Explore 134 historical events from 1490–1499.
Eskender was Emperor of Ethiopia and a member of the Solomonic dynasty. His throne name was Constantine II. The son of Emperor Baeda Maryam I by his wife Queen Romna, his early yea…
Eskender, Emperor of Ethiopia (born 1471)
Catherine of Aragon was Queen of England as the first wife of Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until its annulment on 23 May 1533. She had previously been Princess of…
Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four Spanish-based voyages across the Atlantic Ocean sponsored by the Catholic M…
Spain and Christopher Columbus sign the Capitulations of Santa Fe for his voyage to Asia to acquire spices
The Alhambra Decree was an edict issued on 31 March 1492 by the joint Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon, ordering the expulsion of unconv…
The Edict of Expulsion is officially proclaimed in Castile, requiring all Jewish residents to leave within three months
Nicolau Coelho was an expert Portuguese navigator and explorer during the Age of Discovery. He participated in the discovery of the route to India by Vasco da Gama, where he comman…
The Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India as a companion of…
Johann or Johannes Agricola was a German Protestant Reformer during the Protestant Reformation. He was a follower and friend of Martin Luther, who became his antagonist in the matt…
Johannes Agricola, German theologian and reformer (died 1566)
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four Spanish transatlantic voyages in the name of the Catholic Monarchs, opening…
On his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica, landing at Discovery Bay and declares Jamaic
Sabina of Bavaria-Munich was Duchess consort of Württemberg by marriage to Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg.
Sabina of Bavaria, Bavarian duchess and noblewoman (died 1564)
A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) traditionally appended to a…
In the papal bull Inter caetera, Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of De
Girolamo Seripando was an Augustinian friar, Italian theologian and cardinal.
Girolamo Seripando, Italian theologian and cardinal (died 1563)
Catherine of Aragon was Queen of England as the first wife of Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until its annulment on 23 May 1533. She had previously been Princess of…
Catherine of Aragon is married by proxy to Arthur, Prince of Wales
Amerigo Vespucci was an Italo-Spaniard explorer and navigator from the Republic of Florence after whom America is named.
Amerigo Vespucci sights what is now Amapá State in Brazil
Alonso de Ojeda was a Spanish explorer, governor and conquistador. He is famous for having named Venezuela, which he explored during his first two expeditions, for having been the …
Alonso de Ojeda sets sail from Cádiz on his voyage to what is now Venezuela
Nicolau Coelho was an expert Portuguese navigator and explorer during the Age of Discovery. He participated in the discovery of the route to India by Vasco da Gama, where he comman…
The Portuguese explorer Nicolau Coelho returns to Lisbon after discovering the sea route to India as a companion of…
The Battle of Dornach was fought on 22 July 1499 between the troops of Emperor Maximilian I and the Old Swiss Confederacy, close to the Swiss village of Dornach. The battle ended i…
Battle of Dornach: The Swiss decisively defeat the army of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor.
The naval Battle of Zonchio took place on four separate days: 12, 20, 22, and 25 August 1499. It was a part of the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1499–1503.
First engagement of the Battle of Zonchio between Venetian and Ottoman fleets.
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman. His discovery of the first direct maritime route between Europe and India via the Cape of Good Hope and across the In…
The citizens of Lisbon celebrate the triumphal return of the explorer Vasco de Gama, completing his two-year journey…
The Treaty of Basel of 22 September 1499 was an armistice following the Battle of Dornach, concluding the Swabian War, fought between the Swabian League and the Old Swiss Confeder…
The Treaty of Basel concludes the Swabian War.
Johann (Johannes) Brenz was a German Lutheran theologian and the Protestant Reformer of the Duchy of Württemberg.
Johannes Brenz, German theologian and the Protestant Reformer (died 1570)
Maria Salviati was a Florentine noblewoman, the daughter of Lucrezia di Lorenzo de' Medici and Jacopo Salviati. She married Giovanni delle Bande Nere and was the mother of Cosimo I…
Maria Salviati, Italian noblewoman (died 1543)
John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford was an English peer and landowner.
John de Vere, 14th Earl of Oxford, English politician (died 1526)
Claude of France was suo jure Duchess of Brittany and Queen of France as the wife of Francis I. She was the elder daughter of Louis XII of France and Anne, Duchess of Brittany.
Claude of France (died 1524)
Alesso or Alessio Baldovinetti was an Italian early Renaissance painter and draftsman.
Alesso Baldovinetti, Florentine painter (born 1427)
Marsilio Ficino was an Italian scholar and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. He was an astrologer, a reviv…
Marsilio Ficino, Italian astrologer and philosopher (born 1433)
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman. His discovery of the first direct maritime route between Europe and India via the Cape of Good Hope and across the In…
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route to India when he arrives at Kozhikode (previously known as Cal
Girolamo Savonarola, OP, also referred to as Jerome Savonarola, was an Italian ascetic Dominican friar from Ferrara and a preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He became known f…
Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy
Cesare Borgia was an Italian cardinal deacon and later a condottiero, as well as a member of the Spanish House of Borgia. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI and sibli…
Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI, becomes the first person in history to resign the cardinalate; later that…
Maarten van Heemskerck, also known as Marten Jacobsz Heemskerk van Veen, was a Dutch portrait and religious painter, who spent most of his career in Haarlem. He was a pupil of Jan …
Maarten van Heemskerck, Dutch painter (died 1574)
Hernando de Aragón y de Gurrea, OCist, Archbishop of Zaragoza and Lieutenant General of Aragon, was an Aragonese humanist and historian.
Hernando de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza (died 1575)
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four Spanish transatlantic voyages in the name of the Catholic Monarchs, opening…
On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island…
Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed four Spanish transatlantic voyages in the name of the Catholic Monarchs, opening…
Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.
Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese mariner, explorer and nobleman. His discovery of the first direct maritime route between Europe and India via the Cape of Good Hope and across the In…
Vasco da Gama decides to depart Calicut and return to the Kingdom of Portugal.
The 1498 Meiō earthquake struck off the coast of Nankaidō, Japan, at approximately 08:00 local time on September 20, 1498. With an estimated magnitude of 8.6 Ms, it triggered a mas…
The Nankai tsunami washes away the building housing the Great Buddha at Kōtoku-in; it has been located outside ever…
Miguel da Paz, Hereditary Prince of Portugal and Prince of Asturias and Girona was a Portuguese royal prince, son of King Manuel I of Portugal and his first wife, Isabella of Arago…
Miguel da Paz, Prince of Portugal (died 1500)