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
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 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)
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
Most of the developments I’m noting from 1531 CE relate to Spain’s still rapidly growing transatlantic empire– see more on this, below. Within Europe during this year, various Catholic-Protestant things were happening, though nothing that stands out. But the first two items here concern two large pre-Western empires in Africa… 1531 saw two large battles … Continue reading Key developments of 1531 (and notes on Spain’s early-16th century empire)
