Reconquita Completed
Jan 2 Muhammad XII, the last Emir of Granada, surrenders his city to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabel I of Castile, ending both the Reconquista and centuries of Muslim rule in the Iberian peninsula
Alhambra Decree
Mar 31 Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon issue the Alhambra Decree which expels Jews from their kingdoms
Columbus' Contract with Spain
Apr 17 Christopher Columbus signs a contract with the Spanish monarchs to find the "Indies" with the stated goal of converting people to Catholicism. This promises him 10% of all riches found, and the governorship of any lands encountered.
- Apr 30 Christopher Columbus is given royal commission by Spanish monarchs Isabella I and Ferdinand II to equip his fleet to the New World
- Apr 30 Spain announces it will expel all Jews
- May 15 Cheese & Bread rebellion: German mercenaries kill 232 residents of Alkmaar, Netherlands
Columbus Sails for the New World
Aug 3 Christopher Columbus with Juan de la Cosa second-in-command sets sail on his first voyage with three ships, Santa María, Pinta and Niña from Palos de la Frontera, Spain for the "Indies"
- Aug 11 Rodrigo de Borja becomes Pope Alexander VI
- Aug 12 Christopher Columbus arrives in the Canary Islands on his first voyage to the New World
- Sep 6 Christopher Columbus' fleet leaves Gomera, Canary islands
- Sep 23 John I Albert (32) becomes King of Poland, succeeding his father, Casimir IV
- Sep 25 Crewman on Pinta sights "land"- a few weeks early
- Oct 7 Christopher Columbus misses Florida when he changes course
- Oct 12 Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall on a Caribbean island he names San Salvador (likely Watling Island, Bahamas). The explorer believes he has reached East Asia (OS 21 Oct)
- Oct 12 Flemish rebel leader Philip van Kleef surrenders
- Oct 13 English admiral Sir Edward Poynings' fleet occupies Lock
- Oct 14 Christopher Columbus leaves San Salvador; arrives in Santa Maria of Concepcion (Bahamas)
- Oct 16 Christopher Columbus' fleet anchors at "Fernandina" (Long Island, Bahamas)
- Oct 19 Christopher Columbus sights "Isabela", now Fortune Island/Long Cay, Bahamas
- Oct 24 24 Jews are burned at the stake in Mecklenburg, Germany
- Oct 26 Lead (graphite) pencils first used
- Oct 28 Christopher Columbus sights Cuba and claims it for Spain under the name "Juana"
Peace of Étaples
Nov 3 Peace of Étaples signed between Henry VII of England and Charles VIII of France, ending an English invasion of France and French support for the Yorkist Pretender Perkin Warbeck
- Nov 5 Christopher Columbus learns how to grow and harvest maize (corn) from Cuba's indigenous population
- Nov 7 Ensisheim Meteorite strikes a wheat field near the village of Ensisheim in Alsace, France. Oldest meteorite with a known date of impact.
- Nov 15 Christopher Columbus notes 1st recorded reference to tobacco
- Nov 15 In La Guardia, Spain, 6 Jews & 5 Conversos are accused of ritual murder
- Nov 22 Ship Pinta under Martín Alonso Pinzón separates from Christopher Columbus's fleet
- Dec 5 Christopher Columbus is the first European to sight Hispaniola (modern Dominican Republic and Haiti)
- Dec 25 Christopher Columbus' flagship the Santa María runs aground and sinks on the north coast of Hispaniola. The crew are left to found a colony as Columbus returns to Spain
- Dec 26 1st Spanish settlement La Navidad in the New World is founded by Christopher Columbus (modern Môle-Saint-Nicolas in Haiti)
- Dec 31 100,000 Jews expelled from Sicily
Gregory I
Gregory XIII
Julius II
Julius III
Leo X
Pius V