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Redirected from 16th Century (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) Events The modern square root symbol is first used Protestant reform of the Christian church in several countries in Northern Europe. 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 Poland is the largest state in Europe. Castile invades the kingdom of Navarre (1512). In the Dutch revolt of 1568-1648, a small nation gained independence from the superpower of the day (Spain) After the Fall of Antwerp[?] (1585), many of its merchants fled to Amsterdam First cirumnavigation of the globe by a ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition. Only one ship survived the journey, under the command of the Basque captain Sebastian Elkano (1522). European explorers explore the New World; Spain conquers Indians in Central and South America, resulting in the destruction of the native civilizations of Mesoamerica and the Andes. Vast increase in amount of gold in circulation in Europe. The horse introduced to the Americas. The Ottoman Empire reaches its peak during the reign of sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (reigned 1520-1566). Troops of the Ottoman Empire lay siege upon Vienna, but fail to conquer the city (1529) Copernicus publishes his theory that the Earth and the other planets revolve around the Sun (1543) Gregorian Calendar adopted by Catholic countries (1582) Significant people Martin Luther, religious reformer Michelangelo Buonarotti, painter and sculptor Thomas More, English politician and writer Miguel Cervantes, Spanish writer William Shakespeare, English writer Hernan Cortes, Conquistador Elizabeth I, English queen Philip II, Spanish king Inventions, Discoveries, Introductions Introduction of spinning wheel revolutionizes textile production. New world crops such as maize corn, potatos, chocolate, tomatoes, become known to Europeans Decades and Years 1490s 1490 1491 1492 1493 1494 1495 1496 1497 1498 1499 1500s 1500 1501 1502 1503 1504 1505 1506 1507 1508 1509 1510s 1510 1511 1512 1513 1514 1515 1516 1517 1518 1519 1520s 1520 1521 1522 1523 1524 1525 1526 1527 1528 1529 1530s 1530 1531 1532 1533 1534 1535 1536 1537 1538 1539 1540s 1540 1541 1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548 1549 1550s 1550 1551 1552 1553 1554 1555 1556 1557 1558 1559 1560s 1560 1561 1562 1563 1564 1565 1566 1567 1568 1569 1570s 1570 1571 1572 1573 1574 1575 1576 1577 1578 1579 1580s 1580 1581 1582 1583 1584 1585 1586 1587 1588 1589 1590s 1590 1591 1592 1593 1594 1595 1596 1597 1598 1599 1600s 1600 1601 1602 1603 1604 1605 1606 1607 1608 1609
(15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries)
Significant people
Inventions, Discoveries, Introductions
Decades and Years