"If I win the battle, I promise you your liberty. If the day is yours, then God has given it to you."
- Ottoman admiral Müezzinzade Ali Pasha to his Christian galley slaves,
on the eve of the Battle of Lepanto
"There is no paradise for cowards."
- Holy League commander John of Austria to his crew,
on the eve of the Battle of Lepanto
In the year AD 1571...
- The Ottomans have overrun Cyprus, enraging the European powers in the Mediterranean Sea. The so-called Holy League of Spanish, Venetian, and Papal forces, led by John of Austria, then attack and defeat the fleet of the Ottoman Empire under Müezzinzade Ali Pasha in the decisive Battle of Lepanto, which brings a permanent end to any further Ottoman expansion into Western Europe. It was the last naval battle between war galleys in history.
- Japan remains locked in a cycle of endless warfare. Japanese hegemon Oda Nobunaga razes the Enryakuji temple on Mount Hiei to the ground, breaking once and for all the once-mighty power of the Enryakuji warrior monks. Meanwhile the mighty warlord Takeda Shingen forges an alliance with the Asai and Asakura clans and the Ikko Ikki sect of Pure Land Buddhist fanatics and launches an assault on the territory Nobunaga and his ally, Tokugawa Ieyasu.
- In the wake of a bloody uprising, the Moriscos (Spanish Moors who had been forcibly converted to Christianity) are forced into internal exile and purposefully scattered all around Spain, a prelude to their ultimate expulsion 40 years later.
- The Ridolfi Plot, an international conspiracy to assassinate English queen Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots, is uncovered by Elizabeth's spies and most of the conspirators are captured.
- Mongol ruler Altan Khan makes peace with the Ming Dynasty that he has tormented with raids for twenty years, signing a treaty forcing the Chinese to trade silks and horses with him on favorable terms, and granting him the title of Shunyi Wang ("Obedient and Righteous King").
- Humayun's Tomb, the final resting place of Mughal emperor Humayun, is finally completed, fifteen years after his death.
- Oxford University's Jesus College is founded.
These people were born in 1571...
These people died in 1571...
1570 - 1571 - 1572
16th century
How they were made