1492Year 1492 (MCDXCII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. 1492 is considered to be a significant year in the history of the West, Europe, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Spain, and the New World, among others, because of the number of significant events that took place. The events which propelled the year into Western consciousness, listed below, include the completion of the Reconquista of Spain, Europe's (Spain) discovery of the New World, and the expulsion of Jews from Spain.
1562NOTOC Year 1562 (MDLXII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. January 6 – Shane O'Neill of Tír Eoghain pleads his cause at the Palace of Whitehall in London, before Queen Elizabeth I of England, who recognises his status. He returns to Ireland on May 26, and resumes his rebellious activities by November. January 17 – Huguenots are recognized under the Edict of Saint-Germain. January 18 The Council of Trent reconvenes, after a gap of 10 years.
1501Year 1501 (MDI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. January 17 – Cesar Borgia returns triumphantly to Rome, from Romagna. February 1 – The Duchy of Bavaria-Dachau, created in Germany in 1467 after Sigismund, Duke of Bavaria was granted his own state following his resignation from the throne of the Duchy of Bavaria-Munich, reverts to Bavaria-Munich's control upon Sigismund's death.
1497Year 1497 (MCDXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. February 7 (Shrove Tuesday) – Followers of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of "immoral" objects, at the Bonfire of the Vanities in Florence. March – The Russo-Swedish War (1495–1497) ends with a six year truce. Due to gathering unrest at home, the Swedish leader Sten Sture the Elder was forced to offer a peace to Ivan III of Moscow. May – The Cornish Rebellion breaks out in England, incited by war taxes.
1616January 1 – King James I of England attends the masque The Golden Age Restored, a satire by Ben Jonson on fallen court favorite the Earl of Somerset. The king asks for a repeat performance on January 6. January 3 – In the court of James I of England, the king's favorite George Villiers becomes Master of the Horse (encouraging development of the thoroughbred horse); on April 24 he receives the Order of the Garter; and on August 27 is created Viscount Villiers and Baron Waddon, receiving a grant of land valued at £80,000.
1610Some have suggested that 1610 may mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man', marking a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system, but earlier starting dates (ca. 1000 C.E.) have received broader consensus, based on high resolution pollution records that show the massive impact of human activity on the atmosphere. January 6 – Nossa Senhora da Graça incident: A Portuguese carrack sinks near Nagasaki, after fighting Japanese samurai for four nights.
1600NOTOC In the Gregorian calendar, it was the last century leap year until the year 2000. January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25. January 20 — Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, renews the Nine Years' War (Ireland) against England with an invasion of Munster. January 24 —Sebald de Weert makes the first recorded sighting of the Falkland Islands. February 17 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy in Rome, Giordano Bruno has his tongue "imprisoned" after he refuses to stop talking.
1606January 9 – The Black Nazarene arrives in Manila from Mexico. January 24 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators, for plotting against Parliament and James I of England, begins. January 29 – Explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós of Portugal, accompanied by a party of 160 men on the ships San Pedro, San Pablo and Los Tres Reyes, leads the first Europeans to discover the Pitcairn Islands. February 9 – Queirós and his crew discover Mehetia, followed three days later by the Tauere atoll.