16th century

As a means of recording the passage of, the 16th century was that which lasted from  through.

See also:

1500s

 * s: disappears.
 * : navigator  officially discovers.
 * : The of  defeats the  at the.
 * : returns to his native  to begin work on the statue David.
 * : rules  until.
 * : begins painting the  and completes it three or four years later.
 * : defeats  at the . Considered to be the first battle in history won by gunpowder small arms.
 * : dies in,.
 * : is invaded by  from the.
 * : The marks the beginning of  dominance of the.

1510s

 * : Machievalli writes .
 * : The Portuguese  lands at, China, during the.
 * : crush French at the.
 * : The in which invading  are defeated by 's forces.
 * : Sultan ("The Grim") orders the massacre of  Muslims in.
 * : The halts  expansion into Eastern Europe.
 * : The wrests Eastern  from the Safavids after the.
 * -: The defeat the s and gain control of, , and the.
 * : The begins when  posts his  in.
 * : leaves  and settled in.
 * : dies of natural causes at May 2.
 * , the Chinese philosopher and governor of province, describes his intent to use the fire power of the fo-lang-ji, a  Portuguese, in order to suppress the rebellion of Prince Zhu Chen-hao.
 * : lead by  raid  and  in southern.
 * : Charles I of becomes Emperor of  as  (ruled until ).
 * -: Spanish expedition commanded by and  first to
 * -: leads the.

1520s

 * -: in Europe
 * -: The reign of marks the zenith of the.
 * : is captured by the Ottoman Empire.
 * : After building fortifications at, the Portuguese attempt to invade China, but are expelled by Chinese naval forces.
 * : falls to the Ottoman Turks of.
 * :  from the.
 * -: in the.
 * : and  defeat France at the,  is captured.
 * : The Ottomans conquer the at the.
 * :, founded by , rules until  and hold titles until.
 * : is considered the end of the.
 * : begins in.
 * : The marks the Ottoman Empire's furthest advance into Europe.

1530s

 * -: The breaks away from the  and recognizes  as the head of the Church.
 * : leads the.
 * : claims  for France.
 * : The Ottomans capture.
 * : - fleet is defeated by the Ottoman Turks at the.
 * : explores inland North America

1540s

 * founds.
 * War resumes between and . This time  is allied to the Emperor, while  and Sultan  are allied to the.
 * / troops decisively defeat the Muslim army at the ; Imam killed.
 * The begins after Portuguese traders make contact with.
 * The defeat an - army at the.
 * Emperor decisively dismantles the  at the.

1550s

 * : led by  invade  and besiege.
 * -: concerning the existence of souls in
 * : Russia conquers the.
 * : Portuguese founded a settlement at.
 * : The is the first major English  trading company.
 * : Publication in Venice of Delle Navigiationi et Viaggi (terzo volume) by Giovanni Battista Ramusio, secretary of Council of Ten, with plan La Terra de Hochelaga, an illustration of Indian village Hochelaga. See
 * : The in China is history's deadliest known earthquake.
 * :, the "Father of ", publishes his .
 * : defeats the Sultan of  at the
 * : Russia conquers the.
 * -: During his reign, expands the Mughal Empire in a series of conquests.
 * : captured  with Emperor.
 * :, radical theologian, is executed by boiling in oil as part of the.
 * : The settle in.
 * : became the first sovereign nation in history to declare bankruptcy.  of   had to declare four state bankruptcies in 1557, 1560, 1575 and 1596.
 * -: The is considered the height of the.
 * -: between Poland, Grand Principality of Lithuania, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.
 * : After 200 years, the loses  to France.
 * : With the, the conclude.

1560s

 * : defeats the  fleet at the.
 * : is born in Nyirbator, Hungary.
 * : draws up the  of Protestant faith.
 * : leader  reconciles the Muslim and Hindu factions by marrying into the powerful  Hindu caste.
 * -: between  and s.
 * : and  in the.
 * : died age of 97.
 * : by  forces.
 * -: between Spain and the.
 * : in England.
 * -: in Spain.
 * -: The in Japan.
 * : The is created with the  which lasts until.

1570s

 * : orders to massacre inhabitants of.
 * : completes the  as a united front against the.
 * : The defeats a force of  galleys in the.
 * : attack and, burning everything but the.
 * : Spanish missionaries are murdered by Indians at the later, Virginia.
 * : is taken from  by Protestant  in the, in the.
 * : apprehend the last  leader  at, Peru, and execute him in.
 * : instigates the  which takes the lives of Protestant leader  and thousands of s. The violence spreads from Paris to other cities and the countryside.
 * : finally captures  fortress.
 * : by badly paid  soldiers.
 * : King is killed at the.
 * : The unifies the northern Netherlands, a foundation for the later.
 * : 's royal reception after his attacks on Spanish possessions, influences to build up the . English ships in Spanish harbours are impounded.
 * : Spain unifies with Portugal under . The ends the . The Spanish and Portuguese crowns are  for 60 years, i.e. until 1640.
 * : Spain unifies with Portugal under . The ends the . The Spanish and Portuguese crowns are  for 60 years, i.e. until 1640.

1580s

 * : issues the.
 * : conquers the  on behalf of the.
 * -: After the, many of its merchants flee to.
 * -: The is fought on both sides of the Atlantic.
 * : England repulses the.
 * : Spain repulses the.

1590s

 * -: Korea, with the help of China, repelled.
 * : The ended the.
 * -: Russia descended into anarchy during the.

Significant people

 * , founder of the . Introduced ruthlessly efficient mechanisms of taxation which restored the kingdom after a state of virtual due to the effects of the  ( - ).
 * famous artist and inventor and scientist ( – ).
 * , first European to arrive in in,  (c.  - ).
 * , King of Poland, established a conscription army and the bureaucracy needed to finance it ( - ).
 * , Portuguese navigator, first one to sail around the (c.  - ).
 * , leader of the peasants' revolt in ( - )
 * , developed the (-centered)  using  methods ( - ).
 * , Italian painter and sculptor ( - )..
 * , English politician and author ( - ).
 * Portuguese navigator who sailed around the world ( - ).
 * , German religious reformer ( - ).
 * , Spanish ( - ).
 * King, founder of ( - ).
 * , founder of the ( - ).
 * , French author (c. - ).
 * King, considered the first monarch of his Kingdom ( - ).
 * , of the . Conqueror and legal reformer ( - ).
 * King, restored Swedish sovereignty and introduced in  (-).
 * and the first to reign as . Involved in almost constant conflict with and the  while promoting the  ( - ).
 * , the last of the, led the native resistance against the es ( - ).
 * , French astrologer and doctor, author of, a book of world prophecies ( - ).
 * , Chinese painter who belonged to the and used  brush style ( - )
 * , Polish writer ( - ).
 * ,  and general ( - ).
 * , theologian, and reformer. Founder of ( - ).
 * . Attempted to counter the in her domains. Nick-named  for her  ( - ).
 * , Portuguese poet (c. –).
 * , French poet. Called the 'Prince of poets' of his generation. ( – ).
 * Giovanni Pierluigi da, Italian Composer ( - )
 * King, self-proclaimed leader of ( - ).
 * , first Russian (-).
 * , William I of, main leader of the revolt against the  (-).
 * , during the, aided Korea in the , ( - )
 * , French essayist ( – ).
 * , central figure of the ( - ). She was the granddaughter of the aforementioned, daughter of  and parental half-sister of . Though some within her court thought of her merely as a bastard, due to the fact that her father executed her supposedly criminal mother , her reign is still considered one of the greatest ever in England's history.
 * , of the  of ese . First ruler of the  ( - ).
 * , of the  of ese . Second ruler of the  ( - ).
 * , notable for further differentiating from the practices of the  ( - ).
 * , of  and . Notably deposed by popular  ( - ).
 * , First female head of the ( - ).
 * Admiral, Korean admiral, respected as one of the greatest  in world history. ( - ).
 * , Spanish author ( - ).
 * , Italian philosopher and astronomer/astrologer ( - ).
 * King and, ended the  and reunited the kingdom under his command ( - ).
 * , ruler of, national symbol of for uniting the three provinces under his rule in 1600 ( - )
 * , Spanish dramatist ( – ).
 * , English poet and dramatist ( – ).
 * , English author ( - ).
 * , English ( - )
 * , famous warrior in, author of , a treaty on and martial combat. ( - )
 * , diplomat and secretary of council of Ten of Venice, author of . Third volume (terzo volume) containing plan La Terra de Hochelaga showing village of Hochelaga ( - ). See
 * , English dramatist ( - c. ).
 * , Italian who traveled to, China in 1582, and died in , ( - )
 * , (ca. 1520 – ca. 1578) was the earliest maker of violins whose instruments still survive today.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

 * Related article: .


 * The introduces many plants, animals and diseases to the  and s.
 * Introduction of the revolutionizes  production in Europe.
 * Modern symbol (√ )
 * The letter is introduced into the English alphabet.
 * publishes his theory that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun
 * adopted by Catholic countries
 * : sights  and  sights the eastern edge of the.
 * -: and  lead the first  of the World.
 * -: In America, expeditions map the  coastline and bays.
 * : sights the.
 * -: sails the length of the.
 * -: Spanish settlements in / and confirm dangers of s and local native warring tribes.
 * : Spanish settlers outside (Mexico) colonize 's coastline at.
 * : in  by.
 * : First portable is created by Peter Henlein of.
 * : Theory of is first developed by Gerolamo Cardamo of Italy.
 * : is first used by  of.
 * : Invention of the  (in a wooden holder) by . Modernized in.
 * : creates the first  map.
 * : Supernova is observed by  in the.
 * : is introduced in  by.
 * c. : of,  identifies the constant swing of a , leading to development of reliable timekeepers.
 * : earliest known reference to the '' in.
 * : invents the.
 * : First flush is introduced by  of, the design published under the title 'The Metamorphosis of Ajax'.
 * - invents a.
 * : discovers.