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Project 500 Years

Tracking 500 years of the West’s domination of the world, one year at a time

  • About
  • 1520-1599
  • Musings
  • 1580: Portugal’s succession crisis erupts, etc

    1580: Portugal’s succession crisis erupts, etc

    The main development of world-historical impact in 1580 CE was the eruption of Portugal’s succession crisis. Before we look at that, here…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Mar 1
    1579: Sokollu Mehmed Pasha & the Ottoman way of ruling

    1579: Sokollu Mehmed Pasha & the Ottoman way of ruling

    The biggest- or at least, the most interesting- thing that happened in world history in 1579 CE was the assassination by hands unknown of…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 28
    1578: Portugal, Ottomans, Safavids, English…

    1578: Portugal, Ottomans, Safavids, English…

    Here’s 1578 CE:
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 27
    1577: Queen Elizabeth “explores” empire-building

    1577: Queen Elizabeth “explores” empire-building

    The major developments of world-historical importance in 1577 CE stemmed from the decisions England’s Queen Elizabeth I made to support…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 27
    Key developments of 1576 (& notes on Safavid Iran)

    Key developments of 1576 (& notes on Safavid Iran)

    Well, we’ve recently taken a bit of a peek at the state of two capable non-Christian Empires that were growing and doing significant…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 25
    Key developments of 1575

    Key developments of 1575

    I’ll start with a couple of short items about the state of the world in 1575 CE, then move to the main action, which concerned the…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 24
    Key developments of 1574 (mainly, Ottoman)

    Key developments of 1574 (mainly, Ottoman)

    All the usual things were happening in the world of 1574 CE: Mughal Emperor Akbar consolidating his growing territories; Protestants and…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 23
    Key developments of 1573

    Key developments of 1573

    Here they are:
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 22
    Key developments of 1572

    Key developments of 1572

    Here were the main developments of world-historical impact that happened in 1572 CE:
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 21
    Project 500 Years: Communique #2

    Project 500 Years: Communique #2

    So yesterday, I hit the 50-year mark! Hurrah! Time for another communique (which I suppose you could describe as a sort of meta-narrative…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 20
    Key developments of 1571 (mainly, Lepanto)

    Key developments of 1571 (mainly, Lepanto)

    In 1571 CE, by far the major development- from the perspective of “Western” Christian powers- was the Battle of Lepanto, in which an…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 20
    Key developments of 1570

    Key developments of 1570

    This is the 50th anniversary edition of the Project 500 Years daily bulletin. I have completed 10% of my self-assigned task! To mark the…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 19
    Key developments of 1569, & a note on world geography

    Key developments of 1569, & a note on world geography

    1568 was a pretty busy year. And I snuck a quick peek ahead at 1570, which is also action-packed. But 1569? Not so much. Setting aside the…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 18
    Key developments of 1568

    Key developments of 1568

    On a world-historical level, the major event of 1568 CE was something that happened in India. But other interesting things were happening…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 17
    Key developments of 1567

    Key developments of 1567

    Last year, 1566, one main big thing of world-historical importance happened. This year, 1567 CE, lots of things happened! I shall try to…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 16
    The key development of 1566

    The key development of 1566

    I’ll interrupt my normal procedure here of picking out a few bullet-points (or headlines) from the events of the year, to focus on a…
    Go to the profile of Helena Cobban
    Helena Cobban
    Feb 15
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