1527
Sack of Rome
Unpaid imperial troops, many of them Lutheran landsknechts, stormed Rome and spent eight days murdering, raping, and desecrating churches. Pope Clement VII cowered in the Castel Sant'Angelo as his Swiss Guards were butchered on the steps of Saint Peter's. The Italian Renaissance was effectively over. Artists and scholars scattered across Italy, paradoxically spreading the Renaissance ideas the sack had devastated.
Khanwa: Babur Defeats the Rajputs
At Khanwa, west of Agra, Babur met Rana Sanga of Mewar and a confederation of Rajput princes sworn to drive him back across the Khyber. Babur, who had poured his last wine on the ground and sworn off drink, broke them with artillery and flanking attacks. Mughal authority in northern India hardened.
Cabot's Son Sebastian Sails
Sebastian Cabot, son of the Venetian navigator John, sailed from Spain toward the Rio de la Plata on an expedition meant to reach the Spice Islands but diverted by rumors of Andean silver. He founded the short-lived fort of Sancti Spiritu on the Parana, the first European settlement in what is now Argentina.
Henry VIII Seeks His Great Matter
Henry VIII, convinced Catherine of Aragon could not give him a male heir and besotted with Anne Boleyn, quietly instructed Cardinal Wolsey to begin seeking an annulment from Rome. Pope Clement VII, a virtual prisoner of Charles V after the sack, could not oblige. English Catholicism's long death began. The obsession with a male heir would transform England's religious, political, and cultural landscape beyond recognition.
Paracelsus Burns Galen
The brash Swiss physician Paracelsus, newly appointed professor at Basel, publicly burned the medical works of Galen and Avicenna in a bonfire and lectured in rude German instead of Latin. He insisted that mineral remedies and observation, not ancient authority, would heal the sick. The medical faculty was apoplectic. His emphasis on chemical remedies and patient observation anticipated modern pharmacology, though his belligerent personality limited his influence.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1527?
Saeculum lists 5 curated events from 1527. The most significant is Sack of Rome: Unpaid imperial troops, many of them Lutheran landsknechts, stormed Rome and spent eight days murdering, raping, and desecrating churches.
What era was 1527 part of?
1527 falls within the Renaissance (1501-1650). Reformation, conquest, and the world drawn whole.
Which regions saw notable events in 1527?
The curated events from 1527 span Europe, South Asia and South America.