WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 16. CENTURY
Find out what all happened in the first half of the 16. century

Battle of Mactan: Explorer Ferdinand Magellan is killed by natives in the Philippines led by chief Lapu-Lapu. (27. April 1521)

Combined forces of Spain and the Papal States defeat a French and Venetian army at the Battle of Bicocca. (27. April 1522)

Re-founding of the city of Bogotá, New Granada (now Colombia), by Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar. (27. April 1539)

The Battle of Cerignola is fought. It is noted as the first battle in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder. (28. April 1503)

Swedish War of Liberation: Swedish troops under Gustav Vasa defeat a Danish force under Didrik Slagheck in the Battle of Västerås and soon capture the city of Västerås. The Danish-held castle, however, does not surrender to the Swedes until 31 January the following year, after a nine-month siege. (29. April 1521)

Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII. (30. April 1513)

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft. (2. May 1536)

Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, die fighting the forces of Charles V in order to allow Pope Clement VII to escape into Castel Sant'Angelo. (6. May 1527)

The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish. (6. May 1536)

King Henry VIII of England orders English-language Bibles be placed in every church. (6. May 1536)

Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time. (6. May 1542)

Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River and names it Río de Espíritu Santo. (8. May 1541)

Christopher Columbus visits the Cayman Islands and names them Las Tortugas after the numerous turtles there. (10. May 1503)

Jacques Cartier visits Newfoundland. (10. May 1534)

Christopher Columbus leaves for his fourth and final voyage to the West Indies. (11. May 1502)

The Prince of Anhua rebellion begins when Zhu Zhifan kills all the officials invited to a banquet and declares his intent on ousting the powerful Ming Dynasty eunuch Liu Jin during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor. (12. May 1510)

Mary Tudor, Queen of France and Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk are officially married at Greenwich. (13. May 1515)

Battle of Agnadello: In northern Italy, French forces defeat the Venetians. (14. May 1509)

Insurgent peasants led by Anabaptist pastor Thomas Muentzer were defeated at the Battle of Frankenhausen, ending the German Peasants' War in the Holy Roman Empire. (15. May 1525)

Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, stands trial in London on charges of treason, adultery and incest. She is condemned to death by a specially-selected jury. (15. May 1536)