istoryworld
Events relating to europe
Mary Queen of Scots' secretary, David Rizzio, is dragged from her presence and stabbed to death
Mary Queen of Scots' husband Darnley is treacherously involved in the murder of her secretary, Rizzio
The Book of Common Prayer and the New Testament are published in Welsh, to be followed by the complete Bible in 1588
Darnley is murdered, almost certainly at the instigation of Mary Queen of Scots' lover, Bothwell, whom she marries just three months later
The duke of Alba introduces a reign of terror in the Spanish Netherlands, by means of a tribunal known as the Council of Blood
A casket of letters seems to incriminate Mary Queen of Scots herself in the murder of her husband, Darnley
The events of this year give the Protestant nobility the occasion and opportunity of deposing Mary Queen of Scots
On the removal of Mary from the Scottish throne, her one-year-old son succeeds her as James VI
Discovery of the Solomon Islands by a Spanish ship prompts interest in a possible Terra Australis Incognita ('unknown southern land')
Mary Queen of Scots flees across the border to seek the help of her English cousin, Elizabeth, but finds herself kept under close guard
A rebellion in the north of England aims to put Mary Queen of Scots on the English throne
Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator publishes a map of the world, using the projection now known by his name
Privateers frequent the Spanish main to plunder the richly laden caravels on their way home to Europe
Palladio publishes I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura ('The Four Books of Architecture'), which include his influential designs for villas
Pope Pius V excommunicates the English queen, Elizabeth I, causing a severe crisis of loyalty for her Catholic subjects
The Spanish governor general, Legazpi, makes his capital at Manila,and names the surrounding islands the Philippines after Philip II
Roberto di Ridolfi, a Florentine banker, coordinates a scheme to win the English throne for Mary Queen of Scots
Galleys are rowed into battle for the last time at Lepanto, ending a fighting career of some 2500 years
Spanish and Venetian galleys defeat the Turks in the battle of Lepanto
A massacre of French Protestants, known as the Huguenots, begins in Paris on St Bartholomew's Day
Luis de Camoëns publishes The Lusiads, the poem which becomes Portugal's national epic
Sea beggars seize the town of Brill and raise the flag of William of Orange (also known as William the Silent)
William of Orange declares himself a Calvinist and assumes the leadership of the united provinces of the Netherlands
Venice cedes the island of Cyprus to the Turks, in spite of the Christian victory at Lepanto two years earlier
The city of Alkmaar is saved when the Dutch breach their own dikes, threatening the Spanish troops with death by drowning
