Year 1579 (MDLXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Gregorian calendar.
March 2 – The Battle of Borgerhout takes place in Flanders in what is now Belgium, as Spanish troops under the command of the Duke of Parma overwhelm rebels fighting for the Union of Utreacht.
March 12 – The Siege of Maastricht, a center of the Dutch resistance to Spanish rule, is started in the Netherlands by Spanish troops under the command of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma. The siege will last almost four months before Maastricht falls on July 1.
April–June
April 10 – In the village of Cuers in France, near Toulon rebel peasants kill 600 nobles and upper-class gentlemen of the Catholic League serving the Count of Carces.
May 17 – The Treaty of Arras is concluded between Spain (represented by the Duke of Parma), and members of the Union of Arras that had been formed in January. The Union of Utrecht continues its resistance against Spain while the County of Hainaut, the County of Artois, and the cities of Douai, Lille, Orchies and Arras agree to a separate peace under Spanish rule.
June 17 – Francis Drake, during his circumnavigation of the world, lands in modern-day California, which he claims for Queen Elizabeth I. With an English claim here and in Newfoundland, it becomes the basis for English colonial charters which will claim all land from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from "sea to sea." Drake's claim is called Nova Albion (New England), and subsequent maps will show all lands north of New Spain and New Mexico under this name.
July–September
July 1 – Maastricht surrenders to Spanish troops after a surprise attack by the Duke of Parma, who had besieged the city for more than three months.
"Yasuke", a man of African origin who has been hired as a manager by the Chancellor of the Realm, Oda Nobunaga, arrives in Japan. Called "The Black Samurai" in dramatizations of his experience, he begins a service of three years to the Chancellor, ending on June 21, 1582.
September 10 – (5th waning of Tawthalin 941 ME) In the Kingdom of Mrauk U in what is now Myanmar and Bangladesh, King Min Phalaung becomes the owner of the first of three white elephants, and gives himself the title of Hsinbyushin.
September 12 – Amendments are made to the May 17 Treaty of Arras, with further concessions to Spain by the Union of Arras. The final version is promulgated by King Philip of Spain in Mons, one of the regions in the Arras Union.
October 19 – King James VI of Scotland makes his ceremonial entry into Edinburgh to assume the throne at the age of 13, after being declared to have reached the age of majority. Scotland had been ruled by regents since 1567, when James was declared king.
November 3 – The English puritan John Stubbs, author of numerous pamphlets against the doctrines of the Church of England, is convicted of sedition, and his right hand is amputated as punishment.
December 16 – After Willem van Pamele, the Spanish Governor of Flanders, is forced to flee during the Dutch Revolt, the Duke of Parma orders Pamele and the Catholic members of the Council of Flanders to convene at Douai as the temporary Flemish capital.
December 24 – German astronomer Michael Maestlin makes the first cataloging of the Pleiades cluster, recording 11 separate stars visible to the naked eye, with a detailed illustration and measurements.
December 25 – In France, Protestant French troops under the command of Matthieu Merle, make a surprise attack on the Roman Catholic cathedral in the village of Mende during Mass, and kill 400 civilians.
Date unknown
In the Mughal Empire in India, Akbar abolishes the jizya, the tax placed upon non-Muslim residents.
Akbar issues a mazhar signed by the leading ulamas, putting himself as the highest religious authority, allowing him to interpret the Quran.
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