Middle Ages
Fall of Vijaya (1471): Le Thanh Tong Conquers Champa
Dai Viet captured Vijaya and annexed northern Champa; a much smaller Cham state survived in the far south until the 19th century.
Era · c. 500 – 1500
Middle Ages
Kingdoms, crusades and plagues: the medieval world from the end of the Western Roman Empire to the fall of Constantinople.
Middle Ages
Tlatelolco's Conquest by Tenochtitlan (1473): Aztec Civil War
Tenochtitlan conquered Tlatelolco, ended its line of independent rulers and took control of its great market.
Middle Ages
Pazzi Conspiracy (1478): Murder in Florence Cathedral
Giuliano de' Medici was killed but Lorenzo survived; the plotters were executed and Medici power in Florence emerged stronger, though a two-year war with the Papacy and Naples followed.
Middle Ages
Spanish Inquisition (1478): Its Founding and Torquemada
A royal-controlled inquisition was established that tried thousands of conversos and others, lasted until 1834 and contributed to the expulsion of Spain's Jews in 1492.
Middle Ages
Tarascan Empire and the Great Aztec Defeat of 1478
Decisive Tarascan victory; the Aztec army was largely destroyed and the Aztec-Tarascan border remained fixed until the Spanish conquest.
Middle Ages
Great Stand on the Ugra River (1480): End of the Tatar Yoke
Khan Akhmat withdrew without a decisive battle; the event is traditionally seen as the end of Golden Horde overlordship over Muscovy.
Middle Ages
Elmina Castle (1482): Portugal's First Fort in West Africa
Portugal built the first European fortress in sub-Saharan Africa, secured a near-monopoly of the Gold Coast gold trade for over a century and created a base later used in the Atlantic slave trade.
Middle Ages
Princes in the Tower (1483): The Mystery of Edward V and Richard
The two sons of Edward IV disappeared from view in the Tower of London in 1483; they are generally believed to have died there, but who was responsible has never been proven.
Middle Ages
Battle of Bosworth (1485): Richard III Falls, the Tudors Rise
Richard III was killed and his army defeated; Henry Tudor became King Henry VII, founding the Tudor dynasty.
Middle Ages
Ahuitzotl and the Templo Mayor Rededication of 1487
The enlarged Templo Mayor was dedicated with massive ceremonies, and Ahuitzotl went on to extend the Aztec Empire to its greatest size.
Middle Ages
Alhambra Decree (1492): The Expulsion of the Jews From Spain
Jews who refused baptism were expelled from Castile and Aragon; tens of thousands left, many others converted, and the Sephardic diaspora spread across the Mediterranean.
Middle Ages
Fall of Granada (1492): The End of the Reconquista
The Nasrid Emirate of Granada surrendered to the Crown of Castile, ending almost eight centuries of Muslim rule in the Iberian Peninsula.