1585 CE
Roman Catholic recusants in Clonmel are betrayed and seized at Passion Sunday mass by troops of John Norreys, Lord President of Munster, and the celebrant, fugitive priest Maurice MacKenraghty, gives himself up, is immediately tried under martial law as a traitor, and executed. His head is set up in Clonmel market place and his body buried behind the high altar of the Franciscan convent. Nicholas Walsh, Church of Ireland Bishop of Ossory, is stabbed to death in his house in Kilkenny by a disaffected member of his flock. Enraged by the disrespect shown to him by Yousuf Shah Chak, the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, orders the invasion of Kashmir with 5,000 men.
In the 1580s, the 16th century.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- 26 April – 25 May – Parliament of Ireland meets in Dublin with Sir Nicholas Walsh as Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, is permitted to take his seat.Irelandsource
- July 7 – The Treaty of Nemours forces King Henry III of France to capitulate to the demands of the Catholic League, triggering the Eighth War of Religion (also known as the War of the Three Henrys) in France.source
- July 7 – The Treaty of Nemours is signed, which forces Henry III of France to capitulate to the demands of the Catholic League (founded 1576) which triggers the Eighth War of Religion.Francesource
- 15 July – Composition of Connacht: A commission is given to Sir Richard Bingham, governor of Connacht, and others to make agreements with landowners in the province by 3 October. Murrough na dTuadh Ó Flaithbheartaigh is recognised as Chief of the Name of Ó Flaithbertaigh in Galway.Irelandsource
- July–August – Sir John Perrot, Lord Deputy of Ireland, is in Ulster; he confirms agreement between the O'Neill dynasty on 10 August and establishes County Coleraine (as the County of Colerain) and County Monaghan.Irelandsource
- August 14 – Queen Elizabeth I of England agrees to establish a protectorate over the Netherlands.source
- August 20 – The Treaty of Nonsuch is signed, committing England to support the Dutch Revolt, thus entering the Eighty Years' War.source
- The Kingdom of Luba is founded by Kongolo Mwamba in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo.source
- Princely state of Chitral establishedIndiasource
- Tadhg mac Diarmata, last de facto King of Magh Luirg, is succeeded by Brian na Carriag MacDermot, first to be styled "MacDermot of the Carrick".Irelandsource
Conflict & Security
- January – Sorley Boy MacDonnell lands at Cushendun with a substantial army, but after initial successes is driven back to Scotland.Irelandsource
- March 10 – The Spanish Army, commanded by Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, obtains the surrender of Brussels after a siege that began the year before.source
- April – Roman Catholic recusants in Clonmel are betrayed and seized at Passion Sunday mass by troops of John Norreys, Lord President of Munster, and the celebrant, fugitive priest Maurice MacKenraghty, gives himself up, is immediately tried under martial law as a traitor, and executed. His head is set up in Clonmel market place and his body buried behind the high altar of the Franciscan convent.Irelandsource
- May 19 – Spain seizes English ships in Spanish ports, precipitating the Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604).source
- June – Toyotomi Hideyoshi begins the invasion of the Japanese island of Shikoku with an army of 113,000 men on 703 ships. The troops are divided into three groups, with 60,000 commanded by Hashiba Hidenaga and Hashiba Hidetsugu toward the provinces of Awa and Tosa; 23,000 under Ukita Hideie at the province of Sanuki; and 30,000 under Kobayakawa Takakage and Kikkawa Motoharu for the province of Iyo.source
- July 12 – Invasion of Shikoku: The final battle of the invasion, the siege of Ichinomiya Castle, begins.source
- August 6 – (11th day of the 7th month of Tenshō 13) Invasion of Shikoku: In Japan, Chōsokabe Motochika surrenders the island of Shikoku to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, after a 26 day siege of the Ichinomiya Castle by 40,000 men.source
- August 17 – Antwerp, now in Belgium, is captured by Spanish forces commanded by the Duke of Parma. The Duke orders all Protestants to leave the city. As a result, over half of the 100,000 inhabitants flee to the northern provinces. Furthermore, upon hearing of the capture of Antwerp, a relief fleet sent to raise the siege instead blockades the Scheldt River, preventing any and all ships from reaching Antwerp for two centuries. This effectively destroys Antwerp's position as an important trade city and de facto capital of the Dutch provinces. Its position is taken over by various northern cities, most prominently Amsterdam.source
- September 11 – In the Ottoman Empire, the rebellion of An-Nasir al-Hasan bin Ali in Yemen is ended when An-Nasir is betrayed and turned over to the Turkish Ottoman governor. An-Nasir spends one year in prison in Sanaa and then brought to Turkey.source
- October 15 – In Arnhem in the Netherlands, the siege of IJsseloord is completed after nine days as English and Dutch forces recapture the city from Spanish occupiers.source
- 4 November – James VI surrenders Stirling Castle to the rebel lords.Scotlandsource
- November 18 – In Mexico City, Álvaro Manrique de Zúñiga becomes Viceroy of New Spain after being appointed by King Philip II of Spain.source
- November 28 – Anglo-Spanish War: The island of Santiago in Cape Verde is captured by Francis Drake.source
- December 20 – Enraged by the disrespect shown to him by Yousuf Shah Chak, the Mughal Emperor, Akbar, orders the invasion of Kashmir with 5,000 men.source
- A military campaign to annexe Kashmir was launched by Mughal emperor Akbar.Indiasource
Exploration & Expansion
- July 29 – Aboard the English ship Tiger, Roanoke expedition leader Ralph Lane negotiates an agreement with the Secotan people, who are represented by Granganimeo, the brother of the Secotan leader, King Wingino. Although the Secotans grant Lane's request to allow the English to live on Roanoke Island, he is told that they will receive no assistance from the natives, because of problems the previous year with Walter Raleigh.source
- August 8 – English explorer John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in Baffin Island, in his quest for the Northwest Passage.source
- August 17 – The Roanoke colonists complete their construction of a fort under the direction of Ralph Lane to make the first permanent English settlement in North America.source
- History of chocolate in Spain: First recorded commercial importation of chocolate to Europe, from Veracruz in Mexico to Seville in Spain.source
- Livre de mélanges by Claude Le JeuneFrancesource
- Les Quatre premiers livres des navigations et pérégrinations en la Turquie (1568 by Nicolas de Nicolaÿ), is translated to English by Thomas Washington (translation published as The Nauigations into Turkie)Francesource
Religion & Belief
- January 21 – Robert Nutter, Thomas Worthington, and 18 other Roman Catholic priests are "perpetually banished" from England by order of Queen Elizabeth, placed on the ship Mary Martin of Colchester, and transported to France.source
- February 16 – Pachomius II is deposed by fellow bishops from his position as Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, and replaced by the Metropolitan of Philippoupolis, Theoleptus II.source
- April 21 – The papal conclave begins at the Vatican in Rome on Easter Sunday, with only 42 of the 60 cardinals attending. Early voting favors Cardinals Pier Donato Cesi and Guglielmo Sirleto, neither of whom receives a majority.source
- April 24 – Cardinal Felice Piergentile of the church of San Girolamo dei Croati is unanimously elected as the 227th Pope, and takes the regnal name Pope Sixtus V.source
- May 1 – The coronation of Pope Sixtus V takes place in Rome.source
- September 15 – English Catholic priest John Adams is banished from England along with 72 other Catholic priests, and transported by ship to Boulogne in France.source
- September 21 – King Henry III of Navarre, who is also the heir presumptive to France's King Henry III, is excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Sixtus V, who effectively declares that French Catholics are not required to recognize his claim to the throne.source
- September 21 – Pope Sixtus V excommunicates King Henry IV, the heir presumptive to Henry III and declares him ineligible to inherit the crown.Francesource
- 14 December – Nicholas Walsh, Church of Ireland Bishop of Ossory, is stabbed to death in his house in Kilkenny by a disaffected member of his flock.Irelandsource
- Nicolas de Montreux publishes 3 pastorals named Athlette and the first volume of Les Bergeries de Juliette. The following four volumes were published in the years leading up to 1598.Francesource
Economy & Finance
- The Frankfurt Stock Exchange was founded.source
Technology & Infrastructure
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
Climate & Environment
- June 11 – The 9.2 magnitude Aleutian Islands earthquake unleashes a tsunami in the Pacific Ocean, killing many people in Hawaii and reportedly striking Japan.source
- November 27 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan, and serves a foreshock and a trigger to a deadly 7.9 magnitude earthquake on January 18 that will kill 8,000 people.source
- Máel Sechnaill Ruadh Ó Braonáin of Galway is recorded as one of the last harpers of the period in Connacht.Irelandsource
Culture & Society
- February 21 – King Johan III of Sweden, widowed since 1583, marries Gunilla Bielke in a ceremony at Västerås, which the King's siblings refuse to attend. The coronation of Queen consort Gunilla takes place the next day. Over the next seven years, she works on changing the Catholic government's attitude towards Protestants.source
- December 1 – Hadim Mesih Pasha is appointed the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Murad III.source
- By marrying Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy on 11 March, Catalina Micaela of Spain becomes the Duchess consort of Savoy from 18 March until her death in 1597.Francesource
- The Neubau of Strasbourg is finished. The building is not modified until around 300 years later, when Eugène Petiti (1809–1883) added an aisle on the south side of the building, in 1867.Francesource
- Pierre Bonnet (composer) is active from 1585 to 1600Francesource
- Prince Mansingh was appointed asIndiasource
- Tuileagna Ó Maoil Chonaire composes the poem Labhram ar iongnaibh Éireann.Irelandsource
Births
- January 23 – Mary Ward, English Catholic Religious Sister (died 1645)source
- February 2 – Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare's only son (died 1596)source
- February 2 – Judith Quiney, William Shakespeare's youngest daughter (died 1662)source
- March 5 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (died 1656)source
- September 9 – Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, French statesman and 4th Prime Minister of France (died 1642)source
- September 9 – Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, Politician and 4th Prime Minister of France (died 1642)Francesource
- October 4 – Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress (died 1618)source
- October 8 – Heinrich Schütz, German composer (died 1672)source
- October 28 – Cornelius Jansen, French bishop of Ypres and religious reformer (died 1638)source
- November 1 – Jan Brożek, Polish mathematician, physician and astronomer (died 1652)source
- November 26 – Herman op den Graeff, Dutch bishop (died 1642)source
- December 4 – John Cotton, clergyman in England and the American colonies, founder of Boston (died 1652)source
- December 13 – William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (died 1649)source
- 13 December – William Drummond of Hawthornden, poet (died 1649)Scotlandsource
- December 16 – Livia della Rovere, Italian noble (died 1641)source
- December 25 – Christian, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen (1588–1637) (died 1637)source
- Thomas Preston, 1st Viscount Tara, soldier (died 1655)Irelandsource
- 14th of February – Marcus Kock, Belgian born Master of Mint for Gustavus Adolphus (died 1657)Swedensource
Deaths
- January 16 – Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (born 1512)source
- March 10 – Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (born 1517)source
- April 10 – Pope Gregory XIII (born 1502)source
- April 22 – Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück and Paderborn (born 1550)source
- June 15 – Jacques de Savoie, Duke of Nemours, Nobleman and military commander, governor of Lyonnais and Prince Étranger (born 1531)Francesource
- June 18 – Jacques de Savoie, Duke of Nemours, French nobleman and soldier (born 1531)source
- June 21 – Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, English nobleman and conspirator, suicide (born 1532)source
- 6 July - Elisabeth Sabina, child of Charles IX of Sweden (born 13 March 1582)Swedensource
- August 5 or August 6 – Yermak Timofeyevich, Cossack leader and explorer of Siberiasource
- October 1 – Anne of Denmark, Electress of Saxony (born 1532)source
- October 19 – Johannes Crato von Krafftheim, German humanist and physician (born 1519)source
- October 29 – Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha, Ottoman (Turkish) grand vizier (born 1526)source
- November 2 – Tachibana Dōsetsu, Japanese daimyō (born 1513)source
- 16 November – Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, dies in exile in London and is succeeded by his son Henry FitzGerald.Irelandsource
- November 23 – Thomas Tallis, English composer (born c. 1510)source
- December 4 – John Willock, Scottish reformer (born c. 1515)source
- 4 December – John Willock, reformer (born c. 1515)Scotlandsource
- December 27 – Pierre de Ronsard, French poet (born 1524)source