1474 CE

The first war crimes trial in recorded history begins in Breisach am Rhein in Upper Alsace as the Burgundian general Peter von Hagenbach is put on trial for allowing his troops to murder and rape civilians during the Burgundian Wars. The trial is held before a panel of 28 judges drawn from Breibach and surrounding Alsatian towns, and is conducted outside before a large crowd. During the trial, Hagenbach becomes the first known person to raise the "superior orders defense", stating that he was simply following orders made his commanders. After deliberating for a few hours, the judges unanimously find Hagenbach guilty and sentenced to death. At the end of his one-day trial, Hagenbach is decapitated. The siege of Shkodra by the Ottoman Empire ends when the city is freed by a combined army of 25,000 troops from the Republic of Venice commanded by Antonio Loredan, supplemented by the Principality of Zeta and Albanian resistance forces. Nearly all of the 8,000 Ottoman troops commanded by Hadım Suleiman Pasha are killed. In a peace treaty between King Edward IV of England and King James III of Scotland, an agreement is reached for the betrothal and eventual marriage of King Edward's daughter Cecily to King James' eldest son and future King of Scotland, James, Duke of Rothsay.

In the 1470s, the 15th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 6 – At the age of one year and nine months, Bianca Maria Sforza, the daughter of the Duke of Milan, Galeazzo Maria Sforza, is betrothed to the 9-year-old, Philibert I of Savoy, as part of an alliance between the two independent Italian duchies.source
February 21 – The Treaty of Ófalu is signed between the Kingdom of Poland and the Kingdom of Hungary.source
February 28 – The Treaty of Utrecht puts an end to the Anglo-Hanseatic War, restoring the status quo that had existed before the war, with the Kingdom of England and the states of the Hanseatic League agreeing to respect each other's trading rights.source
April 24 – The members of the Hungarian nobility ratify the treaty with Poland after King Matthias had given his assent on February 27.source
July 25 – By signing the Treaty of London, Charles the Bold of Burgundy agrees to support Edward IV of England's planned invasion of France.source
September 21 – Ernest I becomes the new monarch of the independent Principality of Anhalt-Dessau upon the death of his father George I, who had ruled for 69 years.source
October 26 – In a peace treaty between King Edward IV of England and King James III of Scotland, an agreement is reached for the betrothal and eventual marriage of King Edward's daughter Cecily to King James' eldest son and future King of Scotland, James, Duke of Rothsay.source
November 2 – An alliance pact is signed between the Duchy of Milan, the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Florence.source
The Treaty of Andernach was agreed in December 1474 by the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III, and Louis XI.France source
The Treaty of London was signed on 25 July 1474. An alliance was signed between King Edward IV of England and Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, aimed at jointly challenging King Louis XI of France and potentially reviving English claims in France.France source
Gilbert Debenham appointed Lord Chancellor of IrelandIreland source

Conflict & Security

February 7 – The Hungarian town of Varad is attacked by an Ottoman Empire army of 7,000 cavalry, commanded by General Mihaloğlu Ali Bey, and its inhabitants are taken prisoner.source
May 14 – Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, begins peace talks with rebels in the Electorate of Cologne in hopes of bringing an agreement that would make the Electorate a protectorate of Burgundy. The talks fail to get a result and Charles begins a war against Colognian cities a month later.source
June 15 – Venetian captain general Triadan Gritti, with six armed galleys to protect the Albanian coast, destroys Ottoman forces attempting to take over Venetian Albania, and forces the others to retreat.source
August 8 – The siege of Shkodra by the Ottoman Empire ends when the city is freed by a combined army of 25,000 troops from the Republic of Venice commanded by Antonio Loredan, supplemented by the Principality of Zeta and Albanian resistance forces. Nearly all of the 8,000 Ottoman troops commanded by Hadım Suleiman Pasha are killed.source
December 12 – Upon the death of Henry IV of Castile, a civil war ensues between his designated successor Isabella I of Castile, and her niece Juana, who is supported by her husband, Afonso V of Portugal. Isabella wins the civil war after a lengthy struggle, when her husband, the newly crowned Ferdinand II of Aragon, comes to her aid.source
Axayacatl defeats the Matlatzinca of the Toluca Valley.source

Religion & Belief

December 14 – Pietro Mocenigo is elected as the new Doge of the Republic of Venice 13 days after the death of the Doge Nicolò Marcello.source
Marsilio Ficino completes his book Theologia Platonica (Platonic Theology).source

Technology & Infrastructure

March 19 – The Senate of the Republic of Venice enacts the Venetian Patent Statute, one of the earliest patent systems in the world. New and inventive devices, once put into practice, have to be communicated to the Republic to obtain the right to prevent others from using them. This is considered the first modern patent system.source

Crime & Justice

May 9 – The first war crimes trial in recorded history begins in Breisach am Rhein in Upper Alsace as the Burgundian general Peter von Hagenbach is put on trial for allowing his troops to murder and rape civilians during the Burgundian Wars. The trial is held before a panel of 28 judges drawn from Breibach and surrounding Alsatian towns, and is conducted outside before a large crowd. During the trial, Hagenbach becomes the first known person to raise the "superior orders defense", stating that he was simply following orders made his commanders. After deliberating for a few hours, the judges unanimously find Hagenbach guilty and sentenced to death. At the end of his one-day trial, Hagenbach is decapitated.source

Culture & Society

May 28 – The English royal title of Duke of York is created by King Edward IV for his second-born son, Prince Richard. Thereafter, the title of Duke of York is reserved for the second son of the English monarch, while the title of Prince of Wales is reserved for the first-born son.source
October 14 – King Ferdinand of Naples sends his son, Prince Frederick, to Burgundy in hopes of an alliance between the Kingdom of Naples and the Duchy of Burgundy to be secured by Frederick's marriage to Mary of Burgundy, daughter of the Duke, Charles the Bold. The proposal is rejected by Burgundy.source
December 26 – The betrothal of the son of King James III of Scotland and King Edward IV of England is formalized by proxy. After King Edward dies, the planned marriage is called off by the new monarch, Richard III.source

Births

January 7 – Thihathura II of Ava (died 1501)source
March 21 – Angela Merici, Italian religious leader and saint (died 1540)source
May 5 – Juan Diego, Roman Catholic Saint from Mexico (died 1548)source
May 18 – Isabella d'Este, Marquise of Mantua (died 1539)source
September 8 – Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet (died 1533)source
October 6 – Luigi d'Aragona, Italian cardinal (died 1518)source
October 7 – Bernhard III, Margrave of Baden-Baden (died 1536)source
October 13 – Mariotto Albertinelli, High Renaissance Italian painter of the Florentine school (died 1515)source
November 7 – Lorenzo Campeggio, Italian Cardinal (died 1539)source
November 11 – Bartolomé de las Casas, Spanish Dominican friar, historian, and social reformer (died 1566)source
Sir John Seymour, English courtier (died 1536)source
Juan Diego, Mexican Catholic saint (died 1548)source
Perkin Warbeck, pretender to the throne of England (died 1499)source
Sebastian Cabot, Venetian explorer (died c. 1557)source
Artus Gouffier, Lord of BoissyFrance source

Deaths

February 26 – Eom Heung-do, local official of Joseon (born 1404)source
April 30 – Queen Gonghye, Korean royal consort (born 1456)source
May 4 – Alain de Coëtivy, Catholic cardinal (born 1407)source
May 9 – Peter von Hagenbach, Alsatian knight and ruler (born 1423)source
July 5 – Eric II, Duke of Pomerania-Wolgast (born 1418)source
July 18 – Mahmud Pasha Angelović, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (born 1420)source
August 15 – In the city of Modica on the island of Sicily, a massacre is carried out in the Jewish neighborhood of Cartellone, and 360 Jews are killed in what is later referred to as the "Massacre of the Assumption".source
August 26 – James III, the one-year old de jure King of Cyprus, dies 20 days after his first birthday, apparently from malaria. His mother, Catherine Cornaro, who had been serving as regent since her son's birth, becomes the ruling queen of Cyprus.source
September 21 – George I, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (born 1390)source
October 1 – Juan Pacheco, Spanish noble and politician (born 1419)source
November 27 – Guillaume Dufay, Flemish composer (born 1397)source
November – William Canynge, English merchant (born c. 1399)source
December 11 – King Henry IV of Castile (born 1425)source
December 16 – Ali Qushji, Ottoman astronomer and mathematician (born 1403)source
Guillaume Du Fay, Composer of the RenaissanceFrance source