1500s timeline: what happened in the 16th century?
The 16th century saw the High Renaissance, the Reformation and the first voyage around the world.
72 events, oldest first.
Timeline of The 1500s
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1500
Cabral reaches Brazil
Portugal's claim on Brazil is why Brazilians speak Portuguese today.
History of exploration
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1501
Amerigo Vespucci sails along South America
His letters argued the lands were a 'New World', not part of Asia.
History of exploration
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c. 1503
Leonardo da Vinci begins the Mona Lisa
Leonardo kept working on it for years and never delivered it to the man who ordered it.
Art & literature history
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1504
Michelangelo completes his David
He carved it from a block of marble that other sculptors had abandoned.
Art & literature history
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1507
'America' first appears on a map
Martin Waldseemüller named the new continent after explorer Amerigo Vespucci.
History of exploration
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1509
Henry VIII becomes king
He was 17 and had only become heir when his older brother Arthur died.
Early modern history
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1511
Raphael paints The School of Athens
Raphael painted himself among the great philosophers.
Art & literature history
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1512
Michelangelo completes the Sistine Chapel ceiling
He painted it standing on scaffolding - not lying on his back, as is often claimed.
Art & literature history
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1513
Balboa sights the Pacific Ocean
He was the first European to see the Pacific from the Americas.
History of exploration
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1513
Ponce de León reaches Florida
He named it after Pascua Florida, the Spanish Easter 'feast of flowers'.
History of exploration
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1515
Albrecht Dürer makes his Rhinoceros woodcut
Dürer never saw the animal; he worked from a sketch and a written description.
Art & literature history
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1517
Martin Luther publishes his 95 Theses
Whether he really nailed them to a church door is still debated by historians.
Early modern history
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1517
The Ottomans conquer Cairo
The conquest made the Ottoman sultan the guardian of Mecca and Medina.
Early modern history
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1518
The Strasbourg dancing plague
Hundreds of people danced uncontrollably for days, and the cause is still debated.
Early modern history
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1519
Hernán Cortés arrives in Tenochtitlan
The Aztec capital was larger than any city in Spain at the time.
Early modern history
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1519
Leonardo da Vinci dies in France
He spent his last years as a guest of King Francis I, with the Mona Lisa still in his possession.
Early modern history
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1520
Suleiman the Magnificent becomes sultan
He ruled the Ottoman Empire for 46 years, longer than any other sultan.
Early modern history
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1520
The Field of the Cloth of Gold
Henry VIII and Francis I spent lavishly trying to outshine each other at the summit.
Early modern history
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1521
Luther defies the Diet of Worms
He is said to have declared, 'Here I stand, I can do no other.'
Early modern history
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1522
Magellan's fleet completes the first circumnavigation
Magellan himself died on the way; only 18 of about 270 men made it back to Spain.
History of exploration
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1524
Giovanni da Verrazzano enters New York Harbor
The Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge is named after him.
History of exploration
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1526
The Mughal Empire is founded
Its founder Babur was descended from both Genghis Khan and Timur.
Early modern history
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1526
The Ottomans win the Battle of Mohács
The Hungarian king drowned while fleeing the battle.
Early modern history
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1526
Tyndale's English New Testament is printed
Much of the King James Bible's New Testament wording comes from Tyndale.
Early modern history
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1527
Rome is sacked by imperial troops
Unpaid soldiers of Charles V ran riot in the city for months.
Early modern history
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1529
The Ottomans first besiege Vienna
Heavy rain forced Suleiman to leave much of his siege artillery behind.
Early modern history
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1532
Pizarro captures the Inca emperor Atahualpa
Atahualpa offered to fill a room with gold in exchange for his freedom.
Early modern history
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1533
Holbein paints The Ambassadors
A strange smear across the floor becomes a skull when viewed from the side.
Art & literature history
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1534
Henry VIII breaks with the Pope
The Act of Supremacy made the king head of the Church of England.
Early modern history
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1534
Jacques Cartier claims Canada for France
The name Canada comes from an Iroquoian word for 'village'.
History of exploration
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1536
Anne Boleyn is executed
Henry VIII had a skilled swordsman brought over from Calais for the execution.
Early modern history
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1536
The Dissolution of the Monasteries begins
Henry VIII closed hundreds of monasteries and seized their wealth.
Early modern history
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1540
Coronado searches for the Seven Cities of Gold
His expedition were the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon.
History of exploration
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1540
The Jesuits are founded
The order became famous for its schools and missionaries.
Early modern history
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1541
Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi
He was the first European known to have crossed the great river.
History of exploration
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1542
Francisco de Orellana sails down the Amazon
The river was named after the female warriors of Greek myth he said he saw.
History of exploration
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1542
Mary, Queen of Scots becomes queen
She became queen when she was just six days old.
Early modern history
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1543
Copernicus publishes his Sun-centred universe
Legend says he was handed the first printed copy on his deathbed.
Science & technology history
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1543
Vesalius publishes his anatomy of the human body
His detailed drawings corrected errors that had stood since Roman times.
Science & technology history
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1545
The Council of Trent opens
It met on and off for 18 years to respond to the Protestant Reformation.
Early modern history
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1545
The Mary Rose sinks
Henry VIII's favourite warship sank in the Solent as he watched from the shore.
Early modern history
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1547
Ivan the Terrible is crowned tsar
He was the first ruler to be crowned 'Tsar of All Russia'.
Early modern history
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1555
The Peace of Augsburg
Each German ruler could now choose whether his lands were Catholic or Lutheran.
Early modern history
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1556
Akbar becomes Mughal emperor
He probably couldn't read, yet he built up a vast library.
Early modern history
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1556
Philip II becomes King of Spain
The Philippines are named after him.
Early modern history
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1558
Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England
She never married, and was celebrated as the 'Virgin Queen'.
Early modern history
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1561
St Basil's Cathedral is completed in Moscow
The story that Ivan the Terrible blinded its architects is almost certainly a myth.
Early modern history
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1564
Galileo Galilei is born
He was born in the same year as Shakespeare, and three days before Michelangelo died.
Science & technology history
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1564
William Shakespeare is born
He was baptised in Stratford-upon-Avon; his exact birthday is unknown.
Art & literature history
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1565
Bruegel paints Hunters in the Snow
It was one of a series of paintings showing the seasons of the year.
Art & literature history
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1565
St. Augustine, the oldest US city, is founded
It was founded 42 years before the English settled Jamestown.
Early modern history
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1569
Mercator publishes his world map
His projection is still used by most online maps, which is why Greenland looks so huge.
History of exploration
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c. 1570
Potatoes arrive in Europe
Many Europeans were at first suspicious that potatoes were poisonous.
Food & brand history
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1571
The Battle of Lepanto
Miguel de Cervantes fought in it and lost the use of his left hand.
Early modern history
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1572
Tycho Brahe sees a new star
Tycho lost part of his nose in a duel and wore a metal replacement.
Science & technology history
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1576
Martin Frobisher sails to Baffin Island
His tonnes of 'gold' ore turned out to be worthless pyrite, later used to mend roads.
History of exploration
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1580
Francis Drake completes his circumnavigation
Queen Elizabeth I knighted him aboard his ship, the Golden Hind.
History of exploration
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1580
Montaigne publishes his Essays
He invented the essay as a form; the French 'essai' means 'attempt'.
Art & literature history
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1582
The Gregorian calendar is introduced
Ten days were skipped: 4 October was followed directly by 15 October.
Early modern history
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1586
The obelisk in St Peter's Square is moved
It took around 900 men and 140 horses to move it.
Early modern history
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1587
Mary, Queen of Scots is executed
She had been held prisoner in England for about 19 years.
Early modern history
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1587
The 'Lost Colony' of Roanoke is founded
When supply ships returned, the colonists had vanished, leaving only the word 'CROATOAN'.
Early modern history
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1588
The Spanish Armada sails against England
Storms wrecked more of its ships than English guns did.
Early modern history
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1590
Toyotomi Hideyoshi unifies Japan
He rose from peasant origins to rule the whole country.
Early modern history
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1591
Venice's Rialto Bridge is completed
For centuries it was the only bridge across Venice's Grand Canal.
Early modern history
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1594
Shakespeare's acting company is formed
Shakespeare acted with the Lord Chamberlain's Men as well as writing for them.
Art & literature history
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1596
Sir John Harington invents a flushing toilet
He installed one for his godmother, Queen Elizabeth I.
Early modern history
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1596
Willem Barentsz winters in the Arctic
His crew survived the winter in a hut built from driftwood.
History of exploration
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1597
Shakespeare's Richard III is first published
It painted Richard as a villain, and his reputation never recovered.
Art & literature history
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1598
Shah Abbas makes Isfahan his capital
A Persian saying called Isfahan 'half the world'.
Early modern history
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1598
The Edict of Nantes grants religious tolerance
It gave French Protestants the right to worship after decades of religious war.
Early modern history
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1599
The Globe Theatre opens
It was built with timber from an earlier playhouse, carried across the Thames.
Art & literature history
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