16th century

The Statue of David, completed by Michelangelo in 1504, is one of the most renowned works of the Renaissance
Mona Lisa, by Leonardo Da Vinci, c. 1503–1506, one of the world's most well-known paintings.
Millennium: 2nd millennium
Centuries: 15th century · 16th century · 17th century
Decades: 1500s 1510s 1520s 1530s 1540s
1550s 1560s 1570s 1580s 1590s
Categories: Births – Deaths
Establishments – Disestablishments

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century lasted from 1501 to 1600. It is regarded by historians as the century in which the rise of the West occurred.

During the 16th century, Spain and Portugal explored the world's seas and opened world-wide oceanic trade routes. Large parts of the New World became Spanish and Portuguese colonies, and while the Portuguese became the masters of Asia's and Africa's Indian Ocean trade, the Spanish opened trade across the Pacific Ocean, linking the Americas with Asia.

In Europe, the Protestant Reformation gave a major blow to the authority of the Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church. European politics became dominated by religious conflicts, with the groundwork for the epochal Thirty Years' War being laid towards the end of the century.

In the Middle East, the Ottoman Empire continued to expand, with the Sultan taking the title of Caliph, while dealing with a resurgent Persia. Iran and Iraq were caught by major popularity of the once-obscure Shiite sect of Islam under the rule of the Safavid dynasty of warrior-mystics, providing grounds for a Persia independent of the majority-Sunni Muslim world.

China evacuated the coastal areas, because of Japanese piracy. Japan was suffering under a severe civil war at the time.

Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great extended the power of the Mughal Empire to cover most of the Indian sub continent. His rule significantly influenced arts, culture, and religious tolerance in the region.

Copernicus proposed the heliocentric universe, which was met with strong resistance, and Tycho Brahe refuted the theory of celestial spheres through observational measurement of the 1572 appearance of a Milky Way Super Nova. These events directly challenged the long-held notion of an immutable universe supported by Ptolemy and Aristotle, and led to major revolutions in astronomy and science.

Contents

Events

For timelines of earlier events, see 15th century and Timeline of the Middle Ages.

Undated

1500–1509

1510s

1520s

1530s

1540s

1550s

1560s

1570s

1580s

1590s

Significant people

Exploration

See also: Exploration

Visual artists

See also: Artists of the Tudor court, Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance painting, and Renaissance sculpture

Musicians and Composers

See also: List of Baroque composers

Literature

See also: Renaissance, 16th century in literature, 16th century in poetry, Elizabethan literature, Renaissance literature, Early Modern literature, and Dutch Renaissance and Golden Age literature

Science and Philosophy

See also: Scientific Revolution

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Related article: List of 16th century inventions.

See also

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References

  1. ^ Polybius: "The Rise Of The Roman Empire", Page 36, Penguin, 1979.
  2. ^ 16th Century Timeline (1501 to 1600)
  3. ^ "History of Smallpox – Smallpox Through the Ages". Texas Department of State Health Services.
  4. ^ "A LIST OF NATIONAL EPIDEMICS OF PLAGUE IN ENGLAND 1348-1665". Archived from the original on 2009-05-03. http://urbanrim.org.uk/plague%20list.htm. Retrieved 2009-04-25. 
  5. ^ The Sweating Sickness. Story of London.. Accessed 2009-04-25. Archived 2009-05-03.
  6. ^ Life Span of Suleiman the Magnificent 1494-1566
  7. ^ Luc-Normand Tellier (2009). "Urban world history: an economic and geographical perspective". PUQ. p.308. ISBN 2-7605-1588-5
  8. ^ Leaman (2007), p.146
  9. ^ Mulla Sadra (Sadr al-Din Muhammad al-Shirazi) (1571/2-1640) by John Cooper
  10. ^ Drake (1978, p.1). The date of Galileo's birth is given according to the Julian calendar, which was then in force throughout the whole of Christendom. In 1582 it was replaced in Italy and several other Catholic countries with the Gregorian calendar. Unless otherwise indicated, dates in this article are given according to the Gregorian calendar.

Decades and years