What happened in 1550–1559

World7

• 1551Invasion of Gozo: Ottoman Turks and Barbary pirates invade the Mediterranean island of Gozo (now part of Malta), and enslave almost all of its 6,000 inhabitants.
• 1554September 13 (Shawwal 15, 961 AH) – At the Battle of Tadla in Morocco, Mohammed ash-Sheikh, ruler of the Saadi dynasty enters the city of Fez and becomes the undisputed sultan. Ali Abu Hassun, last ruler of the Wattasid dynasty, flees.
• 1555Jeanne d'Albret becomes the Queen of Navarre upon the death of her father, King Henry II.
• 1557By June – The 1557 influenza pandemic, probably originating in China, spreads to Europe.
• 1557Mohammed al-Shaykh, Sultan of Morocco since 1549, is assassinated by Ottoman soldiers who had infiltrated the Moroccan army. The assassination comes on orders of the Ottoman sultan after Mohammed makes plans for an alliance with Spain against the Ottoman Empire. Mohammed is succeeded by his son, Abdallah al-Ghalib.
• 1558The Livonian War begins.
• 15581557 influenza pandemic.

Japan6

• 1551(1st day of 9th month of Tenbun 21) Tainei-ji incident: A coup in Yamaguchi, by the military establishment of the Ōuchi clan, forces their lord Ōuchi Yoshitaka to commit suicide, and the city is burned.
• 1553The first of the five Battles of Kawanakajima, the "Battle of the Fuse," commences in Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province. The clash, fought 12 days after Shingen has taken Katsurao Castle, takes place at a shrine of Hachiman (near modern-day Yashiro, Hyōgo prefecture), is part of a major series of conflicts during the Japanese Sengoku period.
• 1555(1st day of 10th month Tenbun 24) – At the Battle of Miyajima Island, Mori Motonari defeats Sue Harukata.
• 1556In Japan, Saitō Yoshitatsu, the eldest son of Saitō Dōsan, arranges the murders of his two younger brothers, Magoshiro and Kiheiji, and forces his father to flee from the Sagiyama Castle.
• 1556May 28 (20th day of 4th month of Kōji 2) – In Japan, the Battle of Nagara-gawa takes place along the Nagara River in Mino Province near what is now the Gifu Prefecture. Saitō Yoshitatsu, with 17,500 troops, overwhelms and kills his father, Saitō Dōsan, who had attempted to avenge the Saitō family honor with less than 3,000 people.
• 1557November 17 (27th day of the 10th month of Kōji 3) – Prince Michihito of Japan becomes the Emperor Ōgimachi almost two months after the September 27 death of his father, the Emperor Go-Nara.

North America1

• 1550The Valladolid debate on the rights and treatment of indigenous peoples of the Americas by their Spanish conquerors opens at the Colegio de San Gregorio in Valladolid, Castile.

Europe66

• 1551Italian War of 1551–1559: A defensive alliance, placing the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza under the protection of France, is signed between representatives of King Henry II of France and Ottavio Farnese, Duke of Parma, placing Parma under French protection.
• 1552The Peace of Passau revokes the Augsburg Interim of 1548, and promises religious freedom to the Protestant princes.
• 1553Lady Jane Grey, a 16-year-old first cousin of King Edward VI of England, marries Lord Guildford Dudley, son of the Duke of Northumberland, who has engineered the marriage.
• 1553Two new schools, Christ's Hospital and King Edward's School, Witley, are created by royal charter in accordance with the will of King Edward VI of England; St Thomas' Hospital, London, in existence since the 12th century, is named in the same charter.
• 1553King Edward VI of England dies at the age of 15 after a reign of only six years.
• 1553Four days after the death of her cousin King Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey is proclaimed Queen of England – a position she holds for the next nine days.
• 1553Tonbridge School is founded by Sir Andrew Judde, under letters patent of Edward VI of England.
• 1555The Peace of Augsburg is signed between Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, and the Lutheran Schmalkaldic League, establishing the principle Cuius regio, eius religio, that is, rulers within the Empire can choose the religion of their realm.
• 1558The University of Jena is founded in Thuringia, Germany.
• 1558The Imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire gives recognition to Ferdinand as Holy Roman Emperor, two months after his proclamation on March 14 as the successor to his brother Charles V.
• 1558On her deathbed, Queen Mary of England designates her half-sister, Elizabeth, as her successor. Both Mary and Elizabeth are daughters of the late King Henry VIII.
• 1558The five Canterbury Martyrs, three men and two women, are burned at the stake, becoming the last of 312 Protestants put to death for heresy during the reign of England's Roman Catholic ruler, Queen Mary. Queen Mary dies two days later, bringing an end to her campaign. During the final year of Mary's reign, 49 Protestants are burned at the stake and three others die in prison while awaiting execution.
• 1559Peace of Cateau Cambrésis: After two days of negotiations, France makes peace with England and Spain, ending the Italian War of 1551–59. France gives up most of its gains in Italy (including Savoy), retaining only Saluzzo, but keeps the three Lorraine bishoprics of Metz, Toul, and Verdun, and the formerly English town of Calais.
• 1559The University of Geneva is founded by John Calvin.
• 1559Pope Paul IV promulgates the Pauline Index, an early version of the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.

51 more in the app

USSR / Russia2

• 1551At the Kremlin in Moscow, Tsar Ivan IV and the Metropolitan Macarius, present the proposed code of laws, drafted by the Stoglavy Synod, to the clergy, nobility and principal Russian citizens for their approval.
• 1552The Khanate of Kazan falls to troops of Ivan IV of Russia.

Asia7

• 1550King Tabinshwehti of Burma is assassinated by two of his bodyguards while he is on a hunting trip. The two swordsmen, sent by Smim Sawhtut, Governor of Sittaung, behead the King, and a civil war begins as major governors rebel against the new Burmese King Bayinnaung.
• 1554Upon the death of his father, Sultan Islam Shah Suri, 12-year-old Firuz Shah Suri becomes the Sultan of the Sur Empire at Delhi, but he is murdered within a few days.
• 1556The Shaanxi earthquake, the deadliest earthquake in history, occurs with its epicenter in Shaanxi province, China; 830,000 people may have been killed.
• 1556In India, at the Sher Mandal in Delhi, the Mughal Emperor Humayun trips while descending the stairs from his library and strikes the side of his head against a stone step, sustaining a fatal injury. He never regains consciousness and dies seven days later.
• 1556The Battle of Delhi is fought in India, at Tughlaqabad) near Delhi between forces of the Sur Empire (ruled by Muhammad Adil Shah) and the Mughal Empire (ruled by Akbar the Great). General Hemchandra Vikramaditya (Hemu) of the Suris overwhelms the forces commanded by the Mughal Governor of Delhi, Tardi Beg Khan within one day.
• 1556Second Battle of Panipat: Fifty miles north of Delhi, a Mughal army defeats the forces of Hemu and recaptures Delhi for the Mughal Empire, guaranteeing Akbar's rule.
• 1559Gorkha state is established by Dravya Shah, beating local Khadka kings, which is the origin of the current country of Nepal.

Middle East4

• 1552The Ottomans capture the city of Temesvar.
• 1553Shimun VIII Yohannan Sulaqa, leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church in modern-day Iraq, is recognized by Pope Julius III as the Patriarch of Mosul.
• 1553Şehzade Mustafa, oldest son of Suleiman the Magnificent, is executed in Konya by order of his father.
• 1555The Treaty of Amasya between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia concludes the Ottoman-Safavid War.

Latin America6

• 1550Arauco War: Battle of Penco – Several hundred Spanish and indigenous troops under the command of Pedro de Valdivia defeat an army of 60,000 Mapuche in modern-day Chile.
• 1551The National University of San Marcos is founded in Lima in the Viceroyalty of Peru, being the first officially established university in the Americas.
• 1551The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico is founded in Mexico City (Mexico), being the second officially established university in the Americas.
• 1553Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors, and execute Pedro de Valdivia, the first Royal Governor of Chile.
• 1557Arauco War – Battle of Mataquito: Spanish forces of Governor Francisco de Villagra launch a dawn surprise attack against the Mapuche (headed by their toqui Lautaro), in present-day Chile.
• 1558Arauco War: Pedro de Avendaño, with sixty men, captures Caupolicán (the Mapuche Gran Toqui), who is leading their first revolt against the Spanish Empire (near Antihuala), encamped with a small band of followers.

Africa1

• 1551The Siege of Tripoli ends, with the Knights of Malta surrendering Tripoli to the Ottoman Empire.