PastlasHistorical atlas

Century · 1501 – 1600

The world in the 16th century

From 1501 to 1600 the atlas holds 640 states standing at some time, 152 of them founded in it - Spain and Morocco the best known - and 144 ending in it. 507 wars, risings, treaties, discoveries and other events began - Eighty Years' War, St. Bartholomew's Day massacre and Battle of Lepanto the best known of the events; 828 people were born.

A century here is counted as Wikidata counts it, 1501 to 1600, and holds every row that began in it, however coarsely dated.

What began in the 16th century

By decade first - wars and battles in red, risings, regime changes and massacres beside them, everything else in grey - then by kind, the best known first.

1501: 36 began — 27 wars and battles, 2 risings, regime changes and massacres, 7 other15011511: 48 began — 34 wars and battles, 9 risings, regime changes and massacres, 5 other15111521: 52 began — 39 wars and battles, 6 risings, regime changes and massacres, 7 other15211531: 40 began — 31 wars and battles, 4 risings, regime changes and massacres, 5 other15311541: 40 began — 30 wars and battles, 6 risings, regime changes and massacres, 4 other15411551: 52 began — 40 wars and battles, 2 risings, regime changes and massacres, 10 other15511561: 56 began — 38 wars and battles, 7 risings, regime changes and massacres, 11 other15611571: 54 began — 45 wars and battles, 2 risings, regime changes and massacres, 7 other15711581: 49 began — 42 wars and battles, 2 risings, regime changes and massacres, 5 other15811591: 80 began — 56 wars and battles, 4 risings, regime changes and massacres, 20 other1591

Wars and battles 382

and 374 more in the atlas.

Regime change 1

Unrest and atrocity 43

and 35 more in the atlas.

Famine and plague 4

Natural disasters 8

Treaties 37

and 29 more in the atlas.

Works and ideas 32

and 24 more in the atlas.

States founded and fallen

Founded 152

and 138 more in the atlas.

Ended 144

and 130 more in the atlas.

Born in the 16th century

The best known first, by how many Wikipedias write about them.

and 804 more in the atlas.

States of the 16th century

Every state that stood at some time in the 16th century, by region, the best known first.

Europe: 294 statesEurope294Middle East and North Africa: 75 statesMiddle East and North Africa75Sub-Saharan Africa: 35 statesSub-Saharan Africa35South Asia: 110 statesSouth Asia110East and Southeast Asia: 79 statesEast and Southeast Asia79Americas and Oceania: 19 statesAmericas and Oceania19Location unknown: 28 statesLocation unknown28

Europe294 states

and 282 more; every state of Europe.

Middle East and North Africa75 states

and 63 more; every state of Middle East and North Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa35 states

and 23 more; every state of Sub-Saharan Africa.

South Asia110 states

and 98 more; every state of South Asia.

East and Southeast Asia79 states

and 67 more; every state of East and Southeast Asia.

Americas and Oceania19 states

and 7 more; every state of Americas and Oceania.

Location unknown28 states

and 16 more; every state of Location unknown.

Its decades and years

The decades and years with a page of their own.

Open in the atlas

  • On the timeline, 1500 – 1600: every state, war and life of the 16th century, region by region.
  • On the map in 1550: the borders of the year, its cities under their names of the year, and what happened where.

Wikidata (CC0) · data built 2026-10-07 · Pastlas v2.13.1, by Oleh Voronko. The published atlas and its data are for non-commercial use.