The 1580s

1586 440 years ago

Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company repelled a fleet of Spanish and Maltese galleys…

The Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604) was an intermittent conflict between Habsburg Spain and the Kingdom of England that was never formally declared. It began with England's military …

Anglo–Spanish War: A convoy of English ships from the Levant Company repelled a fleet of Spanish and Maltese galleys…

1586 440 years ago

Eighty Years' War: Spanish forces defeated an Anglo-Dutch army at the Battle of Zutphen.* 1789 – The office of United…

The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war include…

Eighty Years' War: Spanish forces defeated an Anglo-Dutch army at the Battle of Zutphen.* 1789 – The office of United…

1585

John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.

John Davis was an explorer, navigator and privateer. He led several voyages in search of the Northwest Passage and served as pilot and captain on both Dutch and English voyages to …

John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.

1585

The Treaty of Nonsuch signed by Elizabeth I of England and the Dutch Rebels.

The Treaty of Nonsuch was signed on 10 August 1585 by Elizabeth I of England and the Dutch rebels fighting against Spanish rule. It was the first international treaty signed by wha…

The Treaty of Nonsuch signed by Elizabeth I of England and the Dutch Rebels.

1585

The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.

The Treaty of Nemours were articles that were agreed upon in writing and signed in Nemours on 7 July 1585 between the Queen Mother, Catherine de' Medici, acting for the King, and r…

The Treaty of Nemours abolishes tolerance to Protestants in France.

1585

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is officially appointed kampaku (Imperial Regent).

Toyotomi Hideyoshi , otherwise known as Kinoshita Tōkichirō and Hashiba Hideyoshi , was a Japanese samurai and daimyō of the late Sengoku and Azuchi-Momoyama periods, regarded as …

Toyotomi Hideyoshi is officially appointed kampaku (Imperial Regent).

1585

Eighty Years' War: Siege of Antwerp: Antwerp is captured by Spanish forces under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, who…

The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish government. The causes of the war include…

Eighty Years' War: Siege of Antwerp: Antwerp is captured by Spanish forces under Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, who…

1585

A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Raleigh under the charge of Ralph Lane lands in the New World to create…

Sir Walter Raleigh was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation …

A first group of colonists sent by Sir Walter Raleigh under the charge of Ralph Lane lands in the New World to create…

1585

Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (died 1612)

Zofia Radziwiłł, also Zofia of Słuck is a Polish-Lithuanian Orthodox Christian saint. She was the last descendant of the Olelkowicz–Słucki family – princes of Slutsk and Kopyl – wh…

Sophia Olelkovich Radziwill, Belarusian saint (died 1612)

1585

Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (died 1615)

Evert Karlsson Horn af Kanckas was a Swedish field marshal and governor of Narva.

Evert Horn, Swedish soldier (died 1615)

1585

Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English courtier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland (died 1646)

Thomas Howard, 14th Earl of Arundel KG, was an English magistrate, diplomat and courtier during the reigns of James I and Charles I. He made his name as a Grand Tourist and art col…

Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English courtier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northumberland (died 1646)

1585

Cardinal Richelieu, French cardinal and politician (died 1642)

Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu, commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religiou…

Cardinal Richelieu, French cardinal and politician (died 1642)

1585

Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress (died 1618)

Anna of Tyrol was by birth an Archduchess of Austria and member of the Tyrolean branch of the House of Habsburg. By marriage, she was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Boh…

Anna of Tyrol, Holy Roman Empress (died 1618)

1585

Cornelius Jansen, Dutch bishop and theologian (died 1638)

Cornelius Jansen was the Dutch Catholic bishop of Ypres in Flanders and the father of a theological movement known as Jansenism.

Cornelius Jansen, Dutch bishop and theologian (died 1638)

1585

Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück and Paderborn (born 1550)

Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg was a Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, then Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück, then Prince-Bishop of Paderborn.

Henry of Saxe-Lauenburg, Prince-Archbishop of Bremen, Prince-Bishop of Osnabrück and Paderborn (born 1550)

1585

Heinrich Schütz, German organist and composer (died 1672)

Heinrich Schütz was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach and one of the most importan…

Heinrich Schütz, German organist and composer (died 1672)

1585

Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (born 1535)

Niwa Nagahide , also known as Gorōzaemon (五郎左衛門), his other legal alias was Hashiba Echizen no Kami (羽柴越前守), was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku through Azuchi-Momoyama periods o…

Niwa Nagahide, Japanese samurai (born 1535)

1585

Muretus, French philosopher and author (born 1526)

Marc Antoine Muret, better known by his Latinized name Marcus Antonius Muretus, was a French humanist who was among the revivers of an Attic, or anti-Ciceronian, prose style, and i…

Muretus, French philosopher and author (born 1526)

1585

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland (born 1532)

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, 2nd Baron Percy was an English nobleman and conspirator.

Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland (born 1532)

1585

Thomas Aufield, English priest and martyr (born 1552)

Thomas Aufield, also called Thomas Alfield, was an English Roman Catholic martyr.

Thomas Aufield, English priest and martyr (born 1552)

1585

Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (born 1527)

Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford of Chenies in Buckinghamshire and of Bedford House in Exeter, Devon, was an English nobleman, soldier, and politician. He was a godfather to th…

Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford (born 1527)

1584

Santiago de Vera becomes sixth governor-general of the Spanish colony of the Philippines

Santiago de Vera was a native of Alcalá de Henares, Spain and the sixth Spanish governor of the Philippines, from May 16, 1584, until May 1590.

Santiago de Vera becomes sixth governor-general of the Spanish colony of the Philippines

1584

The Maronite College is established in Rome.

The Pontifical Maronite College is one of the Roman Colleges of the Catholic Church. Founded originally in 1584 in order to educate Maronite priests, the college provides now highe…

The Maronite College is established in Rome.

1584

Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (died 1640)

Michael Altenburg was a German theologian and composer.

Michael Altenburg, German theologian and composer (died 1640)