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Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther posts 95 theses on the door of Schlosskirche
Martin Luther, a German monk, became the inadvertant catalyst for the Protestan Reformation when he posted his 95 theses protesting indulgences and promoting justification by faith on a church door in Wittenberg. Although originally aiming for reform, Luther went on to reject the Catholic church after Pope Leo X decried his theses as “heretical, scandalous, offensive to pious ears,”. He was the founder of the Lutheran Church and completed a highly influential German translation of the bible. -
Sep 20, 1519
Ferdinand Magellan begins first ever voyage around the world
Ferdinand Magellen set sail September 20th, 1519 on an expedition that would prove to be the first circumnavigation of the globe. Magellan began this journey aiming to prove that the Spice Islands were located on the Spanish side of the line of demarcation set by the Pope, belonging to Spain, not Portugal. He discoverd the Straits of Magellan located below South America before his death in the Phillipines. Despite Magellan's death, one of his ships, the Victoria, made it back to Spain in 1522 -
Jan 1, 1534
Act of Supremacy
The Act of Supremancy, passed by Parliament in 1534, proclaimed Henry VIII and his future sucessors heads of the Church of England. This act was repealed by Mary I in 1555 then reinstated 4 years later under Elizabeth I. -
Jan 1, 1534
Beginning of the Ottoman Safavid War
The Ottoman Empire, under the leadership of Suleyman the Magnificant, attacked the Persian Safavid Empire in 1534. The war was precipitated by territorial disputes and diplomatic tension involving a potential Hapsburg-Persian alliance. Combat ended in 1555 with the Peace of Amasaya, which gave the Ottomans control of Baghdad, lower Mesopotamia and parts of the Persian Gulf Coast. -
Dec 13, 1545
Council of Trent is convoked
Pope Paul III assembled the Council of Trent in order to address corruption within the Roman Catholic Church and the growing threat of the Protestant Reformation. The Council ran for about 15 years, with several interruptions by war and political problems. The council succeeded in eliminating most of the corruption accumulated during the Renaissance, but was unable to thwart the Reformation. -
Jan 16, 1547
Ivan IV is proclaimed first tzar of Russia
Ivan IV was an ambitious but brutal ruler. During his reign he refined Russia's legal code, reformed administration, gave power to the church and reorganized the military under a merit based chain of command. These reforms weakened the traditional aristocracy and centralized government. An unsuccessful war and acts of terror committed by Ivan on his own people, leading to his byname the Terrible, weakend Russia, but overall Ivan made significant contributions to Russia's political development -
Nov 17, 1558
Accession of Queen Elizabeth I
Protestant Queen Elizabeth I took power after the death of her half-sister, the very Catholic Queen Mary I. Elizabeth was an incredibly popular ruler and remains highly regarded to this day. She shrewdly navigated the tense political world of the late Renaissance and led England to an age of cultural and economic prosperity. -
Jan 1, 1560
Oda Nobunaga takes control of Owari Province
Oda Nobunaga, a Japanese daimyo, initiated the unification of Japan, ending a period of feudal war. Owari was Oda's home province, and its conquest began his military career, which would eventually inclued control over half the provinces in the country. Unification was completed by his successors Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu. -
Aug 23, 1572
St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre
French Catholic leaders ordered the slaughter Huguenot leaders at the wedding of Henri of Navarre and Margot Valois. This tragic event escalated as mobs of French Catholics attacked thousands of Huguenots in Paris and surrounding provinces. -
Sep 15, 1575
Selimiye Mosque is completed
The Selimiye Mosque was designed by Mimar Sinan, a prominent Ottoman architect, for the city of Edirne, Turkey. The mosque features a single dome flanked by four slim minarets, inspired by Istanbul's Hagia Sophia. Sinan considered this beautiful mosque his masterpiece. -
Attempted Invasion of England by the Spanish Armada
Relations between Roman Catholic Spain and Protestant England had long been growing tense. Raids on Spanish ships by English privateers, English support of a Dutch rebellion against Spain and intense religious fevor induced Philip II of Spain to order a direct invasion of England. An immense armada of Spanish warships was defeated by a much smaller English fleet skillfully led by Sir Francis Drake and Lord Charles Howard. -
Discovery of the lost colony
Governor John White established a colony of 100 settlers on Roanoke Island, now part of North Carolina, in 1587. White left to procure supplies in England and, due to the invasion of the Armada, was unable to return until 1590. When he arrived on Roanoke Island, he discovered all the settlers had disappeard; the only hint being the word Croatoan carved on a nearby tree. The mystery of the lost colony has remained unsolved up to present day. -
Edict of Nantes
The edict of nantes was an law passed by Henry IV, formerly Henry of Navarre, promoting religious tolerance in France. The edict gave Huguenots civil liberties, the right to publically worship in parts of France and allowed them to retain the land they currently held. It restored Catholicism in regions disrupted by war and made the spread of Protestanism illegal. This law was an incredible act of tolerance in an intolerant time and is considered the end of the French Religious Wars. -
Founding of Acadia
Pierre du Gua de Monts and Samuel de Champlain founded a French colony on an island near Nova Scotia. The colony, Acadia, would pass between French and British rule until 1784, when it officially became a British colony. -
Defenestration of Prague
Imperial authorities ordered construction of Protestant chapels in Bohemia to be shut down, violating the Letter of Majesty of Emperor Rudolph II. In response, Protestant leaders tossed three imperial agents out of a window as a rebellion against Hapsburg rule. This event marks the beginning of the Thirty Years War, which gradually shifted from religious to political warfare, ending the European wars of religion. -
Death of the Wanli Emperor
The Wanli emperor neglected his political duties and allowed corruption to dominate his administration. His reign completed the decline of the Ming dynasty.
