January–March •
January 6 – In the
Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, the Spanish colonists create the new town of
Mérida. •
January 16 – The 8th Parliament of
Henry VIII assembles at Westminster after having been summoned on November 23. •
January 20 – The first legislature for the
Voivode of Transylvania meets at
Vásárhely in the Kingdom of Hungary (now Târgu Mureș in
Romania). •
January 23 –
Tutul-Xiu, the
Mayan ruler of the
Maní in Yucatán, arrives at the Spanish settlement of Merida with food supplies for the colonists and offers to assist the Spaniards in their conquest of Yucatan in return for being installed as the leading Mayan ruler in Mexico. •
February 2 –
Battle of Baçente: The
Portuguese under
Cristóvão da Gama capture a
Muslim-occupied hillfort in northern
Ethiopia. •
February 13 –
Catherine Howard, until recently the
Queen consort of England and the wife of King Henry VIII, is executed by beheading, two days after the King gives
royal assent to a
bill of attainder passed by the English Parliament on February 7. Catherine had been arrested in November on accusations that she had sexual relations with
Thomas Culpeper. •
February 14 –
Guadalajara, Mexico, is founded by the
Spaniards after three previous attempts failed, due to aggressive opposition from local tribes. •
February 15 –
Antoine Escalin des Aimars of France completes the negotiation with the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman for the
Franco-Ottoman alliance. •
March 8 –
Antoine Escalin des Eymars, the French ambassador, returns from
Constantinople, with promises of Ottoman aid in a war against
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.
April–June •
April 1 – As the 1542 session of the English Parliament ends, King Henry VIII gives
royal assent to numerous laws, including the
Witchcraft Act, the
Treason Act, and the
Leases by Corporations Act. •
April 4 – The
Battle of Jarte begins in
Ethiopia as the Army of the
Portuguese Empire, commanded by
Cristóvão da Gama encounters the army of the Ethiopian ruler, the Imam
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, achieving a victory on April 16. •
May 19 – The
Prome Kingdom, in modern-day central
Burma, is conquered by the
Taungoo Dynasty. •
June 18 – The
Parliament of Ireland passes the
Crown of Ireland Act, which dissolves the title of
Lord of Ireland and reestablishes it to the
Kingdom of Ireland, with its last Lord,
Henry VIII of England, becoming its first king. •
June 27 –
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sets sail to explore the northwest of the Pacific Ocean.
July–September •
July 21 –
Pope Paul III establishes the
Holy Office with the bull
Licet ab initio, with jurisdiction over the
Roman Inquisition. •
July 23 – (10th day of 6th month of
Tenbun 11) In
Japan, a six-year rebellion within the
Date clan when clan leader
Date Tanemune, returning home from a day of
falconry, is attacked by his oldest son,
Date Harumune, and imprisoned at
Kōri-Nishiyama Castle in
Fukushima Prefecture. Tanemune is rescued by an aide, Koyanagigawa Munetomo, and escapes. The war lasts for six years before Harumune triumphs and becomes the new leader of the Date clan. •
July 24 –
Guelders Wars:
Maarten van Rossum leaves
Antwerp, having failed to take it by siege. •
August 24 –
Battle of Haddon Rig:
Scotland defeats
England. •
August 27 – Citizens of
Hildesheim in the
Holy Roman Empire profess themselves to the Lutheran teachings, thus joining the
Schmalkaldic League. As a pledge owner, the city provides for the carrying out of the
Protestant Reformation in the city and
Peine. Priests from the localities of Clauen,
Hohenhameln,
Soßmar, Schmedenstedt,
Lengede and Rosenthal resume their offices in the interest of the Reformation. •
August 28 –
Battle of Wofla in
Ethiopia: Reinforced with at least 2900 arquebusiers and cavalry, the
Imam Ahmed ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi attacks the
Portuguese camp. The Portuguese are scattered;
Cristóvão da Gama is captured and executed. •
September 4 – The earliest recorded
Preston Guild Court is held in
Lancashire, England, in the modern sequence, which lasts unbroken until
1922. •
September 28 –
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo lands in what is now
San Diego Bay, and names it "San Miguel", claiming it for the Spanish Empire. San Miguel will later become the city of
San Diego.
October–December •
October 7 – Cabrillo becomes the first European to set foot on California's
Santa Catalina Island. •
November 9 – King
James V of Scotland writes a letter to
Pope Paul III and notes that he defied Henry VIII's attempts to convert him to the
Protestant faith. •
November 24 –
Battle of Solway Moss: An
English army invades
Scotland, and defeats a Scottish army. •
November 27 –
Palace plot of Renyin year: A group of
Ming dynasty palace women fail to murder the
Jiajing Emperor, and are executed by
slow-slicing. •
December 14 –
Mary, Queen of Scots, aged six days, becomes
queen regnant on the death of her father,
James V of Scotland.
Date unknown • The first contact of
Japan with the West occurs when a
Portuguese ship, blown off its course to China, lands Antonio Pexoto, Francisco Zeimoto and
António Mota in Japan, according to
António Galvão. According to the Japanese books
Tanegashima Kafu and
Teppoki, it is stated they landed in 1543. == Births ==