16th Century
| Year | Date | Event |
|---|---|---|
| 1502 | Miguel Corte-Real set out for New England in search of his brother, Gaspar. | |
| João da Nova discovered Ascension Island. | ||
| Fernão de Noronha discovered the island which still bears his name. | ||
| 1503 | On his return from the East, Estêvão da Gama discovered Saint Helena Island. | |
| 1506 | Tristão da Cunha discovered the island that bears his name. Portuguese sailors landed on Madagascar. | |
| 1509 | The Gulf of Bengal crossed by Diogo Lopes de Sequeira. On the crossing he also reached Malacca. | |
| 1510 | Conquest of Goa by Afonso de Albuquerque. | |
| 1511 | Conquest of Malacca by Afonso de Albuquerque. | |
| 1512 | António de Abreu discovered Timor island and reached Banda Islands, Ambon Island and Seram. Francisco Serrão reached the Moluccas. | |
| 1513 | The first trading ship to touch the coasts of China, under Jorge Álvares and Rafael Perestrello later in the same year. | |
| 1515 | Afonso de Albuquerque captures the Kingdom of Hormuz. | |
| 1517 | Fernão Pires de Andrade and Tomé Pires were chosen by Manuel I of Portugal to sail to China to formally open relations between the Portuguese Empire and the Ming Dynasty during the reign of the Zhengde Emperor. | |
| 1521 | João III of Portugal becomes king. | |
| António Correia captures Bahrain, which is under Portuguese rule until 1602. | ||
| 1526 | Jorge de Meneses reaches New Guinea for the first time. | |
| 1542 | Portuguese explorers Fernão Mendes Pinto, Diogo Zeimoto and Cristovão Borralho are the first Europeans to land in Japan. | |
| 1557 | Macau given to Portugal by the Emperor of China as a reward for services rendered against the pirates who infested the South China Sea. | |
| Sebastião of Portugal becomes king. | ||
| 1568 | King Sebastião of Portugal comes of age and takes control of government. | |
| 1569 | Plague epidemic in Portugal. Only in Lisbon 60,000 people die. | |
| Nagasaki, in Japan, is open to Portuguese traders. | ||
| 1570 | Luís de Camões returns to Lisbon from the Orient. | |
| Goa, in Portuguese India, is attacked by a coalition of Indian forces, but these are defeated by Portuguese Vice-Roy Luís de Ataíde, Count of Atouguia. | ||
| 1578 | Portuguese troops utterly defeated in Africa, in the battle of Alcácer Quibir; king Sebastião disappears in the battle never to be seen again. | |
| Cardinal Henrique I of Portugal becomes king. | ||
| 1579 | Cortes in Lisbon. | |
| 1580 | Cortes in Almeirim. | |
| King Cardinal Henrique I of Portugal dies. | ||
| Invasion of Portugal by a Spanish army commanded by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba. | ||
| Battle of Alcântara between Portuguese and Spanish forces. | ||
| The Fortress of St. Julian, in Lisbon, surrenders to the Spanish. | ||
| Anthony of Portugal, the Prior of Crato, is acclaimed King of Portugal in Santarém. | ||
| Death of Luís de Camões, Portugal's national poet. | ||
| Beginning of the Cortes (General Assembly of the Kingdom) of Tomar. | ||
| 1581 | Philip II of Spain is acclaimed in the Cortes of Tomar as King Philip I of Portugal in a personal union of the Crowns. Portugal loses de facto independence to Spain. | |
| Anthony of Portugal, the Prior of Crato, takes refuge in England. | ||
| The Azores refuse to recognize Philip I of Portugal as King. | ||
| 1582 | The Spanish Fleet of Santa Cruz defeats the Portuguese-French Fleet of Strozzi in the Azores. | |
| Introduction of the Gregorian Calendar in Portugal. | ||
| 1583 | Cortes in Lisbon. | |
| King Philip I of Portugal departs for Madrid and leaves the government of Portugal with Portuguese trustees. | ||
| The Azores are submitted. | ||
| Francis Drake attacks Portuguese Brazil. | ||
| 1589 | Anthony of Portugal, the Prior of Crato, attacks Lisbon with English aid, but with no success. | |
| 1595 | Anthony of Portugal, the Prior of Crato, dies in Paris. | |
| 1598 | Philip III of Spain becomes Philip II of Portugal. |
Read more about this topic: Timeline Of Portuguese History
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