1574 CE

Brian O'Neill of Clandeboye, having submitted to the Earl of Essex, begs Elizabeth I of England for mercy. Edmund Tanner (d. 1579 in Ireland) is appointed Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork and Cloyne and consecrated in Rome. The Juan Fernández Islands in the South Pacific Ocean are discovered by Spanish sailor Juan Fernández.

In the 1570s, the 16th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 27 – At Agra, Bhagwant Das becomes the new Maharaja of the Kingdom of Amber in what is now India's state of Uttar Pradesh, upon the death of his grandfather, the Raja Bharmal.source
  • June 10 – Manila, Philippines gains cityhood.source
  • July 18 – the Geraldine chiefs sign the Combination, promising to support Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond, unconditionally.Irelandsource
  • The deposed monarch, Eric XIV, is transferred to Örbyhus.Swedensource

Conflict & Security

  • January 29 – Off of the coast of the Netherlands, the Battle of the Scheldt is fought between the Spanish Fleet and a combined Dutch and English fleet of ships. The Spanish Navy loses 15 ships and 1,200 men are killed, wounded or captured.source
  • February 23 – The fifth War of Religion against the Huguenots begins in France.Francesource
  • February – The fifth War of Religion against the Huguenots begins in France.source
  • March 2 – Swedish troops attack Wesenberg Castle in Estonia and lose at least 1,000 men in attempting to capture it from the Russian Army.source
  • March 17 – Within the Swedish Army, a fight between Scottish and German mercenaries is fought. By the end of the battle, several hundred Scots are dead, compared to 30 Germans.source
  • April – The fort of Narnala in the Deccan falls to the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, and with it the Berar sultanate is annexed by Ahmadnagar.source
  • May 8 – Brian O'Neill of Clandeboye, having submitted to the Earl of Essex, begs Elizabeth I of England for mercy.Irelandsource
  • July 12 – Selim II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, launches the attempt to reclaim Tunis from control of the Holy Roman Empire with more than 250 warships and 100,000 troops, and to restore North Africa to Muslim control.source
  • August 24 – The Tunisian port of La Goulette falls to Ottoman troops after six weeks.source
  • September 2 – Desmond submits to William FitzWilliam (Lord Deputy) at Cork following a month's campaign in Munster during which his castle at Derinlaur has been taken.Irelandsource
  • September 13 – The last Holy Roman Imperial defenders surrender Tunis to the Ottoman General Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha.source
  • September – A plot to assassinate John III of Sweden is discovered, headed by Charles de Mornay and implicating Charles Dancay, Hogenskild Bielke, Gustaf Banér, Pontus De la Gardie, Princess Elizabeth of Sweden, Princess Cecilia of Sweden, and Duke Charles.source
  • September – Essex campaigns against Turlough Luineach O'Neill.Irelandsource
  • September - The Mornay Plot, a plot to assassinate John III of Sweden is discovered, headed by Charles de Mornay and implicating Charles Dancay, Hogenskild Bielke, Gustaf Banér, Pontus De la Gardie, Princess Elizabeth of Sweden, Princess Cecilia of Sweden, and Duke Charles.Swedensource
  • October 3 – The city of Leiden, besieged by the Spanish, is relieved by a Sea Beggars fleet under Louis Boisot.source
  • November 29 – Limahong and Juan de Salcedo quarrel during the Battle of Manila.source
  • Prince El-Mirza of Kakheti is defeated in his bid for the throne by his half-brother, Alexander II.source
  • Bharmal's rule of Amber which started in 1548, comes to an end with his death and Bhagwant Das succeeds himIndiasource

Exploration & Expansion

  • July 26 – Kılıç Ali Pasha begins construction of an Ottoman fortress on the coastline of Morocco, directly across Andalusia in mainland Spain.source
  • November 22 – The Juan Fernández Islands in the South Pacific Ocean are discovered by Spanish sailor Juan Fernández.source

Religion & Belief

  • January 22 – Mohammed II becomes the new Sultan of Morocco upon the death of his father, Abdallah al-Ghalib.source
  • August 30 – Guru Ram Das becomes the fourth of the Sikh gurus.source
  • November 5 – Edmund Tanner (died 1579 in Ireland) is appointed Roman Catholic Bishop of Cork and Cloyne and consecrated in Rome.Irelandsource
  • The Liturgical Battle royal between the Reformation and Counter Reformation begins in Sweden, and continues until the Uppsala Synod of 1593.source
  • Dissolution of Sko Abbey: the last nuns, however, benefit from a state pension until at least 1588.Swedensource
  • The Catechism of Martin Luther is translated to Finnish by Paul Juusten.Swedensource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • June 10 – Construction of The White Tower begins in the Czech Republic.source

Health & Medicine

  • May 30 – On the death of King Charles IX of France of a tubercular condition at the Château de Vincennes, he is succeeded by his brother King Henry of Poland, who becomes King Henry III of France. His mother, Catherine de' Medici, acts as Regent, until Henry arrives from Poland.source
  • The King's brother Magnus, Duke of Östergötland, is formally declared incapacitated because of his mental problems, and the administration of his Duchy is taken over by the monarch.Swedensource

Crime & Justice

  • December 22 – Prince Murad bin-Selim of the Ottoman Empire completes the murders, by strangulation, of his four younger brothers, Süleyman, Abdüllah, Osman, and Cihangir.source
  • Essex meets Brian O'Neill of Clandeboye at his castle of Edendubhcarrig (County Antrim) where at least 200 of the clan O'Neill are treacherously massacred at a feast while O'Neill himself, his wife and brother are captured, taken to Dublin, executed and quartered. The Lordship of Clandeboye is partitioned in three by the English.Irelandsource
  • The rebel Rory O'More is briefly imprisoned.Irelandsource

Culture & Society

  • July 13 – In Berlin, John George, Elector of Brandenburg, orders the founding of the Evangelisches Gymnasium zum Grauen Kloster, which remains 450 years later as one of the most prestigious preparatory schools in Germany.source
  • December 27 – Murad III, eldest son of Selim II, is formally enthroned as the Ottoman Sultan after eliminating his other brothers as rival claimants to the throne.source
  • La Alameda, Seville, is laid out in Spain, as Europe's first public garden.source

Births

  • January 17 – Robert Fludd, English Rosicrucian and Paracelsian physicist (died 1637)source
  • February 17 – Pedro Téllez-Girón, 3rd Duke of Osuna, Spanish nobleman and politician (died 1624)source
  • March 5 – William Oughtred, English mathematician and Anglican minister (died 1660)source
  • May 6 – Pope Innocent X (died 1655)source
  • June – Richard Barnfield, English poet (died 1627)source
  • July 1 – Joseph Hall, English bishop and satirist (died 1656)source
  • August 7 – Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick, English explorer and geographer (died 1649)source
  • August 30 – Albert Szenczi Molnár, Hungarian translator (died 1634)source
  • September 6 – Luis Sotelo, Spanish Franciscan friar who died as a martyr in Japan (died 1624)source
  • September 18 – Claudio Achillini, Italian philosopher, theologian, mathematician, poet, jurist (died 1640)source
  • September 29 – Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox, Scottish nobleman and politician (died 1624)source
  • November 10 – Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria, Austrian archduchess (died 1621)source
  • December 12 – Adam Wenceslaus, Duke of Cieszyn (died 1617)source
  • December 12 – Anne of Denmark, queen of James VI and I of Scotland and England (died 1619)source
  • Daniel Dumonstier, artist (d.1646)Francesource
  • Thomas Fitzmaurice, 18th Baron Kerry, soldier (died 1630)Irelandsource
  • Stephen White, Jesuit scholar (died 1646)Irelandsource

Deaths

  • January 30 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher (born 1502)source
  • April 14 – Battle of Mookerheyde: Spanish forces under Sancho de Avila defeat the rebel forces of Louis of Nassau, who is killed.source
  • April 21 – Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1519)source
  • May 14 – Guru Amar Das, third Sikh Guru (born 1479)source
  • May 30 – King Charles IX of France (born 1550)source
  • May 30 – Charles IX of France (born 1550)Francesource
  • June 12 – Renée of France, French princess (born 1510)source
  • June 26 – Gabriel de Lorges, Count of Montgomery, captain of the Scottish Guard of Henry II of France (born 1530)source
  • June 27 – Giorgio Vasari, Italian painter and architect (born 1511)source
  • August 23 – Ebussuud Efendi, Ottoman Grand Mufti (born 1490)source
  • 1 September – Guru Amar Das, 3rd Sikh guruIndiasource
  • 4 September – Charles de Mornay, court official, diplomat and royal favorite (born 1514)Swedensource
  • September 17 – Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Spanish admiral and explorer (born 1519)source
  • October 1 – Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch painter (born 1498)source
  • November – Brian O'Neill of Clandeboye, clan chieftainIrelandsource
  • December 4 – Georg Joachim Rheticus, German mathematician and cartographer (born 1514)source
  • December 12 – Selim II, Ottoman Sultan (born 1524)source
  • December 15 – Selim II, the 50-year-old Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is killed after becoming drunk, falling, and fracturing his skull on the floor of the Topkapi Palace.source