The world in 1600

In 1600, the timeline shows 208 states, empires and colonies and 114 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Republic of Venice, Holy Roman Empire, Swahili city-states, Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Kingdom of Kongo and Ayutthaya Kingdom.

See 1600 on the interactive chart

What was happening around 1600

1578 Altan Khan names the Dalai Lama, Central and North Asia. The Tumed Mongol ruler Altan Khan meets the Tibetan lama Sonam Gyatso and gives him the title Dalai Lama, starting the Mongols' conversion to Tibetan Buddhism.
1582 Yermak takes Sibir, Central and North Asia. A Cossack band hired by the Stroganov merchants captures Qashliq, the capital of the Khanate of Sibir, opening Siberia to Russia.
1588 Spanish Armada, Europe. A Spanish fleet sent to escort an invasion of England and overthrow Elizabeth I is scattered by English fire ships off Calais and attacked at Gravelines. It returns home around Scotland and Ireland, where storms wreck many of its ships.
1591 Battle of Tondibi, North and West Africa. A Moroccan army armed with arquebuses, sent across the Sahara by Ahmad al-Mansur, defeats the Songhai and seals the downfall of the Songhai Empire.
1592 Japanese invasion of Korea, East Asia. Toyotomi Hideyoshi sends some 150,000 troops into Korea. Ming armies, Korean militias and Admiral Yi Sun-sin's fleet fight them to a stalemate, and Japan withdraws in 1598 after Hideyoshi dies.
1598 Battle of Curalaba, South America. Mapuche forces kill the governor of Chile and destroy the Spanish towns south of the Biobío, which stays the frontier for nearly 300 years.
1600 Battle of Sekigahara, East Asia. Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the western daimyo coalition and becomes master of Japan, taking the title of shogun in 1603.
1606 Duyfken lands in Australia, Oceania. Willem Janszoon's Dutch ship Duyfken charts part of Cape York, the first recorded European landing on Australia.
1607 Jamestown founded, North America. The Virginia Company founds James Fort, the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, on land used by the Paspahegh people. Tobacco grown from 1612 brings the colony an economic boom.
1608 Champlain founds Quebec, North America. Samuel de Champlain builds a trading post at Quebec, the seat of New France for the next 150 years.
1618 Thirty Years' War begins, Europe. Protestant nobles throw two Catholic representatives from the windows of Prague Castle in May 1618 and begin the Bohemian Revolt. The war that follows draws in foreign rulers and lasts until 1648.
1619 Batavia founded, Southeast Asia. Jan Pieterszoon Coen destroys Jayakarta and builds Batavia, the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company in Asia.

Central and Southern Africa

Swahili city-states c. 800 to 1600 CE
Kingdom of Kongo c. 1390 to 1914 CE
Central African forest foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
San hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Khoekhoe herders c. 100 BCE to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Buganda c. 1300 to 1966 CE
Portuguese Mozambique 1505 to 1975 CE
Portuguese Angola 1575 to 1975 CE
Mutapa Empire c. 1430 to 1760 CE
Bunyoro-Kitara c. 1575 to 1899 CE
Luba Empire c. 1585 to 1889 CE
Kingdom of Imerina c. 1540 to 1817 CE
Kingdom of Butua c. 1425 to 1683 CE
Kingdom of Matamba c. 1530 to 1744 CE
Kingdom of Ndongo c. 1500 to 1671 CE
East African hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Kikuyu people c. 1200 CE to the present
Malagasy chiefdoms and trading towns c. 1000 to 1600 CE
Tio Kingdom (Anziku) c. 1350 to 1880 CE
Sotho-Tswana chiefdoms c. 1300 to 1830 CE
Nguni chiefdoms c. 1300 to 1820 CE
Kingdom of Nkore (Ankole) c. 1450 to 1967 CE
Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe 1470 to 1975 CE
Xhosa chiefdoms c. 1400 to 1879 CE
Kingdom of Rwanda c. 1500 to 1961 CE
Maravi Confederacy c. 1400 to 1860 CE
Herero pastoralists c. 1450 to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Karagwe c. 1450 to 1890 CE
Maasai pastoralists c. 1600 CE to the present
Comorian sultanates c. 1500 to 1912 CE
Antemoro kingdom c. 1500 to 1890 CE
Kingdom of Loango c. 1550 to 1883 CE
Ovambo kingdoms c. 1600 to 1917 CE
Sakalava kingdoms c. 1600 to 1840 CE
Portuguese Swahili coast 1505 to 1698 CE

North and West Africa

Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE
Mali Empire c. 1235 to 1610 CE
Kingdom of Benin c. 1180 to 1897 CE
Oyo Empire c. 1300 to 1835 CE
Bornu Empire c. 1387 to 1893 CE
Funj Sultanate of Sennar 1504 to 1821 CE
Regency of Algiers 1516 to 1830 CE
Saadi Sultanate 1510 to 1659 CE
Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads c. 2300 BCE to the present
Cushitic-speaking peoples c. 2000 BCE to the present
Sahelian cereal farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
West African yam and oil palm farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
Amazigh (Berber) tribes c. 1400 BCE to the present
Sao culture c. 500 BCE to 1600 CE
Coptic Christians c. 300 CE to the present
Saharan camel nomads (Sanhaja and Tuareg) c. 300 CE to the present
Chadic-speaking farmers c. 700 CE to the present
Kingdom of Nri c. 900 to 1911 CE
Arab tribes of Sudan c. 1150 CE to the present
Hausa city-states c. 1000 to 1808 CE
Kwararafa c. 1000 to 1800 CE
Mossi kingdoms c. 1250 to 1896 CE
Hadiya c. 1300 to 1893 CE
Kingdom of Bamum 1394 to 1923 CE
Portuguese Cape Verde 1462 to 1975 CE
Oromo Gadaa confederations c. 1522 CE to the present
Sultanate of Agadez c. 1405 to 1906 CE
Kingdom of Dagbon c. 1400 to 1896 CE
Ajuran Sultanate c. 1300 to 1700 CE
Sultanate of Bagirmi 1522 to 1897 CE
Shilluk Kingdom c. 1490 to 1861 CE
Sultanate of Darfur c. 1550 to 1916 CE
Ottoman Tripolitania 1551 to 1911 CE
Ottoman Egypt 1517 to 1867 CE
Sultanate of Mogadishu c. 1250 to 1600 CE
Kingdom of Gonja c. 1552 to 1899 CE
Kingdom of Cayor 1549 to 1886 CE
Kaabu 1537 to 1867 CE
Dendi Kingdom 1591 to 1901 CE
Regency of Tunis 1574 to 1881 CE
Kingdom of Dahomey c. 1600 to 1904 CE
Pashalik of Timbuktu 1591 to 1833 CE
Portuguese Gold Coast (Elmina) 1482 to 1642 CE
Imamate of Aussa 1577 to 1734 CE

Europe

Republic of Venice c. 697 to 1797 CE
Holy Roman Empire 962 to 1806 CE
Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE
Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE
Habsburg Monarchy 1526 to 1804 CE
Dutch Republic 1581 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of France (Bourbon) 1589 to 1792 CE
Spanish Empire (Habsburg Spain) 1516 to 1700 CE
Gaelic Ireland c. 500 BCE to 1607 CE
Papal States 756 to 1870 CE
Kingdom of Scotland c. 843 to 1707 CE
Kingdom of Portugal 1139 to 1910 CE
Kingdom of Bohemia 1198 to 1918 CE
Republic of Genoa c. 1099 to 1797 CE
Grand Duchy of Lithuania c. 1236 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of Naples 1282 to 1816 CE
Crimean Khanate 1441 to 1783 CE
Hanseatic League c. 1356 to 1669 CE
Denmark-Norway 1523 to 1814 CE
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569 to 1795 CE
Tsardom of Russia 1547 to 1721 CE
Tudor England 1485 to 1603 CE
Sami people c. 1000 BCE to the present
Basques c. 500 BCE to the present
County of Flanders 862 to 1795 CE
Duchy of Lorraine c. 959 to 1766 CE
San Marino c. 1243 CE to the present
Andorra 1278 CE to the present
Bavaria (Wittelsbach) 1180 to 1918 CE
Monaco 1297 CE to the present
County and Duchy of Savoy c. 1003 to 1720 CE
Duchy of Brabant 1183 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of Sicily (island) 1282 to 1816 CE
Wallachia 1330 to 1859 CE
Moldavia c. 1346 to 1859 CE
Old Swiss Confederacy 1291 to 1798 CE
Margraviate of Brandenburg 1157 to 1618 CE
Venetian Crete 1211 to 1669 CE
Republic of Ragusa 1358 to 1808 CE
Montenegro (Prince-Bishopric to Kingdom) 1516 to 1918 CE
Duchy of Milan 1395 to 1796 CE
Duchy and Grand Duchy of Tuscany 1532 to 1859 CE
Order of Saint John in Malta 1530 to 1798 CE
Kingdom of Ireland 1542 to 1800 CE
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia 1561 to 1795 CE
Zaporozhian Sich c. 1552 to 1775 CE
Principality of Transylvania 1570 to 1711 CE
Spanish Netherlands 1581 to 1714 CE
Duchy of Prussia 1525 to 1618 CE
Kingdom of Sweden (Vasa) 1523 to 1611 CE
Iberian Union 1580 to 1640 CE

Middle East

Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE
Safavid Empire 1501 to 1736 CE
Zaydi Imamate of Yemen 897 to 1918 CE
Ottoman Syria and Palestine 1516 to 1918 CE
Ottoman Iraq 1534 to 1920 CE
Arab Bedouin tribes c. 900 BCE to the present
Kurdish tribes and emirates c. 640 CE to the present
Sharifate of Mecca c. 967 to 1916 CE
Oghuz Turkmen nomads c. 1040 to 1600 CE
Kingdom of Imereti 1260 to 1810 CE
Mahra Sultanate 1432 to 1967 CE
Kingdom of Hormuz c. 1100 to 1622 CE
Nabhani dynasty c. 1154 to 1624 CE
Ottoman Hejaz and Yemen 1517 to 1918 CE
Emirate of Mount Lebanon c. 1516 to 1842 CE
Kingdom of Kakheti 1465 to 1762 CE
Kingdom of Kartli 1478 to 1762 CE
Portuguese Muscat and Gulf forts 1507 to 1656 CE

South Asia

Mughal Empire 1526 to 1857 CE
Ahom Kingdom 1228 to 1826 CE
Kingdom of Mysore c. 1399 to 1950 CE
Kingdom of Kandy 1469 to 1815 CE
Vijayanagara Empire 1336 to 1646 CE
Munda-speaking peoples c. 1500 BCE to the present
Tibeto-Burman hill peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Vedda people c. 900 BCE to the present
Kingdom of Mewar c. 728 to 1948 CE
Pashtun tribes c. 1000 CE to the present
Kingdom of Manipur c. 1110 to 1949 CE
Sultanate of the Maldive Islands c. 1153 to 1887 CE
Kingdom of Marwar c. 1226 to 1947 CE
Zamorins of Calicut c. 1124 to 1766 CE
Dimasa Kachari Kingdom c. 1250 to 1832 CE
Malla dynasty of Nepal 1201 to 1769 CE
Twipra Kingdom c. 1400 to 1949 CE
Portuguese Goa 1510 to 1961 CE
Koch dynasty and Cooch Behar 1515 to 1949 CE
Jaffna Kingdom c. 1215 to 1619 CE
Gorkha Kingdom 1559 to 1768 CE
Madurai Nayaks 1529 to 1736 CE
Bijapur Sultanate 1490 to 1686 CE
Golconda Sultanate 1518 to 1687 CE
Ahmadnagar Sultanate 1490 to 1636 CE
Thanjavur Nayak kingdom c. 1532 to 1673 CE
Bidar Sultanate 1492 to 1619 CE
Portuguese Ceylon 1597 to 1658 CE

Central and North Asia

Kazakh Khanate 1465 to 1847 CE
Russian Siberia 1582 to 1917 CE
Khanate of Bukhara 1500 to 1785 CE
Northern Yuan 1368 to 1635 CE
Yukaghir peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Chukchi, Koryak and Itelmen peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Evenki and Even reindeer herders c. 500 CE to the present
Khanty, Mansi and Samoyedic peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Buryats c. 1200 CE to the present
Turkmen tribes c. 1100 to 1881 CE
Sakha (Yakuts) c. 1250 CE to the present
Khanate of Khiva 1511 to 1920 CE
Four Oirat 1399 to 1634 CE
Yarkent Khanate 1514 to 1705 CE

East Asia

Ming dynasty 1368 to 1644 CE
Joseon 1392 to 1897 CE
Formosan Austronesian peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Qiang peoples c. 1250 BCE to the present
Ainu c. 1200 CE to the present
Jurchen tribes c. 926 to 1616 CE
Guge kingdom c. 967 to 1630 CE
Ryukyu Kingdom 1429 to 1879 CE
Portuguese Macau 1557 to 1999 CE
Phagmodrupa dynasty c. 1354 to 1618 CE
Sengoku period c. 1467 to 1600 CE
Tsangpa dynasty 1565 to 1642 CE
Azuchi-Momoyama period 1568 to 1600 CE

Southeast Asia

Ayutthaya Kingdom 1351 to 1767 CE
Champa c. 192 to 1832 CE
Bruneian Sultanate c. 1368 to 1888 CE
Lan Na 1292 to 1775 CE
Sultanate of Sulu c. 1457 to 1915 CE
Aceh Sultanate c. 1496 to 1903 CE
Later Le dynasty 1428 to 1789 CE
Lan Xang 1353 to 1707 CE
Spanish Philippines 1565 to 1898 CE
Johor Sultanate 1528 to 1824 CE
Mataram Sultanate c. 1586 to 1755 CE
Restored Toungoo dynasty 1599 to 1752 CE
Philippine Negrito foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi) c. 1800 BCE to the present
Dayak peoples of Borneo c. 1000 BCE to the present
Kutai Martadipura c. 399 to 1635 CE
Shan States c. 1215 to 1959 CE
Balinese kingdoms 1343 to 1908 CE
Pattani Sultanate c. 1400 to 1902 CE
Pagaruyung Kingdom 1347 to 1833 CE
Post-Angkor Cambodia 1431 to 1863 CE
Ternate and Tidore sultanates c. 1486 to 1914 CE
Sultanate of Maguindanao c. 1515 to 1899 CE
Gowa Sultanate (Makassar) c. 1300 to 1669 CE
Mrauk U Kingdom (Arakan) 1429 to 1785 CE
Banten Sultanate 1527 to 1813 CE
Trinh lords 1545 to 1787 CE
Sultanate of Cirebon 1445 to 1677 CE
Nguyen lords 1558 to 1777 CE
Portuguese Malacca 1511 to 1641 CE

North America

Mississippian culture c. 900 to 1600 CE
Thule culture c. 1000 to 1600 CE
New France 1534 to 1763 CE
Pacific Northwest peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Pueblo peoples (Hopi, Zuni, Rio Grande) c. 1300 CE to the present
Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) c. 1450 CE to the present
Navajo (Diné) c. 1500 CE to the present
Inuit peoples c. 1600 CE to the present
Unangan (Aleut) peoples c. 2500 BCE to the present
Dene (Northern Athabaskan) peoples c. 750 BCE to the present
Belle Glade culture c. 1000 BCE to 1700 CE
Caloosahatchee culture 500 BCE to 1750 CE
Chumash c. 500 CE to the present
California peoples (Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, Tongva) c. 500 CE to the present
Caddo confederacies c. 800 to 1859 CE
Cree peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Numic peoples (Shoshone, Paiute, Ute) c. 1000 CE to the present
Plains Village tradition c. 900 to 1780 CE
Fort Ancient culture c. 1000 to 1750 CE
Oneota culture c. 1000 to 1650 CE
Apache peoples c. 1400 CE to the present
Monongahela culture 1050 to 1635 CE
Wichita peoples (Quivira) c. 1450 CE to the present
O'odham peoples c. 1450 CE to the present
Mandan and Hidatsa villages c. 1300 to 1837 CE
Plaquemine culture c. 1200 to 1700 CE
Blackfoot Confederacy c. 1600 CE to the present
Beothuk c. 1500 to 1829 CE
Cherokee c. 1500 to 1794 CE
Spanish Florida 1565 to 1821 CE
Huron-Wendat Confederacy c. 1400 to 1650 CE
Natchez c. 1500 to 1731 CE
Santa Fe de Nuevo México 1598 to 1821 CE
Coosa chiefdom c. 1400 to 1600 CE
Powhatan Paramount Chiefdom c. 1570 to 1646 CE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

New Spain 1521 to 1821 CE
Spanish Cuba 1511 to 1898 CE
Captaincy General of Santo Domingo 1493 to 1821 CE
Captaincy General of Guatemala 1543 to 1821 CE
Island Caribs (Kalinago) c. 1200 CE to the present
Chichimeca peoples c. 900 to 1600 CE
Zapotec, Mixtec and Mixe peoples c. 1521 CE to the present
Maya peoples (colonial and modern) c. 1524 CE to the present
Yaqui, Mayo and Raramuri peoples c. 1533 CE to the present
Spanish Puerto Rico 1508 to 1898 CE
Spanish Panama (Castilla de Oro) 1510 to 1821 CE
Nueva Vizcaya 1562 to 1821 CE
Itza kingdom (Nojpetén) c. 1450 to 1697 CE
Spanish Jamaica 1509 to 1655 CE

South America

Portuguese Brazil 1500 to 1815 CE
Viceroyalty of Peru 1542 to 1824 CE
Tupi-Guarani peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Mapuche c. 1000 CE to the present
Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar) before 3200 BCE to the present
Jê peoples c. 1 CE to the present
Patagonian peoples (Tehuelche, Selk'nam) c. 1 CE to the present
Tairona c. 200 to 1600 CE
Arawakan peoples of the Amazon c. 1000 CE to the present
Carib peoples of the Guianas c. 1000 CE to the present
Guaraní c. 1000 CE to the present
Charrúa c. 1000 to 1831 CE
Manteño-Huancavilca culture c. 850 to 1600 CE
Diaguita c. 1000 to 1667 CE
Santarém culture (Tapajó) c. 1000 to 1650 CE
Quechua and Aymara peoples c. 1533 CE to the present
Upper Xingu garden cities c. 1250 to 1650 CE
Araucanía (independent Mapuche lands) 1598 to 1883 CE
Captaincy General of Chile 1541 to 1818 CE
Charcas (Upper Peru) 1559 to 1825 CE
Real Audiencia of Quito 1563 to 1822 CE
Governorate of the Río de la Plata 1536 to 1776 CE
Province of Venezuela 1546 to 1777 CE
New Kingdom of Granada 1538 to 1717 CE

Oceania

Aboriginal Australian peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Māori iwi c. 1500 CE to the present
Papuan farmers and foragers before 3200 BCE to the present
Kuk Swamp agriculture before 3200 BCE to 1900 CE
Tu'i Tonga Empire c. 950 to 1865 CE
Saudeleur dynasty c. 1100 to 1628 CE
Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Torres Strait Islanders c. 500 BCE to the present
Island Melanesian societies c. 500 BCE to the present
Fijian chiefdoms c. 500 BCE to 1874 CE
Eastern Micronesian islanders c. 200 BCE to the present
Samoan chiefdoms c. 1000 to 1900 CE
Society Islands chiefdoms c. 1000 to 1788 CE
Latte period Chamorro c. 900 to 1668 CE
Rapa Nui society c. 1200 to 1888 CE
Hawaiian chiefdoms c. 1200 to 1795 CE
Moriori c. 1500 to 1835 CE

Questions

What countries existed in 1600?

The timeline shows 208 states, empires and colonies alive in 1600. Among the most significant: Republic of Venice, Holy Roman Empire, Swahili city-states, Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Kingdom of Kongo and Ayutthaya Kingdom. The full list by region is on this page.

What was happening in the world in 1600?

Within 25 years of 1600, the timeline records Altan Khan names the Dalai Lama (1578), Yermak takes Sibir (1582), Spanish Armada (1588), Battle of Tondibi (1591), Japanese invasion of Korea (1592) and Battle of Curalaba (1598).

Which empires existed in 1600?

Holy Roman Empire, Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Mali Empire, Mughal Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, Ming dynasty, Safavid Empire and Spanish Empire (Habsburg Spain).

Where do these dates come from?

Each row's dates were checked against the sources listed on that row's own page, mostly English Wikipedia articles, which cite the underlying scholarship. Dates that are uncertain are marked c.