1553 CE

The Sadians consolidate their power in Morocco, by defeating the last of their enemies. George Dowdall is reinstated as Archbishop of Armagh, restoring the Roman Catholic succession. Geneva's governing council burns Michael Servetus at the stake as a heretic.

In the 1550s, the 16th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • March 1 – The second (and last) session of the Parliament of England during the reign of King Edward VI is opened by the King at Westminster and lasts until March 31. Sir James Dyer serves during the session as Speaker of the House of Commons.source
  • July 19 – The Lord Mayor of London proclaims Mary I the rightful Queen, following a change of allegiance by the Privy Council; Lady Jane Grey voluntarily abdicates.source

Conflict & Security

  • January 2 – The siege of Metz in France, started by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor during the Italian War of 1551–59 on October 19 last is lifted after 75 days. During the city's defence by the Duke of Guise and 6,000 soldiers, Charles V had lost two-thirds of his original force of at least 20,000 men.source
  • February 17 – In India, Timmaraja Wodeyar II becomes the sixth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore (a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire), after the death of his father, the Maharaja Chamaraja Wodeyar III.source
  • June 3 – The first of the five Battles of Kawanakajima, the "Battle of the Fuse," commences in Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province. The clash, fought 12 days after Shingen has taken Katsurao Castle, takes place at a shrine of Hachiman (near modern-day Yashiro, Hyōgo prefecture), is part of a major series of conflicts during the Japanese Sengoku period.source
  • July 9 – Battle of Sievershausen: Prince-elector Maurice of Saxony defeats the Catholic forces of Margrave Albert of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Maurice is mortally wounded.source
  • September 23 – The Sadians consolidate their power in Morocco, by defeating the last of their enemies.source
  • November 16 – A delegation from the English Parliament formally asks the new queen, Mary I, to choose an English husband rather than to marry Spain's Prince Philip, and suggests Edward Courtenay, 1st Earl of Devon. Queen Mary's choice to marry Philip, in the interests of protecting England from an invasion, will ultimately lead to Wyatt's rebellion.source
  • November 25 – Second Margrave War: The city of Kulmbach, near Brandenburg in Bavaria in Germany, is sacked and burned to the ground after its margrave, Albert Alcibiades, makes an unsuccessful attempt to bring all of the Duchy of Franconia under his control.source
  • November 25 – Italian War of 1551–1559: Cosimo I de' Medici, Duke of the Florentine Republic, signs a secret treaty with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor to conquer the Republic of Siena to bring it back into the Empire.source
  • December 25 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors, and execute Pedro de Valdivia, the first Royal Governor of Chile.source
  • Shanghai is fortified for the first time.source
  • The addition of a new section of the Outer City fortifications is completed in southern Beijing, bringing the overall size of Beijing to 18 square miles (4662 hectares).source
  • Burhan Shah I's death brings to an end his rule of the Ahmednagar Sultanate (started 1508 or 1510)Indiasource

Exploration & Expansion

  • August 24 – English explorer Richard Chancellor enters the White Sea and reaches Arkhangelsk. He goes on afterwards to the court of Ivan the Terrible of Russia, opening up trade between England and Russia.source

Religion & Belief

  • February 2 – Hugh Goodacre is consecrated as Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland) and John Bale as Bishop of Ossory.Irelandsource
  • February 21 – Lieutenant General Luis Álvarez de Toledo y Osorio temporarily serves as the Spanish Viceroy of Naples (in modern-day Italy) upon the death of his father, Pedro Álvarez de Toledo. Luis steps down after Pedro Pacheco de Villena is appointed as the new Viceroy in June.source
  • April 28 – Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa, leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church in modern-day Iraq, is recognized by Pope Julius III as the Patriarch of Mosul.source
  • May 12 – St Albans, in England, receives its first royal charter as a borough.source
  • June 15 – On his deathbed, King Edward summons prominent English judges and signs his devise of the throne to Lady Jane Grey.source
  • July 19 – Mary I is proclaimed Queen of England and Ireland following the death of Edward VI, leading to restoration of Papal authority (until 1558).Irelandsource
  • September – Anglican bishops in England are arrested, and Roman Catholic bishops are restored.source
  • October 23 – George Dowdall is reinstated as Archbishop of Armagh, restoring the Roman Catholic succession.Irelandsource
  • October – Anthony St Leger is reappointed as Lord Deputy of Ireland.Irelandsource
  • November 17 (13th waxing of Natdaw 915 ME) – Bayinnaung, King of Burma, commissions the building of the Kanbawzathadi Palace in his capital, Pegu (modern-day Bago in Myanmar). The palace is completed in 1556 but is burned down in 1599.source
  • Bartholomew Ball was elected Lord Mayor of Dublin, his wife, Margaret Ball, subsequently a Catholic martyr, became Lady Mayoress.Irelandsource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • Tonbridge School is founded by Sir Andrew Judde, under letters patent of Edward VI of England.source

Health & Medicine

  • June 26 – Two new schools, Christ's Hospital and King Edward's School, Witley, are created by royal charter in accordance with the will of King Edward VI of England; St Thomas' Hospital, London, in existence since the 12th century, is named in the same charter.source
  • Hussein Shah I begins his rule of the Ahmednagar SultanateIndiasource

Crime & Justice

  • August 18 – John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland, is tried and convicted of treason for his role in putting his daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey, on the throne.source
  • November 13 – Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the title of Queen of England for nine days, is convicted of high treason, along with her husband Lord Guilford Dudley, two of Dudley's brothers, and Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, after trial conducted by a special commission at Guildhall in the City of London. Referred to by the court as "Jane Dudley, wife of Guildford", Lady Jane is found to have treacherously assumed the title and the power of the monarch of England, as evidenced by a number of documents she had signed as "Jane the Quene". All five defendants are sentenced to death. Beheading is the sentence for the men, while Lady Jane is to either be "burned alive on Tower Hill or beheaded as the Queen pleases", with the decision (for a private decapitation) to be made by Queen Mary.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • October 27 – Geneva's governing council burns Michael Servetus at the stake as a heretic.source

Culture & Society

  • May 25 – Lady Jane Grey, a 16-year-old first cousin of King Edward VI of England, marries Lord Guildford Dudley, son of the Duke of Northumberland, who has engineered the marriage.source
  • June 21 – Under threats from the Duke of Northumberland, the devise by King Edward to make Jane Grey the heir to the throne is signed by over 100 prominent persons.source
  • July 10 – Four days after the death of her cousin King Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen of England – a position she holds for the next nine days.source
  • August 3 – Queen Mary I of England arrives in London from East Anglia.source
  • The xiii Bukes of Eneados of the famose Poete Virgill, the first complete translation of any major work of classical antiquity into one of the English languages, is published in London.source

Births

Deaths

  • February 6 – Ernest, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (born 1482)source
  • 7 April - Gunilla Bese, defender of Vyborg Castle (born 1475)Swedensource
  • April 9 – François Rabelais, French writersource
  • July 6 – King Edward VI of England (born 1537)source
  • July 6 – King Edward VI of England dies at the age of 15 after a reign of only six years.source
  • July 6 – Edward VI, King of England and Ireland (born 1537)Irelandsource
  • July 9 – Maurice, Elector of Saxony (born 1521)source
  • August 6 – Girolamo Fracastoro, Italian physician (born 1478)source
  • August 22 – John Dudley, 1st Duke of Northumberland (born 1502; executed)source
  • October 6 – Şehzade Mustafa, oldest son of Suleiman the Magnificent, is executed in Konya by order of his father.source
  • October 6 – Şehzade Mustafa, Suleiman the Magnificent's first-born son by Mahidevran Hatun (born 1515)source
  • October 7 – Cristóbal de Morales, Spanish composer (born 1500)source
  • October 16 – Lucas Cranach the Elder, German painter (born 1472)source
  • October 27 – Michael Servetus, Spanish Protestant theologian (burned at the stake) (born 1511)source
  • November 27 – Şehzade Cihangir, Ottoman prince (born 1531)source
  • December 25 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador (born 1497)source
  • François Rabelais, writer and humanist (b.1483 -1494)Francesource
  • Burhan Shah I, ruler of the Ahmednagar Sultanate (born c. 1500)Indiasource