1560 CE

In the Kingdom of Scotland, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and Captain Corbeyran de Cardaillac Sarlabous sail across the Firth of Forth from Leith, which they are occupying, and fight with the Lords of the Congregation at Pettycur Bay near Kinghorn. The Scottish Reformation Parliament adopts a Protestant confession of faith and rejects papal authority, beginning the Scottish Reformation, and disestablishing Roman Catholicism in Scotland. Eric XIV becomes King of Sweden, upon the death of his father, Gustav Vasa.

In the 1560s, the 16th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January – Act of Supremacy (Ireland) Act passed.Irelandsource
  • February 27 – Treaty of Berwick: Terms are agreed upon with the Lords of the Congregation in Scotland, for forces of the Kingdom of England to enter Scotland, to expel French troops defending the Regency of Mary of Guise.source
  • 27 February – Treaty of Berwick: Terms are agreed upon with the Lords of the Congregation in Scotland for forces of the Kingdom of England to enter Scotland, to expel French troops defending the Regency of Mary of Guise.Scotlandsource
  • March – Bairam Khan, the Vakil or prime minister of India's Mughal Empire, is forced to retire by the Emperor Akbar.source
  • July 6 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed between England, France and Scotland, ending the Siege of Leith. The French withdraw from Scotland, largely ending the Auld Alliance between the two countries, and also ending the wars between England and its northern neighbour.source
  • July 6 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed between England, France and Scotland. The French withdraw from Scotland. This largely ends the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland, and ends the wars between England and its northern neighbour.Francesource
  • 6 July – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed between Scotland, France and England, ending the Siege of Leith. The French withdraw from Scotland, largely ending the Auld Alliance between the two countries, and also ending the wars between England and its northern neighbour.Scotlandsource
  • 27 August – The Scottish Reformation Parliament adopts the Protestant Scots Confession of faith.Scotlandsource

Conflict & Security

  • January 7 – In the Kingdom of Scotland, French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and Captain Corbeyran de Cardaillac Sarlabous sail across the Firth of Forth from Leith, which they are occupying, and fight with the Lords of the Congregation at Pettycur Bay near Kinghorn.source
  • 7 January – French troops commanded by Henri Cleutin and Captain Corbeyran de Cardaillac Sarlabous sail across the Firth of Forth from Leith, which they are occupying, and fight with the Lords of the Congregation at Pettycur Bay near Kinghorn.Scotlandsource
  • March 17 – Leaders of the Amboise conspiracy, including Godefroy de Barry, seigneur de La Renaudie, make an unsuccessful attempt to storm the château of Amboise, where the young French king and queen are residing. La Renaudie is subsequently caught and executed, along with over 1,000 of his followers.source
  • 18 March – Battle of Glasgow: Scottish troops are cut to pieces by the French.Scotlandsource
  • 7 May - English troops at the siege of Leith attempting to storm the fortified town held by French troops suffer a heavy defeat.Scotlandsource
  • May 11 – In the Battle of Djerba, the Ottoman fleet, commanded by Piali Pasha, overwhelms a large joint European (mainly Spanish) fleet, sinking about half its ships.source
  • June 12 (19th day of 5th month of Eiroku 3) – In Japan, Oda Nobunaga defeats Imagawa Yoshimoto in the Battle of Okehazama.source
  • August 2 – Livonian War – Battle of Ergeme: Russians defeat the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, precipitating the dissolution of the order.source
  • September 18 – After Robert Sempill, 3rd Lord Sempill, a Scottish Catholic, continues to resist the Scottish Reformation, the Duke of Châtellerault and the Earl of Arran commence a siege of Castle Semple at Lochwinnoch. They begin firing artillery at the castle on September 23 and destroys the gatehouse.source
  • October 19 – The siege of Castle Semple ends after 31 days when the defenders wave the white flag of surrender.source
  • The Mongols invade and occupy Qinghai.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • March 7 – A Spanish-led expedition, commanded by Juan de la Cerda, 4th Duke of Medinaceli, overruns the Tunisian island of Djerba.source

Religion & Belief

  • April 15 – Denmark–Norway buys the Estonian island of Ösel, from its last prince-bishop.source
  • August 17 – The Scottish Reformation Parliament adopts a Protestant confession of faith and rejects papal authority, beginning the Scottish Reformation, and disestablishing Roman Catholicism in Scotland.source
  • 17 August – Papal Jurisdiction Act 1560: The Scottish Reformation Parliament rejects papal authority, beginning the Scottish Reformation and disestablishing Roman Catholicism in Scotland.Scotlandsource
  • December 6 – Charles IX of France succeeds his elder brother, Francis II, at the age of ten.Francesource
  • Queen Elizabeth I of England and Ireland orders the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, the Earl of Sussex, to appoint John Challoner of Dublin as the first Chief Secretary for Ireland "because at this present there is none appointed to be Clerk of our Council there, and considering how more meet it were, that in our realm there were for our honour one to be our Secretary there for the affairs of our Realm".Irelandsource
  • Arch Bishop Laurentius Petri bans priests from baptizing or burying romani.Swedensource

Economy & Finance

  • October 4 – Queen Elizabeth of England notifies the official treasurers and Lords Mayor throughout the kingdom that the existing coins will be replaced and that those in circulation are to be devalued, to be stricken with a special mark to indicate lesser worth. Treasurers are all instructed to send the coins withdrawn from circulation to be sent to the Royal Mint to be melted down for the new coins.source
  • October 29 – Queen Elizabeth directs the minting of the first machine produced coins in the Kingdom to completely replace hammered coinage, produced manually.source
  • November 8 – Eloy Mestrelle is given authority to commence the production of the new English coinage on machines he has brought over from France for the purpose of mass production.source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • The oldest surviving violin (dated inside), known as the Charles IX, is made in Cremona, in northern Italy.source

Science & Discovery

  • August 21 – A total eclipse of the sun is observable in Europe, which inspires Tycho Brahe's interest in astronomy.source
  • The first scientific society, the Academia Secretorum Naturae, is founded in Naples by Giambattista della Porta.source

Crime & Justice

  • The great age of piracy in the Caribbean starts around this time.source

Culture & Society

  • April - Duke John returns home from England with a negative reply to the proposal of Crown Prince Eric to Elizabeth I of England.Swedensource
  • 1 July - The dying king makes his formal farewell to the public.Swedensource
  • September 29 – Eric XIV becomes King of Sweden, upon the death of his father, Gustav Vasa.source
  • December 5 – Seventeen-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, is widowed by the death of her first husband, King Francis II of France. Her mother-in-law, Catherine de' Medici, becomes regent of France.Francesource
  • The complete Geneva Bible is published.source
  • Solihull School is founded in the West Midlands of England.source

Births

  • January 17 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (died 1624)source
  • March 13 – William Louis, Count of Nassau-Dillenburg, Dutch count (died 1620)source
  • June 28 – Giovanni Paolo Lascaris, Italian Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (died 1657)source
  • July 1 – Charles III de Croÿ, Belgian noble (died 1612)source
  • August 7 – Elizabeth Báthory, Hungarian noblewoman and purported serial killer (died 1614)source
  • August 19 – James Crichton, Scottish polymath (died 1582)source
  • 19 August – James Crichton, polymath (k. 1582)Scotlandsource
  • August 25 – Pak Chin, Korean naval commander (died 1597)source
  • September 19 – Thomas Cavendish, English naval explorer, leader of the third expedition to circumnavigate the globe (died 1592)source
  • October 10 – Jacobus Arminius, Dutch theologian (died 1609)source
  • October 29 – Christian I, Elector of Saxony (died 1591)source
  • November 3 – Annibale Carracci, Italian painter (died 1609)source
  • November 22 – Charles, Margrave of Burgau, German nobleman (died 1618)source
  • December 13 – Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, 2nd Prime Minister of France (died 1641)source
  • December 13 – Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully, French duke (died 1641)Francesource
  • December 28 – Samuel Sandys, English politician (died 1623)source
  • Florence MacCarthy, The MacCarthy Mór, Prince of Carbery (died 1640)Irelandsource
  • Lucretia Gyllenhielm, illegitimate royal daughter (died 1585)Swedensource

Deaths

  • January 1 – Joachim du Bellay, French poet (born 1522)source
  • January 8 – Jan Łaski, Polish Protestant evangelical reformer (born 1499)source
  • January 22 – Wang Zhi, Chinese piratesource
  • February 7 – Bartolommeo Bandinelli, Florentine sculptor (born 1493)source
  • February 16 – Jean du Bellay, French cardinal and diplomat (born 1493)source
  • February 16 – Jean du Bellay, French cardinal and diplomat (born c. 1493)Francesource
  • March 5 – Pedro Pacheco de Villena, Spanish Catholic cardinal (born 1488)source
  • April 19 – Philip Melanchthon, German humanist and reformer (born 1497)source
  • June 11 – Mary of Guise, queen of James V of Scotland and regent (born 1515)source
  • 11 June – Mary of Guise, queen consort of James V and regent of Scotland (dropsy) (born 1515)Scotlandsource
  • August 7 – Anastasia Romanovna, Tsarina of Russia, married to Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible (born 1530)source
  • September 8 – Amy Robsart, English noblewoman (born 1532)source
  • September 29 – King Gustav I of Sweden (born 1496)source
  • 29 September - Gustav I, monarch (born 1496). After having suffered from declining health throughout the 1550s, Gustav ultimately died on September 29, 1560, at Tre Kronor castle, Stockholm. Gustav is renowned as the founder of modern Sweden.Swedensource
  • November 25 – Andrea Doria, Italian naval commander (born 1466)source
  • December 5 – King Francis II of France (born 1544)source
  • December 5 – Charles IX succeeds his brother Francis as King of France, after Francis dies of a severe ear infection at the age of 16. Francis's mother (Mary's mother-in-law), Catherine de' Medici, becomes regent of France.source
  • Luke Netterville, judge (born c.1510)Irelandsource