| 1517 | 1542 |
| – Martin Luther writes “Ninety-five Theses on the Power of Indulgences” | – Pope Paul III establishes the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition |
| 1521 | 1545–1563 |
| – Diet of Worms | – Council of Trent |
| 1521–1559 | 1553–1558 |
| – Habsburg-Valois wars | – Reign of Mary Tudor and temporary restoration of Catholicism in England |
| 1525 | 1555 |
| – German Peasants’ War | – Peace of Augsburg; official recognition of Lutheranism |
| 1526 | 1558–1603 |
| – Turkish victory at Mohács, which allows spread of Protestantism in Hungary | – Reign of Elizabeth in England |
| 1530s | 1560–1660 |
| – Henry VIII ends the authority of the pope in England | – Height of the European witch-hunt |
| 1535 | 1568–1578 |
| – Angela Merici establishes the Ursulines as first women’s teaching order | – Civil war in the Netherlands |
| 1536 | 1572 |
| – John Calvin publishes The Institutes of the Christian Religion | – Saint Bartholomew’s Day massacre |
| 1540 | 1588 |
| – Papal approval of Society of Jesus (Jesuits) | – England defeats Spanish Armada |
| 1598 |
| – Edict of Nantes |