1581

1581 1582 1583 1584 1585 1586 1587 1588 1589 1590

political events

Willem the Silent names François de Valois, brother of France's Henri III, king of the Netherlands (see 1579). François tries to regain Antwerp from the Spanish, rallying support by accusing Felipe II with no exaggration of personal and state offenses ranging from adultery, duplicity, incest, and tyranny to the murder of his wife and son (see 1583).

Poland's Stephen Báthory invades Muscovy, gains a victory over Ivan the Terrible, and advances to Pskov (see 1582).

Burma's Toungoo dynasty king Braginoco (Bayinnaung) dies after a 30-year reign in which he has conquered both the Shan states and Siam, creating a realm that is too large to govern. Having encouraged Buddhism by building pagodas, giving generous donations to monasteries, and maintaining relations with the Buddhist kingdom of Ceylon, Braginoco is succeeded by his son, who will reign until 1599 as Nanda Bayin (see 1584).

human rights, social justice

Spain's Felipe II sends some of his black slaves to his Florida colony of St. Augustine. They are the first blacks to be landed in North America (see 1565; Drake, 1586).

exploration, colonization

Dutch settlers try to occupy part of the South American coast northwest of Brazil that has been inhabited for centuries by Arawak, Carib, and Warrau tribes, although its earliest known inhabitants were the Surinen, from whom the name Surinam (in Dutch: Suriname) will derive. Christopher Columbus sighted the coast in 1498, a Spanish expedition led by Amerigo Vespucci and Alonso de Ojeda sailed along it the following year, and it was visited in 1500 by the Spanish explorer Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, but resistance from the natives will prevent the establishment of any European settlements until 1651.

commerce

Spain's Felipe II unifies control of the Oriental spice trade, eliminating the competition in sugar, spices, and slaves that existed before the Spanish takeover of Portugal last year.

The Spanish ambassador to England demands restitution of the treasure brought back by Francis Drake last year; Elizabeth refuses (the plunder is enough to pay off England's national debt), and she knights Drake after a 9-month delay.

transportation

"The Newe Attractive" by London compass maker Robert Norman is a pamphlet describing it author's discovery of the dip in the magnetic needle.

medicine

Ergotism kills thousands in the German duchy of Luxembourg and in Spain, where the disease is endemic (see 1039; 1587).

religion

Scholars attending commencement exercises at St. Mary's, Oxford, June 27 find on their benches 400 copies of "Decem Rationes," a pamphlet attacking the Anglican Church. Authorities seize English Jesuit Edmund Campion, 41, as he preaches at Lyford, Berkshire, July 14 (see Mayne, 1577). He is committed to the Tower of London, examined in the presence of the queen, placed on the rack three times in an effort to shake his faith in Roman Catholicism, indicted for conspiring to dethrone Elizabeth, found guilty November 20, hanged December 1, drawn, and quartered.

The fourth Sikh guru Ram Das dies at Goindwal in the Punjab at age 47 (approximate), having founded Amritsar. He has selected his son Arjun to succeed him after a 7-year reign marked by humility, piety, and service to others; Arjun will head the sect until his own death in 1606.

music

Ballet: Ballet Comique de la Reyne at Paris with music by the Italian composer Baltasarini, who is known in Paris as Beaujoyleux. Presented for the queen mother Catherine de' Medici, the ballet represents the first use of dance and music to convey a coherent dramatic idea (see first grand opera, 1600).

crime

The brother of Vittoria Accoramboni has her husband, Francesco Peretti, murdered (see 1573). Marcello Accoramboni has schemed to have his sister's charms catch the fancy of his patron Paolo Giordano Orsini, duke di Bracciano, who has indeed become infatuated with Vittoria and marries her in a private ceremony, despite the disapproval of Pope Gregory XIII. Imprisoned briefly, Vittoria is released without trial in response to public pressure, marries the duke again in public, and settles down with him at Rome (but see 1585).

food and drink

Il Trinciante by Italian author Vincenzo Cervio is a book on carving that contains a large picture of a fork (see Scappi, 1569).

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