The era of
Subscribe1520s
7 recaps across 5 years of the decade. Reconstructed from contemporary coverage, archives, and the public record.
1521Spanish Conquest of Aztec Empire
Cortés's conquest of Tenochtitlan ended the Aztec Empire and triggered colonial reorganization of the Americas.
1521Diet of Worms
Martin Luther defied Emperor Charles V and papal authority, cementing the Protestant Reformation and fracturing Western Christian unity permanently.
1522First Circumnavigation Completed
Magellan's expedition proved Earth's sphericity and established the first recorded global voyage, transforming geographical knowledge and trade.
1525Battle of Pavia
The Spanish victory over French forces in Italy shifted the balance of Renaissance power dynamics and established Spanish military dominance in Europe.
1526First Printed English Bible
Tyndale's printed Bible in the vernacular broke the Church's monopoly on scripture and catalyzed the Protestant Reformation in England.
1526Battle of Mohács
Ottoman victory over Hungary redirected the empire's expansion into Europe and established Ottoman dominion over the Balkans for nearly two centuries.
1529First Ottoman Siege of Vienna
Suleiman I's failed assault on Vienna marks the Ottoman Empire's maximum European reach and consolidates the continental balance of power.
Before
← The 1510s
After
The 1530s →