beheaded after the fall of Palmares
In January 1694 Portuguese forces take Palmares's main settlement, Cerca do Macaco; Zumbi escapes wounded and is betrayed and beheaded on 20 November 1695. Resistance in the region continues for decades.
- November 21, 1695Death of Henry Purcell in London
Purcell, organist of Westminster Abbey and the Chapel Royal and the leading English composer of his day, died on 21 November 1695 at about 36.
- 1697Treaty of Ryswick: Spain tacitly recognises French rule in western Hispaniola
The 1697 peace ending the Nine Years' War gives France title to the western third of Hispaniola, now called Saint-Domingue, though the treaty text does not name the island or fix a border.
- January 26, 1699Treaty of Karlowitz: Ottomans cede most of Hungary to the Habsburgs
After the Habsburg-Ottoman war of 1683-97 and the Ottoman defeat at Zenta, the Ottomans surrender Hungary (except the Banat of Temesvár), Slavonia and Transylvania to Emperor Leopold I.
- 1700Corelli publishes his Opus 5 violin sonatas in Rome
Arcangelo Corelli's twelve sonatas for violin and continuo, ending with variations on La Folia, helped establish the violin as a prestigious solo instrument and became a model across Europe.
- c. 1700Bartolomeo Cristofori's piano is recorded in the Medici inventory
The Florentine instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori, employed by Prince Ferdinando de' Medici, built a keyboard that could play soft and loud. The 1700 Medici inventory is the first unambiguous record of the piano.
- 1711Vivaldi publishes L'estro armonico in Amsterdam
Antonio Vivaldi's Opus 3, twelve concertos printed by Estienne Roger in Amsterdam, spread his concerto style across Europe and strongly influenced other composers, including J. S. Bach.
- February 24, 1711Handel's Rinaldo opens at the Queen's Theatre, London
Premiered on 24 February 1711, Rinaldo was the first Italian opera George Frideric Handel wrote for the London stage and a popular success, bringing Italian opera seria to Britain.
- January 8, 1713Death of Arcangelo Corelli in Rome
Corelli, patronised by Cardinals Pamphili and Ottoboni, died in Rome on 8 January 1713. His Opus 6 concerti grossi were published in Amsterdam the following year.
- September 1, 1715Death of Louis XIV; his great-grandson Louis XV succeeds
Louis XIV died after 72 years on the throne, leaving a powerful but war-weary and heavily indebted France to his five-year-old great-grandson Louis XV.
- May 27, 1717Spain creates the Viceroyalty of New Granada, taking the north from Peru
On 27 May 1717 the Crown makes New Granada, with its capital at Bogotá, a viceroyalty carved from Peru's northern territories. It is suppressed around 1723-24 and restored permanently in 1739-40, sources differing on the years.
- February 1719 – 1729The Royal Academy of Music is founded in London to stage Italian opera
Founded in February 1719 as a joint-stock company by aristocrats, with Handel as its key composer, it hired star singers such as Senesino and Cuzzoni. Costs and rivalries sank it by 1729.
- March 24, 1721Bach dedicates the Brandenburg Concertos to Margrave Christian Ludwig
While Kapellmeister at Köthen, Johann Sebastian Bach sent six concertos to the Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, dated 24 March 1721, at the Margrave's request after meeting him in Berlin.
- 1722Rameau publishes the Traité de l'harmonie
Jean-Philippe Rameau's treatise introduced the 'fundamental bass' and the idea that chords derive from root notes, becoming the basis of later Western music theory.
- 1723 – 1750Bach becomes Thomaskantor in Leipzig
Johann Sebastian Bach succeeded Johann Kuhnau as cantor of the St Thomas School, directing music for Leipzig's main churches until his death in 1750. There he wrote most of his church cantatas and the Passions.
- 1725Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is published in Amsterdam
Antonio Vivaldi's four violin concertos, each tied to a season, were printed in 1725 as the first four of the twelve in Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione, Opus 8.
- July 27, 1733Bach presents the Kyrie and Gloria of the future B minor Mass to the Saxon Elector
On 27 July 1733 Johann Sebastian Bach petitioned the new Elector Augustus III in Dresden, sending a Kyrie and Gloria. He expanded them into the complete Mass in B minor in 1748-49.
- October 1, 1733Rameau's Hippolyte et Aricie premieres in Paris and divides the audience
The first opera of Jean-Philippe Rameau, staged at the Académie royale de musique on 1 October 1733, was praised and attacked for its harmonic novelty and started a pamphlet war with Lully's admirers.
- July 9, 1737Gian Gastone dies, ending the Medici as rulers of Florence
Gian Gastone, the seventh and last Medici grand duke, dies at the Palazzo Pitti on 9 July 1737, ending almost 300 years of Medici rule. Francis Stephen of Lorraine succeeds him.
- July 28, 1741Death of Antonio Vivaldi in Vienna
Vivaldi, the Venetian priest and violinist whose concertos shaped the form, died in poverty in Vienna on 28 July 1741, aged 63.
- 1742Juan Santos Atahualpa rises in the Peruvian jungle and expels the missionaries
In 1742 Juan Santos, who claims to be the reincarnated Inca Atahualpa, leads the Asháninka and others from the Gran Pajonal against Spain. Over a decade, the rebels force the evacuation of 23 missions. Sources give the end as 1752 or 1756.
- April 13, 1742Handel's Messiah is first performed in Dublin
Composed in London in 24 days in 1741 to a text by Charles Jennens, Messiah premiered on 13 April 1742 at the Great Music Hall, Fishamble Street, as a charity concert that freed 142 imprisoned debtors.
- c. 1743Birth of Toussaint Louverture on a plantation near Cap-Français
Toussaint, later called Louverture, is born enslaved in Saint-Domingue, most likely on the Bréda plantation near Cap-Français. 20 May 1743 is the usual date, but it is uncertain.
- October 28, 1746An earthquake and tsunami destroy Lima and Callao
On 28 October 1746 an earthquake of about magnitude 8.6-8.8 wrecks Lima, and a tsunami razes Callao, which has fewer than 200 survivors. About 5,900 people die. Viceroy Manso de Velasco rebuilds Lima with the mathematician Louis Godin.
- May 7, 1747Bach visits Frederick the Great at Potsdam and writes The Musical Offering
On 7 May 1747 Johann Sebastian Bach was received by Frederick II of Prussia at Potsdam. He printed the resulting contrapuntal The Musical Offering in September of that year.
- January 13, 1750Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Madrid, replacing Tordesillas
On 13 January 1750 the two crowns set the borders of their South American colonies by actual possession, accepting Brazil's westward expansion. Spain gets Colonia del Sacramento; Portugal the seven Jesuit missions; Spain annuls it in 1761.
- July 28, 1750Death of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig
Bach died on 28 July 1750 after unsuccessful eye surgery, leaving The Art of Fugue unfinished. His death is the conventional end of the Baroque period in music.
- January 1758François Makandal is burned at Cap-Français after a poisoning scare in Saint-Domingue
Makandal, a maroon leader accused of leading a plot to poison planters, is executed at Cap-Français in January 1758. Colonists' fear of poisoning lasts until the Haitian Revolution; his survival became legend.
- April 14, 1759Death of George Frideric Handel in London
Handel, a German-born naturalised British subject who had made oratorio and Italian opera central to London's musical life, died on 14 April 1759 and was buried in Westminster Abbey on 20 April.
- September 3, 1759Pombal expels the Jesuits from Portugal and its empire
On 3 September 1759 the Marquis of Pombal, chief minister of Joseph I, decrees the expulsion of the Jesuits from all Portuguese domains. Their temporal power in Brazil had already been curtailed in 1758.
- June 6, 1762 – August 13, 1762A British fleet and army besiege and capture Havana
The British siege of Havana lasts from 6 June to 13 August 1762 during the Seven Years' War. Their rule opens Cuba to free trade and adds about 3,200 enslaved Africans to the roughly 4,000 already on the island.
- 1763Brazil's capital moves from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro
In 1763 the colonial administration moves from Salvador, the capital since 1549, to Rio de Janeiro.
- 1763Spain recovers Havana from Britain in exchange for Florida
The 1763 Peace of Paris ends the Seven Years' War. Britain returns Havana to Spain, which cedes Florida; France gives Spain Louisiana as compensation. Sources differ on whether the handover was in February or April 1763.
- February 10, 1763Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Years' War; France loses its North American empire
Under Louis XV, France ceded Canada and its lands east of the Mississippi (except New Orleans) to Britain, losing most of its North American empire and weakening its finances.
- August 15, 1769Napoleon Bonaparte is born in Ajaccio, Corsica
Napoleone Buonaparte was born on the island of Corsica. He later rose through the French army during the Revolution.
- May 10, 1774Louis XVI becomes king of France at age 19
Louis XVI succeeded his grandfather Louis XV in 1774 inheriting a deeply indebted government; reforms by Turgot and others were blocked by the parlements.
- c. 1776Toussaint Louverture is freed from slavery in Saint-Domingue
Between about 1772 and 1776 Toussaint gains his freedom while working on the Bréda plantation. Historians long thought he stayed enslaved until the revolution; records of 1776-77 show otherwise.
- August 1, 1776Spain creates the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, detaching Upper Peru from Lima
On 1 August 1776 the Crown creates a viceroyalty at Buenos Aires that takes Upper Peru, including the silver of Potosí, away from the Viceroyalty of Peru. It is the second large loss of territory for Peru after New Granada.
- June 3, 1777Treaty of Aranjuez fixes the border between Spanish Santo Domingo and French Saint-Domingue
Signed on 3 June 1777, the treaty settles the boundary left open since Ryswick (1697), set roughly where French settlements ended. It is the origin of the line between Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
- 1778France allies with the American revolutionaries against Britain
Louis XVI's government signed a formal alliance with the United States and entered the war, aiming to avenge 1763. The costs added heavily to the crown's debt.
- c. 1780 – 1789Saint-Domingue becomes France's richest colony on sugar, coffee and enslaved labour
By the 1780s the colony supplies roughly 40 percent of Europe's sugar and more than half its coffee. About 500,000 enslaved Africans, around nine in ten inhabitants, work its plantations. Figures vary by source.
- November 4, 1780 – 1783Túpac Amaru II leads the great Andean rebellion against Spanish rule
On 4 November 1780 followers of Túpac Amaru II seize the corregidor Antonio de Arriaga near Tinta, who is hanged on 10 November. The rising spreads across the southern Andes and ends in 1782-83; sources give different end dates.
- May 18, 1781Túpac Amaru II is executed in Cusco
Sentenced on 15 May 1781, Túpac Amaru II is executed on 18 May in the Plaza de Armas of Cusco, beheaded after the attempt to quarter him fails. The revolt continues under his relative Diego Cristóbal, who is executed in 1783.
- 1787Assembly of Notables rejects Calonne's fiscal reforms
Louis XVI's finance minister Calonne asked an assembly of the privileged orders to accept new taxes. They refused, and attempts to force the Parlement of Paris to register the reforms also failed.
- 1788Louis XVI convokes the Estates General for 1789
Faced with a fiscal crisis after the failure of reforms in 1787, Louis XVI called the Estates General, which had not met since 1614, as a last attempt to approve new taxes.
- 1789The Inconfidência Mineira, a plot to free Minas Gerais from Portugal, is uncovered
In 1789 informers reveal a conspiracy in Minas Gerais, sparked by a planned derrama tax on the declining gold output and inspired by the thirteen colonies' independence. The conspirators are arrested; the plot has no clear leader or plan.
- February 28, 1789Spain's crown opens the slave trade to its subjects in Cuba
A royal decree of 28 February 1789 lets Spanish subjects bring enslaved Africans directly to Cuba. With Saint-Domingue's sugar in ruins after 1791, the island becomes a major slave-based sugar producer. Historians debate how new the policy was.
- May 5, 1789The Estates General opens at Versailles
Representatives of the clergy, nobility and Third Estate met at Versailles for the first time in 175 years. A dispute over voting by order or by head quickly paralysed the assembly.
- June 17, 1789The Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly
Deputies of the Third Estate, joined by some clergy, proclaimed themselves the National Assembly, claiming to represent the French nation and challenging the king's and nobility's authority.
- June 20, 1789Tennis Court Oath at Versailles
Locked out of their meeting hall, members of the National Assembly gathered in a nearby tennis court and swore not to disperse until France had a constitution.
- July 14, 1789Parisians storm the Bastille
A Paris crowd seized the royal fortress-prison of the Bastille in search of arms, an uprising that came to symbolise the start of the French Revolution and the collapse of royal authority in the capital.
- August 4, 1789National Assembly votes to abolish feudal privileges
After the Great Fear peasant revolts, the Assembly voted on the night of 4 August to end seigneurial rights, tithes, tax exemptions and venal offices; the decrees were issued between 4 and 11 August.
- August 26, 1789Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The National Assembly adopted a charter of liberty, equality before the law and national sovereignty, which became a foundation text of modern human-rights and constitutional thought.
- October 5, 1789Parisian women march on Versailles; the royal family is taken to Paris
A crowd of Parisian women, followed by the National Guard, marched on Versailles over bread prices and forced Louis XVI and his family to move to the Tuileries in Paris.
- July 12, 1790Civil Constitution of the Clergy
The National Assembly made French priests and bishops elected, salaried state officials, splitting the clergy and Catholics between oath-takers and refusers and deepening opposition to the Revolution.
- October 1790Vincent Ogé leads a revolt of free people of color in Saint-Domingue
In October 1790 Vincent Ogé, a free man of color back from Paris, rises in the north of Saint-Domingue to demand equal political rights. He is defeated, handed over by the Spanish and executed at Le Cap in March 1791.
- June 1791Louis XVI and his family flee Paris and are caught at Varennes
The royal family tried to escape Paris by night to reach royalist troops, but were recognised and arrested at Varennes and brought back, destroying much public trust in the king. The flight began on the night of 20-21 June.
- August 1791Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman precedes the great slave uprising in Saint-Domingue
Enslaved leaders including Dutty Boukman and Cécile Fatiman are said to hold a Vodou ceremony at Bois Caïman in August 1791, usually dated 14 August, and swear to fight for liberty. Details rest on later accounts.
- August 1791Enslaved people rise across the Northern Plain of Saint-Domingue
In late August 1791 thousands of enslaved people burn plantations and kill planters across the north of Saint-Domingue around Le Cap, the start of the Haitian Revolution.
- September 3, 1791France adopts its first written constitution
The National Assembly adopted the Constitution of 1791, creating a constitutional monarchy with an elected Legislative Assembly and a suspensive royal veto. It took effect on 14 September.
- April 4, 1792France's Legislative Assembly grants equal rights to free people of color
The decree of 4 April 1792 gives free men of color in the colonies full political and civil equality with whites. It is sent to Saint-Domingue with commissioners Sonthonax and Polverel and 6,000 troops.
- April 20, 1792France declares war on Austria, opening the Revolutionary Wars
The Legislative Assembly voted for war against Austria on the proposal of Louis XVI's ministers, starting the French Revolutionary Wars that would last until the Napoleonic era.
- April 21, 1792Tiradentes is hanged in Rio de Janeiro for the Inconfidência Mineira
On 21 April 1792 Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, known as Tiradentes, is hanged, and his body is quartered and displayed in Vila Rica. Queen Maria I commutes the other death sentences, but not his, since he took full responsibility.
- August 10, 1792Insurrection of 10 August: the Tuileries Palace is stormed
Armed Parisians and provincial volunteers stormed the Tuileries; the royal family took refuge in the Legislative Assembly, which suspended Louis XVI, effectively ending the monarchy.
- September 20, 1792French army halts the Prussians at Valmy
French forces under Kellermann and Dumouriez stopped a Prussian army led by the Duke of Brunswick in Champagne, the first major French success of the Revolutionary Wars and a boost to the new regime.
- September 22, 1792The National Convention abolishes the monarchy; the First French Republic is proclaimed
The newly elected National Convention ended royal rule in France, a day after the victory at Valmy. The Republic was proclaimed on 22 September 1792.
- 1793 – July 27, 1794The Reign of Terror
Under the Committee of Public Safety and Robespierre, the Revolutionary Tribunal and the Law of Suspects (17 September 1793) sent many thousands to prison and the guillotine. Historians date its start variously from March to September 1793; it ended 27 July 1794.
- January 21, 1793Louis XVI is guillotined in Paris
Convicted by the National Convention, which voted for death by a one-vote majority on 20 January, Louis XVI was executed on the guillotine at the Place de la Révolution.
- April 6, 1793Committee of Public Safety established
The National Convention created the Committee of Public Safety, which became the de facto wartime government of France and directed the Reign of Terror.
- c. June 1793Toussaint Louverture joins the Spanish side against the French colonial government
In 1793 Toussaint follows rebel leaders Jean-François and Biassou into alliance with Spain, which holds the east of Hispaniola. Sources suggest early June; the date is not firm.
- August 1793Sonthonax proclaims the abolition of slavery in northern Saint-Domingue
Civil commissioner Léger-Félicité Sonthonax, facing revolt and foreign invasion, decrees the end of slavery in the north of Saint-Domingue in August 1793 without Paris's approval. Polverel soon does the same in the south and west.
- August 29, 1793Toussaint Louverture issues the Camp Turel proclamation
On 29 August 1793, the day Sonthonax decrees emancipation in the north, Toussaint calls on the Black population to join him as 'Louverture'. The name is first recorded about this time.
- February 4, 1794The French National Convention abolishes slavery in all French colonies
On 4 February 1794 the Convention in Paris confirms emancipation across France's colonies, making formerly enslaved people citizens. It is the first abolition of slavery by a major colonial power.
- May 1794Toussaint Louverture leaves the Spanish side and rallies to the French Republic
In May 1794, after the Convention's abolition decree, Toussaint Louverture turns his forces against Spain and Britain and joins France's side in Saint-Domingue. He rises to become the colony's leading general.
- July 27, 1794Robespierre is overthrown on 9 Thermidor and executed
The National Convention turned on Maximilien Robespierre and his allies, arresting them on 27 July 1794; they were guillotined the next day, ending the Terror.
- July 22, 1795Treaty of Basel: Spain cedes Santo Domingo to France
On 22 July 1795 Spain makes peace with the French Republic and gives up the eastern part of Hispaniola in exchange for the Spanish territory France had occupied. The handover is delayed for years.
- October 26, 1795 – November 9, 1799The Directory takes power in France
Under the Constitution of Year III, a five-man executive called the Directory replaced the Convention's committees. It governed amid war, inflation and instability until 1799.
- 1796Toussaint Louverture rescues Governor Laveaux and becomes lieutenant governor
After Villatte's coup of 20 March 1796 seizes Governor Étienne Laveaux, Toussaint's troops free him. Laveaux names Toussaint lieutenant governor, making him the colony's second-ranking official.
- April 1796 – 1797Bonaparte's first Italian campaign against Austria and Piedmont
Commanding the French Army of Italy, Bonaparte began a campaign in Italy in April 1796 (the Montenotte campaign) during the Revolutionary Wars, the first major step in his rise.
- 1798Britain agrees with Toussaint Louverture to leave Saint-Domingue
After the Maitland-Louverture armistice of 30 March 1798 British troops evacuate their occupied zones on Saint-Domingue, ending a five-year intervention begun in 1793. Sources give August to October for the final departure.
- 1798Revolutionary France annexes the Republic of Geneva
In 1798, under economic and political pressure, Geneva's government asks for annexation, and the French Directory annexes the city and its territory. This ends the independent Republic of Geneva.
- 1798 – 1799Bonaparte invades Egypt and Syria
A French army under Bonaparte invaded Ottoman Egypt in 1798, fighting the Battle of the Pyramids on 21 July. The army was cut off from France after the British naval victory at the Nile in August.
- August 1, 1798 – August 3, 1798Nelson destroys the French fleet at the Battle of the Nile
Rear-Admiral Horatio Nelson attacked the French fleet anchored at Aboukir Bay; its commander Brueys was killed and most ships lost. Bonaparte's army was left stranded in Egypt.
- October 1798Toussaint Louverture forces French agent Hédouville to leave Saint-Domingue
In October 1798 Gabriel Hédouville, sent by Paris to curb Toussaint, sails for France after Toussaint and Dessalines threaten his arrest. Toussaint becomes the colony's effective ruler.
- June 1799 – July 1800Toussaint Louverture defeats André Rigaud in the War of the Knives
From June 1799 to July 1800 Toussaint's forces fight the mulatto general André Rigaud for control of the south of Saint-Domingue. Toussaint wins and becomes master of the whole French colony.
- November 9, 1799Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the Directory (18 Brumaire)
General Napoleon Bonaparte and conspirators dissolved the Directory in a coup and set up the Consulate, with Bonaparte as First Consul, ending the Revolution's republican phase.