These were the main developments in 1539 CE that impacted the development of the “West”‘s domination of world affairs: In January, the Catholic kings of Spain and France set aside the rivalry they had pursued for many years to reach agreement that neither would make further alliances with England, where King Henry VIII had now … Continue reading Key developments of 1539
Probably the most world-historical development of 1540 CE was something that happened in the north of the Indian subcontinent. But elsewhere, lots of interesting things were happening, too: In May, an Afghan leader called Sher Shah Suri swept out of the highlands and in a battle at Chausa in Bengal he vanquished the armies of … Continue reading Key developments of 1540
In 1541 CE, of course Spain’s cruelly swashbuckling conquistadores continued their depradations in the Americas– from the Mississippi River down to southern Chile. Several other world-historically interesting things were happening too: Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuit order, left Lisbon on a mission to the Portuguese East Indies. I guess each empire-building … Continue reading Key developments of 1541 (and centennial of European slave-raiding into Africa)
In my 1541 post, I noted the centennial of Portugal’s introduction of the practice of European slave-raiding into sub-Saharan Africa. This year, 1542 CE, marks the first half-century of Spain/Castile’s massive empire-building project in the Americas. (See a rough map of its extent in 1542, above.) This year also marked some significant stirrings of conscience … Continue reading Key developments of 1542, and Spain’s conquista of the Americas at 50
In 1543 CE, of course the Spanish depradations in the “New World” continued. Back home in Seville, King Charles V may, the previous year, have signed the “New Laws” that sought to restrain the violence the conquistadores/settlers used against the indigenes. But over there (here) in the Americas, the settlers and their military bosses paid … Continue reading Key developments of 1543
Last December 31, I made a “New Year’s Resolution” that for the next 500 days, each day I would write and publish something– it could be short– that would summarize the key events of one year in world history, sequentially, starting in 1520 CE. I explained some of my motivation in doing this, here. So … Continue reading Project 500 Years: Communique #1
In 1544 CE, most of what was happening empire-wise in the world was sort of “same-old-same-old”. So beneath the bullet points here I’ll make a quick early assessment of what emerges for me as the bigger picture. First, the bullet-points: The King/Emperor Charles V of Spain stepped up his confrontation against France’s King Francis I, … Continue reading Key developments of 1544, & notes on empires, states, and nations
In 1545 CE, we’ll look quickly at some of the usual story-lines but then take a deeper dive into a Portuguese-controlled zone in West Africa. The usual story-lines: King Henry VIII of England was fighting both the Scots (who won a battle) and the French (whose short-lived capture of the Isle of Wight the English … Continue reading Key developments of 1545, & the Portuguese in West Africa
There were not many new developments of world-historical importance in 1546 CE. Just these: The Italian War of 1542-46 was ended with a peace signed in Ardre (northern France.) This had been the fighting– principally between the Habsburg/Spanish King/Emperor Charles V and King Francis I of France that had roiled much of western Europe, and … Continue reading Key developments of 1546
1547 CE saw the deaths of three key actors– or anyway, two key actors and a leading second-string player– in the drama of European proto-imperialism that we’ve been following in Project 500 Years thus far. They were: England’s King Henry VIII, Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés, and France’s King Francis I. We’ll come down to more … Continue reading Key developments of 1547
