The 16th century
7,788 sourced entries across 100 documented years, grouped into 10 decades. A century here runs 1900–1999 rather than 1901–2000, so its decades sit inside it exactly; on the BC side the same rule puts 1–99 BC in the 1st century BC and 100 BC in the 2nd.
Decades
- The 1500s — 10 years, 788 entries
- The 1510s — 10 years, 683 entries
- The 1520s — 10 years, 769 entries
- The 1530s — 10 years, 748 entries
- The 1540s — 10 years, 784 entries
- The 1550s — 10 years, 764 entries
- The 1560s — 10 years, 813 entries
- The 1570s — 10 years, 785 entries
- The 1580s — 10 years, 785 entries
- The 1590s — 10 years, 869 entries
By subject
- Conflict & Security in the 16th century — 1,380 entries
- Religion & Belief in the 16th century — 744 entries
- Culture & Society in the 16th century — 586 entries
- Geopolitics & Diplomacy in the 16th century — 584 entries
- Exploration & Expansion in the 16th century — 389 entries
- Crime & Justice in the 16th century — 187 entries
- Health & Medicine in the 16th century — 105 entries
- Technology & Infrastructure in the 16th century — 76 entries
- Science & Discovery in the 16th century — 72 entries
- Climate & Environment in the 16th century — 60 entries
- Disasters & Accidents in the 16th century — 52 entries
- Economy & Finance in the 16th century — 32 entries
A few of the years
- 1500April 22 – Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral and his crew on 13 vessels arrive in Brazil, anchoring at Monte Pascoal and naming the country Vera Cruz. Cabral claims the land for the Kingdom of Portugal.
- 1512April 11 – War of the League of Cambrai – Battle of Ravenna: French troops under Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours, assisted by the Duchy of Ferrara, defeat the Spanish and Papal States troops led by Ramón de Cardona. Gaston is killed in the pursuit as the Spanish retreat, and at least 3,000 of his troops are killed. More than 9,000 Spanish and Papal troops are killed, and 17,000 civilians in and around the city of Ravenna are massacred.
- 1524May 26 – Atiquipaque, the most important city of the Xinca people, is conquered by the Spanish, resulting in a significant reduction in the Xinca population.
- 1536January 24 – King Henry VIII of England is seriously injured when he falls from his horse at a jousting tournament in Greenwich, after which the fully armored horse falls on him. The King is unconscious for two hours, sustaining an injury to an ulcerated leg and a concussion.
- 1548April 15 – General Zhu Wan of Ming dynasty China dispatches a fleet of ships, commanded by Lu Tang, to destroy smugglers and pirates at Shangyu, a port on Liuheng Island. The fleet sets off from Wenzhou and makes its attack in June.
- 1560January 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.
- 1572January 16 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is tried for treason, for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England. He is executed on June 2.
- 1584April 28 – (Tenshō 12, 18th day of the 3rd month) In Japan, the Battle of Komaki begins as fight between Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu when Ieyasu, commander of 100,000 men, begins the occupation of the Komakiyama Castle, prompting Hideyoshi to advance from Osaka with 30,000 troops.