1522
Elcano Completes the Circumnavigation
Juan Sebastian Elcano brought the battered Victoria into Sanlucar de Barrameda carrying eighteen survivors, a cargo of cloves, and a logbook showing they had lost a day to the westward rotation of the Earth. The first circumnavigation of the globe had taken three years and cost over two hundred lives.
Knights of Rhodes Surrender
After a six-month siege, the Knights Hospitaller, outnumbered and out-mined, handed the Aegean island of Rhodes to Suleiman on New Year's Day. The sultan allowed them to sail away with honor. They would wander homeless until Charles V gave them Malta, where they would meet the Ottomans again. Suleiman's chivalric courtesy, allowing the Knights to depart with weapons and wounded, contrasted with the massacres typical of Ottoman sieges.
Cortes Rebuilds Mexico City
Hernan Cortes laid out a new Spanish city atop the rubble of Tenochtitlan, using the Mexica ceremonial center as a central plaza and the calzadas as the axes of a grid. The new cathedral rose on the stones of the Templo Mayor. The indigenous metropolis had become a Spanish one almost overnight.
Luther's German New Testament
From his hideout at the Wartburg, Luther published a translation of the New Testament in a plain, muscular German that common readers could understand. Printers across the empire pirated it within months. A religion newly available in the vernacular was about to become impossible to contain. His translation fixed the German language in a form bridging northern and southern dialects, accelerating German national consciousness.
Magellan's Logbook Survives
Antonio Pigafetta, a Venetian gentleman who had sailed with Magellan and survived the circumnavigation, presented his journal to Charles V. It detailed giants in Patagonia, Pacific crossings without fresh food, and the killing of his captain. His account would remain the best surviving record of the voyage and a literary classic.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1522?
Saeculum lists 5 curated events from 1522. The most significant is Elcano Completes the Circumnavigation: Juan Sebastian Elcano brought the battered Victoria into Sanlucar de Barrameda carrying eighteen survivors, a cargo of cloves, and a logbook showing…
What era was 1522 part of?
1522 falls within the Renaissance (1501-1650). Reformation, conquest, and the world drawn whole.
Which regions saw notable events in 1522?
The curated events from 1522 span Europe, Middle East and North America.