1500
Cabral Stumbles on Brazil
Bound for India with a fleet of thirteen ships, the Portuguese nobleman Pedro Alvares Cabral swung too far west into the Atlantic and washed up on an unmapped…
Safavid Revolt in Ardabil
A thirteen-year-old mystic named Ismail, last heir of a Sufi brotherhood steeped in martyrdom, emerged from hiding in the forests of Gilan with seven loyal…
Michelangelo Finishes the Pieta
A twenty-four-year-old Florentine unveiled a marble Virgin cradling her dead son in Saint Peter's Basilica.
Diogo Dias Reaches Madagascar
Separated from Cabral's fleet in a howling Atlantic storm, the Portuguese captain Diogo Dias drifted around the Cape and sighted an enormous island cloaked…
Hemisphere of Silver
Spanish authorities in the Caribbean began organizing the first systematic mining and tribute levies on Taino populations across Hispaniola, Puerto Rico…
Aldine Press Pockets the Classics
In Venice, Aldus Manutius printed octavo editions of Virgil and Horace small enough to slip into a saddlebag.
Kongo Kingdom Embraces Catholicism
King Nzinga a Nkuwu of Kongo, baptized as Joao I, deepened his alliance with Portugal, sending his son Afonso to study in Lisbon.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1500?
Saeculum lists 8 events from 1500. The most significant is Cabral Stumbles on Brazil.
What era was 1500 part of?
1500 falls within the Late Middle Ages (1301-1500). Plague, papal schism, and the seeds of nation-states.
Which regions saw notable events in 1500?
The events from 1500 span South America, Middle East, Europe, Africa and North America.