| 1562 | French Wars of Religion begin |
| 1566 | Revolt of Calvinists against Spain begins in Netherlands |
| 1569 | Formation of commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania |
| 1571 | Battle of Lepanto marks victory of West over Ottomans at sea |
| 1572 | St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre of French Protestants |
| 1576 | Spanish Fury erupts in Antwerp |
| 1588 | English defeat of Spanish Armada |
| 1598 | French Wars of Religion end with Edict of Nantes |
| 1601 | William Shakespeare, Hamlet |
| 1618 | Thirty Years' War begins |
| 1625 | Hugo Grotius publishes The Laws of War and Peace |
| 1633 | Galileo Galilei forced to recant his support of heliocentrism |
| 1635 | French join the Thirty Years' War by declaring war on Spain |
| 1648 | Peace of Westphalia ends Thirty Years' War |