This is the 50th anniversary edition of the Project 500 Years daily bulletin. I have completed 10% of my self-assigned task! To mark the occasion I shall shortly– today or tomorrow– be issuing “Communique #2” for the project. But for now, this fascinating daily grind must continue. Readers: the main developments of 1570 CE: Ottoman … Continue reading Key developments of 1570
A big year, 1555 CE! Let’s dive right in: On a world-historical scale, maybe the biggest thing happening in 1555 was that Spain’s King/Emperor Charles was at the height of a two-year process he’d started in 1554, of undertaking abdications from his many offices, titles, and kingdoms. Abdications in the plural, you might ask? Indeed … Continue reading Key developments of 1555
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
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
