1548

December: The Burmese–Siamese War of 1548 starts.

Year 1548 (MDXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.

Events

January–March

• January 5 – Abu al-Abbas Ahmad III, ruler of the Hafsid Sultanate in what is now Tunisia in northern Africa, renews the 1547 treaty of friendship with Spain that had been signed by representatives of his father.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
• January 19 – Three ships from the Portuguese Navy arrive at the port of Aden to assist Mohammed bin Ali al-Tawlaki, who has been defending the city against an attack by the Ottoman Navy. The Portuguese ships are forced to retreat to Zeila in Somalia, where 120 survivors are captured and their ships are burned.<ref name=Onalp>Template:Cite web</ref>
• January 27 – King Henri II of France makes the Châtillon agreement, a contract for betrothal for an arranged marriage between his four year old son, Prince Francois, to the five year old Mary, Queen of Scots, to take place in 1558.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• January 28 – (Tenbun 17, 30th day of 12th month) Nagao Kagetora (later Uesugi Kenshin) leads a triumphant entry into Kasugayama Castle in Japan, replacing his older brother Nagao Harukage as the lead samurai in the Nagao clan that rules the Echigo Province.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• February 2 – On Candlemas day in Scotland, during the Rough Wooing War with England, the Byllye Castle near Auchencrow is captured by a force of 11 English soldiers led by Thomas Carlile, and becomes a garrison for English troops.<ref>Calendar State Papers Scotland, vol.1 (1898), pages 68-70</ref>
• February 14 – (Tenbun 18, 4th day of 1st month) At the Battle of Uedahara, firearms are used for the first time on the battlefield in Japan, and Takeda Shingen is defeated by Murakami Yoshikiyo.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• February 26 – The Ottoman Navy, led by Admiral Ahmed Muhiddin Piri (commonly known as Piri Reis), recaptures Aden.<ref name=Onalp/>
• March 9 – Le Trung Tong becomes the new Emperor of Dai Viet (corresponding to northern Vietnam) upon the death of his father, Lê Trang Tông.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

April–June

• April 1 – Sigismund II Augustus succeeds his father, Sigismund I the Old, as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania.<ref name="pol">Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 15 – General Zhu Wan of Ming dynasty China dispatches a fleet of ships, commanded by Lu Tang, to destroy smugglers and pirates at Shangyu, a port on Liuheng Island.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The fleet sets off from Wenzhou and makes its attack in June.
• May 15 –
  • The Diet of Augsburg approves a decree of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, the "Declaration of His Roman Imperial Majesty on the Observance of Religion Within the Holy Empire Until the Decision of the General Council", informally referred to as the Augsburg Interim, directing German Protestants to resume the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church, including observance of the Seven Sacraments.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> As a concession, the Emperor allows the continuation of some Protestant customs, including the right of Protestant clergy to marry and for believers to receive the Protestant communion of bread and wine.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Ratan Singh of Amber, Raja of the Amber Kingdom in what is now the Indian state of Rajasthan, is poisoned by his younger brother Askaran, Raja of Narwar.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 1 –
  • The Japanese city of Uchiyama in Shinano Province (now in the Nagano Prefecture) is burned by the clan of Murakami Yoshikiyo after the February defeat of the Takeda clan at the Battle of Uedahara.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Bharmal becomes the new raja of the Kingdom of Amber, in territory now occupied by India's Rajasthan state, upon the overthrow of his nephew, Askaran, Raja of Narwar, who had reigned for only 16 days.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 10 – (5th day of the waxing moon in the 8th month of the 910th year of the Chula Sakarat Era): Yotfa, the 13-year-old ruler of the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Thailand since 1546, is murdered with the consent of his mother, the regent Si Sudachan, who installs her lover, Worawongsathirat, on the throne. Yotfa's younger brother, Prince Sissin, is spared from execution. Worawongsathirat and Si Sudachan are both killed in a counter-coup in November.
• June 11 – Suleiman the Magnificent, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire begins an invasion of Safavid Iran that will last for almost two years before he abandons it.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 16 – The first of 8,000 French troops under the command of General André de Montalembert arrive at the port of Leith at the invitation of the King of Scotland, who seeks to drive out the occupying forces of the Army of England.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 30 – The Augsburg Interim, approved May 15, is codified into law in the Holy Roman Empire.
• June
  • Ming Chinese naval forces commanded by Zhu Wan destroy the pirate haven of Shuangyu,frequented by Chinese, Japanese and Portuguese smugglers.
  • John Dee starts to study at the Old University of Leuven.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

July–September

• July 7 – A marriage treaty is signed between Scotland and France, whereby five-year-old Mary, Queen of Scots, is betrothed to the future King Francis II of France.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• August 7 – Mary, Queen of Scots, leaves for France.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• September 13 – Archduke Maximilian of Austria, is married to his first cousin, Maria of Spain, at the arrangement of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Maria's father and Maximilian's uncle. Charles, who also serves as King of Spain, makes the arrangement in order to have the couple serve as his regents while he travels to Germany.<ref>Mutschlechner, Martin. "Maximilian II: caught between the competing priorities of Vienna, Prague and Madrid", Die Welt der Habsburger</ref>

October–December

• October 1 – Archduke Maximilian and Princess Maria, who married 18 days earlier, become the co-regents of Spain as King Charles V departs for Germany to administer the affairs of the Holy Roman Empire. They serve until Prince Philip, the first regent, returns from battle on July 12, 1551.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• October 20 – The city of La Paz, Bolivia, is founded.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• October 31 – At the first sejm of King Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, deputies demand that the king renounce his wife Barbara Radziwiłł.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• November 11 – Worawongsathirat, ruler of the Ayutthaya Kingdom of Thailand after usurping the throne on June 10, stages his coronation along with his wife, Si Sudachan. Both husband and wife had after both conspired to murder her son, King Yofta, in June.<ref>"History of Ayutthaya— Historical Events"</ref> The King and Queen are assassinated on January 13, 1549.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• December 17 – King João III of Portugal, creates a colonial government of Brazil, with a capital at Bahia, in order to maintain unity among various Portuguese captaincies (São Vicente, Nova Lusitania, Ilhéus and Porto Seguro) scattered along the coast.<ref>Armelle Enders, Nouvelle histoire du Brésil (Éditions Chandeigne, 2008) p.33</ref> The document contains 48 articles governing the installation of the government, the organization of trade, measures for defense, treatment of the indigenous tribes, and policies toward foreigners. The King provides for a Governor-General, and appoints Tomé de Sousa as the first officeholder.<ref>do Estado do Brasil ("Governor-General of the State of Brazil")</ref>
• December – Siam attacks Tavoy, beginning the Burmese–Siamese War of 1548.

Births

Francisco Suarez

William V, Duke of Bavaria

• January 5 – Francisco Suárez, Spanish priest, philosopher, theologian and saint (d. 1617)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• February 6 – Francesco Panigarola, Italian bishop (d. 1594)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• March 13 – Sasbout Vosmeer, Dutch Apostolic Vicar (d. 1614)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• March 17 – Honda Tadakatsu, Japanese general (d. 1610)
• March 18 – Cornelis Ketel, Dutch painter (d. 1616)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• April 15 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician (d. 1626)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• May – Carel van Mander, Dutch painter and poet (d. 1606)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• May 8 – Giacomo Boncompagni, illegitimate son of Pope Gregory XIII (d. 1612)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• May 10 – Antonio Priuli, Doge of Venice (d. 1623)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• July 8 – Kim Jang-saeng, Korean scholar and writer (d. 1631)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• July 15 – George III, Count of Erbach-Breuberg (1564–1605) (d. 1605)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• August – Pari Khan Khanum, Persian princess (d. 1578)<ref>Pari Khan Khanum</ref>
• August 26 – Bernardino Poccetti, Italian painter (d. 1612)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• September 2 – Vincenzo Scamozzi, Italian architect (d. 1616)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• September 7 – Filippo Boncompagni, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1586)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• September 29 – William V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1626)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• October 4 – Matsumae Yoshihiro, Japanese daimyō of Ezochi (Hokkaidō) (d. 1616)
• November 27 – Jacopo Mazzoni, Italian philosopher (d. 1598)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• December 30 – David Pareus, German theologian (d. 1622)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• approx. date – Ma Shouzhen, Chinese Gējì, painter, playwright and poet (d. 1604)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• date unknown
  • Giordano Bruno, Italian philosopher, astronomer, and occultist (d. 1600)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Luis Barahona de Soto, Spanish poet (d. 1595)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • William Stanley, English soldier (d. 1630)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
  • Saitō Tatsuoki, Japanese daimyō (d. 1573)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Sidonia von Borcke, German noble and alleged witch (d. 1620)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (d. 1611)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Fernando Ruiz de Castro Andrade y Portugal, Grandee of Spain (d. 1601)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• probable
  • Francesco Andreini, Italian actor (d. 1624)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Francesco Soriano, Italian composer (d. 1621)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Mariangiola Criscuolo, Italian painter (d. 1630)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Simon Stevin, Flemish mathematician and engineer (d. 1620)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Deaths

King Sigismund I the Old

Saint Juan de Zumarraga

Joao de Castro

• January 9 – Matthäus Zell, German Lutheran pastor (b. 1477)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• January 23 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian composer (b. 1490)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• February 26 – Lorenzino de' Medici, Italian writer and assassin (b. 1514)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• March 23 – Itagaki Nobukata, Japanese retainer
• March 24 – Gissur Einarsson, first Lutheran bishop in Iceland
• April 1 – King Sigismund I the Old of Poland (b. 1467)<ref name="pol" />
• June 3 – Juan de Zumárraga, Spanish Catholic bishop of Mexico (b. 1468)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 6 – João de Castro, Portuguese explorer (b. 1500)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• June 14 – Carpentras, French composer (b. c. 1470)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• July 4 – Philip, Duke of Palatinate-Neuburg, German duke (b. 1503)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• July 29 – Gian Gabriele I of Saluzzo, Italian abbot, Marquess of Saluzzo (b. 1501)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• August 2 – Henry II, Duke of Münsterberg-Oels and Count of Glatz (b. 1507)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• September 5 – Catherine Parr, sixth and last Queen of Henry VIII of England (b. c. 1512)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• September 8 – John III of Pernstein, Bohemian land-owner, Governor of Moravia and Count of Kladsko (b. 1487)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• October 27 – Johannes Dantiscus, Polish poet and Bishop of Warmia (b. 1485)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• November 16 – Caspar Creuziger, German humanist (b. 1504)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• December 27 – Francesco Spiera, Italian Protestant jurist (b. 1502)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• date unknown
  • Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, Mexican Catholic saint (b. 1474)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Chief Queen Sri Suriyothai, consort of King Maha Chakkrapat of Ayutthaya (killed in battle)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Strongilah, Jewish Ottoman businesswoman.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>