16th century

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600.

Events

• The modern square root symbol is first used.
• Castile invades the kingdom of Navarre (1512).
• Niccolò Machiavelli writes The Prince.
• The Ottoman Empire reaches its peak during the reign of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (reigned 1520-1566). Kingdom of Hungary in shambles after numerous attacks, troops of the Ottoman Empire directly attack the Habsburg Empire and lay siege upon Vienna, but fail to conquer the city in 1529.
• European explorers explore the New World. Castile conquers the Aztec Empire in Mexico (1521) and the Inca Empire in South America (1533), resulting in the destruction of the native civilizations of Mesoamerica and the Andes. Vast increase in amount of bullion in circulation in Europe. The horse introduced to the Americas.
• First circumnavigation of the globe by a ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition. Only one ship survived the journey, under the command of the Basque captain Juan Sebastián Elcano (1522).
• Protestant reform of the Christian church in several countries in Northern Europe.
• In the Diet of Speyer, a group of princes and imperial cities of the Holy Roman Empire sign a protestation against the Edict of Worms. This marks their support of Lutheranism (1529).
• Poland chooses religious tolerance.
• Polish writers are eager to discuss religious differences. They print their works in the Polish language for the first time.
• King Henry VIII of England breaks with Roman Catholic Church and forms Church of England (1533)
• French Wars of Religion between Catholics and Huguenots in France (1562 - 1598).
• Copernicus publishes his theory that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun (1543)
• The Council of Trent (1545 - 1563), one of the ecumenical councils of the Catholic Church, defined a large number of new dogmas in response to the Protestant Reformation.
• Azuchi-Momoyama period of the History of Japan (1568 - 1600). Following the long civil wars of the Sengoku period daimyos Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi attempt to unify Japan under their command.
• In the Dutch revolt of 1568-1648, a small nation gained independence from the superpower of the day (Spain).
• Poland and Lithuania form the Commonwealth (1569 - 1795)
• Gregorian Calendar adopted by Catholic countries (1582)
• After the Fall of Antwerp (1585), many of its merchants fled to Amsterdam