1571
Lepanto
In the Gulf of Patras, a Holy League fleet under Don Juan of Austria destroyed the Ottoman navy in the largest galley battle in history. Cervantes, wounded in the chest and left hand, would later call it the greatest occasion the past or present has seen. Ottoman naval myth, for the first time, cracked.
Manila Founded
Miguel Lopez de Legazpi moved the Spanish capital of the Philippines to a sheltered bay on Luzon and founded Manila on the ruins of a Muslim settlement whose raja he had defeated. Within a generation Manila would become the Pacific terminus of a global trade linking Ming China, Mexico, and Spain.
Nobunaga Burns Mount Hiei
Infuriated by the warrior monks of the Enryakuji temple complex, Oda Nobunaga surrounded Mount Hiei outside Kyoto and burned every monastery and village on the mountain, slaughtering thousands of monks, women, and children. Japanese Buddhism's great institutional power was broken by fire in a single morning. The massacre permanently ended Buddhist political interference in Japanese governance that had plagued the islands for centuries.
Crimean Tatars Burn Moscow
The Crimean khan Devlet I Giray led a raiding army to the gates of Moscow and set the wooden city alight. Flames killed tens of thousands trapped between the walls and the Oka River. Ivan the Terrible watched from a distant estate, trembling. His oprichnina was beginning to come apart.
Russian Crimea Raid
Crimean Tatars under Devlet Giray raided deep into Muscovy and reached Moscow, setting the wooden suburbs alight. Tens of thousands of inhabitants died in the fire and smoke. Ivan the Terrible was humiliated and began reinforcing the southern steppe frontier in earnest. The devastation, killing tens of thousands and carrying off captives for Crimean slave markets, was one of Russia's worst military disasters.
Royal Exchange Opens in London
Sir Thomas Gresham's new Royal Exchange opened in London as a meeting place for merchants, modeled on the Antwerp bourse. Elizabeth I personally toured it and granted it its royal title. The institution would play a central role in the growth of English commercial finance for the next three centuries.
Want 1571 in context? Print the whole 16th century as a one-sheet timeline chart.
Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1571?
Saeculum lists 6 curated events from 1571. The most significant is Lepanto: In the Gulf of Patras, a Holy League fleet under Don Juan of Austria destroyed the Ottoman navy in the largest galley battle in history.
What era was 1571 part of?
1571 falls within the Renaissance (1501-1650). Reformation, conquest, and the world drawn whole.
Which regions saw notable events in 1571?
The curated events from 1571 span Europe, Southeast Asia and East Asia.