Cocoliztli epidemic
A mystery fever wipes out much of Mexico's native population
A mysterious hemorrhagic fever the Aztecs called cocoliztli killed an estimated 5 to 15 million people, a large share of Mexico's native population. Its cause is still debated; one hypothesis is paratyphoid fever. That same year, the Council of Trent opened in Europe.
Wikipedia (English) · 16th century
Meanwhile around the world (±25 years)
Europe
- 1534 Henry VIII breaks with Rome — 11 years earlier
- 1543 Copernicus publishes heliocentrism — 2 years earlier
Eastern Europe & Russia
- 1526 Battle of Mohács — 19 years earlier
- 1547 Ivan IV crowned Tsar — 2 years later
- 1555–1561 Saint Basil's Cathedral — 10 years later
- 1569 Union of Lublin — 24 years later
Middle East
- 1520–1566 Reign of Suleiman the Magnificent — 25 years earlier
Africa
- 1529–1543 Ahmad Gragn invades Ethiopia — 16 years earlier
Asia
- 1526 First Battle of Panipat — 19 years earlier
- 1556 Shaanxi earthquake — 11 years later
- 1556 Akbar and the Second Battle of Panipat — 11 years later
Alive at the time
- Michelangelo (aged 70)
- Martin Luther (aged 62)
- Ivan the Terrible (aged 15)
- Elizabeth I (aged 12)
- Akbar the Great (aged 3)
- Tokugawa Ieyasu (aged 2)
- Bartolomé de las Casas (aged 61)
- Hernán Cortés (aged 60)
- Henry VIII (aged 54)
- Suleiman the Magnificent (aged 51)