1378 – Spain. Archdeacon Ferran Martinez began preaching against the Jews; his ideals would eventually lead to the foundation of the Spanish Inquisition, and the death and imprisonment of many suspected Jews, Moslems, and Protestants in Spain. This oppressive entity would endure for around four hundred years.
1379 – Spain. John I becomes King of Castile and Leon at the death of his father, Henry II of Castile and Leon. King Henry III of Castile and Leon also born this year.
1380 – France. King Charles V of France dies, and is succeeded by his son, Charles VI.
1382 – Portugal. King John I of Castile and Leon attacks Portugal in an attempt to sabotage the arrangement of Ferdinand I (of Portugal) and John of Gaunt, where the latter was heir to the throne of Portugal. Ferdinand I compromises by offering his daughter in marriage to King John I of Castile and Leon.
1383 – Portugal. King Ferdinand I of Portugal dies, and leaves his throne to John of Gaunt (now John I of Portugal). Spain invades Portugal again but is unsuccessful.
1386 – Spain. John of Gaunt (King of Portugal) invades Spain. Spain and Portugal settle their differences by signing a treaty in which John of Gaunt betroths his daughter to Henry (John I of Castile and Leon’s son). Henry would become Henry III of Castile and Leon.
1387 – Monmouth (England). Henry V born. He would eventually succeed his father as King of England and France.
December of 1390 – Castile (Seville, Spain). King John I of Castile and Leon dies, and is replaced by his son, Henry III. The first incident occurred which would result with the Spanish Inquisition. Ferran Martinez closes and damages Synagogues in his diocese. His followers were growing ever more violent and zealous.
March 15th, 1391 – Spain. A very zealous crowd left from a fiery sermon preached by Ferran Martinez, with the intent of sacking the Jewish part of Seville. The authorities arrested and flogged two of the most rowdy members of the mob. They would later be considered martyrs as the religious zeal spread to Burgos, Cordova, Toledo and other Spanish cities.
June 6th, 1391 – Spain. The ever-growing zeal and greed that resulted from Ferran Martinez’s heated sermons finally resulted in the sacking of the juderias (Jewish neighborhoods). Around fifty thousand were killed during the orgy, which spread across the Iberian Peninsula over the following months. The Jews who weren’t slain were the ones who converted to the Roman Catholic faith.
1392 – France. King Charles VI becomes insane and England used this moment of weakness to invade France.
1397 – Spain. John II born, he would eventually become the King of Aragon, and the father of Ferdinand the Catholic.
1397 – Albert II born. He would become the Holy Roman Emperor and the King of Germany.
1399 – England. Henry IV is crowned King of England. Various wars followed.
1400? – Mainz (Germany). Johannes Gutenberg born. He would be the inventor of the printing press.
1402 – The Canary Islands. King Henry III of Castile and Leon gains control of the Canary Islands.
1403 – Paris (France). Charles VII born. He would later be the King of France.
1405 – Spain. John II, King of Castile and Leon born.
1406 – Spain. King Henry III of Castile and Leon dies, leaving his rule to his son, John II. Henry III’s widow and Ferdinand II of Aragon (John II’s uncle) served as regents until John II was of age to rule.
1411 – Castile (Spain). Fray Vincent Ferrer (who would later be sainted) commenced a crusade throughout Castile, with a convincingly angry crowd. He carried a crucifix in one hand and a Scroll of Law in his other hand, and won around thirty-five thousand converts to the Roman Catholic faith.
1412 – France. Joan of Arc born.
March 20th, 1413 – England. Henry IV dies and is replaced on the throne by Henry V.
1415 – Northern Africa. Portuguese capture port city of Ceuta.
1419 – Spain. John II of Castile and Leon assumes rule but places the power into Don Alvaro de Luna – John II’s councilor.
1420 – France. Treaty of Troyes is imposed on France by England. The terms of the treaty were that the daughter of Charles VI was to marry Henry V of England, and Henry V would be heir to the French throne.
1420 – Valladolid (Spain). Thomas de Torquemada born. He would later become one of the most powerful leaders of the Spanish Inquisition.
1421 – Spain. King Charles IV of Navarre born.
December 6th, 1421 – Windsor (England). King Henry VI born.
August 31st, 1422 – France. Henry V of England dies, and his infant son, Henry VI becomes King of England and Northern France.
July 3rd, 1423 – Bourges (France). Louis XI born. He would become the King of France.
1425 – Spain. John II of Aragon becomes King of Navarre. He would be in constant strife with his son, Charles IV of Navarre for this kingdom.
1425 – Spain. King Henry IV of Castile and Leon born.
July 17th, 1429 – Reims Cathedral (France). Charles VII becomes King of France with the help of Joan of Arc.
1430 – France. France breaks away from the rule of England over a period of the next twenty-three years. Joan of Arc leads an unauthorized raid against the English and was captured.
1431 – Rouen (France). Joan of Arc believed she heard the voices of saints who guided her to deliver France. She was tried of heresy and sorcery and burned at the stake by the English, who occupied the city.
1433 – Portugal. Portuguese explorer Gilianes sails along the west coast of Africa, passing Cape Bojador.
1434 – Rome (Italy). Pope Eugene IV flees to Florence during an uprising in Rome.
1435 – Balearic Islands. An old Jewish stronghold dating back to Roman times comes to an end after a bloody massacre. The Spanish Inquisition was responsible for this, after hearing false rumors of ritual murders in Majorca. All the surviving Jews were forced to be baptized. No declared Jews lived in the islands after this incident.
1437 – Precursor to the printing press known as the movable type machine is built.
1438 – Europe. Albert II becomes Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Germany.
1439 – Europe. Holy Roman Emperor Albert II dies.
1440 – Spain. Martin Alonzo Pinzon born. He would be the commander of the Pinta in Columbus’s historic discovery of the New World.
1440 – Segovia (Spain). Pedrarias Davila born. He would become Governor of Panama.
1440 – Germany. Frederick III elected as Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Germany.
1440 – France. Louis XI and the enemies of his father, the King, rebel but are not successful. Louis XI is pardoned by his father, King Charles VII, and made Governor of Dauphiné.
1441 – Spain. Charles IV of Navarre expelled by his father, John II of Aragon. Charles IV was heir to the throne through his mother, and had the support of many, but not of John II. A civil war occurred over this.
1441 – The establishment of Portugal’s slave trade.
April 28th, 1442 – Rouen (France). Edward IV born. He was the son of Richard, Duke of York, and would become the King of England.
1443 – England. Country struck by a plague.
1450 – Spain. Juan Ponce de Leon born.
1450 – Italy. Foundation of Vatican Library. Francesco Sforza became Duke of Milan, ousting the Marias.
1450 – Portugal. Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias born.
1450 – Spain. King John II of Castile’s wife (Charles IV of Navarre’s mother) dies, and his councilor, Luna arranges a wedding of John II to a Portuguese princess.
1450 – Germany. Johannes Gutenberg invents the printing press, and starts the project of printing the first printed book, the Bible
1450 Genoa (Italy). John Cabot born. He would become an English explorer, and the father of the explorer, Sebastian Cabot.
1451 – Genoa (Italy). Christopher Columbus born to Spanish parents. He became a seaman in Portugal and eventually discovered the New World by sailing west in an attempt to reach India.
1451 – Spain. Isabella the Catholic born, She would later become Isabella I, the Queen of Castile, and Aragon.
1452 – Spain. Ferdinand the Catholic born. He would later become the King of Castile and Aragon.
1452 – Rome (Italy). Frederick III crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope. The last Emperor crowned in Rome.
1452 – Spain. Charles IV of Navarre captured. He was released and lived in Italy and France before returning.
October 2nd, 1452 – Fotheringhay Castle (England). Richard III born. He would later seize the throne from Edward V and might have had Edward V killed.
1453 – Europe. End of the Hundred Year’s War (between England and France), France wins this war.
1453 – Constantinople. Turkish Ottoman Empire captures Constantinople.
1453 – Spain. John II of Castile and Leon’s wife convinces him to become independent of his councilor, Alvara de Luna. John II has Luna decapitated.
1454 – Spain. John II of Castile and Leon dies “of remorse over his part in de Luna’s death.” John II was succeeded by his son, Henry IV.
1454 – Florence (Italy). Amerigo Vespucci born. He would later become the explorer that America was named after.
1455 – England. War of the Roses begins when nobles try to replace Henry VI with Richard, Duke of York. Richard is killed, and his son, Edward IV continues fighting for the throne.
1456 – Germany. Johannes Gutenberg successfully prints the Bible and other publications on his printing press.
1459 – Spain. Charles IV of Navarre returns to Navarre, but was put in prison again.
1459 – Germany. Maximilian I born. He would become the King of Germany, and the Holy Roman Emperor.
1460 – Spain. Vicente Yanez Pinzon born. He was the brother of Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and commanded the Nina during Columbus’s historic trip to the New World.
1460 – Portugal. Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral born.
1461 – Spain. Charles IV of Navarre’s supporters force John II to recognize him as King of Navarre, but shortly afterward, Charles IV dies. It is believed he was poisoned. John II regains control of Navarre, but is faced with many revolts in Catalonia.
June, 1461 – England. Edward IV crowned King of England.
1461 – France. King Charles VII dies, and Louis XI becomes King of France.
1461 – England. Henry VI flees to Scotland and returns to England in 1464.
1462 – Blois (France). Louis XII born. He would later become King of France.
1464 – Spain. King Henry IV of Spain helps establish an enquiry to judge the conduct of the conversos (New Christians converted from Judaism during the Spanish Inquisition).
1465 – Cuellar (Spain). Diego Velazquez born. He would become the conquerer of Cuba.
1465 – Spain. Isabella the Catholic, Henry IV’s half sister becomes Queen of Castile and Leon during a civil war.
February 3rd, 1468 – Germany. Johannes Gutenberg dies.
1468 – Spain. “New” Christians (Jews converted to Christianity during or after 1391) were massacred after they were suspected of continuing practicing Judaism secretly.
1469 – Portugal. Vasco da Gama born. He would become a famous explorer.
1469 – Spain. Isabella the Catholic marries Ferdinand the Catholic, who would later become King of Aragon. They would unite the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile, and form Spain from the two kingdoms.
1470 – England. Henry VI returns to the throne but is captured and killed by Edward IV’s men in the Tower of London. Edward IV assumes the throne again.
1470 – Spain. Panfilo de Narvaez born. He would become an explorer.
1470 – Radolfzell (Germany). Martin Waldseemuller born. He would become a notable cartographer.
1470 – France. Charles VIII born. He would later succeed Louis XI as King of France.
1470 – Westminster (England). Edward V born He would be the Prince of Wales, and briefly an “uncrowned” king of England.
1473 – Toledo (Spain). City of Toledo set afire in a massacre similar to the one in 1468.
1474 – Spain. King Henry IV of Castile and Leon dies. Isabella the Catholic and Ferdinand the Catholic become rulers of Castile and Leon. Ferdinand hoped to rule Castile and Leon, but Isabella I clung to her leadership of the two kingdoms.
1475 – Almagro (Spain). Diego de Almagro born.
1475 – Spain. Fernandez de Cordoba born. He would become the Governor of Nicaragua.
1475? – Jerez de los Caballeros (Spain). Vasco Núñez de Balboa born. He would become the first of the conquistadors – the Spanish conquerors of the New World.
1476 – Juan de Elcano born approximately in this year. He later sailed with Magellan and when Magellan was killed, he continued on and successfully circumnavigated the world for the first time.
1476 – Venice (Italy). Sebastian Cabot born. He was the son of explorer John Cabot. He would also become an explorer and cartographer.
1476 – Spain. Ferdinand the Catholic organizes the “Holy Brotherhood” a royal police intended to take power away from the nobles. It was based on religious laws.
1476 – Trujillo (Spain). Francisco Pizarro born around this year, to a poverty-stricken family. He was illiterate, but in spite of all of this, he would conquer and be the governor of Peru.
1476 – Lisbon (Portugal). Diego Columbus born. He was the son of Christopher Columbus.
1477 – Spain. Spanish civil war ends, leaving Isabella in power over Castile and Leon.
1478 – Belgium. Philip I born. He would become the King of Castile. He was the son of Maximilian I the Holy Roman Emperor.
1478 – Pope Sixtus IV legitimizes the Spanish Inquisition by giving the authority to the Spanish Royalty to establish tribunals against heresy.
1479 – Spain. King Ferdinand the Catholic and Queen Isabella I become rulers of Aragon, after the death of Ferdinand the Catholic’s father, John II of Aragon.
1480 – Portugal. The explorer Ferdinand Magellan born. He would later discover the Strait of Magellan on the southern tip of South America.
1480 – Val di Greve (Italy). Giovanni da Verrazzano born. He would later become a French privateer and explorer.
1480 – Spain. Foundation of the Spanish Inquisition, and the mass killing and persecution of non-Catholics in the Tribunals began.
February 6th, 1481 – Seville (Spain). The occurrence of the first Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) of the Spanish Inquisition occurred. Six men and women were burned at the stake while Alonso de Hojeda preached a sermon. These Autos continued on a regular basis. By November, nearly 300 met their death this way, and nearly 100 were imprisoned. Many others came forward seeking mercy and fifteen hundred were made to parade penitently.
1481 – Portugal. Bartolomeu Dias sent to explore the Gold Coast of Africa.
1482 – Africa. Portuguese explorer Diogo Cam begins exploration of the western coast of Africa, finding the mouth of the Congo River.
January, 1482 – Spain. The Pope expresses his dissatisfaction with the severity of treatment of Jews recently converted to Catholicism. His objections had no influence on the Spanish Inquisition. Seven more inquisitors were appointed.
April 8th, 1483 – Westminster (England). King Edward IV dies and is succeeded by his son, Edward V, never officially crowned, and only on the throne for two months. Richard III killed and replaced him on the throne
1483 – England. Richard III becomes King of England.
August 30th, 1483 – France. Louis XI dies, and Charles VIII becomes King of France, with Anne, his sister acting as regent as Charles VIII was only thirteen years old.
October 17th, 1483 – Spain. Thomas de Torquemada becomes the head of the Supreme Council of the Inquisition. This would unite the kingdoms of Castile, Leon, Valencia, Aragon, and Catalonia into the first unified Spanish organization. Torquemada became the first Grand Inquisitor, overseeing the entire Spanish Inquisition.
November 10th, 1483 – Germany. Martin Luther born. He would eventually lead the Protestant Movement and translate and distribute the Bible.
April 14th, 1484 – Spain. After harsh arguments, the Cortes in Tarazona gave their consent to Castile-like tribunals of the Inquisition. Soon after, the tribunals were active in Saragossa and Valencia.
May 10th, 1484 – Saragossa (Spain). Inquisitor Gaspar Juglar was found dead shortly after Saragossa’s first Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) of the Spanish Inquisition. The official word was that he was poisoned, but he more probably was killed by conversos (converted Jews who were victims of the Inquisition). He was replaced by Pedro Arbues, and the conversos now focused their attention on him.
1484 – Bristol (England). The explorer, John Cabot moves to Bristol.
1485 – England. Henry VII defeats Richard III and becomes King of England.
September 15th, 1485 – Saragossa (Spain). Inquisitor Pedro Arbues was attacked by conversos as he was kneeling in prayer. His armor kept him from dying right away, but he perished from his wounds two days later. His tomb was lavishly decorated. He would later be canonized in 1867. Possibly as many as 200 people were tortured to death by the Inquisition over this incident.
February 12th, 1486 – Toledo (Spain). Toledo’s first Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) of the Inquisition takes place, in which 750 people were marched barefooted to the Cathedral doors. Their foreheads were marked with symbols of Christianity while the enormous crowd jeered. The 750 were fined 1/5 of their assets and made to wear the coarsest of hemp clothing. They were also banned from holding any positions of honor. They were compelled to march in procession for six Fridays, flogging themselves with hempen ropes. Those who refused were tried as relapsed heretics. Many Autos followed, and with them were many hundreds more victims. By the end of the year, nearly 5,000 were tried and not executed, and as many as 50 additional people a day were burned at the stake.
1486, Badajoz (Spain). Pedro de Alvarado born. He would become an explorer of the Mexican coast and the conquerer of Guatemala, which he would settle.
1486 – Germany. Maximilian I elected King of Germany, and his father, Frederick III gives him the kingdom and retires.
August, 1487 – Portugal. Bartolomeu Dias sent from Lisbon to continue Diogo Cam’s exploration of Africa.
1487 – France. Charles VIII’s cousin, Louis XII tries to overthrow the reign of King Charles VIII and acting regent, Anne. Louis XII is imprisoned until 1490, but would later become King of France.
1487 – Barcelona (Spain). Spanish Inquisition Tribunal established for Catalonia in spite of great opposition.
February, 1488 – Africa. Bartolomeu Dias becomes the first person to round the Cape of Good Hope.
1488 – Majorca (Balearic Islands). Spanish Inquisition Tribunal established. A large percentage of the islands’ population suffered.
1488 – Palma (Spain). Spanish Inquisition Tribunal established in the town of Palma. An Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) took place on August 18th, in which 338 were punished.
1489 – Palma (Spain). Seven Inquisition Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith) were performed during the course of the year. Many Jews were burned at the stake.
1490 – Jerez de la Frontera (Spain). Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca born. He would become a famous explorer.
June 28th, 1491 – Greenwich Palace (England). Henry VIII born.
1491 – France. Charles VIII begins his reign, free of his sister who was acting as regent for him. Charles VIII marries Anne of Bretagne, and her territory becomes part of France.
1491 – Saint-Malo (France). French explorer Jacques Cartier born.
1492 – Spain. Conquest of Granada by Ferdinand the Catholic – after seven centuries of war. Granada was the last Moslem outpost in Spain. The Inquisition reached its apex, and an Edict of Expulsion was issued which targeted the Jews in Spain.
1492 – Medina del Campo (Spain). Bernal Diaz del Castillo born. He would later participate in the conquest of Mexico, and write an account of his adventures. This book, The Conquest of New Spain is still in print today.
August 1492 – Spain. Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus) receives funding and three ships, the Niña, Pinta, and the Santa Maria from Isabella I and Ferdinand II of Spain. He used the funding to sail west, seeking India.
1492 – Spain. Columbus’s son, Diego Columbus appointed as page for Ferdinand V and Isabella I’s son, Don Juan.
October 12, 1492 – the West Indies. Columbus lands at Samana Cay, believing he reached the East Indies. His command ship, the Santa Maria wrecked near Hispaniola Island and he joined Vicente Yanez Pinzon on his ship, the Nina.
1492 – The West Indies. Christopher Columbus discovers tobacco. It was used by the Arawak Indians local to that area, who used it for at least 2,000 years. It was named after the Ararak word “tobago” which was what they called their tube-like pipes in which they smoked tobacco. The following fifty years saw much exporting of tobacco to Europe and the rest of the world.
March 15th, 1493 – Palos de la Frontera (Spain). Columbus returns to Spain with the confirmation that the world is a sphere.
1493 – Spain. Ferdinand the Catholic regains from the French the province of Roussillon, which his father had lost by way of a mortgage.
1493 – Spain. Christopher Columbus is given the title of Viceroy of the Indies and returns to the New World with Juan Ponce de Leon, Diego Velazquez, and a fleet of seventeen ships, and establishes a settlement named La Isabela on Hispaniola Island. This was the first European settlement in the Western Hemisphere. On November 19th, Columbus discovered Puerto Rico. The friendly Taino natives showed him many gold nuggets in the river – which was a big mistake. They told them to take all they wanted. Columbus returned to Spain in 1496.
1493 – Germany. Emperor Frederick III dies, and is replaced by his son, Maximilian I (King of Germany) as the Holy Roman Emperor.
1493 – Spain. Martin Alonzo Pinzon dies.
1494 – Italy. King Charles VIII of France invades Italy and the next year he occupied Naples. His forces were driven out, but this marked the beginning of a series of invasions on Italy by France over the next fifty years.
September 12th, 1494 – Cognac (France). Francis I born. He would become the King of France.
1494 – Signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas between Spain and Portugal. This treaty divided the world known at the time, in halves, each half belonging to one of the two nations. Other nations resented this, saying it was arrogant. The result, privateering.
May 2nd, 1495 – England. John Cabot embarks with 18 men on the ship, Matthew. He was attempting to reach Asia by sailing northwest. He landed on Cape Breton Island, and sailed along the coasts of Newfoundland, Labrador and New England.
1495 – Seville (Spain). Amerigo Vespucci begins running a business that supplies ships.
1496 – Belgium. Philip I (of Castile) marries Joanna the Mad (daughter of Isabella the Catholic and Ferdinand the Catholic).
1496 – Pope Alexander VI writes a letter to Torquemada, praising him for his harsh leadership of the Spanish Inquisition.
December, 1496 – Portugal. A decree is issued that banished all non-Catholics from the country within ten months. This resulted from an agreement between King Manoel the Fortunate and Ferdinand V of Spain. Manoel was attempting to live up to the Spanish Royalty’s demands that Portugal deal with non-Catholics as harshly as Spain was at the time. Manoel would then marry Isabella, the Infanta of Spain, and their children would rule the entire Iberian Peninsula.
July 9th, 1497 – Lisbon (Portugal). Vasco da Gama departs on a mission to sail to India by heading west.
1497 – 1510 – The Mediterranean. King Ferdinand the Catholic of Spain captures the northern Africa cities of Tripoli, Bougie, Oran, El Pinon de Velez, Mers el Kebir, and Melilla.
May, 1498 – England. Italian explorer John Cabot departs from Bristol and explores the coasts of Newfoundland, Labrador, and New England. His crew mutinied, and eventually he made it back to England.
May 20th, 1498 – India. Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut India. The locals were hostile, and he failed at establishing a trading post, and he fought his way out of the harbor.
1498 – Spain. Grand Inquisitor, Thomas de Torquemada dies. His position was filled by Diego Deza, a friend of Christopher Columbus.
1498 – Spain. Columbus embarks on his third voyage to the New World. He finds South America and explores the Orinoco Delta and returned to Spain in 1500. He was accused of poor management and his status as Viceroy was stricken, and he was returned to Spain in irons.
1498 – France. Charles VIII dies, and is succeeded by his cousin, Louis XII as King of France. Louis XII would become a popular king.
1499 – The West Indies. Islands of Curacao and Aruba visited and claimed by the Spanish explorer, Alonso de Ojeda. He and Amerigo Vespucci explored the northern and eastern coasts of South America.
1499 – Brazil. Vicente Yanez Pinzon leads an expedition exploring the Brazilian coast and the mouth of the Amazon River.
1499 – England. John Cabot dies.
1499 – The Canary Islands. An Episcopal Inquisition is formed to deal with New Christian refugees from Spain.
1499 – Portugal. Vasco da Gama returns from India, and is a hero.
February 24th, 1500 – Belgium. Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor born. He would rule the largest European empire in history.
1500 – Barcarrota (Spain). Hernando de Soto born. He would become a famous conquistador.
1500, Herrera (Spain). A Marrano (New Christian) woman is arrested for claiming to be a prophetess. She and a hundred of her mostly women followers were burned at the stake in an Inquisitional Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) early the next year.
1500 – Hispaniola Island. Francisco de Orellana born. He would accompany Gonzalo Pizarro on his expedition in the Andes Mountains.
1500 – Portugal. Pedro Alvares Cabral sent with 13 ships and 1,000 men to follow the course of Vasco da Gama. He arrived in Brazil, and claimed it for Portugal. He sent a ship back with the news, and resumed his original voyage. He lost four of his ships in a storm off the Cape of Good Hope, losing Bartolomeu Dias, who accompanied him. He reached Calicut and made peace with the locals and established a trading post. Later, the people left behind would be killed by the locals.
1500 – Spain. Conquistador and explorer Pedro de Valdivia born.
1500 – Brazil. Brazil claimed for Portugal by Pedro Alvares Cabral.
1500 – Spain. Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada possibly born this year. He was a Spanish explorer and Conquistador who would later establish the city of Bogotá, in New Granada (Columbia).
1501 – Spain. Rodrigo de Bastidas and Vasco Núñez de Balboa sail to Venezuela to explore the southwestern Carribean. Afterwards, Balboa started a plantation on Hispaniola Island.
1501 – North America. Gasper Corte-Real, a Portuguese explorer, explored Newfoundland and the coast of New France.
1501 – Spain. Spanish Crown authorizes exporting slaves to the New World.
1501 – Portugal. Pedro Alvares Cabral returns to Portugal and disappears.
1502? – Mozambique (Africa). Vasco da Gama establishes Portuguese trading posts at Mozambique, on his way back to India.
1502 – Spain. The Inquisition issues another Edict of Expulsion similar to the one issued in 1492 for the Jews. This time it was targeted at the Moslems in Spain.
1502? – Calicut (India). Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut. He had been dispatched to Calicut, India to get retribution for the locals killing the people left by Pedro Alvares Cabral.
1502 – Spain. Columbus embarks on his fourth and final voyage to the Western Hemisphere. He failed to regain the title he had lost, although he explored Panama and Honduras before returning to Spain.
1502 – Spain. Francisco Pizarro leaves Spain and lives on Hispaniola Island in the West Indies.
1502 – The West Indies. The first of many steady imports of African slaves arrive to the New World; brought by Portuguese traders. This inhumane but profitable venture would continue for the next 350 years.
March 10th, 1503 – Acalá de Henares (Spain). Ferdinand I the Holy Roman Emperor born. He was the son of Philip I and Joanna the Mad.
1503 – Hispaniola (The West Indies). The first slaves arrive at the Spanish settlements.
1503 – Brazil. French merchant Captain Gonneville of Honfleur of the ship l’Espoir trades goods from the natives. This was considered interloping by the Portuguese.
1503 – Portugal. Vasco da Gama returns to Portugal.
1504 – Spain. Columbus returns to Spain a poor man.
1504 – Corsair, Oruc Barbarossa captured papal galleys off the coast of Civita Vecchia near Rome, Italy.
1504 – Spain. Queen Isabella I dies. Her daughter, Joanna the Mad inherited the kingdoms of Castile and Leon. Ferdinand the Catholic reigns in her place while she was in Belgium.
1504 – Las Palmas (The Canary Islands). A branch of the Spanish Inquisition of Andalusia is established.
1505 – The West Indies. Vicente Yanez Pinzon becomes Governor of Puerto Rico.
1506 – Spain. Columbus dies an unhappy man, still believing he found India, and never realizing that he had discovered a New World.
1506 – Spain. Philip I dies, shortly after returning to Spain, from Belgium with Joanna the Mad.
1506 – Madagascar. This huge island off the east cost of southern Africa, twice as large as England, discovered by the Portuguese.
1506 – Spain. Ferdinand the Catholic assumes the regency of Castile and Leon, after Joanna the Mad goes insane.
1507 – Germany. Martin Waldseemuller made a world map and globe based on Amerigo Vespucci’s notes. He named the American continents after Amerigo Vespucci. He also wrote the Introduction to Cosmography to accompany the map and globe.
1507 – Spain. Grand Inquisitor Diego Deza is dismissed and replaced by Cardinal Ximenes. Over 2,500 people were burned at the stake during Ximenes’s ten-year rule.
1508 – North America. Sebastian Cabot explores the coast of Labrador and perhaps as far north as Hudson’s Bay.
1508 – The Yucatan Peninsula. Vicente Yanez Pinzon and Juan Diaz de Solis explore the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.
April 21st, 1509 – England. Henry VII dies, leaving the throne to his second son, Henry VIII. The practice of dissecting the bodies of executed pirates was authorized by Henry VIII and was common in the 1700s.
1509 – North Africa. Ferdinand the Catholic (of Spain) conquers Tripoli and Oran.
1509 – Spain. Diego Columbus named admiral and Governor of the Indies. Though he tried very hard, he was rejected by explorers, and never held his father’s title of Viceroy of the Indies.
1509 – South America. Vicente Yanez Pinzon explores coast of Venezuela.
1509 – Jamaica (West Indies). Spaniards establish first colonies on the island.
1509 – South America. Alonso de Ojeda leads an expedition to Columbia in which Francisco Pizarro was a part of.
1510 – Portugal. Diogo Alvares Correa leaves Portugal and is shipwrecked in Brazil. Many of his crew perished, and the rest were killed by local cannibals. Alvares managed to survive by shooting a bird with a musket, impressing the natives, who called him “Man of Fire.” Alvares used politics to gain status with the locals and married a native woman. He sailed to Paris, and wrote the King of Portugal encouraging him to colonize Brazil.
1510 – The Caribbean. The first conflicts between the Taino Indians and the Spaniards appear. The natives drowned Diego Salcedo and watched him for several days, to see if the Spaniards were immortal like they believed.
1510 – Salamanca (Spain). Explorer and conquistador Francisco Vasquez de Coronado born.
1510 – Algiers (Algeria). Berbers surrender an island off the coast of Algiers to Spain. The fort of El Pinon (The Rock) was built on the island.
1510 – Spain. The Spanish Inquisition begins to focus more of their attention on Moslems who lived in the kingdom.
1510 – Puerto Rico. Juan Ponce de Leon becomes Governor of Puerto Rico.
1510 – Hispaniola. Vasco Núñez de Balboa’s plantation failing, he fled from his creditors to San Sebastián, Columbia, but found it in ruins from an Indian attack. Balboa and the survivors of the settlement moved to the Isthmus of Panama, along with Rodrigo de Bastidas. There they started a settlement in Darién, with Balboa acting Governor. Balboa arrested Bastidas, whom Spain desired to be Governor. Balboa then sent Bastidas back to Spain. It would prove to be a bad decision.
1511 – Cuba. Diego Velazquez and Panfilo de Narvaez were sent by Diego Columbus to conquer Cuba. They later established the towns of Santiago de Cuba, Havana, and Baracoa.
1511 – Puerto Rico. Taino rebellion against Spain fails. 6,000 natives were killed, and the rest left the island.
1512 – Spain. Ferdinand the Catholic becomes ruler of Navarre, and Spain’s territory covers from the Rock of Gibraltar to the Pyrenees Mountains.
1512 – Spain. Cardinal Ximenes issues orders to kill any Inquisitional prison guards who had affairs with prisoners. This didn’t have much effect on the guards’ conduct.
1512 – Monzon (Spain). Leaders from Catalonia, Aragon, and Valencia draw up a statement of grievances against the Inquisition. Their main complaints were of the large numbers of Inquisitional officers and their false exemption from local taxes. The Holy Tribunal was now limited by King Ferdinand, the Cortes, and the Inquisitor General from punishing cases of heresy, and could only punish bigamists and sorcerers.
1512 – Spain. Sebastian Cabot joins with Ferdinand V’s service.
1512 – Oruc Barbarossa loses his arm to a Spanish arquebus (matchlock musket) while attemptint to capture Bougie.
1512 – Scientist, Copernicus theorizes that the Earth revolves around the sun, rather than the universe revolving around the Earth.
1512 – Amerigo Vespucci dies.
1512 – Flanders (Belgium). Gerardus Mercator born. He would be a well-known cartographer and mathematician.
1512 – Puerto Rico. Juan Ponce de Leon hears from the natives about the fountain of youth on an island to the north. He sails around Florida, believing it is the island but discovers it is a peninsula. He named it Florida because he discovered it on Easter so he named it “Flowery Easter” (Pascua Florida). King Ferdinand II of Spain imposed rules to regulate the relations between the natives and their conquerors. This was to help the Tainos’ spiritual and physical needs. The town of San German was founded.
1513 – England. King Henry VIII wins a war with France, and Scotland, in which King James IV of Scotland was killed.
1513 – Puerto Rico. The first African slaves arrived on the island.
1513 – Spain. Inquisitor General Ximenes is replaced by Cardinal Adrian of Utrecht.
September, 1513 – Central America. Vasco Núñez de Balboa, accompanied by his chief lieutenant Francisco Pizarro, hacked their way through the Central American jungle and found the Pacific Ocean, which they called the South Sea. Balboa’s enemies in Spain swayed the King’s opinion of him, and accused him of treason. Balboa’s efforts to find the South Sea were attempts at winning favor with the King. The King sent Pedrarias Dávila to be Balboa’s superior. The two were rivals.
1513 – Puerto Rico. Juan Ponce de Leon returns to Puerto Rico.
1514 – Spain. Diego de Almagro departs for the New World.
1514 – Darien (Panama). Pedrarias Davila appointed for Governor of Panama. Hernando de Soto was his assistant in Darien. Bernal Diaz del Castillo agrees to accompany Davila.
1514 – The Caribbean. Spaniards allowed to marry Taino Indians. Caribe Indians attack small towns founded by Diego Columbus.
1515 – Cuba. Diego Velazquez renounces Diego Columbus, and declares himself Governor of Cuba.
1515 – France. Louis XII dies, and is succeeded by his son-in-law, Francis I as King of France.
1515 – 1521 – Puerto Rico. Juan Ponce de Leon conquers the rebellious natives on the island.
1515 – The Mediterranean. Hayreddin Barbarossa forms an alliance with King Francis I of France – Spain’s enemy.
February 18th, 1516 – London (England). Mary I (Bloody Mary) born. She would earn the nickname “Bloody Mary” after executing hundreds for heresy.
1516 – Algeria. Corsair, Oruc Barbarossa captures Algeria for the Ottomans.
1516 – South America. Spanish explorer Juan Diaz de Solis discovers the mouth of the Rio de la Plata (Silver River).
1516 – Germany. Martin Waldseemuller produces a new map of the world with corrections and additions.
1516 – Spain. King Ferdinand the Catholic dies, and is replaced by his grandson, Charles V, the future Holy Roman Emperor. As Ferdinand lay in his deathbed, he made 17-year-old Charles promise to keep the Spanish Inquisition alive and to continue to persecute all non-Catholics.
February 8th, 1517 - Bernal Diaz del Castillo sets sail into uncharted waters with Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba. They ran into a violent storm but managed to land near a native village in an unknown country. This territory turned out to be the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. They discovered gold articles among the hostile natives. They returned to Cuba.
1517 – Algiers (Algeria). Corsair, Oruc Barbarossa wins a battle against the Spanish fleet, capturing 7,000 Spanish soldiers bound for El Pinon.
1517 – Spain. Ferdinand Magellan seeks funding from Charles V, to sail west to the Spice Islands and prove they were Spanish territory instead of Portuguese.
1518 – Tilimsan (Algeria). Corsair, Oruc Barbarossa killed in a battle.
April 8th, 1518 – Mexico. Pedro de Alvarado, Bernal Diaz, and Juan de Girjalva explore the coast of Mexico, an expedition organized by Diego Velazquez the previous year.
1518 – Valladolid (Spain). Charles V is petitioned by the Cortes and the public concerning the severity of the Spanish Inquisition. The conversos also promised the King subsidies if he removed the Inquisition’s ability to hold secret accusations. Pope Leo X in Italy made similar arrangements. However, the Cortes of Aragon were complaining that the Inquisition was ignoring the 1512 agreement. Castile had similar complaints, but Charles V clung to the power that the Inquisition gave him, possibly out of fear of the threat caused by the Lutheran movement in Germany. The Inquisition remained secretive and strong.
1518 – Spain. Sebastian Cabot is promoted by Charles V to the rank of pilot major.
January, 1519 – Panama. Governor Pedrarias Dávila envied Balboa’s success, and ordered Francisco Pizarro to arrest Balboa for treason. Balboa was executed shortly afterwards.
1519 – Puerto Rico. The island becomes the headquarters for the Inquisition, at Pope Leo X’s declaration that the island was the first headquarters in the New World.
1519 – Algeria. Hayreddin Barbarossa becomes regent governor of Algiers. He defended Algiers from fifty Spanish warships.
1519 – Havana (Cuba). Diego Velazquez establishes town of Havana, It would later become a meeting place where the Spanish treasure ships would meet to form fleets.
1519 – Mexico. Diego Velazquez sends Hernán Cortés and Pedro de Alvarado to work together in the conquest of Mexico.
1519 – Spain. Ferdinand Magellan embarks on his historic trip around the world. He departed with two hundred and seventy men in five ships. Magellan himself perished during the journey, and Juan de Elcano replaced him as commander.
1519 – Germany. Maximilian I dies, leaving the Holy Roman Empire to his grandson Charles V. King Francis I of France was a candidate for this position, but was not elected. As a result of a bribe, Charles V became Holy Roman Emperor. The Valois-Habsburg wars followed in Italy as a result.
1519 – Panama City. Diego de Almagro settles in Panama City.
1519 – 1530 – Central America. Hernando de Soto explores Central America.
1520 – South America. Strait of Magellan discovered by the explorer, Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet.
1520 – Spain. A war between nobles in Aragon begins. This war was known as the Germania This war lasted for two years. In Toledo, the people defied the royalty and set up the earliest post-mediaeval commune. This revolt spread to other parts of Castile but the nobles ignored their jealousy of the crown and together they suppressed the movement. Had the nobles not overlooked their jealousies, the Inquisition might have collapsed.
1520 – Jamaica. Taino Indians (who named the island) are enslaved by the Spaniards, and for the most part extinct by this year.
1520 – Mexico. Diego Velazquez sends Panfilo de Narvaez and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo on a failed attempt to capture Hernan Cortes. Narvaez was imprisoned, and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo joined Cortes in conquering the Aztecs, in spite of Velazquez’s orders.
October 23rd, 1520 – Germany. Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, Charles V crowned King of Germany.
1520’s – South America. Francisco Pizarro leads two expeditions along the western coastline of South America, after hearing stories of a land to the south laden with gold. He finds the Incas and their gold, and returns to Spain for permission to conquer the Incas.
1521 – Worms (Germany). A trial (known as the diet of Worms) was held in which Martin Luther was condemned. Meanwhile, Francis I of France waged war against Charles V (Valois-Habsburg wars); taking his attention off of Martin Luther. Charles V allied with England during this war.
April, 1521 – Spain. Lutheran books confiscated by the Spanish Inquisition.
1521 – Mexico. Conquest of Mexico by Spain completed.
1521 – Spain. Panfilo de Narvaez returns to Spain.
1521 – Puerto Rico. Caribe Indians attacked the south shore of the island. Juan Ponce de Leon leaves Puerto Rico with 200 men to colonize Florida. They were attacked by the natives, and Ponce de Leon was hurt. They sailed for Cuba, where Ponce de Leon died from his wounds.
1521 – The Philippines. Ferdinand Magellan killed by natives of the Philippines.
January 24th, 1522 – Puerto Rico. The oldest church still in use in the New World – the San Jose’ Church was founded.
1522 – Spain. Juan de Elcano returns in the Victoria after being the first person to sail around the world. He became the commander of the Victoria after Magellan was killed in the Philippines.
1522 – Spanish Inquisitor General, Adrian of Utrecht becomes Pope.
1522 – Germany. Martin Waldseemuller dies.
1522 – Panama. Pedrarias Davila appoints Fernandez de Cordoba as Governor of Nicaragua. Cordoba explored the region, and founded the villages of Leon and Granada.
1522 – Netherlands. The Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V attempted unsuccessfully to wipe out Protestantism in the Netherlands.
1523 – Jamaica (West Indies). City of Spanish Town founded by Diego Columbus. The town’s original name was Santiago de la Vega.
1523 – Puerto Rico. The island’s first processing plant for sugar cane is built. A Dominican friars’ convent was also built. It was named the Convento de Santa Domingo, and here Puerto Rico’s first library was established.
1523 – Cape St. Vincent (Portugal). French corsair Jean Florin captures two Spanish ships from Mexico. He discovered the tons of treasure on board, and the news of this rich cargo of Moctezuma’s treasure reached the rest of Europe, and led to more plundering of Spanish treasure ships by enemies of Spain. In addition to the gold, pearls and sugar, he had a hostage – Alonso de Avila.
1523–24 – Guatemala. Pedro de Alvarado conquers Guatemala and starts Spanish settlements in the region.
1524 – North America. Giovanni da Verrazzano lands on the coast of North Carolina, and followed the coast north to Nova Scotia. He was originally sent by King Francis I of France to sail west and find a route to China.
1524 – Explorer Vicente Yanez Pinzon dies.
1524 – Puerto Rico. Concepcion, the island’s first hospital is built. It was named by Bishop Alonso Manso.
1524 – Diego Velazquez dies.
1524 – Cochin (India). Vasco da Gama named Viceroy of India and sent to deal with corrupt authorities in India, but dies shortly after arrival.
1524 – South America. Diego de Almagro and Pizarro became partners in exploring the western shore of South America. They found the gold-rich Inca Empire.
1525 – Pavia (Italy). King Francis I of France captured in battle during the Valois-Habsburg wars against Charles V. He was imprisoned in Spain for two years.
1525 – Spanish ships are ordered to travel in convoys for protection from pirates.
1525 – Central America. Fernandez de Cordoba leads a failed revolt against Pedrarias Davila, and is captured.
1525 – France. Spaniard, Alonso de Avila is ransomed.
1525 – Spain. Sebastian Cabot embarks on a mission to explore the Pacific Ocean.
September, 1525 – Spain. Emperor Charles V proclaimed that no Moslem would be allowed in Spain anymore.
1526 – Brazil. Sebastian Cabot lands at the delta of the Silver River. Believing he could find the rumored silver and gold, he abandons his mission and searches for treasure. He found nothing.
1526 – Granada (Spain). Emperor Charles V visits Granada. The locals complained about the low percentage of Catholics among the Moslem Moors. A new tribunal of the Inquisition was established, and practicing Moslem rituals was a crime punishable by death.
1526 – Spain. Juan de Elcano dies.
1526 – Diego Columbus dies.
1526 – Central America. Pedrarias Davila becomes governor of Nicaragua and Fernandez de Cordoba is executed.
1526 – Portugal. Pedro Alvares Cabral dies.
1527 – Spain. King Francis I of France ransomed and returned to rule in France. There would follow more conflicts with Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor.
1527 – Spain. Panfilo de Narvaez appointed with 300 men to conquer Florida and colonize the region. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was their treasurer.
1527 – Europe. Emperor Maximilian II born.
1527 – Flanders (Belgium). Abraham Ortelius born. He would become a famous cartographer.
1527 – Brazil. Giovanni da Verrazzano is killed in Brazil on his
second
expedition westward.
1528 – Die kleine Chirurgia published by Paracelsus. It was the first manual on surgery.
1528 – Spain. The Inquisition charges a man for abstaining from wine and pork, and for cleanliness. He was reconciled, but was made to pay four ducats and carry a candle during an Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
1528 – Mexico City (Mexico). The first Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) in the New World occurs. Two Marranos were burned. One of them was one of Cortes’ men.
April, 1528 – Tampa Bay (Florida). Panfilo de Narvaez and Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca land. Over the next two years, while they tried to find Mexico, over half of their 300 men died (including Narvaez), leaving Cabeza de Vaca in command.
October 11th, 1528 – Puerto Rico. The French try to invade the island from the Spanish. They sacked and set fire to the town of San German.
1529 – Europe. Valois-Habsburg wars end, and King Francis I of France marries Eleanor – Emperor Charles V’s sister.
1529 – The Mediterranean. Corsair, Hayreddin Barbarossa drives the Spaniards away from El Penon fort off Algiers. One of Barbarossa’s allies, Aydin Reis, defeats eight Spanish galley ships near the island of Formentara. The Spanish fleet’s commander, General Portundo was killed in a gun battle, and his crew was enslaved in Algiers.
1529 – Granada (Spain). An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) is held. Three Moslems and seventy-eight Jews were punished.
1529 – 1536 – England. Acts of Parliament make the Anglican Church (Church of England) free from the power of the Pope. This was done at the prodding of King Henry VIII who was at odds with Pope Clement VII for not annulling the marriage between Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon.
1530 – Portugal. King Joao III begins the process of exploring and colonizing Brazil. He sends Martin Afonso de Sousa on a three-year expedition for this purpose. The French were colonizing parts of Brazil with Huguenots (Protestant refugees) and the Portuguese considered this a threat.
1530 – Tripoli (Libya). The Knights of Malta are stationed by Emperor Charles V to protect the city.
1530s – The West Indies. Multinational corsairs arrive in the Spanish Main with the intentions of plundering Spanish ships.
1530 – Connaught (Ireland). Grace O’Malley, a female pirate born.
1530 – Puerto Rico. Sugar is the island’s largest agricultural export. The island’s first census was taken by Francisco Manuel de Lando.
1530 – Spain. Sebastian Cabot returns to Spain empty-handed and is arrested for poor management. He was banished to Africa.
1531 – Germany. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V gives the rule of Germany to his brother, Ferdinand I. However, Charles V reserved the Crown of the Holy Roman Empire for his son, Philip II.
1531 – Central America. Pedrarias Davila dies.
December 17th, 1531 – Portugal. The Inquisition in Portugal is established after King Joao III writes to Pope Clement VII. Frei Diogo da Silva was the first Inquisitor General of Portugal.
1532 – England. Admiral John Hawkins born. He would become an English privateer.
1532 – South America. Francisco Pizarro assembles an army (including Hernando de Soto) and attacked the Incas at their town of Cajamarca.
1532 – Puerto Rico. Construction begins on the Governor’s Palace, which was originally called Santa Catalina, but later renamed La Fortaleza.
1532 – Germany. After much conflict, Charles V signs the Peace of Nuremberg, temporarily making things easier for the Protestants. He was forced by other wars to focus elsewhere.
1533 – South America. Pizarro and captured and held the Inca Emperor, Atahualpa for ransom. The Incas paid the ransom, but Pizarro executed the Emperor anyway on August 29th.
1533 – Spain. A disgruntled priest (who was dismissed for seducing a nun) submitted a list to the Inquisition. This list was of seventy people who were associated with the Lutheran faith. Among them was Juan de Vergara, who was the Professor of Philosophy at the University of Alcala. He was arrested and charged with numerous crimes. His trial lasted two years. He was forced to denounce the Lutheran faith.
1533 – Columbia. Fortified Spanish city of Cartagena founded on an island. It became the South American center of operations for the Spanish Inquisition.
1533 – Spain. Charles V pardons Sebastian Cabot and restores his rank.
April, 1534 – Saint-Malo (France). Jacques Cartier, after being picked by King Francis I of France, embarks in two ships to find a northwesterly passage to China. After 20 days, he reached Newfoundland and sailed through the Strait of Belle Isle. He followed the coastline around the Gulf of St. Lawrence. He saw Prince Edward’s Island and found the mouth of the St. Lawrence River (Which he later named).
1534 – The Mediterranean. Heyreddin Barbarossa returns to sea, commanding sixty-one ships. In Italy, he captured duchess, Julia Gonzaga. She managed to escape before he could give her as a present to the sultan. Barbarossa then captured the town of Tunis in a day’s time.
1534 – Spain. Sebastian Cabot completes a map of the world for Charles V of Spain, and then moves to England.
1534 – South America. Pedro de Alvarado leads an expedition into Quito with the intention of claiming it; but met Francisco Pizarro who had claim to the region. Pizarro paid Alvarado compensation for his trouble, and Alvarado agreed to leave.
1535 – Peru. Francisco de Orellana arrives in Peru.
1535 – The Mediterranean. Spain sends Italian-born Admiral Andrea Doria to recapture Tunis.
1535 – Galveston (Texas). Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca’s surviving party arrived at Galveston Island, and were attacked by Indians. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and three other survivors headed west for Mexico.
1535 – Mexico. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado arrives in Mexico.
1535 – Palma (Spain). By this year, 99 people had been burned at the stake (most of them were burned alive). 460 were given to secular authorities, 750 were “reconciled.” The total of people tried by the Inquisition in Palma by this time was around 1,300.
1535 – Mexico. Mexico City mint established – it was the first mint in the New World. Many Spanish gold doubloons and silver pieces of eight would be produced here. This mint remains open today.
1535 – Canada. Jacques Cartier sails again at the request of King Francis I of France, sailing up the St. Lawrence River past the future location of Quebec and to the Indian village of Hochelaga. He climbed up a hill and saw the Ottawa River. He named this hill Mont Real, meaning Royal Mountain. This is how Montreal got its name.
1535 – Peru. Pizarro captures the Inca capital of Cusco. He establishes the encomienda and enslaves the Incas. He established the city of Lima.
1535 – Venezuela. Pedro de Valdivia conquers Venezuela.
1535 – Spanish Town (Jamaica). Santiago de la Vega (now known as Spanish Town) becomes the capital city of Jamaica.
1535 – Yorkshire (England). Sir Martin Frobisher born. He would become an English explorer.
1535 - Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada departed for Santa Marta, Columbia as Chief Judge, serving under Governor Pedro Fernández de Lugo.
1535 – New Toledo (South America). Diego de Almagro appointed Governor of New Toledo by Charles I (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor). Almagro’s land was south of Pizarro’s land.
1536 – Europe. Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor at war again.
1536 – Spain. Hernando de Soto returns with a fortune in Inca gold.
1536 – Rome. Emperor Charles V arrives in Rome and uses his authority to create an Inquisition in Portugal after the Spanish model.
1536 – Panama. French pirates attack a Spanish relief ship near the Chagres River. Then they made their way to outside of Havana and waited for more ships to plunder. They captured three ships, burned two and made off with the third.
1536 – Mexico. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca and his three survivors find a Spanish settlement and head back to Spain.
1536 – Columbia. Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada embarks to locate the headwaters of the Magdalena River.
1537 – Belgium. Gerardus Mercator produces his first map.
1537 – Peru. Pedro de Valdivia aids Francisco Pizarro in Peru.
1537 – Spain. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca arrives back in Spain, and is appointed as Governor of Rio de la Plata (Silver River) now in Paraguay.
1537 – The Spanish Main. French pirates attack Spanish ships and settlements. They raided Havana, Santo Domingo, Cartegena, and Nombre de Dios.
1537 – Spain. Emperor Charles V appoints Hernando de Soto as Governor of Cuba and Florida. This title was worthless unless he could find gold there. He sailed for Havana.
1538 – Peru. The War of Las Salinas occurred between Pizarro and his previous partner, Diego de Almagro. Almagro invaded Cusco, but was killed and his son, Almagro the Lad prolonged the war.
1538 – Havanna (Cuba). First pirate attack on Havanna.
1538 – The Mediterranean. Spain’s Admiral Andrea Doria and his large fleet were defeated by the Berbers off the coast of Albania.
1538 – Toledo (Spain). The Inquisition charged a group of Moslem Moors for gathering and performing traditional Moorish dances. The Moors were reconciled.
1538 – Italy. End of the war between France and the Holy Roman Emperor – Treaty of Nice signed, and France gained the Piedmont region of Italy.
1538 – Columbia. City of Bogota founded by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, after defeating the Chibcha Indians.
1539 - Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada returns to Spain
1539 – Puerto Rico. Massive defensive structures are built around San Juan to protect from increasing threats from other European nations. These structures included San Geronimo, San Cristobal, and the San Felipe del Morro Castile. Many parts of these walls remain today.
1539 – Dartmouth (England). Sir Humphrey Gilbert born. He was the half brother of Sir Francis Drake.
1539 – Mexico. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado named as Governor of Nuevo Galicia. There, he heard of the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola.
May, 1539 – Havana (Cuba). Hernan de Soto departs for Florida. He landed in the area of Tampa Bay. Over the next four years, he and his men went north, robbing Indian peoples of their food, and enslaving Indians for use as guides in his relentless search for gold. The Indians always told him the gold was in the next village to the northwest in an effort to be rid of him.
1540 – Mexico. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo joins Pedro Alvarado in the exploration of Western Mexico.
1540s – The Spanish Colonies. Many of the Spanish-controlled islands had maroons (runaway black slaves) that poised a security threat to the settlements.
1540s – Sevilla la Nueva (Jamaica). Villages repeatedly attacked by French pirates.
1540 – Tavistock (England). Francis Drake born. He would become a famous explorer and privateer.
1540 – North America. Spanish explorer, Hernando de Alarcon discovered California and Baja California were not on an island; previously it was assumed that it was. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado accompanied him on his trip, and then Coronado continued northeast overland in search for the seven golden cities. In the process, he passed through Arizona, the Grand Canyon, and wintered near Santa Fe, New Mexico.
September 20th, 1540 – Lisbon (Portugal). Portugal’s first of many Inquisitional Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith) occurs.
1540 – South America. Gonzalo Pizarro (Francisco Pizarro’s brother) and Francisco de Orellana cross the Andes and find the source of the Amazon. Francisco de Orellana and fifty men follow the Amazon River downstream.
1540 – Spain. Francisco de San Roman burned at the stake after trying to convert the Emperor to the Lutheran faith.
1540 – Peru. Pizarro sends Pedro de Valdivia and 175 soldiers to conquer Chile.
1541 – Mexico. Pedro de Alvarado killed during an Indian rebellion while exploring Western Mexico. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo assumed command.
1541 – North America. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado crosses the Great Plains in north Texas and into Kansas, seeking a fabled city of gold there.
1541 – Algiers (Algeria). Spain tries to capture Algiers, but a storm prevents their victory. Among the fleet was Hernan Cortes.
1541 – South America. Francisco de Orellana reaches the mouth of the Amazon River at the Atlantic Ocean. He named the Amazon River and sailed back to Spain.
1541 – Belgium. Gerardus Mercator finished a terrestrial globe.
1541 – South America. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca leads an expedition to the capital of Rio de la Plata.
1541 – Canada. Jacques Cartier’s third voyage leads him back up the St. Lawrence River to Lachine Rapids. His mission was to establish a colony in Canada, but was not successful.
1541 – Chile. City of Santiago founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
1541 – Lima (Peru). Francisco Pizarro killed by followers of Diego de Almagro during the War of Las Salinas.
1542 – Hispaniola. Santo Domingo mint opens, producing only silver coins.
1542 – Italy. Pope Paul III founded the Roman Inquisition.
1542 – Puerto Rico. Coconuts were introduced to the island from the India and Malaysian regions.
1542 – Mexico. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado returns to Mexico, and dies.
May, 1542 – North America. Hernando de Soto – the first European to see the Mississippi River, dies of fever. His successor, Luis de Moscoso weighted him down and threw him in the river so the natives wouldn’t see his body. They believed he was immortal.
1542 – Europe. France and the Holy Roman Empire at war again.
September 28th, 1542 – Mexico. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sails north and discovers San Diego Bay, Monterey Bay, Santa Barbara Channel, Santa Catalina Island, and San Miguel Island, where he died in 1543.
December, 1542 – Linlithgow (Scotland). Mary, Queen of Scots born. She became the Queen at a week old. She was King James V’s (of Scotland) daughter.
1543 – Goa (India). The Portuguese Inquisition begins operations in India.
1543 – Santa Marta (Columbia). Pirate, Seignieur de Roberval raids the settlement.
September, 1543 – North America. Luis de Moscoso and the surviving half of De Soto’s men float down the Mississippi River – without any gold or riches, barely alive. They left behind death and disease. They sailed southwest along the coast and finally arrived at Panuco Mexico, ending their failed expedition.
1543 – Chile. Town of Santiago attacked by Indians. Reenforcements arrive and save the settlement.
1544 – South America. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, was acting Governor of Rio de la Plata when a revolt occurred He was deposed.
1544 – Puerto Rico. The island’s second hospital, San Ildefonso, was built.
1544 – Cartagena (Columbia). Pirate, Seignieur de Roberval raids the island city of Cartagena.
1544 – Chile. Pedro de Valdivia established town of La Serena just north of Santiago.
1544 – England. The future explorer, Martin Frobisher, begins his career as a cabin boy on a ship.
1544 – Spain. Francisco de Orellana is sent to continue his explorations of the Amazon River.
1544 – Europe. Treaty of Crepy signed, ending Holy Roman Empire’s war against France.
1544 – Fontainebleau (France). Francis II born. He would briefly be the King of France and marry Mary, Queen of Scots.
1544 – Cuba. French pirate, Seignieur de Roberval attempts to capture Santiago de Cuba. The attack was unsuccessful.
October, 1544 – Columbia. Town of Santa Maria de los Remedios attacked by French pirates. The attack was unsuccessful.
1545 – Saint-Malo (France). Jacques Cartier retires and publishes his accounts of his explorations.
1545 – South America. Francisco de Orellana dies.
February 18th, 1546, Germany. Martin Luther dies. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V focuses on wiping out Protestantism in Southern Germany.
1546 – Death of Hayreddin Barbarossa, the corsair.
1546 – Ireland. Female pirate Grace O’Malley marries Donal O’Flaherty. They had three children before he was murdered.
January 28th, 1547 – England. King Henry VIII dies and Edward VI succeeded him.
1547 – Peru. Pedro de Valdivia arrives back in Peru and helps stop a rebellion led by Gonzalo Pizarro against Francisco Pizarro.
1547 – France. King Francis I of France dies, and is replaced by his second son, Henry II.
1548 – Chile. Pedro de Valdivia named as Governor of Chile.
1549 – England. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer published. The Church of England was widely accepted in England, because it remained almost identical in ideas with the Catholic Church, which it replaced.
1549 – England. King Edward VI names Sebastian Cabot grand pilot of England.
1549 – The Caribbean. French pirates capture stray Spanish ships off the islands of San Juan, Saona, and Mona. Then they headed for southern Hispaniola (La Yaguana), Havana, Cartagena, San German, and Cubagua Island.
1550 – The Spanish Colonies. By this year, the bulk of the Spanish colonists lived far inland where they were less vulnerable to pirate attacks. The costal ports of Cartagena, Havana, San Juan, and Santo Domingo were tiny towns with few inhabitants. These towns’ sole purposes were to seaports for the Spanish fleets.
1550 – South America. Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada returns to New Granada (Columbia).
1550? – Portuguese explorer Diogo Alvares Correa dies.
1550s – The Spanish Main. French privateers attack Spanish settlements in South America and the Caribbean islands.
1550 – England. John Davis born. He would become an explorer.
1550 – Spain. Sebastian Vizcaino, a Spanish explorer born.
1550 – Chile. City of Concepcion established by Pedro de Valdivia.
1550 – St. Germain-en-Lay (France). Charles IX born. He would become the King of France.
1551 – Tripoli (Libya). Turgut Reis captures the city from the Knights of Malta.
September 19th, 1551 – Fontainebleau (France). King Henry III of France born.
1551 – England. Sebastian Cabot becomes head of an English trading company called Muscovy Company of Merchant Adventurers. This company would explore the Northwest Passage.
1552 – Duisburg (Germany). Gerardus Mercator and family move to Germany to escape persecution for being Protestants.
1552 – England. Another prayer book is published for the Church of England; this one was more appropriate as more people converted to Protestantism.
1552 – Spanish merchant ships bound back to Spain from the New World are required to be armed at the owners’ expense.
1552 – Chile. City of Valdivia founded by Pedro de Valdivia
1552 – France. Henry II of France restarts the war against Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor – picking up where Francis I left off. For the first time, the Caribbean became a theatre of war between two nations. Henry II captures Verdun, Metz, and Toul. Protestants are allowed to practice their religion by the signing of the Peace of Passau.
1552 – Puerto Santo (Madeira). French privateer Francois le Clerc, or Jambe de Bois (Leg of Wood) and his fleet raids city of Puerto Santo. He was probably the first peg legged pirate in modern history. After this raid, he went to the Cadiz area and the delta of the Guadalquivir River at the southern part of Spain. Next he and his squadron sailed for the Canary Islands and the Azores before sailing for the Caribbean.
1553 – Navarre (Spain). King Henry III of Navarre born. He would later become King Henry IV of France.
July 6th, 1553 – England. King Edward VI dies, leaving the throne to his half sister, Mary I (Bloody Mary). Mary I was Catholic, and dissolved the Church of England and reestablished the Catholic Church in that land.
1553 – France. Privateer captain Francois le Clerc (Jambe de Bois) heads for the Caribbean with three royal ships and some privateer ships. He plundered Spanish ships in the area of Puerto Rico and Hispaniola Island.
January 1st, 1554 – Chile. Pedro de Valdivia killed by Indians during a revolt.
1554 – Padre Island (Texas). The 1554 Spanish treasure fleet sank off the coast of Padre Island. These ships mostly carried coins minted in Mexico, and to this day, coins from these wrecks sometimes wash up on the beach there.
1554 – Spain. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca returned to Spain as a prisoner, and banished to Africa.
1554 – Cuba. Francois le Clerc leads a raid on the Spanish settlement of Santiago de Cuba. His eight ships and 300 men plundered the town over a period of a month. The town never fully recovered.
1554 – Devonshire (England). Sir Walter Raleigh born. He would become an explorer and soldier.
1555 – Europe. Emperor Charles V gives the Netherlands to his son, Philip II.
1555 – Italy. Gian Pietro Carafa is elected Pope Paul IV and is in charge of the Roman Inquisition. This led to stricter laws and more persecution of non-Catholics.
1555 – Santa Marta (Columbia). Privateer, Jacques de Sores burns the city of Santa Marta.
1555 – Cuba. French privateer Jacques de Sores leads an attack on Havana. The town’s defenses were entirely unprepared. Sores demanded a ransom, but didn’t get it, and he burned the city and the ships in the harbor.
1556 – Europe. Emperor Charles V gives Spain to his son, Philip II, and the Holy Roman Empire to his brother, Ferdinand I.
1556 – Europe. King Henry II of France fights with Philip II of Spain (Emperor Charles V’s son).
1556 – Spain. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca pardoned, and returned to Spain. He earlier wrote an account of his adventures with Narvaez, which told of seven cities of gold. These stories led to other expeditions into North America.
1557 – England. Sebastian Cabot dies.
1557 – Saint-Malo (France). Jacques Cartier dies.
1557 – Spain. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca dies.
1557 – France. Henry II of France battles with England, winning back Calais and Guïnes, the last English possessions in France.
Spring, 1558 – Spain. A Lutheran group is discovered by the Inquisition. Pope Paul IV issued orders to blot out the “heretics.”
1558 – France. Mary, Queen of Scots, raised in France, marries Francis II of France. He would become King of France the next year, and die a year afterwards.
1558 – Puerto Caballos (Honduras). French privateer, St. Jean de Luz attacked the Spanish mining outpost of Puerto Caballos.
1558 – England. Bloody Mary (Mary I) dies and is succeeded by her sister, Elizabeth I, who reestablished the Church of England. A new Prayer Book was published, with fewer Protestant ideas than the last one.
September 21st, 1558 – Extremadura (Spain). Emperor Charles V dies at San Jeronimo de Yuste – a monastery. He was succeeded by his brother, Ferdinand I, who was now crowned Emperor. Philip II replaced Charles V as King of Spain. Philip II promised Charles V to burn all Lutheran “heretics” at the stake.
1559 – Europe. The Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis signed, where King Henry II of France agrees to give up his possessions in Italy, and peace was restored between England and Spain. Henry II then died, and was succeeded by Francis II of France.
1559 – Puerto Rico. Ponce de Leon’s body brought to San Juan.
May 21st, 1559 – Valladolid (Spain). An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held in the city. Antonio de Hurrezuelo held on to his Lutheran beliefs and died the death of a martyr at the stake. His wife repented, and was sentenced to perpetual imprisonment.
1559 – Santa Marta (Columbia) Martin Cote captures city of Santa Marta.
1559 – Campeche (Mexico). Anonymous pirates raid Campeche.
1559 – Pope Paul IV publishes the Index of Forbidden Books – a list of books that were thought to undermine the morals and philosophies of the Roman Catholic Church.
September 24th, 1559 – Seville (Spain). 800 people are arrested by the Spanish Inquisition and punished at an Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
1560 – England. Thomas Cavendish born. He would become an English navigator and privateer.
1560 – Cartagena (Columbia). Martin Cote captures the city.
1560 – Brazil. The last of the French Huguenot (Protestant refugee) colonists are driven out of Portuguese-controlled Brazil.
1560 – France. Francis II of France dies, and is succeeded by his younger brother, Charles IX. During his reign, there was much strife between the Catholics and Protestants. This may have been caused by King Philip II introducing the Inquisition to the Low Countries; which at the time were under Spanish rule.
1560s – The Spanish Main. The threat of Spanish assets being plundered by the French was growing. Spain began taking security measures.
1560 – Seville (Spain). Another great Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held in the city.
1561 – Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots arrives in Scotland, finding it in the hands of the Protestants. She did not interfere at first, even though she was a Catholic.
1561 – Goa (India). A tribunal of the Portuguese Inquisition is established in Goa.
1561 – The Caribbean. The beginning of the twice-annual treasure fleets from the New World to Spain. These voyages would continue almost constantly until 1748.
1562 – Africa. Sir John Hawkins makes his first voyage, carrying a cargo of 300 slaves to the island of Hispaniola. The Spaniards were offended because of the disruption of their trade monopoly in the New World.
1562, Seville (Spain). Two Inquisition Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith) were held in the city.
1562 – England. Sir Humphrey Gilbert joins the English army.
1563 – Goa (India). The first Portuguese Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) is held.
1563 – Florida. The French Huguenots led by Jean Ribault set up outposts along the eastern coast of Florida. They sought to gain a foothold in the Americas, and the outposts were conveniently close to the Spanish treasure fleets’ route from Havana to Spain.
February 15th, 1564 – Pisa (Italy) Galileo born. He would become a well-known physicist and mathematician.
July 25th, 1564 – Vienna (Austria). Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I dies, and is replaced by Maximilian II.
1564 – Africa. Sir John Hawkins leaves in the warship, the Jesus of Lubeck, and takes a cargo of 400 slaves to the West Indies. The Spanish colonies were ordered by the King of Spain not to trade with the English, and negotiations were more difficult.
1564 – Seville (Spain). An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) is held in the city.
1564 – Hispaniola. Santo Domingo mint closes. It would briefly be reopened later.
1565 – England. Sir Martin Frobisher becomes a captain of his first ship.
1565 – Spain. Twenty-six Englishmen who were Protestants were burned at the stake all around Spain, and ten times as many were imprisoned in the dungeons.
1565 – Florida. King Philip II of Spain sends the Spanish Armada to oust the French Huguenot outposts in Florida. The Huguenot leader, Jean Ribault and his followers were killed and the Spaniards wiped away the Florida outposts.
1565 – Girolamo Benzoni, a Milanese traveler publishes Historia de Mondo Nuovo. In it, he describes an incident that took place on the island of Cubagua in the late 1530s. French pirates were preparing to raid the village, and the Spaniards convinced the natives that the French were sodomites who planned to take the native men as women. The natives attacked and drove the French away, The French never returned to the island.
1565 – Florida. French outposts raided and destroyed by Menendez Aviles.
1565 – Seville (Spain). An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held in the city.
June 17th, 1565 – Toledo (Spain). An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) is held in which twenty-two Lutherans were burned at the stake, half of them were burned alive.
September, 1565 – England. Sir John Hawkins arrives back in England.
June 19th, 1566 – Edinburgh Castle (Scotland). Birth of King James I of Scotland, son of Mary, Queen of Scots.
1566 – Ireland. Sir Humphrey Gilbert made an English captain and served in Ireland.
1566 – Plymouth (England). Captain John Lovell embarks on a voyage sponsored by Sir John Hawkins. His voyage, like Hawkins’s two voyages, was a slave transporting voyage.
1566 – Sir Francis Drake trades contraband in Riohacha and Burburata.
1566 – Granada (Spain). A member of the Supreme Council of the Spanish Inquisition was made President of the Granada Chancellery. The Inquisition was tightening its grip on Moslem Moors. Use of the Arabic language was forbidden.
1566 – Europe. Protestant England aids Protestant movement in the Spanish Netherlands. This would result with the attack of the Spanish Armada.
1566 – Ireland. Female pirate Grace O’Malley marries Richard Burke.
1567 – Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots relinquishes power to a series of regents who ruled until James I was old enough to rule.
1567 – The Netherlands. Willem Cornelis Schouten born. He would become a Dutch Explorer.
1567 – France. Samuel de Champlain born. He would become known as the father of New France.
August, 1567 – Plymouth (England). Spanish ships from Flanders put in at Plymouth. Sir John Hawkins insulted the Spaniards with noise and cannon fire.
October, 1567 – The Caribbean. Sir John Hawkins takes his last cargo of slaves from Africa to the West Indies. His cousin, Francis Drake accompanied him. They were forced by a storm to take shelter in San Juan de Ulua – Vera Cruz Mexico’s treasure port. They had a battle with the Spanish treasure fleet and were lucky to make it to England alive. Only 15 men survived the trip. The rest were either captured by the Spanish, or starved.
1567 – England. Francis Drake given his first command of a ship, the Judith. He sailed in a fleet commanded by his relative, Sir John Hawkins, on a slave trading trip in the Gulf of Mexico. They were attacked by Spanish warships, and only two of their ships survived.
1568 – Lima (Peru). Lima mint opens. Many Spanish doubloons and pieces of eight would be produced here.
1568 – Portugal. Portugal ends diplomatic relations with England after Sir John Hawkins raids Portuguese-controlled Guinea for slaves.
1568 – Margarita Island (Venezuela). French Captain Borgoing lands on the Spanish ruled island to look for pearls. One of the locals, named Carillo, welcomed Borgoing and his crew. A few days later, the locals led by Carillo killed sixteen or seventeen of the French crew. They hung their bodies along the coast to display them.
1568 – Valladolid (Spain). Antonio de Hurrezuelo’s wife claims she is a Lutheran seven years after her husband was burned at the stake. She was burned at the stake alive by the Inquisition, as a relapsed heretic.
1568 – Veracruz (Mexico). Sir John Hawkins attacked by Spanish ships (his transporting of slaves violated Spanish laws). Hawkins escaped with two ships and returned to England.
December, 1568 – Granada (Spain). Orders are given by the Inquisition to take all Moorish children between three years old and fifteen years old. These children were put in schools to learn the Catholic faith. The result of this event was a full-scale rebellion. The Moriscos (Moors) calculated that they could raise 100,000 fighting men throughout Granada, and they relied also on their Barbary corsair brothers from Northern Africa for assistance. Prisoners captured by the Moriscos were sold to the corsairs from Algeria for a musket per person.
1569 – Ireland. Sir Humphrey Gilbert made Governor of Munster Ireland.
1569 – Duisburg (Germany). Gerardus Mercator publishes his well-known world map with the Mercator projection. This style of maps was named after him, but were actually in use before he was born. He was the first to call a group of maps an “atlas.”
1569 – Las Palmas (The Canary Islands). A great Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held. Twice the population of Grand Canary was present.
1569 – Granada (Spain). Don Juan of Austria, King Philip’s half brother is appointed as the supreme commander in the war against the Moriscos. He ordered all Moriscos (Moors) to leave the city and settle in the countryside. As a result, the Moriscos rebelled, and Ulic Ali Pasa, the Governor of Algiers took advantage of the situation to recapture Tunis.
1569 – Mexico City (Mexico). At the orders of King Philip II, an independent tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition is established in Mexico.
1569 – South America. Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada is sent to search for the legendary golden city of El Dorado – which he never found.
1570 – England. Sir Humphrey Gilbert knighted.
1570 – German cartographer Abraham Ortelius publishes Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, an atlas containing 70 maps. It was at the time the largest atlas in the world.
1570 – The Spanish Main. The port city (or more appropriately, town) of Santo Domingo was home to only 500 families. Cartagena was home to 300 families. The island of Cuba was home to 322 families. Puerto Rico was home to between 200 and 300 families.
1570 – Panama. Panama is regularly attacked by French pirates.
1570 – Peru. An independent tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition is established.
May, 1570 – Spain. The Moriscos (Moors) are defeated by the Spaniards. The Morisco leader tried one last time to raise a rebellion, but he was assassinated by one of his own men who was bribed by the Inquisition. The Moriscos were not allowed to go within twenty miles of their homeland, which soon became a deserted wasteland as a result. Any Morisco who defied this law was put to death.
1570 – Toledo (Spain). King Philip II and his new wife, Isabella of Valois visit the town. The Inquisition held an Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) in their honor. The event lasted two days.
1570 – England. Sir John Hawkins pretends to betray Queen Elizabeth to trick the Spaniards. This was so he could learn more about the coming attack by Spain on England.
1570 – Puerto Rico. The island’s gold deposits run out.
1570s – Panama. The threats caused by maroon (runaway Negro slave) uprisings were so severe that the Spaniards took action to locate and destroy maroon villages.
1570 – 1571 –The West Indies. Sir Francis Drake makes two successful trading voyages to the Caribbean; and scouts the Spanish treasure port of Nombre de Dios.
1571 – Venezuela. Town of Nuevo Zamora (later called Maracaibo) founded by the Spaniards.
1571 – England. Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir John Hawkins become members of the English Parliament. Hawkins also became treasurer and comptroller of the British Navy. He prepared the Navy for the coming war with Spain.
1571 – Lepanto (Greece). Don Juan of Austria and his Christian allies defeat the Ottomans.
1572 – France. Charles IX orders the St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre and the deaths of thousands of Protestants. This was organized by his younger brother, Henry III and their mother. Henry Navarre (a Protestant) converted to Catholicism to save his life, and was imprisoned.
1572 – The Netherlands. Sir Humphrey Gilbert sent to aid the Protestants in fighting the Spaniards. His mission failed. He then devoted the next six years to writing, namely A Discourse of a Discovery for a New Passage to Cataia.
1572 – Spain. Poet and scholar, Fray Luis de Leon arrested by the Inquisition. He successfully identified many of his accusers – all acquaintances from the University of Salamanca. Most prisoners’ accusers were kept secret from the accused by the Inquisition. De Leon was spared from harsh punishment because of his connections.
1572 – Panama. Sir Francis Drake commands two warships – the Swan and the Pasco, and attacks the Spanish settlement, Nombre de Dios. His luck was against him, and there was no gold or silver in the King’s treasure houses.
1572 – Lima (Peru). Lima mint closes.
February 11th, 1573 – Central America. Sir Francis Drake saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time in his life. He and his men then raided Venta Cruces – a Spanish town on the Sagres River.
March, 1573 – Central America. Sir Francis Drake allies himself with French privateers and attacks a mule train bound for Nombre de Dios. Drake returned triumphantly to England with 100,000 pounds in gold coins, and 15 tons of bar silver. The Spaniards abandoned Nombre de Dios and moved their treasure port to nearby Portobello.
1573 – Poland. The future King Henry III of France is elected King of Poland.
1573 – Tunis (Tunisia). Don Juan of Austria and his Christian allies take back Tunis. Their victory was short-lived.
1573 – Ireland. Sir Francis Drake sent to take control of a rebellion in Ireland.
1573 – Spain. The Supreme Council of the Spanish Inquisition orders all convicted New Christians into the service of the Spanish warships.
1573 – Hispaniola. Santo Domingo mint reopens.
1573 – Bolivia. La Plata mint opens briefly, producing silver coins.
1574 – France. King Charles IX of France dies. He was succeeded by his brother, Henry III, after Henry III returned from Poland. Like Charles IX, Henry III fought the French Protestants (known as the Huguenots) and nearly bankrupted the country. The unrest would lead to the War of the Three Henrys.
1574 – Tunis (Tunisia). Uluc Ali Pasa recaptures Tunis and La Goletta presidio from Spain.
1574 – Bolivia. La Plata mint closes permanently.
February 28th, 1574 – Mexico City (Mexico). Lutheran Englishman, George Ribley burned at the stake by the Spanish Inquisition in Mexico City’s first Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
1574 – Ireland. English Captain William Martin attacks the castle where the female pirate Grace O’Malley was residing. This was the result of an order by Sir Edward Fitton, the Governor after receiving complaints of O’Malley’s ships attacking merchant ships. O’Malley managed to drive Martin away.
1574 – Bolivia. Potosi mint opens. Many silver coins would be produced here, but no gold coins were minted.
1575 – Spain. Abraham Ortelius becomes geographer for King Philip II of Spain, and continued his research
1575 – Vallano (Panama). Englishman, John Oxenham sails for Panama with a crew of 250 men and four ships. He made an alliance with the maroons of Vallano, and crossed the Panamanian Isthmus and built a forty-five foot boat. From the Gulf of San Miguel, he began attacking Spanish ships in the Pacific. He was the first European enemy to the Spaniards to attack them in the Pacific. He managed to capture a lucky prize that yielded 60,000 pesos in gold, and an unknown amount of silver. But Oxenham’s luck would soon run out. He was captured by the Spaniards at his secret base at Acla, and sent to Lima, Peru.
1575 – Berber corsairs take Miguel de Cervantes as hostage. He wrote of his experiences that would later be published.
1575 – Goa (India). A Portuguese Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held in Goa.
1576 – France. Henry Navarre released from prison and he renounced his status as a Catholic, and became the leader of the French Protestants.
1576 – Spain. Merchants from England who made regular trips to Spain petitioned against the dangers they faced from the Spanish Inquisition.
June 7th, 1576 – England. Sir Martin Frobisher commissioned to lead an expedition to the New World. He sailed in three ships, the Michael, the Gabriel and another ship of an unknown name. The unknown ship was lost in a hurricane, and the Michael was abandoned afterwards. He spotted Baffin Island and Frobisher Bay. He believed it to be the Northwest Passage. He returned to England with what he thought was gold ore. It proved to be plain black dirt, but Queen Elizabeth I was pleased anyway.
1576 – Europe. Maximilian II dies, and is replaced by his son, Rudolf II as Holy Roman Emperor.
1576 – Scotland. King James I becomes nominal ruler of Scotland.
1576 – France. The Edict of Beaulieu was issued by King Henry III; giving Protestants in France more rights. The Catholics, led by Henri de Lorraine, retaliated by forming the Holy League and renewing the war.
1577 – Lima (Peru). Lima mint reopens.
1577 – England. Sir Martin Frobisher departs for Canada again, failing to establish colonies or find gold.
1577 – Ireland. During her attack on the Earl of Desmond’s land, pirate captain Grace O’Malley was captured and jailed in Limerick for 18 months.
1577 – Toledo (Spain). Richard Bayle, who worked for the English Ambassador; was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition for practicing Anglicanism.
1577 – Panama. The Valanno War is waged against the maroons (runaway slaves) by the Spaniards. The maroons frequently aided the French and English – including Sir Francis Drake.
1577 – France. Peace of Beaulieu temporarily ends fighting between French Catholics and Protestants. Henry III dissolves the Holy League and restricts some of the rights of the French Protestants.
December 13th, 1577 – England. Sir Francis Drake embarks on an expedition to raid Spanish settlements on the west coast of South America. He took five ships and 166 men. Two ships had to be abandoned at Rio de la Plata.
1578 – Hispaniola. Santo Domingo mint closes again.
1578 - Goa (India). A Portuguese Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held in Goa.
1578 – England. Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert sail to America on an exploratory mission, but their trip was called off when they encountered the Spanish off the coast of Africa. They returned to England.
1578 – Madrid (Spain). Philip III born. He would become the King of Spain and Naples.
1578 – Europe. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II born.
September, 1578 – South America. Sir Francis Drake continues his voyage in the remaining ships. They sailed through the Strait of Magellan (at the southern tip of South America). They encountered a storm, and one ship was sunk. Another returned to England, but the Golden Hind, his flagship, made it to Valparaiso and sacked the town. In addition, several Spanish ships were plundered.
March 1st, 1579 – Central America. Sir Francis Drake had the opportunity to ransom John Oxenham, but wasn’t successful, because he heard about the Spanish treasure ship, Nuestra Seniora de la Concepcion, which was on her way to Panama from Lima. The ship carried 80 pounds of gold, and 26 tons of bar silver. After he captured the ship, it took six days to transfer the treasure to the Golden Hind, during which Drake was very hospitable to his defeated enemies
March 20th, 1579 – Cano Island (Costa Rico). While careening the Golden Hind, Sir Francis Drake’s men capture another Spanish ship.
May 3rd, 1579 – Seville (Spain). An Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) of the Spanish Inquisition occurs. A Lutheran bookbinder was burned at the stake.
April 4th, 1579 – Acajutla (Guatemala). Sir Francis Drake captures a ship loaded with Chinese goods.
April 13th, 1579 – Guatulco (Mexico). Sir Francis Drake and his crew raid the tiny Spanish outpost with little resistance.
July, 1579 – San Francisco Bay. Sir Francis Drake gives up on finding
the Northwest Passage, and heads back south. They landed at a cove just
north of what is now San Francisco, to make repairs. This inlet is now
known as Drake’s Bay.
October 13th, 1579 – Caroline Islands. Sir Francis Drake continues his journey westward, landing at islands in the Pacific, and Indonesia. He rounded the Cape of Good Hope (southern Africa).
1579 – North Africa. Captive Miguel de Cervantes is ransomed for 500 gold escudos.
1579 – Mariquita, Spain. Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada dies.
1580 – Wesel (Germany). Peter Minuit born. He would later move to the Netherlands and become a Dutch explorer.
1580 – The Mediterranean. The Ottomans are defeated by the Spaniards. They signed a peace treaty ending the Turkish-Spanish war. However, many Moslems and Jews – disgruntled by the Spanish Inquisition – turned to piracy against Spain.
1580 – Ireland. Sir Walter Raleigh sent by Queen Elizabeth I to Ireland to subdue a rebellion there.
1580 – Guatemala. Bernal Diaz del Castillo dies. He was the last surviving conquistador to conquered Mexico.
1580 – Spain. Spain and Portugal are unified under King Philip II, creating the wealthiest and most powerful overseas empire.
1580 – Lima (Peru). English privateer, John Oxenham tried by the Spanish Inquisition for heresy (because he was a Protestant) and hanged. His body was most likely burned – which might be why legend says he was burned at the stake.
1580 – Panama. Panama mint opens, producing only silver ½, 1, 2, and 4 real cob coins.
September, 1580 – England. Sir Francis Drake returns to England, ship full of Spanish treasure and spices, and being the second person in history to circumnavigate the globe. The treasure he returned with was worth 500,000 pounds.
1581 – Scotland. King James I officially becomes ruler of Scotland.
1581 – England. Sir Francis Drake knighted on the deck of the Golden Hind by Queen Elizabeth I. He also became the Mayor of Plymouth, England.
1581 – Panama. Panama mint closes.
1582 – England. Captain Stephen Haynes – a pirate captain – bribed a servant of Sir Christopher Halton and the Lord Admiral’s cook by giving them parrots.
1582 – The Mediterranean. Richard Hasleton, from Braintree, England, was captured by Barbary Corsairs and made to row in a slave galley. They were shipwrecked, and he was picked up by a Genoese ship. He was turned over to the Inquisition at Majorca after the captain found out that he was Lutheran. He escaped but was captured. His second escape attempt was successful.
1582 – Scotland. King James I kidnapped by Protestants; he escaped during the following year.
1583 – Dorsetshire (England). The pirate, Clinton Atkinson bribed the deputies of the Vice-Admiral in Dorsetshire by giving them parrots.
1583 – Ireland. Richard Burke, the pirate captain Grace O’Malley’s husband died, leaving her without his estate. Grace O’Malley attacks numerous areas and brought on the seizing of her fleet by Governor Sir Richard Bingham.
1583 – England. Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed to Newfoundland and established the first English colony in America, near what is now the city of St. Johns. However, there was a mutiny, and Gilbert embarked for England on the Squirrel. The ship was lost in a storm near the Azores.
1584 – France. The Catholics led by Henri de Lorraine reestablish the Holy League. King Henry III’s younger brother died, making Henry Navarre (a Protestant) the legal heir to the throne, since Henry III had no children.
1584 – Virginia. Sir Walter Raleigh makes his first expedition to Virginia.
1584 – 1585 – England. Sir Francis Drake serves as a member of the English Parliament.
1585 – Cartagena (Columbia). Sir Francis Drake raids island city of Cartagena.
1585 – England. John Davis embarks on a voyage, attempting to find the Northwest Passage to India.
1585 – Africa. The Portuguese ship Santiago sank in the waters between Africa and Madagascar.
1585 – England. Sir Francis Drake sails for the West Indies on a mission to pillage Spanish settlements. He raided Cartagena, and St. Augustine, and established the first English colony in the New World (sponsored by Walter Raleigh) at Roanoke Island, Virginia. This colony would fail. Martin Frobisher made vice admiral of the Primrose, a ship in Sir Francis Drake’s fleet. Francis Drake introduced tobacco to England.
1585 – France. War of the Three Henrys began. The Holy League forced King Henry III to exclude Henry Navarre as heir to the throne. Henry Navarre made war on both the King, and the Holy League (led by Henri de Lorraine).
1586 – Scotland. James I becomes allies with his cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England, by signing the Treaty of Berwick.
1586 – England. John Davis embarks on his second voyage, attempting to find the Northwest Passage to India.
July 31st, 1586 – England. Thomas Cavendish embarks on a voyage to retrace Sir Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the world. He takes with him three ships, the 120 ton Desire was his flagship. The other two ships were the Content, and the Hugh Gallant. His crews totaled 123 men, some of which were on Sir Francis Drake’s last voyage.
1586 – Spain. Juan Bautista and Juan de Tejeda sent to the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean. Both were prominent military architect engineers, and their jobs were to fortify the Spanish colonies against pirate attacks. Settlements that were fortified included Cartagena, Chagres River in Panama, Havana, San Juan de Ulua, Puerto Rico, and Santo Domingo.
1587 – Scotland. Mary, Queen of Scots executed.
March 6th, 1587 – The Straits of Magellan. Thomas Cavendish and his deathly sick crew pass into Pacific waters. The sickness may have been scurvy, but it was more than likely yellow fever or malaria that was picked up on an earlier stop on the west coast of Africa. After entering the Pacific, he was forced to abandon one of his ships, the Hugh Gallant. He raided the Viceroyalty of Peru but failed to take anything of considerable value.
1587 – The Netherlands. Jan Pieterszoon Coen born. He would become a Dutch merchant.
1587 – Puerto Rico. Beginning of the construction of El Morro – still there today.
July 19th, 1587 – Acajutla (Guatemala). Thomas Cavendish captures a 120-ton ship. There was little loot, but on the ship was Miguel Sanchez, a pilot who knew the Manila route. He was persuaded to tell the approximate times of arrival of more ships. The captured ship was set on fire, and the next day they captured another Spanish ship headed north to warn of Cavendish’s arrival. Cavendish then landed at Guatulco, Mexico, where they had minimal resistance and small loot. What would be regarded by Catholics as a miracle now occurred. The Protestants under Cavendish tried all sorts of ways to pull down a wooden cross that had been erected overlooking the bay. They couldn’t make it budge. Later this cross was said to cure speech impediments and problems in pregnancy. Splinters of this cross were taken by the locals as relics, and a smaller cross was built from the wood. This cross remains at the Oaxaca cathedral in southern Mexico to this day.
1587 – Spain. The Spanish Armada attempts to invade England. This was to stop Protestant England from aiding the Protestant Spanish Netherlands, as Spain and its subjects were Catholic nations. England was aware of the plan and Sir Francis Drake defeated the Spanish off the coast of Spain.
October 19th, 1587 – Mazatlan (Mexico). Thomas Cavendish and his crew sail to Cabo San Lucas on the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. While they waited for the arrival of the Manila ships, they hunted and fished.
1587 – Roanoke Island (Virginia). Sir Walter Raleigh tries again to establish an English colony on the island. Virginia Dare, the first English person born in America, was born here. Her grandfather, John White was one of the colony’s leaders. He was an English cartographer. John White returned to England, and when he returned to the colony in 1590, it was abandoned. This colony’s fate is shrouded in mystery.
November, 1587 – Baja California. The first Manila ship, the Nuestra Senora de la Esperanza sails by Thomas Cavendish and his crew, without their notice. The second ship, the Santa Ana arrived on November 14th. Cavendish’s crew intercepted them and after several attempts, they captured the ship and towed it to Cabo San Lucas. They killed a Catholic friar because of his profession (as they were Protestants). Their prize included 122,000 pesos in gold, cloth, and jewelry.
1587 – England. John Davis embarks on his third voyage, attempting to find the Northwest Passage to India. On this trip, he explored the west coast of Greenland. The Davis Strait was named after him.
1588 – Majorca (Balearic Islands). An Englishman, Richard Hasleton is tortured by the Tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition. He was so ill after the torture that he couldn’t eat for four or five days according to his account.
1588 – Europe. Once again, King Philip II of Spain sends the Spanish Armada, a fleet of 130 warships and 30,000 men to invade England. The English sent burning boats and burned many of the Spanish ships, and only 67 ships barely made it back to Spain. The war between England and Spain would continue for 16 more years. Sir Martin Frobisher was knighted for his heroic deeds in defeating the Spanish Armada. Sir John Hawkins was Admiral in command of HMS Victory and was also knighted for his heroism. John Davis also commanded an English ship during the battle.
September 20th, 1588 – Plymouth (England). Thomas Cavendish returns to England after a voyage around the world plundering Spanish ships and towns.
1588 – France. The Day of the Barricades. King Henry III forced to flee from Paris. King Henry had Henri de Lorraine and his brother, Louis de Lorraine killed, and declared Henry Navarre heir to the throne.
1589 – England. King James I marries Anne of Denmark, and is more influenced by Protestantism. He persecuted the Catholics.
1589 – Lima (Peru). Lima mint closes again.
1589 – England. Sir Francis Drake sent on an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the rest of the Spanish Armada.
August 1st, 1589 – Paris (France). King Henry III and Henry Navarre, allied together and leading the Huguenots, attempt to retake Paris. King Henry III stabbed and died the next day, replaced by Henry Navarre as King Henry IV of France.
1590s – Contraband animal hides from the Greater Antilles were being shipped to the Netherlands. Between 1592 and 1596, the Spaniards stopped seven Dutch smuggling ships at Margarita Island. In spite of this, the 1590s decade saw a dramatic growth of the Dutch Republic throughout the world.
1590 – Valencia (Spain). Inquisitional prison guard, Andre de Castro is accused of seducing women prisoners.
1590 – England. Sir John Hawkins sent to the Azores to capture a Spanish silver fleet. This trip was not successful.
1591 – England. Sir Walter Raleigh writes The Last Fight of the Revenge.
1591 – England. John Davis and Thomas Cavendish embark on another voyage. During the voyage to the South Seas, they discovered the Falkland Islands. Cavendish died during this voyage.
1591 - Spain. Once again, the Supreme Council of the Spanish Inquisition orders all convicted New Christians into the service of the Spanish warships.
1592 – England. Sir Martin Frobisher joins Sir Walter Raleigh in harassing Spanish treasure ships.
1592 – England. Queen Elizabeth I becomes angry with Sir Walter Raleigh after discovering he had married one of her maids of honor secretly. He would slowly regain the Queen’s favor.
1592 – Lima (Peru). A great Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) of the Inquisition was held. Included were three “pirates” from the crew of Thomas Cavendish.
1593 – Granada (Spain). A young woman named Garcia d’ Alarcon was described as “the most lovely woman in the whole kingdom.” She was tried by the Inquisition and “reconciled” and punished.
July, 1593 – London (England). A letter arrives from Grace O’Malley, asking for the Queen Elizabeth’s protection and offering to fight the Queen’s enemies. Then Grace O’Malley’s son was arrested by Governor Bingham for starting a rebellion. Grace O’Malley went to London herself to plead her case to the Queen.
1593 – France. Henry IV of France reconverts to Catholicism in an effort to end the conflict between the French Catholics and Protestants.
September 1593 – Greenwich Palace (England). Grace O’Malley wins the protection of Queen Elizabeth and her son is released on the Queen’s orders. Governor Bingham continued to hold her fleet of ships.
1594 – Lima (Peru). Sir Richard Hawkins (son of Sir John Hawkins) is captured off Ecuador and tried for being a Protestant by the Spanish Inquisition in Lima. He was then sent to Spain.
1594 – Cape of Good Hope (Africa). Dutchman Cornelis Houtman rounds the Cape of Good Hope, attempting to gather information previously learned by Drake and Cavendish. His destination was the East Indies.
1594 – Mexico City (Mexico). Fray Alonso de Peralta took over the Spanish Inquisition Tribunal in Mexico.
November 22nd, 1594 – Plymouth (England). Sir Martin Frobisher dies of his wounds from defending the French from the Spaniards near Brest France.
1594 – Duisburg (Germany). Gerardus Mercator dies.
1595 – England. Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins dispatched to destroy Spanish forces in the Caribbean Sea. The mission was unsuccessful, and eventually, both died of dysentery.
1595 – London (England). The story of Richard Hasleton’s imprisonment and escape from the Spanish Inquisition was published.
1595 – England. Sir Walter Raleigh departs to search for El Dorado – the city of gold. The voyage was fruitless.
November 22nd, 1595 – Puerto Rico. Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins attacked the island, and burn the town of San Juan.
1596 – Europe. The first Triple Alliance is negotiated between England, the Netherlands, and France, against Spain.
1596 – Seville (Spain). James Bolen, a Scotsman, was turned over by the Spanish Inquisition to the secular authorities for punishment.
1596 – Mexico City (Mexico). Sixty-six people punished in an Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
1596 – Mexico. Sebastian Vizcaino explores southern California.
1596 – England. Sir Walter Raleigh writes The Discovery of Guiana.
1597 – Ireland. Governor Bingham is succeeded by Sir Conyers Clifford, and Grace O’Malley’s fleet is returned to her. She put her fleet under the command of her sons, as she was getting old.
1598 – France. King Henry IV makes peace with Spain and also signs the Edict of Nantes – giving more freedom to the French Protestants.
June 15th, 1598 – Puerto Rico. George Clifford leads the British Navy in capturing the island for several months. They withdrew after a plague struck their men. Sugar is replaced by ginger as the main agricultural export from the island.
1598 - Abraham Ortelius dies.
June, 1598 – Dutch contrabandist, Pieter van der Haghen organizes an expedition into the Spanish Pacific. His intent was to explore possibilities for Dutch settlements and trading opportunities in Chile and the East Indies. The commander of the expedition was Jacob Mahu. With him were five large ships and 500 men. Their flagship was the 500-ton Hope. Several English pilots went along, including Timothy Shotten – who was in the 1587 Cavendish circumnavigation. They stopped at the Cape Verde Islands to trade, but the Portuguese refused to trade them supplies. Mahu died during the cruise along the west coast of Africa, while they were looking for fresh supplies. Finally they found cattle and fruit on Annobon Island off the coast of Africa.
1598 – Spain. Philip III becomes King of Spain and Naples upon his father’s (Philip II) death. He also became King of Portugal.
September 13th, 1598 – The Netherlands. Olivier van Noort departs on an expedition to the Pacific. The Dutchman had a fleet of four ships. The flagship, Maurice weighed 250 tons, and the Hendrick Frederick was a 300-ton ship. Two 50-ton barks, the Concord and Hope made up the remainder of the fleet. They stopped at the Guinea coast, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil but were not welcomed by the Portuguese locals.
1598 - Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada’s remains moved to Bogota – the city he founded.
November, 1598 – Puerto Deseado (South America). Olivier van Noort’s fleet landed in southern South America for the winter. One third of his crew of 248 had already died, and one of his 50-ton ships was barely floating. The only food provided by this barren region was penguin eggs and meat. In mid November, Olivier van Noort decided to cross the Straits of Magellan. He faced bad winds and almost had a mutiny. He met up with the Mahu ship, Faith, but both parties were short of rations and they each went their separate ways.
January, 1599 – The Dutch Mahu expedition continues, with Simon de Cordes replacing the late Mahu as commander. They headed for the Straits of Magellan.
1599 – Spain. King Philip III issues an edict giving the Moriscos (Moors) of Valencia a last chance to reconcile with the Catholic Church.
1599 – Valdivia (Chile). The native Mapuches revolt and force the Spanish to abandon Valdivia.
April, 1599 – The Straits of Magellan. The Mahu expedition runs into trouble and is stopped on the southern tip of South America for the remainder of the winter. They stayed in Great Bay, where 120 men died from exposure, disease, hunger, and at the hands of the ten to eleven-foot tall native giants whom Magellan had previously called the Patagones or “Big Feet.” After numerous additional troubles, only one ship, the Faith, and thirty-six survivors from the Mahu expedition would return to Europe in July of 1600.
1599 – Venezuela. The first fleet of Dutch salt gatherers lands at Punta de Araya, Venezuela.
1599 – Puerto Rico. After the British invasion, 400 Spanish soldiers were sent to the island along with a new governor and 46 cannons. The Governor, Alonso de Mercado and his men rebuilt the town of San Juan.
1599 – 1605 – Araya Peninsula (Venezuela). About 100 Dutch salt smuggling ships a year were shipping to the Netherlands between 200 and 400 tons of salt per ship.
February, 1600 – The South Pacific. Olivier van Noort’s fleet makes it to the South Pacific. However, the stormy weather separated the fleet, and Olivier van Noort headed north in the Maurice.
Early 1600 – Callao (Peru). Juan de Velasco is put in command of three Spanish galleons. His job was to transport the bullion shipments from Callao to Panama, and to patrol for Dutch sea rovers.
March, 1600 – The South Pacific. Olivier van Noort and his crew trade with the natives on Mocha Island. They traded axes and knives for food and departed to Santa Maria, where they were to rendezvous with Pieter Esaiasz de Lint of the Hendrick Frederick (which never happened). During the journey to Santa Maria, they captured the Spanish ship, Buen Jesus, commanded by Don Francisco de Ibarra. Prior to being captured, the Spaniards threw their cargo of gold overboard. But the ship did provide Olivier van Noort with a knowledgeable pilot. On the 28th, they took another Spanish ship, the Los Picos, which had much needed provisions. On April 1st, they landed at Huasco and released the Buen Jesus. They threw the pilot overboard after he complained about them poisoning him, and they set fire to the Los Picos. Olivier van Noort and the Maurice then sailed for the Philippines and Ladronas Islands.
May and June, 1600. Pieter Esaiasz de Lint of the Hendrick Frederick searches for the Maurice – to no avail. They engaged several Spanish ships at Santa Maria, Arica, and Concepcion. They then put ashore prisoners including an unhappy member of their own crew at Guayaquil. The Hendrick Frederick continued north to Panama and beyond.
1600 – Scotland. The Gowrie Conspiracy took place, and James I again sympathized with the Catholics and suppressed the Protestants.
1600 – Japan. The Dutch establish an exclusive trade relationship with the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan.
August, 1600 – Salagua (Mexico). Juan de Velasco and his fleet of Spanish galleons disappear during a hurricane.
August, 1600 – Coiba Island. Dutch captain Pieter Esaiasz de Lint stops to careen the Hendrick Frederick. Later, at Cano Island, he captured a ship carrying a cargo of maize. From this ship, they imprisoned a Franciscan friar named Agustin de Cavallos, who recorded the last account of the Hendrick Frederick. The Hendrick Frederick then captured a small Portuguese ship and recruited three Africans and a Dutchman for their crew.
December 14th, 1600 – The Philippines. Olivier van Noort attacks ships from Manila. Spanish commander, Antonio de Morga of the San Diego loses his ship in a battle with Olivier van Noort after a well placed cannonball penetrated the hull of the San Diego. Nearly 200 of Morga’s men drowned when the ship sank.
December 31st, 1600 – England. Queen Elizabeth I charters the English East India Company to trade with the people of the East Indies.
1601 – France. Louis XIII born. He would become King of France.
April or May, 1601 – Termate (Molucca Islands). The Hendrick Frederick arrives at the Dutch outpost. Nothing is known of the Hendrick Frederick or her crew after this point.
1601 – Mexico City (Mexico). 120 people are punished in an Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith). By this time there had been 879 trials in the Mexico Tribunal.
August 27th, 1601 – Rotterdam (The Netherlands). Olivier van Noort and the Maurice return home, being the first Dutchman to circumnavigate the world. Meanwhile, the Hendrick Frederick from the Noort expedition vanished.
1602 –1603 – North America. Sebastian Vizcaino explores and names Monterey Bay and the west coast, from Mexico, to as far north as the Columbia River.
1602 – The Netherlands. Foundation of the Dutch East India Company from a group of smaller trading companies.
1603 – England. Queen Elizabeth I dies, leaving no heirs to her crown. James I becomes ruler of England. James I disliked Walter Raleigh, and had him sentenced to death for treason, but instead Raleigh was imprisoned in the Tower of London.
1603 – Ireland. Female pirate Grace O’Malley dies.
1603 – Spain. Richard Hawkins (son of Sir John Hawkins) is ransomed back to the English.
1603 – The Netherlands. Abel Janszoon Tasmin born. He would become a Dutch navigator.
1603 – North America. Samuel de Champlain makes his first voyage to North America, on a fur trading mission.
1604 – England. James I ends war with Spain with the Treaty of London. The war bankrupted Spain, and firmly established Protestantism as the religion of England. He also authorized the translation of the Bible (King James Version).
1604 – North America. Samuel de Champlain makes his second trip to North America, with the intent of settling the area, named Acadia. Most of the settlers died of scurvy that winter.
1605 – Singapore. English navigator John Davis killed by Japanese pirates.
July 6th, 1605 – Spain. King Philip III issues an edict commissioning Luis Fajardo to capture and execute Dutch salt smugglers.
1605 – Valladolid (Spain). Philip IV born. He would become the King of Spain and Portugal.
September, 1605 – Venezuela. Dutch salt gatherers punished by the Spaniards with the Luis Fajardo expedition. Fajardo had at his command fourteen galleons, and four smaller ships. The total of his men was 2,500.
1605 – Hispaniola Island. Depopulation policy is instituted on the northern portion of the island.
1605 – England. Catholics attempt to assassinate James I with the “Gunpowder Plot” in which they hid thirty-six barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords. This failed attempt was the result of oppressive laws against Catholics passed by James I. James I gave his daughter, Elizabeth to marry Frederick V, leader of the Protestants in Germany to promote religious peace in Europe. He also offered his son, Charles I to the infanta of Spain. The latter rejected his proposal and England and France joined forces in war against Spain.
1605 – Canada. Samuel de Champlain moves his settlement to the southern side of the Bay of Fundy. He named this settlement Port Royal. He explored and charted the coastlines as far south as Cape Cod.
1606 – Cuba. Luis Fajardo and his first officer, Juan Alvarez de Aviles attack approximately twenty-four salt smugglers, mostly Dutch. For a period, the salt smuggling was blotted out. More expensive Portuguese salt became available in the previous year, and now it was more desirable because it involved less risk
1606 – Venezuela. Tobacco farmers are imprisoned as traitors for growing tobacco. Growing tobacco in Venezuela had been previously outlawed by the Spanish because it was often traded outside of the Spanish monopoly. Tobacco farmers soon moved to more remote locations in Venezuela, along the Orinoco River.
1606 – The Pacific Ocean. Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, a Spanish explorer, discovered Butaritari, a small island in the Gilbert Islands of the South Pacific.
1607 – Indonesia. During Jan Pieterszoon Coen’s first trip with the Dutch East India Company, his captain was killed by natives. He returned to the Netherlands.
1607 – Virginia. The English establish tobacco plantations in the colony.
1607 – Vlissingen (The Netherlands). Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter born. He would later become a commander in the Dutch Navy.
1608 – England. Henry Hudson embarks on his first voyage for the English Muscovy Company. His mission was to find the fabled Northwest Passage to the Far East. He sailed the coast of Greenland and the Svalbard Islands in his ship, the Hopewell.
July 3rd, 1608, Canada. City of Quebec established by Samuel de Champlain
1608 – Austria. Ferdinand III born. He would become the Holy Roman Emperor.
1608 – Valladolid (Spain). Twenty-two-year-old wife of Francisco Dalos, Isabella was tried by the Inquisitional tribunal. She was tried five more times during her life, and spent a total of eighteen years in prison. The last trial began in 1665 and lasted until 1670. She was tortured three times in spite of the fact that she was now eighty years old. She was then burned.
1608 – England. Henry Hudson sails again in the Hopewell, financed again by the English Muscovy Company, still not finding the Northwest Passage. He sailed via the Novaya Zemlya Islands. When he returned, the English Muscovy Company withdrew its funding.
April, 1609 – Spain. King Philip III deports the last of the Morisco “New Christians” who converted from Islam. The same year a Portuguese man returned from France with stories of the misconduct of almost 200 people. The Inquisition, which encouraged people to report events like this, began investigating the relatives of the 200.
1609 – Valladolid (Spain). The public is furious after a man condemned by the Inquisition wasn’t burned at the stake. A lot of this anger might have been to prevent them from looking too sympathetic towards the condemned man, in the eyes of the Inquisition.
1609 – Europe. End of the first Triple Alliance, and a twelve-year truce is called between the Dutch and Spain. The Netherlands (Dutch) had been fighting for independence from Spain.
1609 – Texel Island. Henry Hudson becomes employed by the Dutch East India Company. He sails in the Half Moon for the Novaya Zemlya again, hoping to find the Northwest Passage. His crew mutinied from the cold weather. Hudson sailed southwest to Nova Scotia, and eventually New York Bay, hoping to find an isthmus linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He explored the Hudson River (named for him) and returns to England. His ship was seized and he was commanded to only sail for the English.
1609 – Canada. Samuel de Champlain and his Indian allies attack the Iroquois and this resulted in intermittent fighting for the next ninety years, and the near destruction of the colony.
1610 – France. King Henry IV of France assassinated by a Catholic extremist. He was succeeded by his son, Louis XIII. Louis XIII’s mother served as a regent until he was old enough to rule.
1610 – Cartagena (Columbia). An independent tribunal of the Spanish Inquisition is established in what was then known as New Granada.
1610 – India. The English East India Company establishes factories and trading posts in Bombay and Madras.
1610 – England. Henry Hudson embarks on his last voyage – working for another English company. His ship was named the Discovery. He explored the Hudson Strait and Hudson’s Bay (both named after him), and once again, he was faced with a mutiny in 1611. He was set adrift and never heard from again. His crew arrived back in England and were imprisoned.
1611 – 1614 – Eastern Asia. Sebastian Vizcaino brings Spanish missionaries to the Philippines, in an unsuccessful attempt to establish trading relations with Japan.
1612 – Europe. Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II is replaced by Matthias I.
1612 – Indonesia. Jan Pieterszoon Coen becomes chief merchant of the Dutch East India Company.
1612 – Canada. Samuel de Champlain named Lieutenant of the Viceroy of New France. He allied the French with the Indians of the region, and made it his goal to find the fabled Northwest Passage – a route through the continent to the Pacific that never existed.
1612 – England. Sir Walter Raleigh promises King James I that if he were released, he would find a fortune in gold for him. The King releases him, on the condition that Raleigh never attacks the Spanish on the mission. Raleigh departs with his son for Guiana.
1613 – Canada. Samuel de Champlain explores the Ottawa River, which would later become a major trading highway.
1613 – England. Sir Henry Mainwaring begins his career as a pirate; he attacked Spanish ships in the English Channel and off the Spanish coast.
1614 – Cartagena (Columbia). Cartagena’s first Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) occurs. A rowdy bunch of natives and Negroes threw fruits at the victims. The authorities made them stop in order for the Auto to be carried out in a dignified manner.
1614 – London (England). Sir Walter Raleigh, while in prison, completes his History of the World.
1614 – Asia. Jan Pieterszoon Coen appointed director general for the Dutch East India Company’s operations in Asia.
August 8th, 1614 – The Netherlands. Joris van Speilbergen commands a Dutch fleet of four ships, two yachts and 700 men. They departed on a voyage around the world. 350 of the men were French and German soldiers, and they were told they were bound for India, but the details of the route they would take to get there was kept secret. Joris van Speilbergen planned on crossing both the Atlantic and Pacific. Several disgruntled soldiers later defected and told the Spaniards their superiors’ plans.
January, 1615 – Sao Vicente (Brazil). Joris van Speilbergen’s fleet arrives but Portuguese trading policies changed and they weren’t allowed to trade with the Brazilians. In response, Joris van Speilbergen’s crew captured a ship, and burned a church and a sugar mill. The Peruvian viceroy heard news of this, and planned defense strategies. Joris van Speilbergen and his fleet headed for the Straits of Magellan. One of his yachts deserted after the hanging of two officers for treason. It took a month to pass through the Straits. They stopped in Cordes Bay. Their men starved, while Joris van Speilbergen and his officers dined like royalty.
1615 – France. King Louis XIII of France marries Princess Anne of Austria, the daughter of King Philip III of Spain. Louis XIII’s mother arranged this wedding.
1615 – Canete (Peru). South Sea Fleet destroyed by Speilbergen.
May 26th, 1615 – Mocha (Chile). Joris van Speilbergen’s fleet arrives and trades with the local natives. His next destination was Santa Maria Island. When the Dutchmen arrived, they found the locals unwilling to trade, and the Dutch burned the settlement and looted it. In the process, a Spanish informant, Juan Cornejo revealed the whereabouts of the Spanish fleet, which was looking for them.
1615 – Spain. The most of the Moriscos (Moors of Islamic faith) were now deported. It has been estimated that between 300,000 and 3,000,000 Moriscos had been banished from the country.
June 3rd, 1615 – Concepcion (Chile). Joris van Speilbergen and his fleet anchor off shore, but remain in the safety of their ships because the town was prepared for an attack. On the 12th, they landed at Valparaiso and sent 200 men ashore to salvage what was left of the intentionally burned town. Then they sailed to Papudo and two Germans deserted. Two prisoners were also released here.
July 2nd, 1615 – The South Pacific. Joris van Speilbergen lands at Arica, hoping to capture Spanish silver, but the treasure galleons had already picked it up – much to the relief of the locals. On the 16th, a merchant ship was captured near Pisco. On it were 7,000 pieces of eight and a cargo of olives. The next day, south of Lima, they were met by the Peruvian fleet of seven ships, 620 men, and fifty-six cannons. A two-day battle was fought, and the Dutch won. The remainder of the Peruvian ships fled to Pisco. Speilbergen made the most of the situation and attacked Callao and Lima. The defenses of the two settlements were made to appear greater than they actually were, and the Dutch sailed north on July 26th for an easier target. On the 28th, they sacked the deserted town of Huarmey for food. A Frenchman deserted, and some prisoners were released here.
1615 – The Netherlands. Willem Cornelis Schouten organizes a company to rival the Dutch East India Company by finding a new route to the Far East.
1615 - Sebastian Vizcaino dies.
August 9th, 1615 – Paita (Peru). Joris van Speilbergen attacks the town. After fierce resistance, the Dutch won, and sacked the town. Then they stayed there for two weeks resting and eating. They missed several valuable opportunities to capture rich prizes, because the Spaniards – aware of the Dutch’s presence, diverted their plans to avoid the Dutch. Joris van Speilbergen sailed north, intent on capturing a Manila galleon.
October 11th, 1615 – Acapulco (Mexico). Joris van Speilbergen lands to look for citrus fruits to fight scurvy. The Dutch offered to release prisoners in exchange for food. The Spaniards agreed, and even offered hospitality. A week later, the Dutch departed and headed north.
1615 – England. Sir Henry Mainwaring is pardoned for piracy, made a member of parliament, and became naval commissioner.
December 2nd, 1615 – Cape Corrientes. Joris van Speilbergen departs and crosses the Pacific.
1616 – Guiana (South America). Sir Walter Raleigh’s son departs to find El Dorado, and they attack a Spanish town, and his son is killed. Raleigh returns to England.
1616 – Ireland. Don Guillen de Lampart born. He would later be executed by the Inquisition – as one of the most famous persons to suffer from the Inquisition outside of Europe.
1616 – The Netherlands. Willem Cornelis Schouten and Jakob le Maire are the first to sail around Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America. Schouten named it after Hoorn, where he was born. They made it to Indonesia.
1617 – France. King Louis XIII becomes independent of his mother, and officially rules France.
1617 – Spain. A young man who wanted to gain favor in the eyes of the Inquisition, reported misconduct of 117 people, including a former Inquisitional officer. The Inquisition encouraged “tattle-tales” as they steadily collected evidence against most anybody.
July 1st, 1617 – The Netherlands. Joris van Speilbergen arrives back to his home country after a three-year voyage around the world. The Dutch remained outside Pacific waters for about the next ten years.
1617 – England. Sir Henry Mainwaring complains that many sailors are lured to piracy under the pretense that only the pirate captains and leaders were hanged. By the 1700s, this had changed, and most pirates were being executed.
1617 – Indonesia. Jan Pieterszoon Coen appointed by the Dutch government as Governor of the East Indies.
1618 – Europe. Beginning of the Thirty Year’s War, a religious war that involved countries in Western Europe and was mainly fought in Germany.
October 29th, 1618 – England. Sir Walter Raleigh beheaded at the orders of the angry King James I.
1619 – Indonesia. Jan Pieterszoon Coen founded the settlement of Batavia (now known as Jakarta).
1619 – Columbia. Cartagena mint possibly opened, though not authorized until 1622. It would produce few coins, sporadically.
1619 – Europe. Emperor Mathias I dies and Ferdinand II becomes the Holy Roman Emperor. He was the grandson of Emperor Ferdinand I.
1620s – The Netherlands. Peter Minuit moves to the Netherlands, and joins the Dutch West India Company.
1620 – Brazil. The Dutch begin growing tobacco in the northern portions of Brazil.
1621 – Spain. King Philip III of Spain and Portugal dies, and is succeeded by his son, Philip IV.
June 3rd, 1621 – The Netherlands. The Dutch West India Company started. This company had a monopoly of trade with the Americas and Africa. Twelve-year truce between the Spanish and Dutch ends.
1621 – Araya Peninsula (South America). Dutch salt smugglers resume transporting contraband salt to Europe.
1622 – Columbia. Bogota mint opened. This mint was the first in the New World to produce gold coins.
1622 – England. Sir Richard Hawkins publishes Voyage into the South Sea. It was a memoir of his voyages.
September 6th, 1622 – The Florida Keys. The famous Spanish treasure ships Nuestra Senora de Atocha and the Santa Margarita were sunk in a hurricane. Only 5 people survived. Part of the Santa Margarita's treasure was salvaged by the Spaniards in a diving bell, but when they returned, the wreck couldn't be located. The ships were found in 1985 by Mel Fisher and his team of treasure hunters.
April 29th, 1623 – The Netherlands. Admiral Jacques l’Hermite leads a large expedition against Spanish colonies and shipping. This expedition – known as the Nassau Fleet, was composed of eleven large ships (between 300 to 800 tons). The crews totaled 1,630 men and they had a total of 294 cannons. It was a rough journey to the Pacific, in that two of their ships collided, and the signal cannon on the flagship exploded.
1623 - Goa (India). A Portuguese Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held in Goa. It is also estimated that by this year, there had been as many as 3,800 Inquisition trials in Goa.
March 28th, 1624 – Chile. The Nassau Fleet under Dutch Admiral Jacques l’Hermite rounds Cape Horn through the Strait of Lemaire, and sights the Chilean coast. l’Hermite began to have the gout. As it turned out, the ship’s surgeon was poisoning the crew instead of trying to cure them. After being tortured, he confessed to witchcraft and was beheaded. In April, the Nassau Fleet congregated at the Juan Fernandez Islands.
1624 – Brazil. Dutch Admiral Piet Heyn, commanding twenty-six ships and 3,300 men, seizes control of Bahia de Todos os Santos on the northeast coast of Brazil.
May and June, 1624 – The South Pacific. The Nassau Fleet attacks various settlements in Chile and Peru. In May, a force of four ships commanded by Cornelisz Jacobsz sailed to Arica and Pisco but didn’t take either of the settlements. Another party of 200 men under Johan Willemsz Verschoor took the settlement of Puna. In June, Admiral Jacques l’Hermite died and Vice-Admiral Hugo Schapenham became commander of the Nassau Fleet. A crew under successfully attacked Guayaquil – which was entirely unprepared for the attack. The Dutch pirates under Verschoor burned the town and tortured the residents.
1624 – The Caribbean. Pieter Schouten – working for the Dutch West India Company and commanding three ships – captures a Spanish galleon from Honduras.
1624 – Coimbra (Portugal). A group of people connected to the University of Coimbra are arrested. Among these were the Professor of Canon Law, and the Reader of Mathematics. Several of this group were executed by the Inquisition during an Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
August 5th, 1624 – The Pacific. Verschoor and his crew rejoin the Nassau Fleet at Callao. The Spaniards built up their defenses and rejected a proposal to exchange prisoners with the Dutch. The Dutch crew was becoming mutinous, and on the 14th, Schapenham abandoned his blockade. A second raid on Guayaquil was unsuccessful.
October, 1624 – Acapulco (Mexico). The Nassau Fleet sails north to Mexico. They attempted to exchange prisoners for food, but were unsuccessful. They sailed for the East Indies.
March 27th, 1625 – England. King James I dies and is replaced by his son, Charles I.
1625 – Cordova (Spain). Twenty-five out of fifty people “reconciled” by the Inquisition were Portuguese from the town of Baeza.
1625 – Brazil. Spaniards under the command of Fadrique de Toledo recapture Bahia de Todos os Santos from the Dutch.
1625 – Germany. Emperor Ferdinand II defeats the Protestants in Germany.
1625 – Java. Schapenham of the Dutch Nassau Fleet dies.
1625 – The Netherlands? Willem Cornelis Schouten dies.
September 24th, 1625 – Puerto Rico. Dutch fleet commanded by Boudewijn Hendricksz raids San Juan. However, he failed to capture the fort, and suffered heavy losses. He and his heavily damaged ships retreated.
February, 1626 – The Caribbean. Dutch fleet commanded by Boudewijn Hendricksz attempts to sack Margarita Island, but fails. They then waited near Havana for the Spanish treasure fleet to pass. Hendricksz died before the fleet appeared, and his men sailed back to Holland empty-handed.
1626 – Manhattan Island. Peter Minuit purchased the island from the Indians for a bunch of trinkets valued at 60 Dutch guilders (worth $24.00 by today’s standards. He became director of the colony which was called New Amsterdam – what would later be New York City.
1627 – Bohemia. Emperor Ferdinand II abolishes the practice of all religions except for Roman Catholicism.
1627 – The Caribbean. Dutchman, Hendrick Jacobszoon Lucifer leads a squadron of ships on a raiding expedition against Spanish colonies.
1628 – 1635 – The West Indies. Dutch sea rovers relentlessly attack Spanish settlements and ships.
1628 – Grand Bahama. A ship, name unknown, was probably one of the 1628 Spanish treasure fleet that was attacked by Dutch pirate Pieter Heyn in 1628. The wreck of this ship is known as the Lucayan Beach Wreck. The ship carried mostly Mexican minted coins.
1628 – The Caribbean. The English establish tobacco plantations on the islands of St. Kitts and Nevis.
September 8th, 1628 – The West Indies. Pieter Heyn’s fleet of thirty-two ships, 700 guns, and 3,500 men attack a Spanish treasure fleet of fifteen ships between Mexico and Havana. The commander of the Spanish fleet, Juan de Benavides, headed for Matanzas Bay, east of Havana. His ships ran aground on the shoals and Pieter Heyn captured the entire treasure fleet. Benavides was arrested by the Spaniards for negligence. Pieter Heyn’s treasure was estimated to be worth 4.8 million pieces of eight. The shareholders of the Dutch West India Company got high dividends, and Heyn’s crew rioted in the streets of Amsterdam because they received only a small payment for their services.
1629 – 1640 – The West Indies. Spaniards launch their first large-scale naval expeditions in the New World.
1629 – The West Indies. Spaniards under Fadrique de Toledo capture islands of St. Kitts and Nevis.
1629 – Canada. English privateers capture French supply ships and demand the surrender of Quebec. The few colonists were forced to surrender, as they were outnumbered and had few supplies. Samuel de Champlain was imprisoned in England.
Late 1620s – Tortuga. Buccaneers establish a base on the rocky island.
1629 – Indonesia. Jan Pieterszoon Coen dies of dysentery during a battle with the Muslims of Mataram, who were attacking Batavia.
1629 – Havana (Cuba). Part African slave, Diego de Los Reyes turns renegade and pirate.
1630 – The Caribbean. More and more discontented crewmembers of the Dutch West India Company see life as pirates more attractive.
1630? – The West Indies. Buccaneers migrate to the northwest portion of Hispaniola Island, and settle the island of Tortuga – it would become a regular pirate hideout because of its location near the Spanish shipping lanes. These pirates were comprised of French buccaneers, criminals, escaped slaves, and religious refugees.
1630s – Campeche (Mexico). Dutchman, Cornelis Jol repeatedly raids Campeche.
1630 – Brazil. Dutch sea rovers capture northeastern Brazil.
1630 – Madrid (Spain). A secret group was discovered by the Inquisition practicing non-Catholic religion in a house in the Calle de las Infantas. The members were punished in an Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) in Toledo two years later on July 4th. The house was ceremonially destroyed, and a convent was built on the grounds.
May 29th, 1630 – London (England). Charles II born. He would become the Prince of Wales and eventually the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
1630 – Tortuga. The French establish tobacco plantations on the island.
1630 – Valladolid (Spain). An Inquisitional prisoner falsely tells a story of a man in Zamora who tried to convert him to Judaism. Officers were sent to Zamora and they failed to find the street the person lived on, much less the person himself. The prisoner was tried for fraud and for mocking the Inquisition. He was exiled from Valladolid for six years.
1631 – New Amsterdam. Peter Minuit sails back to Europe after a conflict with the Dutch West India Company.
1632 – The West Indies. Parts of the island of Dominica settled by the French.
July 4th, 1632 – Toledo (Spain). An Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held in honor of the Queen’s safe delivery. All the Royal Family, and the Ambassadorial corps were present and seven people were burned at the stake.
1632 – The Netherlands. Abel Janszoon Tasman joins the service of the Dutch East India Company.
1632 – 1633 – A Spanish treasure fleet makes it to Spain from the Americas, unmolested. However, it was accompanied by an armed escort that cost 1.4 million pieces of eight to furnish. Many merchants were more willing to take their chances with pirates than to pay the expense of an armed escort.
1633 – Canada. After being released from prison the previous year, Samuel de Champlain returned to try to rebuild what was lost in the English attack.
1633 – St. Martin (The West Indies). Marquis de Cadereyta captures the island from the Dutch.
1634 – The West Indies. Spanish island Curacao seized by the Dutch. It would be taken by the English and the Dutch several times.
1634 – Catalina Island. Spaniards – aided by an Irishman named Juan Morf drive English settlers off the island.
May, 1634 – Seville (Spain). Juan de Benavides executed for negligence and abandonment of duty. This was the result of the loss of his treasure fleet to the Dutch under Pieter Heyn in 1628.
August 11th, 1634 – Peru. The Inquisition arrests eighty-one people, the majority were prominent merchants of Lima. Their property was confiscated, and the local economy suffered greatly as a result.
1634 – Canterbury (England). Mary Carleton born. She would become an actress, and then the most notorious prostitute in Port Royal, Jamaica.
1635 – England. English privateer Henry Morgan born.
1635 – The West Indies. Islands of Martinique, and Guadeloupe settled by a French business involved with colonizing the New World.
1635 – Quebec. Samuel de Champlain dies.
1635 – Badajoz (Spain). Portuguese non-Catholics are located in the frontier town by the Inquisition. A hundred and fifty managed to escape arrest. The Llerena Tribunal spent several years trying to track them down.
1635 – Europe. France becomes involved in the Thirty Year’s War, as an ally to Sweden and the German Protestants.
1636 – The West Indies. Island of Aruba settled by the Dutch, and became the headquarters for the Dutch East India Company.
1636 – Santa Catalina Island. English settlers and African slaves return to the island.
1637 – Scotland. Charles I of England alienated Protestants in Scotland by attempting to impose Anglican liturgy on them.
1637 – Portobello (Panama). The half African pirate, Diego de Los Reyes is promoted by the Dutch as a captain. He robbed Englishman, Thomas Gage this year.
1637 – Europe. Emperor Ferdinand II dies, and his son, Ferdinand III replaces him as Holy Roman Emperor.
1637 – Sweden. Peter Minuit departs to establish a Swedish colony in what is now Delaware.
1638 – Delaware. Peter Miniut established Fort Christina at the location of what is now Wilmington, Delaware. It was named after the Queen of Sweden, and the neighboring land was called New Sweden. Miniut died in a storm at sea shortly afterwards.
September 5th, 1638 – St. Germain-en-Laye (France). Louis XIV born. He would hold the longest reign in the history of Europe as King of France.
January 23rd, 1639 – Lima (Peru). A great Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held by the Inquisition in which seventy victims were punished. Around sixty of them were accused of being Judaisers, and eleven were burned. Out of the eleven, seven were burned alive. Included were Francisco Maldonado de Silva (one of the most well-known martyrs of the Inquisition), and Manual Bautista Perez (one of Lima’s most prominent merchants).
1640 – England. The English Revolution (also known as the Puritan Revolution) began. King Charles I believed that the King should have divine and absolute power over his subjects. After dissolving one parliament after another, he called for the Long Parliament and there followed two civil wars over the next twenty years, resulting in his monarchy reestablished in the form of his son, Charles II.
1640 – Portugal. A revolt results in Philip IV losing power over Portugal.
1640? – Tortuga. French Huguenot and buccaneer le Vasseur builds a stronghold on the island. This fort was nicknamed the “dove-cote.” Le Vasseur taxed the buccaneers’ hide and tobacco trades with a sort of tyranny. The French authorities disapproved of his chiefdom.
1640 – Catalonia (Spain). Beginning of a revolt against King Philip IV of Spain.
1640 – Vienna (Austria). Emperor Leopold I born.
1641 – Hispaniola Island. Spanish treasure ship Concepcion sank off the coast of Hispaniola. She carried around 60,000 cob coins, many were rare ones minted in Columbia and Cartagena.
1641 – Santa Catalina Island. Spaniards retake the island from the English. The English settlers would try in vain to recapture the island, but many were killed in the process.
1641 – Brazil. By this time, the Dutch have conquered much of northeastern Brazil.
January 8th, 1642 – Arcetri (Italy) Galileo dies.
1642 – Indonesia. Abel Janszoon Tasman selected by the Dutch East India Company to find a passage to Chile and investigate the then legendary continent of Australia. He found Tasmania (later named after him), New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga. He sailed around Australia without ever seeing it.
1642 – The Caribbean. It is the height of competition between Spain and England for establishing permanent colonies in the Caribbean. English Captain William Jackson led an expedition against Spanish settlements with a crew of 1,100 men. They ransomed Santiago de la Vega (now known as Spanish Town), Jamaica. Twenty-three volunteered to stay with the Spanish because they were impressed with the island’s beauty. Not much loot was taken.
October 23rd, 1642 – England. The first civil war breaks out at Edgehill.
November 6th, 1642 – The Netherlands. The Dutch send Hendrick Brouwer with three ships and two yachts and 250 men. This was an attempt to establish colonies in Valdivia, Chile.
January, 15th, 1643 – Recife. Hendrick Brouwer stopps for food and water, then sails for the Straits of Magellan.
1643 – France. King Louis XIII of France dies, and is replaced by his son, Louis XIV.
May – August, 1643 – The South Pacific. Hendrick Brouwer’s crew sails the area of Chile, and in July, they persuaded 470 Indians to aid in establishing a settlement at Valdivia. Hendrick Brouwer died before this was realized. After a period, the natives began to distrust the Dutch and the settlement dwindled to nothing.
1643 – Tortuga. Between 500 and 600 Spanish soldiers sent from Santa Domingo to Tortuga, with the intentions of capturing the buccaneer, le Vasseur. They were defeated, and le Vasseur and his fort were undisturbed until the 1650s.
1643 – Spain. George Penn, who was a Quaker and uncle to the colonizer William Penn, was arrested by the Spanish Inquisition.
1644 – Valladolid (Spain). Don Lope de Vera y Alarcon burned at the stake by the Inquisition in an Auto de Fe (Act of Faith). He was accused of being a Jew, in spite of his Old Christian lineage.
1644 - Abel Janszoon Tasman, on his second voyage, followed the Australian coast for a distance. At that time, Australia was called New Holland.
1645 – England. Church of England Prayer Book banned, as more people moved to Protestant-influenced Puritanism.
1645 – Brazil. Rebellion against the Dutch begins. This would last until 1654 when the Dutch lost possession of northeastern Brazil.
1645 – Greenock (Scotland). Pirate Captain William Kidd born.
1645 – Cuenca (Spain). Balthazar Lopez, a Court Saddler was arrested by the Inquisition. He was condemned.
May 5th, 1646 – England. King Charles I surrenders to Scottish army.
1647 – Naples (Italy). A revolt occurs against King Philip IV of Spain (who ruled Naples at that time).
1647 – Lisbon (Portugal). Isaac de Castro Tartas burned at the stake by the Inquisition. As he burned, his cries professing his undying faith moved the spectators to the point that they repeated his words over and over until they were ordered to stop.
1647 – Spain. Portuguese Marrano merchant, Duarte da Silva arrested by the Inquisition. The Lisbon exchange dropped by 5% as a result. One of the goals of the Spanish Inquisition was to undermine Portuguese credit.
1647 – Valladolid (Spain). An Inquisitional prisoner fabricated a story about meetings on Fridays at the house of the Paymaster of the Army on the Portuguese front. His intentions were to be released. Many arrests were made in Ciudad Real as a result of the phony story.
1647 – Spain. Local Tribunals of the Spanish Inquisition are ordered to submit all sentences to the Inquisitor General for review.
1648 – Europe. End of the Thirty Year’s War and the signing of the Peace of Westphalia. This meant peace between Spain and the Netherlands, but not Dutch piracy.
1648 – The Bahamas. English settle on the Bahama Islands, establishing the town of New Providence.
March 29th, 1648 – Seville (Spain). Simon Rodrigues Nunez, a Maranno merchant was sentenced by the Inquisition to be burned alive. A great crowd gathered to watch, and they expressed disappointment when Nunez confessed and was garroted before being fed to the flames.
1648 – The West Indies. Island of Saint Martin settled at the same time by the Dutch and French. They divided the island as per to an agreement.
1648 – France. Beginning of the Fronde, a series of battles against the King of France. The Parliament of Paris objected to Cardinal Mazarin’s heavy taxation.
January 20th, 1649 – England. The “Rump Parliament” tries King Charles I of treason, and on January 27th, he was sentenced to death and beheaded at Whitehall, London. England was ruled as a republic until the monarchy was restored in 1660.
March 1649 – France. A compromise is made between the French Monarchy and the Parliament of Paris, ending the 1648 “Fronde” conflict.
April 11th, 1649 – Mexico City (Mexico). The greatest Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) outside of Spain was held. The Inquisition punished 109 people, all but one were accused of Judaising. An enormous crowd attended, and the countryside was deserted for 200 miles around.
1650 – France. Second phase of the Fronde begins, as French nobles attempt to overthrow Louis XIV, unsuccessfully.
November 14th, 1650 – Holland. William III (William of Orange) born. He would later become England’s deliverer from the tyrant King James II.
1650 – Lisbon (Portugal). Poet and politician, Manoel Fernandes Villareal was arrested by the Inquisition. He was burned two years after.
1650 – The West Indies. City of St. George’s established on the Island of Grenada by the French.
1652 – Europe. Beginning of the First Anglo-Dutch War.
1652 – England. William Dampier born. He would later become a pirate and explorer.
1653 – Holland. Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter becomes Vice Admiral of Holland.
1653 – Catalonia (Spain). End of the rebellion in Catalonia.
1653 – Plymouth (England). The pirate captain, Henry Avery (Long Ben) born.
1653 – The Caribbean. De Poincy, the French governor of St. Kitts, thinks up a scheme to dislodge le Vasseur from his power in Tortuga. De Poincy sent his nephew to invite le Vasseur to St. Kitts to celebrate le Vasseur’s victory over the Spanish invaders. His plan was to have his nephew take over Tortuga as soon as le Vasseur was gone. Le Vasseur was wise to De Poincy’s plans, and he opted to celebrate in his “dove-cote” at Tortuga. However, during a quarrel amongst two men – Thibault and Martin, le Vasseur was murdered. De Poincy sent Chevalier de Fontenay to rule Tortuga and northwestern Hispaniola Island. The Spaniards were angered by the intrusion of their territory on Hispaniola Island.
1653 – France. End of the “Fronde” battles. Louis XIV’s power increased as a result.
November, 1653 – Hispaniolia Island. Spanish leader of Santo Domingo, Juan Francisco Montemayor sends five ships to raid French settlements in the northwestern Hispaniola Island and Tortuga. Three ships were lost in a storm.
January 10th, 1654 – Tortuga. Montemayor’s two remaining ships are fired on from le Vasseur’s old fort. The Spaniards decided to land two miles westward. After nine day’s fighting, Tortuga fell to the Spanish. During the fighting, the French took as many valuables as they could and evacuated the island and went to Port Margot on the coast of Hispaniola. The Spanish stationed 150 soldiers at Tortuga to protect it from the French. Fontenay returned a short while later with 130 French and Dutch soldiers and after twenty days of fighting, they failed to recapture the island. A year and a half later, the Spaniards abandoned the island due to lack of financial resources. An Englishman named Elias Watts arrived soon after and began establishing another buccaneer trading post on the island.
1654 – Europe. End of the First Anglo-Dutch War.
June 29th, 1654 – Cuenca (Spain). Balthazar Lopez and nine others were executed in an Inquisitional Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
1654 – Brazil. The Dutch lose possession of northeastern Brazil.
December, 1654 – England. Henry Morgan sent with Admiral William Penn and General Robert Venables on a mission against the Spanish in the Caribbean. They took 2,500 men with them.
January, 1655 – The Caribbean. Admiral Penn, Henry Morgan, and General Venables arrived at Barbados and recruited nearly 4,000 additional men for their mission against the Spanish. Then they stopped at St. Kitts and Nevis and recruited another 1,200 men.
1655 – Columbia. Cartagena mint closes.
March 3rd, 1655 – Cordova (Spain). An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held. It was said that the friars, monks, and Marquis de los Veles were extremely zealous and eager to force everyone to convert to the Holy Catholic Faith. The poor victims were said to not have had the serene facial expressions of Catholic martyrs, but had contemptuous expressions reflecting the gross injustice done them.
April, 1655 – Santo Domingo (Hispaniola). Admiral Penn and General Venables attack Santo Domingo but were pushed back by the Spanish.
1655 – Jamaica (West Indies). Admiral William Penn, General Venables and Henry Morgan invade Spanish Jamaica and claim it for England. Many of the Spanish residents fled to the mountains and caused many scuffles over the next few years.
June 25th, 1655 – Admiral Penn returns to England. General Venables, who was ill with a fever soon followed. They were imprisoned in the Tower of London for desertion of duty.
1656 – Perth (Australia). The Dutch ship, Vergulde Daeck (Golden Dragon) sank north of Perth. This ship carried a relatively small amount of Mexican, and Potosi minted coins, and some Columbian minted coins.
1656 – The Bahamas. The Spanish treasure ship Maravillas sank, and her cargo was Mexican and Potosi minted cob coins.
1657 – Europe. Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand III dies, and is replaced by his son, Leopold I.
1657 – Jamaica. Spaniards under Cristobal Arnoldo Ysassi take the northern coast of Jamaica. Acting English governor, Colonel D’Oyley and 500 men drove the Spaniards out. Soon afterward, this was repeated at Rio Nuevo.
1657 – England. Tea introduced in England from Asia. England became the only European tea-drinking nation, while the rest of Europe drank coffee.
1657 – Sicily. The only incident on record where a person accused by the Inquisition got revenge on his accuser. Diego Lamattina, an Agustin Friar was accused of heresy and blasphemy. When the Inquisitor General was making his rounds, he entered Lamattina’s cell and was killed by the friar.
March 17th, 1658 – Sicily. Diego Lamattina is burned at the stake after killing the Inquisitor General the previous year. His ashes were scattered about.
1658 – Jamaica. By this time, Jamaica had a population of 4,500 Europeans, and 1,500 African slaves. Most of the population was centered around what is now Kingston Harbor.
1659 – The Caribbean. English buccaneer Christopher Myngs loots Spanish villages along the Venezuelan coast. His loot totaled between 200,000 and 300,000 pounds.
1659 – Lima (Peru). Lima mint reopens, though not authorized by the Spanish Crown.
1659 – Toledo (Spain). Two ten-year-old girls are forced by the Inquisition to incriminate their families. The girls were “reconciled” by the Tribunal.
Palm Sunday, 1659 – Hispaniola Island. Elias Watts and 400 buccaneers attack Spanish settlements on northwestern Hispaniola Island. They attacked the inland town of Santiago de la Vega and captured the Spanish governor there. On their way back to the coast, they met up with Spanish militiamen and used the governor as hostage. They returned to Tortuga and divided the spoils. It came to 300 pieces of eight per person.
April 23rd, 1659 – Jamaica. Christopher Myngs returns with his rich cargo stolen from the Spanish on the Venezuelan coast. Myngs and his crew divided the loot before the required inspections by the authorities could take place. He was sent to England for trial. He learned of the similar practices by Governor D’Oyley against other buccaneers.
1659 – Jupiter Inlet (Florida). Spanish treasure ship San Miguel el Arcangel sank near the inlet. The ship carried silver cob coins minted in the Americas.
1659 - Abel Janszoon Tasman dies.
1659 – Mexico City (Mexico). Irishman, Don Guillen de Lampart, after being arrested and imprisoned, escapes and makes a mockery of the Inquisition. He did this instead of trying to seek safety. He was sentenced to be burned at the stake by the Inquisition. At the last moment, he forced his neck against the irons holding it. In the process, he broke his neck and spared himself the pain of being burned alive. His actions would later make him an early hero of the Mexican Revolution.
November 7th, 1659 – Hendaye, (France). Treaty of the Pyrenees signed between France and Spain, ending 24 years of war. The Pyrenees Mountains became the boundary between the two countries. As part of the deal, King Philip IV of Spain promised his daughter in marriage to King Louis XIV of France.
1660 – Osnabruck, Hannover (Germany). King George I of Britain and Ireland born.
1660 – Jamaica. The Spaniards try a last time to recapture Jamaica from the English. They were defeated.
1660 – France. Louis XIV marries his cousin, Marie Thérèse, daughter of King Philip IV of Spain.
May, 1660 – England. Charles II assumed the throne as King of England, Ireland, and Scotland after the “Rump Parliament” was dissolved. The following years were for the most part, peaceful.
May 23rd, 1660 – Coimbra (Portugal). An Inquisitional Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held, in which eighteen people were burned at the stake, thirteen of them were young women.
1660 – Tortuga. The island returns to French rule due to the diplomatic tricks of former resident, Jeremie Deschamps. The island would continue to be a base for buccaneers of all nationalities.
1660 – Seville (Spain). An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held that lasted three days. Forty-seven Judaisers were killed while a crowd of a hundred thousand watched.
1660 – London (England). Daniel Foe (Daniel Defoe) born. He would become a novelist and journalist.
1661 – Lima (Peru). Lima mint closes again.
1661 – Spain. King Charles II born. He would become the King of Spain.
August, 1661 – Jamaica. Governor D’Oyley is deposed. He returned to England to settle legal and financial affairs with Myngs and others. He was replaced by Lord Windsor. Windsor formed an Admiralty Court for Jamaica. This would govern the commissioning of privateers, and dividing their loots.
1661 – France. Cardinal Mazarin dies, and King Louis XIV rules by himself without electing anymore first ministers. The public was angered by this decision.
1662 – England. Church of England Prayer Book revised to a protestant version. This version is similar to the one used today.
1662 – Europe. King Charles II of England marries Catherine of Portugal. This added stress in the relations between England and Spain.
1662 – France. The French East India Company was established.
September, 1662 – Jamaica. Christopher Myngs returns from England.
October, 1662 – Cuba. Christopher Myngs and 1,300 buccaneers attack Santiago de Cuba. They fought against Arnoldo Ysassi once again.
1662 – The West Indies. Island of Grenada captured by the British.
December, 1662 – Jamaica. Christopher Myngs embarks to capture the port of Campeche, Mexico.
February 9th, 1663 – Campeche (Mexico). Christopher Myngs and his 1,000 buccaneers capture Campeche, Mexico and ransom it. The loot totaled 150,000 pieces of eight.
April 13th, 1663 – Port Royal (Jamaica). Christopher Myngs returns triumphantly. The tavern-keepers and merchants welcomed him and his men with open arms.
June, 1663 – San Tome (Venezuela). Captain Barnard from Port Royal, Jamaica attacks San Tome. After plundering the settlement, he returned to Port Royal where he and his crew spent their loot.
1663 – Central America. Sir Henry Morgan leads attacks on the Spanish settlements, Villahermosa and Gran Granada, in Nicaragua.
October, 1663 – Port Royal (Jamaica). Captain Cooper returns with the captured Spanish galleon Maria out of Seville, and another smaller ship. The cargo was 46,000 kg of mercury – destined for Mexico’s silver mines. The mercury was sent to England to be used to treat syphilis. Ambassador to Spain, Don Patricio Moledi protested this action in vain.
1664 – Europe. Beginning of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
1664 – Jamaica. Sir Thomas Modyford appointed governor of the island. He attempted to improve relations with Spain, and punished buccaneers in Port Royal. The buccaneers left for French-ruled Tortuga, and the economy in Jamaica declined. Modyford was forced to tolerate buccaneers, to improve Jamaica’s financial situation.
1665 – Spain. King Philip IV dies, leaving the throne to his son, Charles II. Regents would rule on his behalf until he was old enough.
February 6th, 1665 – London (England). Queen Anne born. She would later take William III’s place on the throne upon his death.
Mid 1660s – Relations between England, France and the Dutch begin to crumble. This would partially take away the buccaneers' focus on Spanish ships and settlements while they sent out expeditions against each other.
1665 – Campeche (Mexico). English buccaneers Morgan, Jackman, Morris lead a raid on the town of Santa Marta de la Victoria in the Tabasco River area. They encountered resistance on their way back to the Gulf of Mexico, but managed to get away. Then they sailed south along the Mosquito Coast of Honduras and raided small settlements and Trujillo.
1665 – Jamaica. Sir Henry Morgan returns triumphantly to Port Royal, Jamaica with a cargo of Spanish treasure. The Three Tunns Tavern established in Port Royal. In April, Governor Modyford commissions attacks on French Tortuga and Dutch Curacao. The buccaneers who went on this mission immediately mutinied, until they were told they would share equal of the plunder. Bad weather and bad relations reduced the fighting force of the men. But on July 23rd, they took Dutch St. Eustatius in spite of the fact that they were greatly outnumbered. Then they captured the island of Saba. Their loot included 900 African slaves.
1665 – Cordova (Spain). An Inquisitional Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held. The event lasted all day, and saw the deaths of fifty-seven Judaisers.
1665 – London (England). The Great Plague, carried by rats, kills 100,000 residents of London
November, 1665 – Bluefields Bay (Jamaica). Buccaneer captain Mansfield rendezvous with his men. They sailed for southern Cuba to steal provisions for a raid against the Dutch. They sacked the inland town of Sancti Spirtius in Cuba. They seemed to have lost their focus, and didn’t make it to Dutch Caracau, which they had intended to capture.
January, 1666 – Santa Catalina Island. Buccaneer captain Mansfield and his men manage to capture the island with little fighting. They left behind a garrison, Mansfield and his men then sailed along the Central American coast, pillaging towns from Nicaragua to Panama. Then they returned to Port Royal, Jamaica.
1666 – The Carribean. The writer, Alexander Exquemelin visits the island of Tortuga. He would later publish a book titled, The Buccaneers of America, in which he would describe 12 years among them as a surgeon.
1666 – Tobago. Dutch Tobago seized by buccaneers, Stedman and Searles from Jamaica.
1666 – Dunkerque (France). Dutch Vice Admiral Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter defeats the English in the Four Days’ Battle.
August 10th, 1666 – Santa Catalina Island. The Spaniards under Jose Sanchez Jimenez recapture the island from the English. After three days fighting, Captains Whetstone, Smith and Stanley surrender on the terms that they would be allowed to return to Jamaica. Instead they were enslaved.
September 2nd, 1666 – London (England). The Great Fire of London starts in a bakery near the Thames River. It was the worst fire in the history of the city, and even King Charles II fought the fire along with the citizens. The fire lasted five days, and burned 80 % of the city to the ground.
1667 – England. Dutch Vice Admiral Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter leads a devastating invasion of England, up the Medway River, burning numerous English ships and buildings.
1667 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Sugar Loaf Tavern established.
1667 – Europe. King Louis XIV of France invades the Spanish Netherlands, claiming it is his territory because his wife was the heir.
1667 – The Caribbean. Sir Henry Morgan becomes Admiral of the Brethren of the Coast (a loose organization of buccaneers, privateers and pirates) upon Edward Mansfield’s execution in Havana.
1667 – Europe. End of the Second Anglo-Dutch War with the signing of the Treaty of Munster,
1668 – Cuba. Sir Henry Morgan leads a preemptive attack on Spanish forces in southern Cuba. They suspected an attack on Jamaica.
July, 1668 – Portobello (Central America). Sir Henry Morgan, an English privateer, and 500 men in 12 ships anchored in the Bay of Boca del Toro. They got into canoes and landed three miles from the treasure port of Portobello. They managed to seize the heavily guarded town, and Henry Morgan threatened the President of Panama that he would burn to the ground the town of Portobello. After a while of negotiating, the President paid Morgan 250,000 pieces of eight to ransom the town. Morgan maintained that he treated his prisoners, particularly the women, well. But the Spaniards tales were to the contrary.
1668 – Europe. The second Triple Alliance negotiated between English, the Netherlands, and Sweden, to help prevent aggression from France on the Spanish Netherlands (present-day Belgium).
January, 1669 – Isla Vaca (The West Indies). Sir Henry Morgan gathers 800 buccaneers and 10 ships. Their plan was to raid the Spanish treasure port of Cartagena. However, luck was not with them, and as they were drinking, they were firing guns and accidentally blew up their flagship, HMS Oxford. Everybody on that ship perished in the blast except for 10 survivors, including Morgan himself. The plan was cancelled.
1669 – England. William Dampier begins his career as a sailer.
March, 1669 – Maracaibo (Venezuela). Sir Henry Morgan sacks the Spanish treasure port of Maracaibo. But the Admiral of the Spanish fleet in the West Indies heard about it, and set a trap for Morgan and his men by manning the fort at the entrance of the bay, and anchoring three warships to block the entrance. Morgan filled up a merchant ship he had captured with gunpowder and disguised it to look like a warship. They set off the gunpowder, and blew up the largest Spanish ship, the Magdalena. The other two Spanish ships fled and were captured. The fort was still preventing Morgan’s escape, and Morgan tricked the Spaniards into thinking he would start an attack from land. The Spaniards moved the cannons to the side of the fort facing the land, while Morgan and his men sailed out of the bay in the night.
1670 – The West Indies. Governor of Jamaica receives orders to not authorize any more attacks on Spanish ships and ports. At the same time, Spain authorizes the Governor of Cartegena to attack English settlements in the West Indies. Portuguese pirate captain Rivero attacks the Cayman Islands and settlements in Jamaica. The Jamaican Governor, Sir Thomas Modyford, revokes the orders to not attack the Spaniards, and Henry Morgan goes back to work.
1670 – Jamaica formally given by Spain to England as per to the terms of the Treaty of Madrid. England and Spain were not officially at war, but still were at odds with each other.
1670 – The Bahamas. Islands became under the rule of proprietary governors of Carolina, a British colony.
January 28th, 1671 – Panama. Sir Henry Morgan attacks the city of Panama, but takes little treasure because during the battle the Spaniards loaded the gold and silver on ships. The total taken by Morgan and his men was around 30,000 pounds. The Queen of Spain demanded that the English punish Morgan and Governor Modyford. Sir Thomas Lynch was sent to replace and arrest Sir Thomas Modyford.
1671 – London (England). Actress Mary Carleton, who had played The German Princess was arrested for bigamy and stealing. As punishment, she was transported to Port Royal, Jamaica. She soon became the most infamous prostitute in the area.
1671 – The Caribbean. Dutch buccaneer Yallahs is commissioned to harass English buccaneer loggers out of Belize (then called British Honduras).
1671 – Jamaica. The beginning of the wholesale importing of black slaves. Approximately 12,000 were brought to Jamaica from Africa between the years 1671 and 1679.
1672 – Europe. English King Charles II’s secret alliance with Louis XIV of France results in the Third Anglo-Dutch War, and the end of the second Triple Alliance. This war resulted with England possessing New Netherland (a colony started by the Dutch West India Company) which was renamed New York.
April 1672 – Jamaica. Sir Henry Morgan arrested and taken back to England on HMS Welcome. He was not imprisoned and he was well spoken of, even by the new Governor of Jamaica, Lynch.
1672 – Jamaica. A certain buccaneer by the name of Johnson was executed. This divided people of the island, in that most of their economy depended on riches brought back by buccaneers.
1672 – England. Battle of Southwold Bay occurs. The Dutch Admiral-in Chief, Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter saved the Dutch navy from destruction by the English and French.
1673 – Holland. The Dutch Admiral-in Chief, Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter prevents an English and French invasion of Holland.
1673 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Sign of Bacchus Tavern and The Three Crowns Tavern established.
1673 – Evora (Spain). Two nuns were condemned by the Spanish Inquisition. Their last words were “Jesus.” They had lived untarnished lives at the convent – one had lived at the convent for forty years.
1674 – The Netherlands. The Dutch West India Company went bankrupt.
1674 – The West Indies. French government purchases islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe from a French company.
1674 – Jamaica. Governor Lynch replaced by Lord Vaughan, with Sir Henry Morgan as Lieutenant Governor. This was done to deal with the increasing threat that France might invade Jamaica. Morgan continued his career as a privateer on the ship Jamaica Merchant but became shipwrecked on Isla Vaca.
1674 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Shipp Tavern and the Green Dragon Tavern established.
1674 – Jamaica. William Dampier becomes assistant manager of a plantation in Jamaica.
October 3rd, 1674 – Pope Clement X forbids the Portuguese Inquisition from operating. However, the Portuguese Inquisition continues operating for several more years.
1675 – 1678 – The Caribbean. William Dampier alternates back and forth from a buccaneer in the West Indies to a logger in Central America.
1676 – Sicily. The Dutch Admiral-in Chief, Michiel Adriaanszoon de Ruyter killed in a battle against the French fleet.
1676 – Largo (Scotland). Alexander Selkirk born. He would become a sailor and his story would be what inspired Daniel Defoe’s novel, Robinson Crusoe.
1676 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Catt & Fiddle Tavern established.
1676 – Berin (Spain). Around twenty non-Catholics are arrested by the Inquisition and punished.
1676 – Isla Vaca (The West Indies). Henry Morgan and his men rescued and returned to Jamaica. French ships were spotted, and considered a threat to the safety of Jamaica. Sir Henry Morgan returned to Isla Vaca to salvage the guns from the sunken Jamaica Merchant, which he used on the fort he built in Port Royal, Jamaica.
1677 – Santa Marta Island. Buccaneer captain Barnes seizes the island from the Spanish, kidnapping the Spanish governor and bishop.
1677 – Jamaica. Vice-Admiralty Court given a special commission to put pirates on trial. While other colonies lacked this commission, they sometimes did likewise.
1677 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The King’s Arms Tavern, the Jamaica Arms Tavern and the Three Mariners Tavern established.
1678 – Europe. Joseph I born. He would become the Holy Roman Emperor.
1678 – Balearic Islands. The Tribune of the Spanish Inquisition investigates an alleged synagogue. Many New Christians were arrested and tried. Four Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith) were held, in which 219 repented. The public was disappointed that nobody was burned at the stake. The wealth of the accused was great, and their property was confiscated. The Inquisition built a new palace that was thought of as the finest in Spain.
July, 1678 – Jamaica. Governor Carlisle replaces Lord Vaughan as Governor of Jamaica. His policy would be to back English buccaneers because of the increasing threat caused by the French,
1678 – The Caribbean. French-backed buccaneers take Curacao. More French buccaneers attacked Trinidad, San Tome, Trujillo, Margarita, Maracaibo, Campeche, and settlements in Cuba.
1678 – Europe. End of the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
1678 – The Netherlands. Alexander Exquemelin publishes the Dutch version of his famous book, The Buccaneers of America – The title in Dutch was, De Americaenshe Zee-Rovers.
1679 – Basil Ringrose’s crew of pirates take 25 Spanish ships between 1679 and 1682, including a Spanish merchantman with 12 slaves, which they put to work on their ship. William Dick was one of these pirates.
1679 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Blue Anchor Tavern established.
1679 – Mexico. Huguenot (Protestant) Lewis Rame is tried by the Spanish Inquisition.
May 27th, 1679 – The Portuguese Inquisition is paused after an interdict from Pope Clement X was issued.
1679 – Central America. William Dampier crosses the Isthmus of Panama and goes south, raiding Spanish settlements along the west shores from Mexico to Chile.
1679 – Toledo (Spain). The Inquisitional Tribune learns of twenty-two non-Catholics living in the town of Pastrana. They were tried and punished a short while later.
1679 – Bristol (England). Woodes Rogers born.
1680 – Bristol (England). Edward Teach born. He would become the well-known pirate, Blackbeard.
January, 1680 – Port Morant (Jamaica). An English buccaneering expedition is organized. Their target was Portobello. Included were buccaneer captains Allison, Essex, Row, and Maggott.
February 17th, 1680 – Central America. Portobello captured by the English buccaneers from Jamaica. The buccaneers rendezvoused at Boca del Toro to divide the loot.They were then joined by captains Harris and Sawkins. They sailed for Golden Island off the east coast of Panama. 334 of their men crossed the Isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific.
April 23rd, 1680 – Panama. 68 buccaneers under Basil Ringrose attack Spanish ships from canoes. They killed 2/3 of the crew on the flagship, and when it was all over with, the buccaneers captured two Spanish ships, the third got away. 300 buccaneers led by several captains raided the Spanish town of Santa Maria.
1680 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Salutacon Tavern established.
June 30th, 1680 – Madrid (Spain). One of the most infamous Autos de Fe was held. Present were young Charles II and Louise Marie of Orleans – Charles II’s young bride. This Auto lasted from sunrise to sunset, and 118 people were sentenced in front of an enormous crowd. It was a festive occasion. One young lady who was sentenced to be burned alive pleaded with the young Queen, but Charles II personally set the fire that burned her to death.
1680 – Central America. The buccaneer surgeon, Lionel Wafer visits the Spanish treasure port of Portobello, and brought back information about the lay of the town.
January, 1681. Captain Bartholomew Sharp deposed by his crew after weeks of hardships. They elected John Watling as captain, but he was soon killed in battle, and Sharp was reelected. Basil Ringrose was among the crew.
1681 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Feathers Tavern established.
1681 – Jamaica. Anti-pirate legislation passed by Jamaica’s council.
1681 – William Dampier starts another expedition of buccaneering.
July, 1681 – Chile. Basil Ringrose captures the San Pedro – a Spanish ship off the coast of Chile. The ship carried 37,000 pieces of eight, gunpowder, and wine.
July, 1681 – Buccaneer captain Bartholomew Sharp and William Dick capture the El Santo Rosario – a Spanish ship that carried detailed maps of the South Sea. These maps would be particularly useful to the English.
August 22nd, 1681 – Portugal. Once again, the Portuguese Inquisition is authorized to operate. Many Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith) followed.
1681 – Spain. Alexander Exquemelin publishes the Spanish version of The Buccaneers of America.
February, 1682 – England. Basil Ringrose and his crew arrive back in England with the detailed Spanish maps. England and Spain were not officially at war, so their actions were acts of piracy, and the Spaniards expected the pirates to be prosecuted. However, the maps were so useful to the English, that all of the pirates were pardoned.
1682 – Port Royal (Jamaica). The King’s Arms #2 Tavern, The Sign of the George Tavern, and Black Dogg Tavern established.
May, 1682 – Jamaica. Thomas Lynch once again becomes acting governor of Jamaica. His first job was chasing a French buccaneer ship call La Trompeuse (The Trickster). Her captain, Jean Hamlin had stolen her from English loggers who had rented the ship from a French resident of Santiago de la Vega (Spanish Town), Jamaica.
May 10th, 1682 – Lisbon (Portugal). An Inquisitional Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) occurred in which eight people died in the prison. They were later declared innocent. One elderly lady who was among the prisoners was ninety-seven-year-old Ana Rodriguez of Chaves.
1682 – Cape Agulhas (South Africa). British ship Joanna sinks off the coast of the southern tip of South Africa. She carried Spanish silver coins minted in the Americas, mostly 8 real and 4 reale cob coins.
1682 – Antigua (West Indies). Basil Ringrose’s crew land on the island of Antigua, leaving the ship to the crew members who had gambled away their money.
December, 1682 – Jamaica. Governor Lynch sends a frigate, the Guernsey after the ship La Trompeuse but still failed to capture it.
1683 – Versailles (France). Philip V born. He would become the King of Spain.
1683. William Dampier sails with Captain John Cook around the world, and would later bring to England valuable hydrographic information.
1683 – Jamaica. The Jamaica Act of 1683 was passed into law. This Act was anti-buccaneer, and allowed the government to prosecute buccaneers and pirates. Buccaneers responded by turning to outright piracy, attacking ships of their own nation.
May, 1683 – Guinea Coast (Africa). Buccaneer captain Hamlin spends three months off the coast of Sierra Leone capturing slavers and gold traders. Then they split into different bands. The La Trompeuse sailed for St. Thomas where it was burned by the English Captain Carlile of the HMS Francis.
1683 – Portugal. The Inquisition in Coimbra declares a woman perfectly innocent after she dies in prison. She had spent seventeen years in the dungeon before dying.
September, 1683 – Coimbra (Portugal). An order was issued declaring all people “reconciled” by the Inquisition were to leave the area within two months. They also had to leave all their children under age seven, until the parents could prove they were living a true Christian life in their new homes. This order was withdrawn in 1704 at the beginning of the war with France.
November 10th, 1683 – Hannover (Germany). George II born.
1684 – Lima (Peru). Lima mint reopens, permanently.
1684 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Windmill Tavern and the Cheshire Cheese Tavern established.
October, 1684 – St. Thomas. End of an era of St. Thomas being a haven for pirates. The Danish governor, Adolf Esmit was an ex-pirate himself. He was ousted by the English. Buccaneer Hamlin made his new base at Ile-a-vache off Hispaniola Island.
1684 – London (England). The English version of Alexander Exquemelin’s The Buccaneers of America is published. It was so popular that three months later a second edition was published. Sir Henry Morgan sued Exquemelin for calling him a pirate and portraying him as a bad person. They settled out of court and the book was revised. Exquemelin may have slandered Morgan out of resentment – he was among the buccaneers who raided Panama and was paid a disappointing amount of money because the Spaniards had managed to save most of their treasure from the attack.
1684 – The African Coast. Robert Dangerfield, a pirate crewmember, participated in attacking a Dutch merchantman. Two pirates lost a leg and two more were killed from the broadsides fired from both ships. Dangerfield earlier that year marooned his captain (Jeremy Rendell) and supporters, after a dispute over their destination.
February 6th, 1685 – England. Charles II dies, and is replaced by James II (Charles II’s brother). James II had many enemies that he had alienated, and there were revolts in England and Scotland, which led to the “Bloody Assizes” or trials of his enemies.
1685 – Europe. Emperor Charles VI born.
1685 – Panama. William Dampier joins up with the buccaneers led by Captain Swan.
1685 - Port Royal (Jamaica). The Sign of the Mermaid Tavern established.
1685 – France. Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes, and forces two-hundred thousand French Protestants to convert or be exiled. This resulted in the Camisards Revolt.
March, 1686 – Central America. Captain Swan and William Dampier sail for the East Indies in the Cygnet. They went through the Philippines, China, and New Holland (Australia). In New Holland, William Dampier and others parted company with Captain Swan’s buccaneers.
March 8th, 1688 - Balearic Islands. The Inquisition arrests a group of Jews who had been plotting to sail away to a land where they could practice their faith. Since most of these people were penitents from the 1678 Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith), they were considered “relapsed.” They would later be condemned to die.
1688 – Germany. War of the League of Augsburg begins as King Louis XIV of France invades the Rhineland in the hopes of capturing Palatinate.
August 25th, 1688. Jamaica. Sir Henry Morgan dies, and there was held a state funeral.
February 13th, 1689 – William of Orange becomes King William III of England, Scotland, and Ireland, after English nobles requested his assistance in ousting the tyrant James II. James II fled to France and a war started between England and France. William III adopted policies that gave more power to Parliament and less to the Monarchy. England and Scotland accepted him, but Ireland was taken by force
1689 – The Caribbean. Captain Kidd becomes captain of the privateer, Blessed William. Soon after, he and his crew joined a Royal Navy fleet led by Captain Hewetson. Kidd’s crew mutinied and Kidd was given the ship, Antigua by the Governor of Nevis as payment for helping fight the French.
1690 – Ireland. William III leads an army into Ireland and defeats supporters of James II in the Battle of the Boyne. Throughout the rein of William III, there were constant schemes to restore James II back to the throne.
March through July, 1691 – Majorca (Balearic Islands). Four Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith) carried out by the Spanish Inquisition. The “relapsed” people arrested in 1688 were all killed. Out of the eighty-seven, thirty-seven were burned at the stake. Those who repented were garroted before being burned. Three (including their leader) refused to repent and were burned alive.
May 16th, 1691 – New York. Captain Kidd arrives in New York and marries Sarah Oort, a wealthy widow. He started several businesses over the following four years.
1691 – St. Mary’s Island (Madagascar). Former buccaneer, Adam Baldridge started a trading post. For six years, he traded with pirates and sold his goods to people in New York.
1691 – Majorca (Balearic Islands). Forty New Christians condemned to die by the Inquisition; three were burned alive, and the rest were burned after they were killed.
September, 1691 – England. William Dampier returns home to England with news of his discoveries.
1692 – The Prize Act of 1692 became law in the English colonies. This act was intended to ease the task of differentiating pirates and privateers. Privateers had to declare their loot and divide it according to law.
June 7th, 1692 – Port Royal (Jamaica). Town of Port Royal (the chief slave market and a den of pirates) destroyed and half submerged by an earthquake. Much looting occurred. Not long after, nearby Kingston was established, and it remains the capital today. The remains of Port Royal were now on an island. Soon, instead of being a haven for pirates, Port Royal became a naval base and now many pirates met their doom at the rope’s end.
May 7th, 1694 – Corunna (Spain). Henry Avery – second mate of the crew of the English privateer, the Charles – leads a mutiny and becomes a pirate after taking the ship; which he renamed the Fancy.
1695 – Alexander Selkirk embarks on his first sea voyage.
1695 – New York. Captain William Kidd sails for England with hopes of gaining wealth as a privateer.
September, 1695 – The Arabian Sea. Pirate captain Henry Avery meets with other pirate ships and plunders the Fath Mahmamadi from India. The ship carried 50,000 pounds worth of gold and silver. Several days after, he plundered the Ganj-i-Sawai after a two-hour fight. The latter was a ship belonging to the Great Mogul of India, and carried his daughter and a very large quantity of gold and silver.
April 10th, 1696 – England. William Kidd, now captain of the Adventure Galley, sails for New York to recruit a privateering crew. He was commissioned by Lord Bellomont, the Whig party governor of New York, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. On September 6th, Kidd left New York with a crew of 152.
October, 1696 – The West Indies. Henry Avery retires from his short-lived career as a pirate, and sails to the West Indies. His crew each went their separate ways, and the Great Mogul of India – angry about the attacks – threatened to expel English traders from India. The British government in return promised to hunt down Avery. Six of his men were caught and hanged, but Avery disappeared and his fate remains a mystery.
November 25th, 1696 – Coimbra (Portugal). Fourteen men and women are tried by the Inquisition and then turned over to the secular authorities.
January 27th, 1697 – Madagascar. Captain Kidd and his crew lands at Tulear, a small town on the coast of Madagascar. After staying for a month to let his crew rest, he sailed to Johanna in the Comoros Islands. Then he sailed to Mohilla and careened his ship there. During these events, many of his crew were ill and died. The remainder were getting impatient.
1697 – Germany. Peace of Ryswick ends the War of the League of Augsburg, leaving the Rhineland devastated, and little victory to King Louis XIV of France. Part of Hispaniola Island was given to France. That part was named Saint Domingue.
1697 – Cartagena (Columbia). French pirates sack the island village with the help of the French Navy.
1697 – Brussels (Belgium). Emperor Charles VII (Charles Albert) born.
1697 – England. William Dampier publishes A New Voyage Around the World, a book with vital information about the South Sea. This book brought much English attention to the Pacific Ocean.
1697 – End of King William’s War.
August 14th, 1697 – The Red Sea. Captain Kidd attacks a fleet of ships under Captain Edward Barlow. Kidd was chased away. Later his crew mutinied and attacked an English ship under Captain Parker. Kidd was becoming known more as a pirate instead of a privateer. Following incidents occurred involving the raping of village women by his crew, and chopping up the villagers’ boats for firewood.
October 30th, 1697. A dispute occurred between Captain Kidd and his gunner, William Moore. Kidd struck Moore on the head with a wooden bucket. Moore died the next day.
January 30th, 1698 – Off the Malabar coast of India. Captain Kidd captures the Quedah Merchant. It was the first event of luck he had seen in a long time. He sold the goods at Caliquilon for 7,000 pounds.
April, 1698 – St. Mary’s Island (Madagascar). Edward Welsh replaces Adam Baldridge’s position as operator of trading post on the island. This trading settlement, like others in the area, soon deteriorated and the inhabitants ended up poorer than the natives of the islands.
April, 1698 – Sainte Marie (Madagascar). Captain Kidd lands in the port city and makes friends with the pirate, Captain Robert Culliford. Kidd’s commission would have required him to arrest Culliford.
1698 – Peru. Cuzco mint opens, only producing gold 1 and 2 escudo coins. Mint closed in the same year.
November, 1698. Admiral Benbow posted alerts throughout the British colonies for people to watch out for Captain Kidd and apprehend him if at all possible.
1699 – William Kidd abandons the dilapidated Adventure Galley and renames the Quedah Merchant the Adventure Prize. He embarked on another voyage from Madagascar to the Caribbean. In April, he arrived at Anguilla. He learned that he was a fugitive of the English Crown, and hastily loaded up provisions and fled to St. Thomas. He tried to bribe the governor for protection, but was refused. He sailed to Hispaniola and sold the Adventure Prize and bought another ship named the Saint Antonio. In June, he arrived in New York after his 3-year absence. He was betrayed by his former business partner, Lord Bellomont, who hid the papers that would aid in his defense. Kidd was arrested for piracy, and sent back to England for trial.
1699 – England. William Dampier publishes Voyages and Descriptions, his second book on his discoveries. He was then appointed by the Admiralty to further explore the South Seas. During this trip, he explored New Holland (Australia) and New Guinea, New Britain, and he named the Dampier Archipelago and the Dampier Strait. On his return he lost his ship, HMS Roebuck at Ascension Island. The ship sprang a bad leak, and Dampier and his men made it to shore on a raft. They were later rescued by British ships.
1700 – Spain. King Charles II dies, and leaves his throne to Philip V.
1700 – England. The Act for the More Effectual Suppression of Piracy was passed. This act made it no longer necessary for pirates to be returned to England for trial and execution. Sailors who fought pirates were also given a share of the loot.
1700 – The Bahamas. British ruled Bahamian Islands raided and sacked by the Spaniards and French.
1701 – Europe. The War of Spanish Succession begins. King Louis XIV of France joins forces with King Philip V of Spain (Louis XIV’s grandson), against the Holy Roman Empire.
May 23rd, 1701 – England. Captain William Kidd executed for five counts of piracy and the murder of William Moore. A hundred years later, the papers that could have saved him were found in Lord Bellomont’s desk.
March 19th, 1702 – England. William III dies and is replaced by his deceased wife’s sister, Queen Anne. She was James II’s second daughter.
1702 – Boston (Massachusetts). Captain John Quelch and his crew of pirates executed in Boston.
1702 – The West Indies. British Admiral Benbow and his fleet of six ships defeated a French squadron off the coast of Cartagena. This became known as the Battle of Santa Marta and Benbow had his right leg crushed, but he remained on the quarterdeck. Robert Louis Stevenson named the Admiral Benbow Inn after him in the novel, Treasure Island.
1702 – England. William Dampier court-martialed for cruelty to his crew, and the loss of his ship.
1702 – Europe. Britain became involved with the War of Spanish Succession (called “Queen Anne’s War” by the British). British forces allied with the Netherlands, and the Holy Roman Empire, against Spain and France. The Spanish settlement at St. Augustine, Florida was burned by the colonists during this year.
1703 – Sicily. A nun who was imprisoned by the Inquisition for four years is released. Her heirs paid fines for her alleged crimes for as late as the year 1872.
September, 1703 – England. William Dampier sent back to the South Seas on a privateering expedition. He took with him two ships. During this voyage, Alexander Selkirk was sailing master of one of the ships, the Cinque Ports which was under Captain Stradling.
November, 1703 – California. Captain Woodes Rogers creates an agreement that forbade gambling among the crew of his ship, the Duke.
1704 – Massachusetts. Town of Deerfield burned and inhabitants massacred by the French and Indians.
May, 1704 – Massachusetts. Pirate Captain John Quelch and his crew arrive after raids along the Brazilian coast. In a few days, Quelch and 25 others were arrested.
June 20th, 1704 – Boston (Massachusetts). John Quelch and six of his crew executed.
1704 – War erupts between Portugal and France.
October, 1704 – Juan Fernandez Islands. After having a dispute over the seaworthiness of the Cinque Ports with Captain Stradling, Alexander Selkirk requested to be marooned on Juan Fernandez Island. He was then left there by himself. His experiences would be the inspiration of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.
1704 & 1707 – Nova Scotia. Troops from New England were twice sent to destroy French colony Port Royal, Acadia but both attempts failed.
May 5th, 1705 – Europe. Emperor Leopold I dies, and is replaced by his son, Joseph I as Holy Roman Emperor.
1705 – Edinburgh. Pirate Captain Thomas Green and sixteen of his crew hanged for piracy.
September 6th, 1705 – Lisbon (Portugal). Sixty-six Judaisers are forced to listen to a sermon before being punished in an Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
1707 – England. William Dampier returns to England from his privateering voyage. The trip was not profitable, and his crew accused him of being cruel, cowardly, and mismanagement. They also accused him of drinking too much. His captaincy was stricken.
1707 – Isles of Scilly (England). British ship Association sinks near the isles on the southwestern coast of England. She carried Spanish cob coins minted in the Americas, namely Potosi and Lima.
1708 – Nancy (France). Francis Stephen (later Emperor Francis I) born.
May 28th, 1708 – Cartagena (Columbia). British Commodore Charles Wager fights the Spaniards. During the battle, the magazine of the Spanish treasure ship San Jose blew up and the ship sank very quickly. Her cargo was 30 million gold and silver cob coins minted in the New World, jewels, altarpieces, chalices and lamps. Over 600 men and the treasure went to the bottom of the sea.
August 2nd, 1708 – English privateer Captain Woodes Rogers embarks on a privateering expedition around the world in the Duke and the Dutchess. William Dampier accompanied him as a pilot.
February 2nd, 1709 – Juan Fernandez Island. Alexander Selkirk (the model for Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe) was rescued by Captain Woodes Rogers.
1709 – London (England). Rabbi David Nieto publishes a heated reply to the sermon preached at Lisbon at the Auto de Fe that occurred there in 1705. The pamphlet was published in Portuguese and it was published anonymously.
1709 – England. William Dampier’s third book, A Voyage to New Holland published.
1710 – Versailles, (France). Louis XV born. He would later become the King of France.
1710 – Antigua. A small English galley was attacked by French privateers, but the captain covered his deck with broken glass, and when the privateers boarded his ship, they were shot at and the volley of gunfire and broken bottles forced the privateers to call off the attack. Such successful defense of merchant ships from pirates was uncommon.
1710 – Nova Scotia – Acadia captured by colonists and British ships.
1711 – Europe. Emperor Joseph I dies and is replaced by his brother, Charles VI as Holy Roman Emperor.
1711 – Quebec & Montreal. British forces fail to capture these French territories.
1711 – Nova Scotia. English ship Feversham sank, her cargo was Spanish and Massachusetts Bay Colony coins.
1711 – England. Privateer Captain Woodes Rogers and William Dampier arrive home from their privateering expedition around the world, bringing with them a large amount of loot.
1712 – England. Woodes Rogers publishes A Cruising Voyage Round the World, an account of his adventures.
1712 – Jamaica. A violent hurricane strikes Port Royal and Kingston, Jamaica, destroying 47 ships in the harbor.
1713 – Spain. King Ferdinand VI born. He would become King of Spain.
April, 1713 – Bermuda. Lieutenant Governor Pulliene of Bermuda reported that the island was the home base of three different crews of pirates.
1713 – Europe. End of the War of Spanish Succession (also known as Queen Anne’s War) occurs with the Peace of Utrecht, and France having control of Spain. France also gave up many of its New World territories to Britain.
1714 – Martinique (The Caribbean). The French bring the first cuttings from a coffee tree to the New World. This was the beginning of coffee cultivation in the Americas.
August 1st, 1714 – London (England) Queen Anne dies, replaced by German cousin, George I. King George I was German by blood, and taste, and he never learned the English language.
1715 – England. The Scottish pirate, Captain Alexander Dolzell executed. The chaplain described him as dangerous, and stubborn.
1715 – The Caribbean. Only six navy ships patrolled the Caribbean Sea for pirates, and the pirates took advantage of this lack of authority.
1715 – Florida. The 1715 Spanish Plate Fleet was struck by a storm, and scattered along the east coast of Florida. There were eleven ships that were lost. These ships carried vast amounts of treasure, some of which washes up on the eastern Florida beaches. Among these ships were the Carmen, Nieves, Regla, Rosario, San Roman, and the Urca de Lima.
1715 – London (England). William Dampier dies a poor man.
September 1st, 1715. Versailles (France). Louis XIV of France dies, ending the longest reign in the history of Europe. His five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV, succeeded him to the throne. While Louis XV was a child, Philippe II, duc d’Orléans acted as regent.
November, 1715 – Jamaica. Governor Lord Hamilton commissions ten ships to fight piracy. The captain of one of these ships, (the Tyger), Jonathan Barnet would later capture Calico Jack Rackam and the two famous women pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read.
1716 – Spain. Charles III born. He would later be the King of Spain.
1716 – Barbados. HMS Scarborough is defeated by Blackbeard, and lost sixty to fever, twenty died, and the ship was in poor condition when it to put to sea.
1716 – England. Pirate Captain Sam Bellamy’s ship, the Whydah was built and commissioned. She was named after a Slave Coast trading post in Africa.
1717 – Europe. The third Triple Alliance negotiated between Britain, France, and the Netherlands, to add strength to the Peace of Utrecht.
1717 – The Bahamas. The British Crown assumes direct rule of the Bahamas.
February 15th, 1717 – the Bahamas. Pirate captain Edward England intercepts Captain Robert Leonard and fires two shots before Leonard surrenders. Captain England beat Leonard with a cutlass for not surrendering after the first shot.
March, 1717 – The West Indies. Pirate Sam Bellamy and the crew of his ship, the Sultana captured the slave ship, Whydah, after a three-day chase. The Whydah’s cargo included ivory, sugar, indigo, and gold and silver worth around 30,000 pounds.
April 26th, 1717 – New England. Pirate Captain Sam Bellamy and his crew are shipwrecked at Cape Cod. Most of them, including Bellamy died in the storm. Their prizes, the Whydah, and the Mary Anne were wrecked. The eight survivors were interrogated by the Governor of Massachusetts; six of them were hanged.
July, 1717. Captain John Frost attacked by a crew of 170 pirates under the command of Captain La Bouse. The chase lasted 12 hours and Frost surrendered after the pirates fired a broadside at his ship.
August 12th, 1717 – the North Atlantic. Pirates in two sloops, under the commands of Captain Nichols and Captain Napin attack HMS Restoration which was bound from London to Boston and under the command of Captain Nathaniel Brooker. The pirates took all the ship’s supplies, sails, cooking utensils, needles and twine, and other miscellaneous items.
September 5th, 1717 – England. “Act of Grace” issued by King George I. It was a royal pardon of pirates in an effort to stop piracy and the pirate haven at Madagascar. By the time this “Act of Grace” was issued, the pirate settlements had already declined.
November 29th, 1717 – Nevis Island. Pirates encounter the Mountserrat Merchant, whose crew didn’t realize they were pirates until they had rowed to the pirate ship to exchange mail. Thomas Knight and his fellow crewmen were welcomed by the pirates. The pirates offered them dinner, and were offended when they refused. The pirates questioned them about the strength of the local forts.
December 5th, 1717 – Crab Island. Blackbeard attacks the sloop Margaret. His crew stole from this ship 35 hogs, cutlasses, and navigational books and instruments. He also forced two people to join his crew.
1718 – Europe. Austria adds its name to the third Triple Alliance, forming the Quadruple Alliance.
1718 – Providence (Rhode Island). Thomas Anstead embarks on the Buck, beginning a career of piracy. He would later serve under Bartholomew Roberts’s command.
April, 1718 – Rum Key, the Bahamas. Pirate captain Vane has his most successful year as a pirate; commanding two ships; one of which was the Ranger. On April 14th, he captured the Diamond, and Nathaniel Catling. Catling was hanged, but survived. The pirates burned the Diamond.
1718, April 11th, England. Woodes Rogers sent to the Bahamas to act as Governor and put an end to piracy in the area. He left in the Delicia and with him sailed HMS Rose, HMS Milford and two small ships.
May, 1718 – Bermuda. Nathaniel Catling escaped from the pirates under Captain Vane and met with Governor Bennett. A week later, a similar story reached the governor from Edward North, captain of the William and Martha. North said the pirates had beaten him and burned a tied-up sailor’s eyes with lit matches and had a pistol to his mouth. This was to make him tell the whereabouts of the ship’s money.
May, 1718 – The Bahamas. Blackbeard the pirate had four ships and 415 men at his disposal.
1718 – Honduras. Blackbeard and his crew of pirates attack the Protestant Caesar in the Bay of Honduras.
May, 1718 – South Carolina. Governor Johnson writes a desperate letter to England about the consistent pirate attacks in the colonies.
June, 1718 – Jamaica. Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes writes an urgent letter to England concerning the daily attacks on their ships by pirates.
June, 1718 – Charleston (South Carolina). Blackbeard and his crew patrol the waters around Charleston. By winter, he was in the Caribbean.
June, 1718 – HMS Scarborough captures the ship, Blanco under French pirate Le Bour. Le Bour and most of the pirates escaped.
1718 – The West Indies. Pirate Captain William Moody of the Rising Sun captures merchant ships in the West Indies.
1718 – Edward North captured by pirates under Captain Vane.
1718, July 26th, New Providence (Bahamas). Woodes Rogers arrives and chases out the pirates under Captain Vane.
August, 1718 – Charleston (South Carolina). Two pirate ships commanded by Captain Vane raid ships entering and exiting the harbor. Colonel William Rhett volunteered to attack them. Vane eluded Rhett, but during the process, they found two pirate ships in the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Both the pirates and the pirate hunters ran aground on the beach. After the battle that followed, Colonel Rhett captured Major Stede Bonnet – one of Blackbeard’s consorts. Bonnet and thirty of his crew were hanged at Charleston a few weeks later.
September 5th, 1718. Deadline for the “Act of Grace” royal pardons for pirates who surrendered and gave up piracy.
September, 1718 – New York. Pirate Captain Worley leaves with a modest crew and a small open boat. They would later capture larger vessels.
October, 18th, 1718 – South Carolina. Pirate captain Vain captures eight ships along the coast.
November, 1718 – Jamaica. John Rackam (Calico Jack), Pirate Captain Vane’s quartermaster takes over as Captain after Vane refused to attack a French frigate. Calico Jack plundered many small ships, but was not cruel to anybody. He arranged to have a Jamaican tavern keeper returned home and he returned a ship he had plundered to her master.
November. 1718 Blackbeard defeated in Ocracoke Inlet. He was decapitated and his head was hung from the bowsprit of his ship.
December, 1718 – Port Royal (Jamaica). Pirate Captain Thomson attacks a merchantman within sight of the Port Royal harbor. Governor Lawes dispatched two sloops to capture the pirates, but the pirates used an early form of grenade and killed many people on the first sloop, the rest jumped overboard. The crew of the second sloop was so terrified that they hurried back to Port Royal.
December 9th, 1718 – Nassau (Bahamas). Ten pirates were tried for piracy at Green Cay, and marooning James Kerr on a deserted island.
January, 1719 – The Bahamas. Pirate Captain Congon accepts King George’s pardon for piracy.
February, 1719 – The Caribbean. Pirate captain Charles Vane’s sloop is caught in a storm off the coast of Jamaica. The ship was run aground on a small deserted island in the Bay of Honduras. Most of the crew drowned, but Vane survived and was eventually “rescued” and taken back to Jamaica and hanged.
February 17th, 1719 – South Carolina. Pirate Captain Worley and one of his crew survive a bloody battle, only to be hanged for piracy.
1719 – England. Daniel Defoe publishes his most famous work, The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner, Better known as Robinson Crusoe. It was an immediate success, and is still in print today. The novel was based on the actual experiences of Alexander Selkirk, who was marooned on the island of Juan Fernandez, in the Pacific Ocean.
Spring of 1719 – The West African Coast. Pirate, Edward England and the crew of his ship, the Royal James, attack over twelve ships, including the Bentworth from Bristol.
May, 1719 – New Providence (Bahamas). Calico Jack arrives in New Providence to take advantage of the protection of the Governor of the Bahamas. He accepted a pardon for piracy and also met Anne Bonny.
February 6, 1720 – Spithead (England). Captain Chaloner Ogle embarks for Africa. His fleet was composed of HMS Swallow, HMS Weymouth, and six merchant ships. These were the Whydah, the Cape Coast, the Martha, and three sloops of unknown name.
1720 – England. Daniel Defoe publishes the book, The Life, Adventures, and Pyracies of Captain Singleton. This fictitious work was inspired partially by the pirate career of Captain Avery.
1720, February – The Bahamas. Governor Woodes Rogers writes England about his desperate situation, having to fight 500 pirates with a few sick men. His status as Governor would soon be temporarily halted.
March 22nd, 1720 – Spanish Town (Jamaica). Pirate Captain Charles Vane tried and hanged at Gallows Point.
April 7th, 1720 – Madrid (Spain). A secret synagogue was discovered by the Inquisition. Five were turned over to the secular authorities for punishment.
1720 – Pirate Bartholomew Roberts captures a 42 gun French warship and named her the Royal Fortune.
June & July, 1720 – Newfoundland. Pirate captain Bartholomew Roberts attacks ships along the coast. On July of 13th, he attacked the Samuel, a merchant ship from London, headed for Boston. The pirates took most of their stores, crewmembers, and gunpowder; leaving Captain Cary of the Samuel with only one sailor and three passengers. By winter, Bartholomew Roberts and his crew were in the West Indies.
July 25th, 1720 – Seville Spain). Jew and pirate, Fray Jose Dias Pimienta executed after being tried by the Inquisition.
August 22nd, 1720 – Nassau (Bahamas). Pirate captain Calico Jack and 12 pirates steal a small ship, the William. Among these pirates were the two famous women pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Governor Woodes Rogers knew who stole the ship, and sent ships to intercept them.
January 11th, 1721 – Scotland. Richard Luntly hanged for piracy. He was an unfortunate man who was forced to be a part of Bartholomew Roberts’ crew. When Roberts found out that Luntly was attempting to take over his ship to put an end to his being forced into piracy, Luntly was marooned on a deserted island. He was rescued by a British bound ship and tried for piracy.
April 18th, 1721 – Jamaica. Pirate Captain Anstead’s ship, the Good Fortune (one of Bartholomew Roberts’s ships) attacks a ship from Bristol near Jamaica. Anstead separated from Bartholomew Roberts’s crew and became his own commander.
1721 – Pirate Captain Edward Lowther and mutineers captured the Gambia Castle and renamed her the Delivery.
1721 – The West Indies. Bartholomew Roberts attacks ships off the coast of Martinique. He whipped the victims almost to death, and cut some of their ears off. At St. Lucia, he attacked a Dutch vessel and after a three-hour fight, they killed all the crewmen to avenge the deaths of Roberts’s men.
1721 – Madrid (Spain). A ninety-six-year-old woman named Maria Barbara Carillo is burned at the stake in an Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) of the Inquisition.
1721 – The West Indies. Calico Jack plundered many small fishing boats and merchantmen. He sailed west along the northern coast of Jamaica until he reached Negril Point. He and his crew were captured by Captain Jonathan Barnet, who was searching for pirates. Anne Bonny and Mary Read were the only pirates to offer resistance and these two women swore and fought like men. Calico Jack and his men were tried in Jamaica and found guilty of piracy and hanged. The two women were sentenced to be hanged, but the sentence was revoked when they announced that they were both pregnant. Mary Read died of fever in prison and was buried on April 28th, 1721. Anne Bonny’s fate is a mystery.
April 9th, 1721 – Africa. The fleet of ships from England under Captain Ogle stays a short time at the mouth of the Sierra Leone River before sailing to Cape Coast Castle.
June, 1721 – Africa. Bartholomew Roberts lands at the Sierra Leone River and learned of the English fleet’s prior visit.
1721 – Bartholomew Roberts captures the ship, Onslow, and renames her the Royal Fortune. This was his second ship with that name.
June 18th, 1721 – Africa. The fleet from England, commanded by Captain Chaloner Ogle landed off Cape Coast Castle. The two men of war (the Swallow and Weymouth) left the merchantmen to unload their cargo and load slaves. The men of war headed southward to the Isle of Princes, and seven weeks later they sailed to the West Indies to patrol the waters there.
July 19th, 1721 – London (England). Walter Kennedy hanged at Execution Dock after being convicted of piracy.
1721 – Bartholomew Roberts (also known as Black Bart) is at the height of his pirating career, commanding a fleet of four ships. His flagship was the Royal Fortune, another ship was named the Ranger, and a third ship was called the Sea King. The forth ship was a small vessel that was used to carry stores. Roberts at this time commanded 508 men.
1721 – Alexander Selkirk dies while he was serving as master’s mate on HMS Weymouth.
January 7th, 1722 – Africa. HMS Swallow returned to Cape Coast Castle after being alerted about pirates in the vicinity.
January 12th, 1722 – Africa. Bartholomew Roberts attacks the shipping outside of Whydah. Captain Ogle heard of this and pursued.
February 5th, 1722 – Cape Lopez. The English men of war under Captain Ogle catch up with Bartholomew Roberts. One of Roberts’s ships, the Ranger, was captured, and that night came a hurricane. Several days later, during another storm, Bartholomew Roberts was struck in the throat by grapeshot. His body was thrown overboard, as he had previously requested of his crew many times.
March 16th, 1722 – Africa. The English fleet under Captain Ogle returned to Cape Coast Castle. Fifty-two pirates were hanged, and seventeen were imprisoned. Ogle went to Jamaica with his prizes. He was later knighted.
1722 – The Caribbean. The two pirate crews under Edward Low and George Lowther meet and became allies.
May, 1722 – Port Royal (Jamaica). Governor Sir Nicholas Lawes reports that Captain Candler of HMS Launceton captured Spanish pirates under Italian Captain Mathew Luke. Forty-one of the crew of fifty-eight pirates were hanged at Gallows Point.
1722 – London (England). Rabbi David Nieto publishes a manuscript titled, Recondite Notices of the Inquisition of Spain and Portugal. The manuscript was written by Antonio Vieira a half a century earlier.
1722 – Spain. A total of twenty Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith) were held by the Inquisition in this year alone.
Summer 1722 – South Carolina. Pirate captain George Lowther attacks the Amy but his ship was broadsided and many of his crew wounded and killed. Lowther’s crew sought the safety of an inlet and spent the winter there recuperating.
August 20th, 1722 – Jamaica. A hurricane strikes the island and floods Port Royal with five feet of water. All the ships (including the Royal Fortune) were sunk or ran aground.
1722 – Philip Ashton gets captured by pirates.
March, 1723 – Central America. Pirate captain Edward Low flew Spanish colors while approaching a Spanish sloop and when he got alongside, he hoisted the Jolly Roger and after firing a broadside, the pirates took the ship.
May, 1723 – St. Kitts (The Caribbean). Governor Hart reported that Captain Orme of HMS Winchelsea captured pirate Captain Finn (one of Bartholomew Roberts’s consorts) and eight pirates under Finn’s command off the coast of Tobago. Six were hanged. Meanwhile, Captain Brand of HMS Hector was chasing down the remaining pirates at Tobago. Captain Finn’s corpse was hung in chains at Rat Island in St. John’s harbor. This was a warning to sailors not to turn to piracy.
1723 – London (England). Isaac Martin, who suffered at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition, returns home a Protestant hero. His story was published and translated to German and French.
1723 – Africa. Fifty-two of Bartholomew Roberts’s crew of pirates hanged.
June 10th, 1723 – Long Island. Captain Solgard of HMS Greyhound captures the Ranger under pirate Captain Low after a long battle. Low and the crew of his other ship, the Fortune, managed to lose their pursuers at Block Island.
July 19th, 1723 – Newport (Rhode Island). 26 of the crew of the Ranger hanged for piracy.
July, 1723 – New England. Pirate captain Edward Low patrols the waters of New England and Newfoundland.
August, 1723 – Newfoundland. Pirates under Captain John Phillips capture John Philmore. The pirates captured more ships and then sailed for the Caribbean. North of Tobago they took Andrew Harradine’s sloop. Not long after, Harradine led a successful revolt against the pirates.
1723 – France. Louis XV, now an adult, assumes rule of France.
October, 1723 – Barbados. Pirates capture the Content, and take all the ship’s supplies, sails, carpenter’s tools, an anchor, and boxes of candles and soap.
October 10th, 1723 – Lisbon (Portugal). A man who had made many false accusations to the Inquisition about people practicing Jewry was executed for fabricating several stories.
September, 1723 – Pirate Edward Low crosses the Atlantic to the Azores.
September 14th, 1723 – Barbados (the West Indies). Pirates under the command of George Lowther attack the Princes Galley, a British slave ship under the command of Captain Wickstead. The pirates tortured the crewmembers and found out the whereabouts of 54 ounces of gold. They took the gold, 11 slaves, gunpowder and guns and 4 cannons. In addition, they forced two of the crew to join the pirates.
October, 1723 – Blanco Island. George Lowther lands on the island of Blanco to careen his ship. He was sighted by Walter Moor, commander of the British sloop, Eagle. Moor fired his cannon and hoisted up the British flag, and Lowther responded by showing the British flag. Pirates commonly disguised themselves by flying friendly colors. Moor suspected they were pirates and after some fighting, the pirates fled to the island and hid in the jungle. Eventually a handful of pirates were captured, and the Eagle sailed to Cumaná and reported to the Governor. A ship was sent out to Blanco Island and they found the pirate captain, George Lowther dead. He had committed suicide.
March 20th, 1724 – St. Kitts. Nicholas Lewis, Edward Low’s quartermaster hanged with eleven of his crewmembers.
1724. Pirate John Archer executed. His last statement was one speaking of the severity with which captains dealt with their crews, thereby tempting them to rebel. Many other pirates executed blamed their crimes on this, and drinking.
1724 – Rattan Island. Roger Stevens marooned in the island after he was captured during his journey to Jamaica from Bristol.
1724 – Jamaica. Angry merchants write to London about the high expenses caused by pirates stealing slaves from the plantations, which the colonies depended on.
1724 – Captain Richard Hawkins captured by a crew of pirates.
1724 – Sicily. An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) is held.
1724 – England. Captain Charles Johnson (possibly a pen name for Daniel Defoe) publishes A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates, a book that is still available today.
November 3rd, 1724 – The Canary Islands. The George Galley was bound for the Strait of Gibraltar, when a bloody mutiny occurred. Captain Oliver Ferneau and many of the men loyal to him were killed. The leader of the mutiny was a Scotsman by the name of John Gow, who was 35 years old. Gow, who used the alias “John Smith,” premeditated the attack and deliberately chose this ship because it had 20 guns. He renamed the ship the Revenge, and began a pirating career.
February 14th, 1725 – Scotland. Pirate Captain John Gow’s ship, the Revenge, is blown ashore and he and some of his crew were arrested.
March 25th, 1725 – England. Captain Solgard of HMS Greyhound returns to the Thames River with John Gow and the Revenge. Gow and nine of his pirate crew were tried and hanged. Gow and his lieutenant’s corpses were hung in chains as a warning to seamen not to become pirates.
1725 – the Bahamas. Spanish pirates under Captain Augustin Blanco attack the sloop Snapper. The pirates mounted their attack from a piragua (a large dugout canoe). After taking the ship, the pirates landed at a close by island and robbed a family who lived there.
1725 – Norway. The Dutch ship Akerendam sank off the coast near Norway. Her small cargo contained mainly Dutch coins, but also had some Spanish coins.
November, 1725 – The sloop, Fancy, out of Boston, was headed for the West Indies when she was taken by the pirate sloop Sea Nymph under Captain Philip Lyne.
1725 – The Dove, out of Boston attacked by 22 pirates in a piragua commanded by St. Jago Dedwanies.
1726 – Barbados. Pirate Captain Philip Lyne captured off the coast of South America. He was tried for piracy and murder. He was a particularly cruel person, and regularly tortured and killed his prisoners.
1726 – The West Indies. During a two-year expidition to the Caribbean, Admiral Hosier lost more than 4,000 of his 4,750 seamen to fevers and illnesses.
1726 – England. John da Costa Villareal and some of his associates escape the Inquisition in Lisbon and arrive in England. Their rare but lucky story was printed by the English press.
1726 – London (England). The book, The Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts published. Daniel Defoe is believed to be the author. This book describes George Roberts’ captivity in the hands of pirate captain Edward Low.
1727 – England. King George I dies, and is succeeded by his son, George II.
1727 – Toledo (Spain). Two English sailors, George Gale and William Owen are arraigned by the Spanish Inquisition.
1727 – England. Pirate and murderer, John Prie executed and his corpse was displayed in chains as a warning to sailors who might be contemplating a career of piracy.
1728 – Granada (Spain). The Spanish Inquisition punishes a group of people practicing Islamic customs.
1728 – Marton (England). Captain James Cook born. He would become a famous English navigator.
1729 – Denmark. Danish East India Company founded so the Danish could get a share of trading in India.
1729, Summer –The Bahamas. Woodes Rogers returns to New Providence again to be Governor.
1730 – By this year, the skull and crossbones on a black flag was the most common design of the Jolly Roger pirate flag. However, many variations were used before and after this year.
1731 – England. Daniel Defoe dies.
1731 – Lima (Peru). Dona Ana de Castro tried by the Inquisition for practicing Judaism. She was tortured but she consistently denied any wrongdoing.
1731 – Lisbon (Portugal). Twelve people burned at the stake during an Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
1732, July 15th – Nassau (Bahamas) Woodes Rogers dies.
1732 – Sicily. An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) is held.
1733 – Europe. The War of Polish Succession begins.
1733 – Guatemala. Guatemala mint opens.
July 13th, 1733 – Florida. The 1733 Spanish Plate Fleet is wrecked after encountering a hurricane. These ships carried mostly silver cob coins, but also had some gold cobs. This fleet contained 21 or 22 ships, including the San Jose, Tres Puentes, San Fernando, Herrera, El Populo, Chaves, San Pedro, Poder, El Sueco, El Aviso, Gallo, El Rubi, El Lerri, La Valandra, San Francisco, Angustias, El Infante, Murguia, and the San Ignacio.
1733 – The Spanish Colonies. The beginning of minting coins using the screw press. Coins made with this technique were neater and more uniform than the older “cob” coins.
1734 – The Atlantic. Richard Baker – crewmember of the Europa, a merchant ship bound for England from St. Kitts, became sick. His captain tortured him and he died four days later.
1734 – Sicily. King Carlos of Spain captures the island and limits the power of the Inquisition there.
1735 – Holland. The Dutch East Indiaman, t'Vliegent Hart sank off the coast of Holland. She carried a small amount of Spanish silver coins minted in Mexico.
1735 – England. Witchcraft Act passed. This act denies the idea that true witches exist, and people claiming to have supernatural powers were to be charged with fraud.
1735 – Europe. The War of Polish Succession ends, leaving King Louis XV of France with the province of Lorraine.
December 23rd, 1736 - Lima (Peru). Dona Ana de Castro is burned at the stake by the Inquisition in an Auto de Fe (Act of Faith). This occurred after her refusing to confess to charges of practicing Judaism. Her cries brought out feelings of sympathy among the crowd.
1737 – Lisbon (Portugal). Twelve people burned at the stake during an Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith).
June 4th, 1738 – London (England). George III born.
1739 – Beginning of the Anglo-Spanish war.
October 1st, 1739 – Lisbon (Portugal). Popular playwright, Antonio Jose de Silva burned at the stake by the Inquisition. That evening, comedies he wrote were performed at the Lisbon theatre.
1740 – Europe. Emperor Charles VI dies and is succeeded by Charles Albert, of Bavaria, as Emperor Charles VII. There were conflicts as to who should succeed Charles VI and this resulted with the War of Austrian Succession
1740 – England. Pirate William Duell hanged, but survived. He was about to be dissected when the surgeon noticed he was still breathing. They revived him and sent him to the colonies as punishment.
March 13th, 1741 – Vienna (Austria). Emperor Joseph II born.
1743 – Isles of Scilly (England). Dutch ship Hollandia sank near the isles with large amounts of Spanish pillar dollars and cob coins.
1744 – King George’s War began. This war would last for four years, and is the third war between England and France for possession of the North American continent. England became involved when the French took and demolished the British fort at Cansco, Nova Scotia.
1745 – Europe. Emperor Charles VII dies and is replaced by Emperor Francis I.
April, 1745 – New England. British ships sail from New England to the French fortress of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island, and in June, they captured the fort.
1746 – Spain. Philip V dies, and is replaced by his son, Ferdinand VI as King. King Ferdinand VI tried to remain neutral in the Seven Years War.
1746 – Cape Breton Island. The French send a fleet of warships to recapture Louisbourg, but are scattered by a hurricane.
1747 – Vienna (Austria). Emperor Leopold born.
1747 – South Africa. Dutch ship Reygersdahl sank off the coast of Capetown. She carried large amounts of Spanish pillar dollars and cob coins minted in Mexico and Guatemala.
1747 – Cape Breton Island. French warships try again to take Louisbourg, but fail.
1748 – King George’s War (the War of Austrian Succession) ends with the Aix-La-Chapelle treaty, in which Fort Louisbourg is returned to the French in exchange for British possession of Madras, India.
1748 – The Caribbean. The last of the biannual Spanish treasure fleets sailed.
1748 – Spain. King Charles VI born. He would later rule Spain.
1750 – Venice (Italy). Recondite Notices of the Inquisition of Spain and Portugal published under a different title. This time it bore Antonio Vieira’s name.
1751 – Lisbon (Portugal). Sebastian Joseph de Carvalho e Mello becomes Chief Minister of the Crown. He vowed to put an end to unauthorized Inquisition Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith).
1752 – Uruguay. The Spanish treasure ship Nuestra Senora de la Luz sinks off the coast of Montevideo. She carried mostly 4 and 8 escudo gold cob coins minted at the Lima mint.
September 24th, 1752 – Lisbon (Portugal). An Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) was held, and sixty people were punished, three of which were burned alive.
1753 – Guatemala. Last known Spanish coins minted at Guatemala mint.
1754 - Plymouth (England). William Bligh born. He would later become captain of HMS Bounty on which the infamous mutiny occurred.
August 23rd, 1754 – Versailles (France). Louis XVI born. He would later be the last King of France before Napoleon Bonaparte took over.
1755 – Lisbon (Portugal). A massive earthquake destroys most of the city, including the Inquisition Palace. Many prisoners escaped. The Portuguese Inquisition headquarters was moved to Evora.
1755 – France. King Louis XVIII born.
1755 – England. James Cook joins the British Navy.
1756 – Beginning of the Seven Year’s War, the fourth war between England and France and other European nations in the eighteenth century. The possession of Germany, India, and North America were in dispute (in America this was known as the French and Indian War).
1756 – 1767 – England. James Cook embarks on a voyage to map Newfoundland and other areas in the North Atlantic.
1757 – France. King Charles X born.
1758 – England. Horatio Nelson born.
1759 – Spain. Ferdinand VI dies and is succeeded by his brother, Charles III. He expelled the Jesuits and hindered the Inquisition. He would later form an alliance with France against Britain, to help support America’s war for independence.
1759 – The West Indies. French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe captured by the British.
October 25th, 1760 – Kensington Palace, London (England). King George II dies, and is replaced by his grandson, George III
September 20th, 1761 – Lisbon (Portugal). Gabriel Malagrida, a Jesuit, was burned alive by the Inquisition. His fate might have been the result of his preaching that the recent earthquake was the result of the evil of the Inquisition. Sebastian Joseph de Carvalho e Mello was also not too fond of Jesuits. He did allow the Inquisition to lapse into idleness and Malagrida was the last person burned by the Portuguese Inquisition.
August 12th, 1762, London (England). George IV born.
February 10th, 1763 – The 1763 Treaty of Paris marks the end of the Seven Year’s war.
1763 – The West Indies. Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe returned to France from the British. The Island of Dominica becomes a British territory.
1765 – Europe. Emperor Francis I dies, leaving the Holy Roman Empire to his son, Joseph II, and his wife, Maria Therese.
August 21st, 1765 – London (England). William IV born.
1768 – Florence (Italy). Francis II – the last Holy Roman Emperor born.
April 8th, 1768 – Portugal. The Portuguese Inquisition loses its powers of censorship.
1768 – England. Captain Cook sails to the South Pacific in the Endeavor, to the recently discovered island of Tahiti. He brought with him astronomers to track Venus’s path across the sun in 1769.
1769 – Cartagena (Spain). A secret Mosque was discovered by the Spanish Inquisition.
August 15th, 1769 – Corsica. Napoleon Bonaparte born.
1770 – England. Horatio Nelson joins the British Navy.
1770 – Australia. Captain Cook explores the eastern shores of Australia and claimed it for his King, naming it New South Wales.
1771 – England. Captain Cook returns to England, and is promoted to the rank of commander.
November 15th, 1771 – Portugal. The Inquisition loses its power to hold public Autos de Fe (Acts of Faith) and they are no longer allowed to print lists of people who are accused.
1772 – England. Captain Cook embarks in the Resolution and the Adventure for the South Pacific, to further explore Australia, which at the time was thought to be part of Africa. William Bligh accompanied him during this voyage.
1773 – Bolivia. Potosi mint closes.
May 23rd, 1773 – Portugal. Legal distinctions between “Old Christians” and “New Christians” are abolished.
1773 – Cook Islands. Captain Cook discovers the Cook Islands that would later be named after him.
December 16th, 1773 – Boston (Massachusetts). The so-called Boston Tea Party occurs. Samuel Adams and a mob of Bostonians dressed as Indians raided three ships and threw 342 chests of tea into the harbor. This was done out of protest to the tea tax imposed on the colonies by the British Crown.
May 10th, 1774 – Versailles (France). King Louis XV dies with the ominous but true prediction that the French Monarchy would soon fall. He was replaced by his grandson, Louis XVI.
1774 – The South Pacific. Captain Cook charts numerous South Pacific islands.
September 21st, 1774 – Portugal. New laws are approved by the Crown, removing many rights granted to the Inquisition.
1775 – The West Indies. Islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe become separate colonies.
July, 1775 – England. Captain Cook returns and is made a fellow in the Royal Society.
July 1776 – England. Captain Cook sails in an attempt to fine the fabled Northwest Passage to the Far East, and fails.
July 4th, 1776 – New England. Declaration of Independence signed, beginning the American Revolution, The fledgling United States was established. Near bankruptcy of England resulted from the war.
1778 – Hawaii. Captain Cook discovers the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) and then heads for the west coast of North America. He sailed north, still trying to find the Northwest Passage.
1778 – King Louis XVI of France aids the American Revolution financially. This put a major strain on the already overtaxed French population. The King looses popularity.
1779 – England. Horatio Nelson promoted to the rank of captain in the British Navy.
1779 – Captain Cook returns to the Sandwich Islands, but was killed by natives during a dispute over a boat.
1779 – The West Indies. Island of Grenada back in the possession of France.
1780 – Europe. Empress Maria Therese dies, and her son, Joseph II assumes full rule as Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He would promote religious freedoms during his reign.
1780 – France. Pirate, Jean Laffite born.
1780 – England. Captain Horatio Nelson chosen to teach naval tactics to Prince William (later King William IV).
1781 – France. Louis XVI is forced to end his aid to the American Revolution when his financier resigned.
September 16th, 1781 – Evora (Portugal). The last recorded Inquisition Auto de Fe (Act of Faith) occurs in Portugal.
1782 – Switzerland. Last execution of witches.
1782 – 1783 – The Bahamas. Spain has control of the islands.
September 3rd, 1783 – Paris (France). The 1783 Treaty of Paris signed by United States and England, acknowledging the independence of the United States. In addition, England signed treaties with France and Spain.
1783 – The West Indies. Island of Grenada back in possession of the British.
1784 – The West Indies. Horatio Nelson becomes Captain of the Boreas, an English frigate stationed at the Island of Antigua.
1787 – The Bahamas. The Bahama Islands become a British colony.
1787 - England. Captain Bligh sets sail on HMS Bounty. This voyage would end in a mutiny and him and his loyal hands being cast away in an open launch.
1788 – Spain. Charles III dies, and is succeeded by his son, Charles IV.
1788 – The Pacific Ocean. English captains John Marshall and Thomas Gilbert visit the Gilbert Islands (Named after Thomas Gilbert) located in the South Pacific.
1788 – France. King Louis XVI calls a meeting of the Estates – General to deal with the bad financial situation in France. The Estates – General assumes rule of France.
April 28th, 1789 - The South Pacific. The mutiny on HMS Bounty occurs, and Captain William Bligh and eighteen men loyal to him were put in an open launch. They suffered terrible hardships but managed to make it back to England.
June 14th, 1789 - Island of Timor. Captain William Bligh lands on the island, after travelling 3,618 miles in an open launch with his loyalists.
July 14th, 1789 – France. Beginning of French Revolution. Parisians storm the Bastille – the prison Louis XVI was held in. Louis and the royal family were then held in the palace of Tuileries.
February 20th, 1790 – Vienna (Austria). Emperor Joseph II dies, leaving the throne to Leopold II, his brother.
1790 - Pitcairn Island. Fletcher Christian, leader of the mutiny that occurred on HMS Bounty, settles the island with his crew and native women and men from Tahiti. Their descendants still live on the island.
1791 – France. Louis XVI and the royal family escape and try to reach Austria, but were captured.
1792 – Europe. Emperor Leopold II dies, and is succeeded by his son, Emperor Francis II, who would be the last Holy Roman Emperor.
January 21st, 1793 – France. King Louis XVI, the last French King before the revolution was guillotined.
1793 – Europe. France and England at war, England’s impressments on American sailors (capturing them and forcing them into the service of the British Navy) eventually would lead to the War of 1812.
1794 – The West Indies. French islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique occupied by the British for a short while.
1794 – Corsica (France). Horatio Nelson helped capture the island of Corsica, in which he lost sight of his right eye.
1794 – France. French East India Company dissolved.
1795 – Hispaniola Island. Spain surrenders the island to France.
1795 – Dorset (England). A fleet of English ships, including the Piedmont, were wrecked in Lyme Bay at Dorset. This fleet carried mostly Spanish cob coins minted in Potosi and Columbia in the 1600s.
1796 – Italy. Napoleon Bonaparte made French army commander in Italy.
1796 – Horatio Nelson promoted to commodore in the British Navy.
1797 – The Canary Islands. Horatio Nelson leads an invasion in an attempt to capture the Spanish ruled Canary Islands. His efforts failed, and he lost his right arm in the battle.
1798 – Egypt. Napoleon Bonaparte conquers Egypt, in an attempt to thwart British trade with the East. Horatio Nelson, a British Admiral destroyed his fleet, and left Napoleon stranded in Egypt, where he reorganized the government.
1798 – Indonesia. The Dutch East India Company – bankrupt – was taken over by the Batavian Republic, ruled by France.
1799 – Syria. Napoleon attacks Syria unsuccessfully. Then he won in a raid against Turks at Abukir, France.
1799 – France. End of French Revolution and France is a republic.
1799 – France. Napoleon overthrows the new French government and virtually becomes a dictator over the country. His new regime was called the Consulate.
1800 – Europe. Spain loses its Louisiana territory in America to Napoleonic France during the French Revolution.
1801 – Denmark. Danish East India Company closes, after a war with Britain.
1801 – Canton (China). A prostitute from Canton marries the pirate, Cheng I. She would later become known as Mrs. Cheng, leader of the largest pirate confederacy in history, commanding 50,000 pirates.
1802 – France. Napoleon revises the constitution and makes himself consul until death.
April, 1803 – Europe. Britain and Napoleon’s forces fight sea battles, and later Russia and Austria join the British, forming a coalition against Napoleon.
1804 – Spain. Spain at war with England. Spanish government imposes “compulsory redemption” a forced loan program to collect taxes. The Spanish public protested this act.
1804 – Austria. Emperor Francis II proclaims himself Emperor of Austria.
1804 – Hispaniola Island. The Spanish seize the island from the French and rename it Haiti. Eventually there would be two nations on the island – Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
1804 – France. Napoleon becomes Emperor of France, another revision of the constitution.
1805 – Spain. Battle of Trafalgar – France and Spain were defeated, Horatio Nelson killed, and Napoleon gave up hopes of ever ruling England.
June 14th, 1805 - Australia. William Bligh appointed governor of the New South Wales colony.
1805 – Mexico. “Compulsory redemption” started in Mexico (New Spain). Also the beginning of the Mexican Revolution.
1805 – Europe. Napoleon abandons plans to invade England, but wins the battle of Austerlitz against the Austrians and Russians.
1806 – Europe. Emperor Francis II dissolves the Holy Roman Empire.
1806 – Europe. Napoleon takes over Naples and makes his brother, Joseph King. He made his other brother, Louis King of Holland. He also gained control of most of Germany, and established the Confederation of the Rhine. Russia and Prussia became allies and attacked the Rhine. Napoleon defeated the Prussians.
1806 – Louisiana. Pirate Jean Laffite immigrates to New Orleans, Louisiana, and sets up his base at Barataria, on the southern coast near New Orleans. He sold his plundered goods to unscrupulous merchants in New Orleans. One of these merchants was his brother, Pierre Laffite.
1807 – China. Pirate captain Cheng I dies, and his wife, Mrs. Cheng takes over his leadership of their pirate confederacy. She entered into a relationship with Chang Pao (the adopted son of Cheng I), and made this fisherman’s son captain of the Red Flag Fleet – the strongest fleet in the confederation. Years later, they married.
June 1807 – American coastline. HMS Leopard attacks USS Chesapeake and impresses four U.S. sailors into British service. Many others were killed or wounded. Incidents like this occurred many times – adding fuel to the fire that would result in the War of 1812.
July 9th, 1807 – Europe. Treaty of Tilsit signed between Prussia and Napoleonic France, decreasing the size of Prussian enemies. Napoleon set up a naval blockade to stop commercial ships from England in an attempt to bankrupt the English.
1807 – Portugal. Napoleon seizes control of Portugal.
1807 – Spain. King Charles IV of Spain arrested his son, Ferdinand VII for subversion. But the public forced him to abdicate when a mob stormed the palace. They demanded the death of Manuel de Godoy, an influential minister to Charles IV. Napoleon offered asylum to Ferdinand VII, but had him arrested. Then Napoleon invaded Spain.
January, 1808 - China. The commander in chief of Chekiang leads an expedition to end piracy along China’s coast. In the bloody battle, the commander in chief of Chekiang was killed and the victory went to Mrs. Cheng’s pirates.
1808 - Australia. Governor William Bligh arrested by the citizens and militia of New South Wales for cruelty. He was sent back to England, and was exonerated.
1808 – Canton, China. Chang Pao leads an invasion of Canton. The navy tried to starve the pirates by cutting off their supplies, but the pirates simply sacked the town for food. They won the battles against the navy, and captured 63 naval ships.
1808 - Pitcairn Island. The settlement of mutineers from HMS Bounty is discovered.
1808 – Spain. Ex-Secretary Llorente of the Inquisitional Holy Office calculates the totals of people executed during the entire course of the Spanish Inquisition. According to Llorente, a total of 31,912 people were burned in person, 17,659 were burned in effigy, and those who repented and confessed totaled 291,450.
1808 – Spain. Napoleon deposed King Charles IV and made his brother Joseph King of Spain. This resulted in the suppression of the Inquisition and the beginning of the Peninsular War.
1809 – England. King George III becomes blind.
1809 – Madrid (Spain). The French demolish the Palace of the Inquisition.
August, 1809 – Sanshan (China). Village of Sanshan burned to the ground by pirates under Chang Pao. Eighty villagers were decapitated and the pirates kidnapped the women and children. During this time, the pirate confederacy led by his superior Mrs. Cheng was larger than any of the navy of any nearby country. These pirates had around 200 ships in their command.
September, 1809 – Tao Chiao Island (China). The pirate, Chang Pao’s forces killed approximately 1,000 villagers on the island, and kidnapped 20 women.
1810 – The West Indies. French islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe invaded by the British again.
1810 – Austria. Napoleon marries daughter of Austrian Emperor. Napoleon’s empire is at its apex.
1810 – China. Mrs Cheng is confronted by the navy – assisted by the English and Portuguese. She surrendered and was pardoned under the condition that she would end her pirate career. 17,318 pirates in 226 junks under her command followed and gave up piracy but kept their loot as part of the bargain. A few of the rougher pirates were executed, or banished. Mrs. Cheng spent the rest of her days running a gambling house, and Chang Pao eventually rose to the rank of colonel in the Chinese army.
September 16th, 1810 – Mexico. New Spain’s (Mexico’s) war for independence from Spain begins.
1811 – Europe. Napoleon II born, and was immediately crowned King of Rome.
1811 - England. William Bligh is promoted to Rear Admiral.
1812 – Spain. A new liberal constitution is established under Napoleon’s brother, Joseph.
June, 1812 – United States. War is declared on England, officially starting the War of 1812. Neither side had much money to fund the war.
November 7th, 1813 – Mexico. Representatives adopt a plan for Mexico’s independence from Spain.
1813 – Spain. Jurisdiction for heresy is taken from the Inquisition authorities by the Cortes of Cadiz and given to the episcopal courts.
1814 - England. William Bligh is promoted to the rank of Vice Admiral.
1814 – Spain. End of the Peninsular War and Napoleon was driven out of the Spanish Peninsula. Louis XVIII became King of France (a constitutional sovereign). Ferdinand VII, son of King Charles IV, replaces Joseph Bonaparte on the Spanish throne. Ferdinand revokes the liberal constitution and declares himself absolute ruler. The Inquisition is also reinstated.
1814 – Pirate, Jean Laffite is offered money by the British to help them capture New Orleans. He refused their offer, and used it to get a pardon for piracy by telling the Americans of the British offer, and volunteering to fight against the British. So Laffite and his men fought in the Battle of New Orleans, and they were pardoned by President James Madison. Then Lafffite and his crew returned to piracy.
1815 – France. Napoleon regains power but is defeated in the Battle of Waterloo. Louis XVIII lost the crown, but regained it later that year after the removal of Napoleon by the English.
1815 – The West Indies. Island of Curacao awarded to the Netherlands.
1815 – Mexico. Mexico’s war for independence from Spain ends. Mexico won.
1815 – United States. War of 1812 ends in a stalemate, but it convinced the U.S. that the young nation is able to defend itself against foreign threats.
1816 – The West Indies. British occupation of Guadeloupe and Martinique ends, and the islands again fall to the French.
1816 – Rome. The Pope outlaws the use of torture.
1817 – Galveston Island (Texas). Pirate, Jean Laffite and his 1,000 followers base their operations on the island.
1817 - England. Vice Admiral, and former captain of HMS Bounty, William Bligh dies.
1818 – California. Pirates attack the cities of Monterey and San Juan Capistrano.
1819 – Rome (Italy). Former King Charles IV of Spain dies.
January 1st, 1820 – Spain. A revolution breaks out and the 1812 constitution is restored, and Ferdinand VII is deposed. Once again, the Spanish Inquisition is suppressed.
January 29th, 1820 – Windsor Palace, London (England). King George III dies and is succeeded by his son, George IV.
March 9th, 1820 – Spain. King Ferdinand VII returns to the throne, adopts the 1812 Constitution and for the most part, abolishes the Spanish Inquisition.
1820 – Galveston Island (Texas). Pirate, Jean Laffite attacks an American merchant ship. An American warship was then sent after Laffite, but to avoid a battle, Laffite and several of his high-ranking men were allowed to sail away. Little is known about the rest of his life, but he might have died in 1826. Rumors say that some of Laffite’s treasure is still buried somewhere on Galveston Island, though none of it has been found.
March 21st, 1821 – Portugal. The end of the Portuguese Inquisition results from a Parliamentary resolution.
May 5th, 1821 – Saint Helena Island. Napoleon Bonaparte dies of stomach cancer.
1822 – China. The pirate commander, Chang Pao dies at age 36.
December, 1822 – Aaron Smith tried for seizing two merchantmen in an act of piracy off the coast of Cuba.
1823 – Europe. King Louis XVIII sends French army into Spain and restores King Ferdinand VII.
1823 – Port Royal (Jamaica). Captain Boteler of HMS Gloucester witnesses the hanging of twenty Spanish pirates at Gallows Point. The Spanish pirate captain urged his men to “die like Spaniards.”
1824 – France. Charles X becomes King of France, upon Louis XVIII’s death.
1824 – Mexico. Guadalupe Victoria becomes the first president of the Republic of Mexico.
June 26th, 1830 – Windsor Palace, London (England). Death of King George IV. He was succeeded by his brother, William IV.
July 26th, 1826 – Valencia (Spain). An Inquisition-style execution is done to prove that heresy is still a capital offense in Spain. The accused was garroted and put in a barrel that had flames painted on it. He was “burned” symbolically in this way, because public opinion no longer supported burning at the stake.
1829 - Pitcairn Island. John Adams, the last surviving mutineer on HMS Bounty dies.
1830 – Spain. King Ferdinand VII revokes the Salic Law and this enables him to have his descendants (female or male) be successors to the throne instead of his brother. Ferdinand VII’s daughter, Isabella II was also born this year. She would replace him.
July 1832 – France. Charles X is dethroned as a result of the French Revolution. He fled to England.
1832 – Walter Scott publishes The Pirate, a fictitious story about Captain Cleveland. It was based on the adventures of pirate Captain Gow.
1832 – Austria. Napoleon II dies of tuberculosis.
1833 – Spain. King Ferdinand dies, leaving the throne to his daughter, Isabella II, instead of his brother. Her reign would be filled with strife and instability. There were religious liberals calling for the end of the Tribunals of the Inquisition.
July 15th, 1834 – Spain. The Queen Mother of Spain issues an edict, marking the end of the Spanish Inquisition, and nearly 400 years of religious persecution in that country.
1835 – France. Louis Philippe regime established.
1836 – Charles X dies, and Napoleon III tries to overthrow the French regime of Louis Philippe.
1836 – Captain Marryat publishes The Pirate after serving in the Royal Navy.
1837 – England. King William IV dies, and is succeeded by his niece, Queen Victoria.
1839 - Pitcairn Island. The Island where the settlement was started by the mutineers on HMS Bounty is annexed into British rule.
1840 – France. Napoleon III attempts again to overthrow Louis Philippe regime. Napoleon III was imprisoned.
1844 – Canton (China). The pirate leader, Mrs. Cheng dies at age 69.
1846 – France. Napoleon III escapes from prison.
1848 – France. French Revolution. France is now a presidential republic.
1850 – Edinburgh (Scotland). Robert Louis Stevenson born. He would become famous from his most well known novel, Treasure Island.
1851 – France. Napoleon III becomes ruler of France with his new constitution.
1858 – R. M. Ballentyne publishes Coral Island – a Robinson Crusoe like story about 3 boys stranded in the Pacific Ocean on a deserted island.
1860 – Spain. Discrimination between “New Christians” and “Old Christians” abolished in Spain. No longer were people required to produce certificates of “purity of blood” from Jewish or Moorish descent.
1860 – France. Napoleon III gives more power to the legislative houses.
1867 – Spanish Inquisitor, Pedro Arbues – who was killed in Spain in the year 1485, is formally canonized by the Holy See.
1868 – Spain. A revolution takes place, and Isabella II flees to France.
1869 – Spain. Religious tolerance added to the Spanish constitution, but religious freedom was not enforced until 1931.
1870 – France. Beginning of Franco-Prussian war. Napoleon III loses his title as Emperor of France.
1871 – France. France defeated in Franco-Prussian war.
1873 – France. Napoleon III dies.
1874 – India. The English East India Company dissolved.
1874 – Spain. Isabella II’s son, Alfonso XII becomes King of Spain.
1878 – By this time, most piracy in the Caribbean is suppressed, and this concludes this 500-year time line. To the present day, there are still pirates in the Caribbean, and other parts of the world. In modern times, pirates use high-speed motorboats equipped with radar, and they steal everything from electronics to concrete and steel. An average of 120 ships are reported to be attacked by pirates each year (that’s just the reported cases). Most present-day shipping companies are too embarrassed to report losses due to pirate attacks.
CAP'N MORGAN -- MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS -- MOVIES & BOOKS - LINKS
