Early Modern
Changamire Dombo and the Rozvi Empire: Driving Out the Portuguese
Dombo's Rozvi forces defeated the Portuguese, destroyed their inland trading posts and founded a state that dominated the plateau until the 1830s.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
Blackbeard (1718): The Pirate's Last Stand at Ocracoke Inlet
Blackbeard and several of his crew were killed by a Royal Navy boarding party under Lieutenant Robert Maynard; most survivors were later hanged in Virginia.
Early Modern
Satsuma Invasion of Ryukyu (1609): Okinawa Under Japanese Control
Satsuma conquered Ryukyu, annexed the Amami Islands and made the kingdom a vassal of the Shimazu, while it continued to send tribute to China.
Early Modern
Siege of Szigetvár (1566): Zrínyi's Last Stand and Suleiman
The Ottomans took Szigetvár after Zrinski's garrison died in a final sortie, but Suleiman died during the siege and the campaign ended without further gains.
Early Modern
Newton's Annus Mirabilis (1665-1666): Calculus, Light and Gravity
Newton laid the foundations of calculus, his theory of colours and his ideas on universal gravitation, though most were published only years later.
Early Modern
Battle of Mühlberg (1547): Charles V Defeats the Lutheran Princes
Decisive imperial victory; Elector John Frederick was captured and the Schmalkaldic League collapsed.
Early Modern
Cholula Massacre (1519): Cortés's March to Tenochtitlan
Thousands of Cholulans were killed, the city submitted to the Spaniards, and Cortés's road to Tenochtitlan lay open.
Contemporary
Piper Alpha Disaster (1988): The North Sea Oil Platform Fire
The platform was destroyed and 167 men died; the Cullen inquiry led to a new safety-case regime for offshore installations in the United Kingdom.
Contemporary
Revolutions of 1989: The Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe
Communist one-party rule ended in six Soviet-bloc states within a year, opening the way to German reunification and the end of the Cold War.
Contemporary
Voting Rights Act of 1965: Protecting Black Voters in the US
Congress outlawed racial discrimination in voting and imposed federal oversight on states with a history of it, leading to a dramatic rise in Black voter registration in the South.
Contemporary
Discovery of Pulsars (1967): Jocelyn Bell Burnell's Signal
The first pulsar, now known as PSR B1919+21, was discovered and soon identified as a rapidly rotating neutron star.
Contemporary
Ghana Independence 1957: Kwame Nkrumah and Africa's First Step
The Gold Coast became the independent state of Ghana within the Commonwealth, with Kwame Nkrumah as prime minister.