The biggest– or at least, the most interesting– thing that happened in world history in 1579 CE was the assassination by hands unknown of Sokollu Mehmed Pasha, the super-wily official who had been Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire since 1565. This fact prompted me to delve into Sokollu Mehmed’s biography on English-WP, where the … Continue reading 1579: Sokollu Mehmed Pasha & the Ottoman way of ruling
All the usual things were happening in the world of 1574 CE: Mughal Emperor Akbar consolidating his growing territories; Protestants and Catholics contending over broad areas of Europe; Portuguese and Spanish conquistadors doing their transnational thing, and so on. The main development of world-historical importance that year, however, was the Ottoman navy’s final conquest of … Continue reading Key developments of 1574 (mainly, Ottoman)
In 1553 CE we’ll take a break from King/Emperor Charles of Spain and his bands of rapacious conquistadores (who continued their plundering and genociding, of course.) Attention turns to England and thence to some significant non-European empires. I suppose you might say the Ottoman Empire was at least partly European, though? Anyway, here we go: … Continue reading Key developments of 1553
Quite the year, 1552 CE! Conquistadores doing their thing, while back home in Europe their King/Emperor almost got captured by hostile forces. Ottomans, Portuguese, Ivan the Terrible, the dreadful Ming emperor. Imperial roiling as usual: In Chile, veteran conquistador Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia founded not one but two new settler towns, Valdivia and La Imperial. … Continue reading Key developments of 1552
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
