February 16 – The massacre of 20 artists at the Mardi Gras festivities at the annual Carnaval de Romans during the festival takes place in France at Romans-sur-Isère.[2]
April 9 – English Fury at Mechelen: English and Scottish mercenaries, assisting the Dutch Republic, storm the Spanish Netherlands city of Mechelen (in modern-day Belgium), killing 60 civilians and plundering the town's houses and churches.[6]
June 9 – Rebels of the Dutch Union of Utrecht, aided by French soldiers, make a surprise attack on the Spanish Netherlands city of Diest in the Duchy of Brabant, and overwhelm the strategic location, now in Belgium, in one day.[8]
June 11 – Within the Viceroyalty of Peru in South America Spanish explorer Juan de Garay founds the first permanent Spanish settlement at what is now the capital of Argentina, on the Rio de la Plata. Garay, who came on an expedition down the Paraná River from Asunción (now in Paraguay), arrives at the site of the failed Spanish settlement of Ciudad de Nuestra Señora Santa María del Buen Ayre, that had been created by Pedro de Mendoza in 1536 and abandoned in 1542. Garay names the new settlement "Santísima Trinidad" but the city eventually takes the name of the port, which he calls "Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires."[9]
June 21 (8 Cemazi ul-evvel 988 AH) – England signs a commercial treaty with the Ottoman Empire, and Sultan Murad III sends a letter to Queen Elizabeth I informing her, "Just as the merchants of Poland and France and Venice come and go, the merchants of your domain also shall bring wares to our Well-Protected Domains and take away wares."[10] In return, Murad III is able to purchase English metals (iron, brass and tin) for his war with Persia.[11]
July 24 – Portuguese succession crisis of 1580: António, Prior of Crato, a grandson of the late King Manuel by Manuel's second son, the Duke of Beja is proclaimed King of Portugal by his supporters in the city of Santarém, and popular acclamation follows in Lisbon and other locations.[13][14] Portugal's parliament, the Cortes, refuses to acknowledge Antonio and he is defeated 32 days later at Alcântara.
October 15 (5th waning of Tazaungmon 942 ME) – King Bayinnaung of Bruma dispatches a naval force of 200 ships and 8,000 soldiers to invade the Kingdom of Mrauk U (now in the Rakhine State of Myanmar), but the attempt fails after a year. Burmese troops are ordered withdrawn after Bayinnaung dies and is succeeded by his son Nanda Bayin.[18]
October 18 – The Siege of Steenwijk in the Dutch Republic is started by the Spanish Netherlands. The siege will last four months and the Spanish troops will capture Steenwijk on February 23.
October 24 – The War of the Portuguese Succession comes to an end as Spanish forces crush the final Portuguese resistance in the last stronghold in mainland Portugal, Porto. For the next 60 years, Portugal will be ruled by the Kings of Spain.
November 10 – Second Desmond Rebellion: The Siege of Smerwick (now Ard na Caithne in County Kerry, Ireland) ends after three days when their commander surrenders to the English. Members of a group of at least 400 freelance soldiers, and perhaps as many as 700, for the Papal States are summarily executed on orders of the English Lord Deputy of Ireland, Baron Grey de Wilton.[19]
December 31 – James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, formerly the regent for King James VI of Scotland, is arrested during a meeting of Scotland's Privy Council at Holyrood on the accusation of James Stewart, Earl of Arran that the Earl of Morton had participated in the 1567 murder of Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots and father of King James.[20] Morton is taken to Dumbarton Castle and convicted of conspiracy to murder, and executed on June 2.
Date unknown
The Billy Mitchell volcano, on the island of Bougainville, undergoes a catastrophic eruption (VEI 6).
The first session of the Jewish Vaad (Council of Four Lands) is held in Lublin, Poland; 70 delegates of Jewish local qahals meet to discuss taxation, and other issues important to Jewish communities.
The 1580 influenza pandemic sweeps the world, starting in Asia and moving rapidly through Africa, Europe, and eventually the Americas. More than 10% of the population of Rome dies, and whole towns in Spain are depopulated.[21]
^ abDionysius Lardner, ed., The History of Spain and Portugal, vol. 5, part of the Cabinet Cyclopaedia. London: Longman, Rees, et al., 1832. See pages 208-209.
^Mack P. Holt, The French Wars of Religion, 1562–1629 (Cambridge University Press, 2005) p.116
^João Vicente Melo, Jesuit and English Experiences at the Mughal Court, C. 1580–1615 (Springer, 2022) p.26
^Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 160–162. ISBN0-7126-5616-2.
^J.D. Tracy, The Founding of the Dutch Republic: War, Finance, and Politics in Holland 1572–1588 (Oxford University Press, 2008) pp.157-158
^Jūratė Kiaupienė and ; Ingė Lukšaitė, Lietuvos Istorija (in Lithuanian), Vol. V: Lietuvos Didžioji Kunigaikštystė 1529–1588 metais ("The Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the years 1529–1588") (Baltos Lankos, 2013). pp. 264
^Edouard Van Even, Geschiedenis der stad Diest ("History of the city of Diest") (Drukkery van Ad. Havermans, 1847), p.172
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