Tag Archives: 1520

28 November 1520

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After 38 days, an expedition under the command of Ferdinand Magellan completes the first passage through the Strait of Magellan and enters the Pacific Ocean

Ferdinand Magellan (1480–1521) was a Portuguese explorer renowned for his groundbreaking expedition that led to the first circumnavigation of the globe, although he did not complete the journey himself. Sponsored by Spain, Magellan set sail in 1519 with five ships, aiming to discover a western sea route to the Spice Islands (present-day Maluku Islands in Indonesia). His voyage was marked by significant challenges, including mutinies, treacherous waters, and unfamiliar territories. Magellan is credited with discovering the strait that now bears his name—the Strait of Magellan—navigating through South America’s southern tip into the Pacific Ocean, which he named due to its calm waters. Tragically, Magellan was killed in 1521 in the Philippines during a conflict with local inhabitants. Despite his death, his fleet, under the leadership of Juan Sebastián Elcano, completed the expedition in 1522, proving that the Earth could be circumnavigated and revolutionizing European navigation and global trade.

26 October 1520

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Charles V is crowned as the Holy Roman Emperor.

 

Charles V 24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558 was ruler of both the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and the Spanish Empire from 1516, as well as of the lands of the former Duchy of Burgundy from 1506. He stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556. Through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish viceroyalties in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly 4 million square kilometres, and were the first to be described as “the empire on which the sun never sets”.

Charles was the heir of three of Europe’s leading dynasties: Valois of Burgundy, Habsburg of Austria, and Trastámara of Spain. As heir of the House of Burgundy, he inherited areas in the Netherlands and around the eastern border of France. As a Habsburg, he inherited Austria and other lands in central Europe, and was also elected to succeed his grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor. As a grandson of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, from the Spanish House of Trastámara he inherited the Crown of Castile, which was developing a nascent empire in the Americas and Asia, and the Crown of Aragon, which included a Mediterranean empire extending to southern Italy. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, and as a result he is often referred to as the first king of Spain.The personal union under Charles of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish Empire was the closest Europe has come to a universal monarchy since the time of Charlemagne in the 9th century.

Because of widespread fears that his vast inheritance would lead to the realization of a universal monarchy and that he was trying to create a European hegemony, Charles was the object of hostility from many enemies. His reign was dominated by war, particularly by three major simultaneous prolonged conflicts: the Italian Wars with France, the struggle to halt the Turkish advance into Europe, and the conflict with the German princes resulting from the Protestant Reformation. The French wars, mainly fought in Italy, lasted for most of his reign. Enormously expensive, they led to the development of the first modern professional army in Europe, the Tercios.