Early Modern
Siege of Drogheda (1649): Cromwell's Conquest of Ireland Begins
Parliamentarian victory; the town was stormed and most of the garrison, along with an uncertain number of civilians, was killed.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
John Hawkins's Slave Voyages (1562-1568): England Joins the Trade
Hawkins made large profits on his first two voyages, but the third ended with the loss of most of his fleet at San Juan de Ulua in 1568, and organised English slave trading did not resume for decades.
Early Modern
Jesuit Reductions of Paraguay (1609): Missions of the Guaraní
Some thirty Guaraní mission towns flourished for over 150 years until the Spanish crown expelled the Jesuits in 1767, after which the towns declined.
Early Modern
Siege of Mount Hiei (1571): Nobunaga Destroys Enryaku-ji
Nobunaga's forces burned Sakamoto and much of the Enryaku-ji complex, killing an estimated 1,500 to 4,000 people and ending the monastery's military power.
Early Modern
Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp: A Safavid Masterpiece Manuscript
A royal manuscript with 258 paintings was completed, later given to the Ottoman sultan and, in the 20th century, broken up among collections worldwide.
Early Modern
Gregorian Calendar (1582): Pope Gregory XIII's Reform of Time
Ten days were dropped in October 1582 and a new leap-year rule created the calendar now used as the international civil standard.
Early Modern
Zwingli and the Zurich Reformation (1523): Swiss Reform
The Zurich city council adopted Zwingli's Scripture-based reform, abolishing the Mass by 1525 and founding the Reformed tradition of Protestantism.
Early Modern
Amerigo Vespucci's Voyages (1499–1502) and the Name America
Vespucci's widely printed letters argued that the lands to the west were a new continent, and his name was given to the Americas in 1507.
Contemporary
Santa Barbara Oil Spill (1969): The Blowout That Sparked Change
An estimated 80,000-100,000 barrels of crude oil fouled the coast; public outrage helped produce the National Environmental Policy Act, Earth Day and stronger coastal protection.
Contemporary
Elysée Treaty (1963): The Franco-German Friendship Pact
France and West Germany committed themselves to regular summits and ministerial meetings, and created the Franco-German Youth Office, laying the basis for lasting reconciliation.
Contemporary
Murder of Emmett Till (1955): The Lynching That Shocked America
Two white men were acquitted of the murder by an all-white jury; the case became a catalyst for the civil rights movement.
Contemporary
Explorer 1 (1958): First US Satellite and the Van Allen Belts
The United States placed its first satellite in orbit, and its cosmic-ray instrument revealed the Earth's radiation belts.