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The 1520s

601 sourced entries across 10 years, inside the 16th century. Each year below opens its own page; the lines under it are that year’s highest-ranked entries.

1520 CE62 entries

  • April 16 – Revolt of the Comuneros: Citizens of Toledo, Castile opposed to the rule of the Flemish-born Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, rise up when the royal government attempts to unseat radical city councilors.
  • August 21 – After wintering in Patagonia in Argentina, the Magellan expedition resumes its attempt to become the first crew to sail around the world.
  • October 21 (Feast of St. Ursula) – The islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon are discovered by Portuguese explorer João Álvares Fagundes, off Newfoundland. He names them Islands of the 11,000 Virgins, in honour of Saint Ursula.

1521 CE62 entries

  • June 29 or 30 – The oldest surviving dateable document written primarily in the Romanian language: Neacșu's letter, written by a trader from Câmpulung, to Johannes Benkner, the mayor of Brașov, warning that the Ottoman Empire is preparing its troops to cross into Wallachia and Transylvania; the script used is Romanian Cyrillic.
  • August 13 – Fall of Tenochtitlan: Cuauhtémoc surrenders to Cortés, thus incorporating the Aztec Empire into the Spanish Empire and ending the Late Postclassic period in Mesoamerica.
  • November 23 – Spanish–German–Papal forces under Prospero Colonna force French Marshal Odet de Lautrec to abandon Milan.

1522 CE66 entries

  • July 28 – Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I begins his siege to expel the Knights of St. John in Rhodes.
  • September 21 – Luther Bible: Martin Luther's translation of the Bible's New Testament into Early New High German from Greek, Das newe Testament Deutzsch, is published in Germany, selling thousands in the first few weeks.
  • November 17 – The second Diet of Nuremberg opens to discuss various matters of the Holy Roman Empire, including the Protestant Reformation.

1523 CE66 entries

  • May – The Ningbo incident: Two rival trade delegations from Japan feud in the Chinese city of Ningbo, resulting in the pillage and plunder of the city.
  • June 3 – Santhome Church is established by Portuguese explorers over the tomb of Saint Thomas the Apostle at Madras (now Chennai) in India.
  • June 6 – Gustav Vasa is elected king of Sweden, establishing the full independence of Sweden from the Kalmar Union, which marks the end of the Kalmar Union. This event is also traditionally considered to be the establishment of the modern Swedish nation.

1524 CE49 entries

  • May 26 – Atiquipaque, the most important city of the Xinca people, is conquered by the Spanish, resulting in a significant reduction in the Xinca population.
  • August 20 – The French city of Marseille is besieged by Holy Roman Empire forces commanded by the Charles III, Duke of Bourbon and lasts until September 26.
  • August 22 – Protestant theologians Martin Luther and Andreas Karlstadt dispute at Jena.

1525 CE58 entries

  • April 4 – German Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire: Battle of Leipheim – The peasants suffer great losses when they are attacked by Georg, Truchsess von Waldburg and the town of Leipheim is forced to surrender. Four peasant leaders are beheaded, including Jakob Wehe and Ulrich Schoen.
  • June 13 – Martin Luther marries ex-nun Katharina von Bora. The painter Lucas Cranach the Elder is one of the witnesses.
  • June 18 – Henry VIII of England appoints his six-year-old illegitimate son Henry FitzRoy Duke of Richmond and Somerset.

1526 CE59 entries

  • January 14 – Treaty of Madrid: Peace is declared between Francis I of France and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Francis agrees to cede Burgundy and abandons all claims to Flanders, Artois, Naples, and Milan.
  • February 9 – In Guatemala, a group of 16 deserters from the Spanish colonial army destroy Iximche, the capital of the indigenous kingdom of the Mayan Kaqchikel people, and burn the palace of the Ahpo Xahil
  • February 25 – The Battle of Hisar Firoza is fought in what is now the Indian state of Haryana, between the Mughal Empire (whose army is led by Prince Humayun) and the Delhi Sultanate, led by Hamid Khan. Humayun, in his first command, leads the Mughals to victory.

1527 CE59 entries

  • March 17 – In India, the Battle of Khanwa is fought as the Mughal Emperor Babur defeats Rajput ruler Rana Sanga. This and two other major Moghul victories lead to their domination of northern India. Dhaulpur fort is taken by Babur.
  • May 6 – Sack of Rome: Spanish and German troops led by the Duke of Bourbon sack Rome, forcing the Medici Pope Clement VII to make peace with Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, marking the end of the High Renaissance. The Pope grows a beard in mourning.
  • August 20 – Diet of Odense (Denmark): King Frederick I declares religious tolerance for Lutherans, permits marriage of priests and forbids seeking papal pallium (approval) for royal appointments of Church officials.

1528 CE59 entries

  • January 26 – The Canton of Bern becomes the second in Switzerland to officially adopt Protestantism after 21-day debate, the Bern Disputation
  • April 28 – Battle of Capo d'Orso: The French fleet, under mercenary captain Filippino Doria, crushes the Spanish squadron trying to run the blockade of Naples.
  • October 13 – Cardinal Thomas Wolsey founds a college in his birthplace of Ipswich, England, which becomes the modern-day Ipswich School (incorporating institutions in the town dating back to 1299).

1529 CE61 entries

  • January 20 – In India, the Mughal Emperor Babur departs from the capital at Agra toward Ghazipur to fight the Rajputs and the rebel Afghans who had captured the city.
  • April 8 – The Flensburg Disputation is held, a debate attended by Stadtholder Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (later King Christian III of Denmark), between Lutherans (led by Hermann Fast) and the more radical Anabaptists (led by Melchior Hoffman). Johannes Bugenhagen, a close associate of Martin Luther, presides. The Disputation marks the rejection of radical ideas by the Danish Reformation.
  • May 10 – The Ottoman army under Suleiman I leaves Constantinople, to invade Hungary once again.