1433
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The German king Sigismund of Luxembourg is crowned Holy Roman Emperor and will reign as such until his death in 1437. Bohemia's Hussite Wars end after 13 years of hostilities between peasant armies and papal "crusaders." The anti-Hussite ruler of Krumlov, Prince Oldrich of the Rozmberk dynasty, has seized the opportunity provided by the revolution to plunder the Golden Crown (Zlata Koruna) monastery and seize its vast estates. Hussites called to the Council of Basel will accept a compromise, but Bohemian nationalism has been asserted and the country has broken forever from its German ties (but see 1434).
Lucca defeats Florence after a 4-year war; banker Cosimo de' Medici, imprisoned as a scapegoat, is sentenced to 10 years' exile (see 1432; butsee also1434).
Francesco Foscari wins reelection as doge of Venice, despite opposition from naval hero Pietro Loredan.
The Peace of Ferrara ends the war that resumed in 1431 between Milan and Venice, but it fails to settle the balance of power; hostilities will erupt again in 1443.
Portugal's João I dies at Lisbon August 14 at age 76 after a 48-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Duarte (Edward), 40, who will reign until 1438. The new king will scold his brother Henrique (Henry the Navigator) on many occasions about his extravagance, failure to keep promises, and lack of scruples in raising money.
Agnès Sorel gives birth to a daughter, Charlotte, who is acknowledged by the king as a daughter of France and sister of the 10-year-old dauphin Louis (see 1432). Agnès begins to attend the king and queen both in public and private, sharing the life of the court, and receives as a gift from Charles a manor at Beauté built by the late Charles V at the edge of the forest of Vincennes with a commanding view of the Marne. Called by the poet Christine de Pisan "a very remarkable domain," it has been deserted since Charles V died there in 1380 (see 1435).
Timbuktu falls to the Berbers (see 1325). The city boasts a famous well, splendid mosques, a royal palace, and has become a center of Islamic learning and scholarship as well as an important crossroads meeting place for trade in gold and salt (see Sonni Ali, 1468).
The Chinese admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho) returns from his final expedition (see 1431). Mecca and 10 other states send tribute to the new Ming emperor, who is presented with giraffes, zebras, and other curiosities. But the Confucian scholars who attend China's new Ming emperor have halted construction of new ships, imposed limits on private shipping, destroyed Zheng's sailing records, and started dismantling his navy. China's brief show of interest in the outside world will now end, and by the end of the century it will be a capital offense to build a vessel with more than two masts (see 1525).
De Concordantia Catholica by the German Roman Catholic priest Nikolaus von Cusa, 32, gives the Council of Basel a carefully reasoned defense of its authority but leaves open the question of whether ultimate power vests in the pope or in the council, which has cited Pope Eugenius IV for failing to appear but whose deposition of the pope will have no practical effect.
Painting: Man in a Red Turban by Jan van Eyck.
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