Baptism of the King of Kongo
The Manikongo takes the Portuguese king's name
On 3 May 1491 Nzinga a Nkuwu, ruler of Kongo, was baptised as João I in honour of the king of Portugal. He soon returned to his old faith, but his son Afonso I made Kongo a Christian kingdom.
Wikipedia (Russian) · Wikipedia (English) · 15th century
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- 1469 Marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella — 22 years earlier
- 1478 Spanish Inquisition established — 13 years earlier
- 1492 Fall of Granada — 1 year later
- 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas — 3 years later
- 1508–1512 Sistine Chapel ceiling — 17 years later
Eastern Europe & Russia
- c. 1469 Afanasy Nikitin's journey to India — 22 years earlier
- 1478 Annexation of Novgorod by Moscow — 13 years earlier
- 1480 Great Stand on the Ugra River — 11 years earlier
- 1514 Capture of Smolensk — 23 years later
Middle East
- 1501 Founding of Safavid Iran — 10 years later
Asia
- 1467–1477 Ōnin War — 24 years earlier
- 1498 Vasco da Gama reaches India — 7 years later
- 1510 Portugal takes Goa — 19 years later
- 1511 Portuguese capture of Malacca — 20 years later
Americas
- 1492 Columbus reaches the Americas — 1 year later
- 1497 John Cabot reaches North America — 6 years later
Alive at the time
- Christopher Columbus (aged 40)
- Leonardo da Vinci (aged 39)
- Nicolaus Copernicus (aged 18)
- Michelangelo (aged 16)
- Martin Luther (aged 8)
- Ivan III (aged 51)
- Isabella I of Castile (aged 40)
- Amerigo Vespucci (aged 37)
- Henry VII (aged 34)
- Maximilian I (aged 32)