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Charles XIV John

Charles XIV John (Karl XIV Johan; 26 January 1763 – 8 March 1844) was King of Sweden and Norway from 1818 until his death in 1844 and the first monarch of the Bernadotte dynasty. In Norway, he is known as Charles III John (Karl III Johan) and before he became royalty in Sweden, his name was Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte. During the Napoleonic Wars, he participated in several battles as a Marshal of France.

Born in Pau in the region of southern France known as Gascony, Bernadotte joined the French Royal Army in 1780. Following the outbreak of the French Revolution, he exhibited great military talent, rapidly rising through the ranks, and was made a brigadier general by 1794. He served with distinction in Italy and Germany, and was briefly Minister of War. His relationship with Napoleon was turbulent; nevertheless, Napoleon named him a Marshal of the Empire on the proclamation of the French Empire. Bernadotte played a significant role in the French victory at Austerlitz, and was made Prince of Pontecorvo as a reward. His marriage to Désirée Clary, whose sister was married to Joseph Bonaparte, made Bernadotte a member of the extended Imperial family.

In 1810, Bernadotte was unexpectedly elected the heir-presumptive (Crown Prince) to the childless King Charles XIII of Sweden, thanks to the advocacy of Baron Carl Otto Mörner, a Swedish courtier and obscure member of the Riksdag of the Estates. He assumed the name Charles John and was named regent and generalissimo of the Swedish Armed Forces, soon after his arrival becoming de facto head of state for most of his time as Crown Prince. In 1812, following the sudden unprovoked French invasion of Swedish Pomerania, Crown Prince Charles John was instrumental in the creation of the Sixth Coalition by allying with Alexander I of Russia and using Swedish diplomacy to bring warring Russia and Britain together in alliance. He then played a major role in the writing of the Trachenberg Plan, the war-winning Allied campaign plan, and commanded the Allied Army of the North that defeated two concerted French attempts to capture Berlin and made the decisive attack on the last day of the catastrophic French defeat at Leipzig.

Following the conclusion of the Leipzig Campaign and after liberating Bremen and Lubeck from the French in late November 1813, Charles John invaded Denmark, aiming to knock Napoleon's last major ally out of the war to secure the Coalition's northern flank in preparation for the invasion of France in 1814 and to secure Norway for Sweden, as stipulated in the several treaties that created the Sixth Coalition. After a brief campaign that saw the defeat of the Danish Army, King Frederick VI of Denmark was forced to sign the Treaty of Kiel on 15 January 1814 that ceded Norway to Sweden, that in turn led to the Swedish–Norwegian War of 1814, where Norway was defeated in nineteen days. This put Norway into a union with Sweden, which lasted for almost a century before its peaceful 1905 dissolution. The Swedish–Norwegian war is viewed as Sweden's last direct conflict and war.

Upon the death of Charles XIII in 1818, Charles John ascended to the thrones. He presided over a period of peace and prosperity, and reigned until his death in 1844.

Early life and family
Jean Bernadotte was born on 26 January 1763 in Pau, the capital of the province of Béarn in the southwestern part of the Kingdom of France. He was the son of Jean Henri Bernadotte (1711–1780), prosecutor at Pau, and his wife (married at Boeil, 20 February 1754) Jeanne de Saint-Jean (1728–1809), niece of the lay abbot of Sireix. The family name was originally du Poey (or de Pouey), but was changed to Bernadotte—a surname of an ancestress at the beginning of the 17th century. He was the youngest of five siblings, two of whom died in childhood. Soon after his birth, Baptiste was added to his name, to distinguish him from his elder brother Jean Évangeliste. Bernadotte himself added Jules to his first names as a tribute to the French Empire under Napoleon I.

At the age of 14, he was apprenticed to a local attorney. Aged 17, his father's death dissuaded him from following in his career.

Early military career
Bernadotte joined the army as a private in the Régiment Royal–La Marine on 3 September 1780, and first served in the newly conquered territory of Corsica. Subsequently, the Régiment stationed in Besançon, Grenoble, Vienne, Marseille and Île de Ré. He reached the rank of sergeant in August 1785 and was nicknamed Sergeant Belle-Jambe, for his smart appearance. In early 1790 he was promoted to Adjutant-Major, the highest rank for non-commissioned officers in the Ancien Régime.

Revolutionary Wars
Following the outbreak of the French Revolution, his eminent military qualities brought him speedy promotion. Bernadotte's promotions came both from the esteem of his commanders as well as from his men; having been elected to the rank of lieutenant colonel and colonel by his men, though he refused both nominations in favor of traditional advancement.

It was during this period of rapid advancement that the military qualities he became known for, daring assaults and gasconades, came to the fore. Of the latter, Bernadotte was gifted in his ability to inspire his men to prodigious feats of valor. He has been compared by historians to fellow Gascon, D'Artagnan. One of his biographers asserts that Dumas used Bernadotte as the model for his D'Artagnan. As Colonel and commander of the 71st Demi-Brigade, Bernadotte rallied his men, who were retreating in disorder before an Austrian attack, by tearing off his epaulettes, throwing them to the ground before his men and shouting “If you dishonor yourselves by flight, I refuse to remain your colonel!” Soldiers left the ranks, gathered his epaulettes, pressed them into his hands, formed ranks and reformed the line and counter-attacked.

By 1794 he was promoted to brigadier, attached to the Army of Sambre-et-Meuse. After Jourdan's victory at Fleurus (26 June 1794), where he distinguished himself with a decisive attack and seizure of key terrain that led to the Austrian retreat, he became a divisional general.

Bernadotte played key roles throughout the next 18 months during the three French invasions into Germany; often employed in the place of honor during offensives leading the vanguard, and in retreat as a defensive specialist commanding the rearguard.

At the Battle of Theiningen (1796), where the Austrians outnumbered the French three to one, Bernadotte's rear-guard successfully repulsed numerous attacks while inflicting heavy losses on the enemy, preventing the Archduke Charles from cutting off the retreat of the French army over the Rhine after its defeat by the Austrians at the Battle of Würzburg.

At the beginning of 1797 he was ordered by the Directory to march with 20,000 men as reinforcements to Napoleon Bonaparte's army in Italy. His successful crossing of the Alps through the storm in midwinter was highly praised but coldly received by the Army of Italy. Upon receiving insult from Dominique Martin Dupuy, the commander of Milan, Bernadotte was to arrest him for insubordination. Dupuy was a close friend of Louis-Alexandre Berthier and this started a long-lasting feud between Bernadotte and Berthier, who would become Napoleon's chief of staff.

He had his first interview with Napoleon in Mantua and was appointed the commander of the 4th division. During the invasion of Friuli and Istria, Bernadotte distinguished himself greatly at the passage of the Tagliamento where he led the vanguard, and at the capture of the fortress of Gradisca (19 March 1797). After the 18th Fructidor, Napoleon ordered his generals to collect from their respective divisions' addresses in favor of the coup d'état of that day; but Bernadotte sent an address to the Directory different from that which Napoleon wished for and without conveying it through Napoleon's hands.

After the Treaty of Campo Formio, Napoleon gave Bernadotte a friendly visit at his headquarters at Udine, but immediately after deprived him of half his division of the army of the Rhine, and commanded him to march the other half back to France. Paul Barras, one of five directors, was cautious that Napoleon would overturn the Republic, so he appointed Bernadotte commander-in-chief of the Army of Italy in order to offset Napoleon's power. Bernadotte was pleased with this appointment but Napoleon lobbied Talleyrand-Périgord, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, to appoint him to the embassy of Vienna instead. Bernadotte was very dissatisfied; he finally accepted the post in Vienna, but had to quit owing to the disturbances caused by his hoisting the tricolour over the embassy.

After returning from Vienna, he resided in Paris. He married Désirée Clary in August 1798, the daughter of a Marseilles merchant, and once engaged to Napoleon, and Joseph Bonaparte's sister-in-law. In November of the same year he was made commander of the army of observation on the upper Rhine. Although solicited to do so by Barras and Joseph Bonaparte, he did not take part in the coup d'état of the 30th Prairial. From 2 July to 14 September he was Minister of War, in which capacity he displayed great ability. His popularity and contacts with radical Jacobins aroused antipathy of him in the government. On the morning of 13 September he found his resignation announced in Le Moniteur Universel before he was aware that he had tendered it. This was a trick; played upon him by Sieyès and Roger Ducos, the directors allied to Napoleon.

Though Bernadotte declined to help Napoleon Bonaparte stage his coup d'état of November 1799, Napoleon was resolved to win over the "Obstacle Man" and showered him with honors. Napoleon acknowledged Bernadotte's administrative ability and influence by naming him a Councillor of State in February 1800. In April 1800, despite his republican sympathies, Bernadotte was offered, and freely accepted, from April 1800 to 18 August 1801, the post of Commander-in-Chief of the Army of the West in the rebellious Vendée where he successfully restored its tranquility. This was seen as an appointment of trust as while Napoleon embarked on his summer Italian Campaign, where he ultimately prevailed at the Battle of Marengo, he left Bernadotte not far from Paris with an army. In his farewell note to Bernadotte on his way to Italy, Napoleon wrote: "I am going to fling myself once more into the hazards of war. We do not know how it may turn out. If I fall, you will find yourself with 40,000 men at the gates of Paris. In your hands will be the fate of the Republic." As Bernadotte was brother-in-law to Joseph and close friends with his other brothers and sisters, Napoleon is thought to have been considering the welfare of his family in the possible event of his death on the battlefield, as well as the future of the country, by leaving his erstwhile rival in a position to seize the reins of government as, of his former rivals, only Bernadotte had the political and military skill and popularity to maintain the Republic.

In 1802, Napoleon Bonaparte proposed that Bernadotte head to New France to serve as governor of Louisiana, which was to be transferred back to French control following the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. In accepting the position, Bernadotte requested additional soldiers, settlers, and funding to support the colony, but Napoleon refused. In response, Bernadotte, declined the posting and instead was named plenipotentiary ambassador to the United States. His posting was cancelled after the Sale of Louisiana.

Marshal of the French Empire
On the introduction of the First French Empire, Bernadotte became one of the eighteen Marshals of the Empire, and from June 1804 to September 1805 served as governor of the recently occupied Hanover. In this capacity, as well as during his later command of the army of northern Germany, he created for himself a reputation for independence, incorruptibility, moderation, and administrative ability. Bernadotte's rule was popular, and despite the exactions taken from the populace as part of Napoleon's policy of making occupations pay for themselves, Hanover's economy prospered. Bernadotte extended his protection, and made private contributions to, Gottingen University, befriending many of the professors and other men of learning whom he often had over for dinner and employed to tutor himself and his wife.

During the campaign of 1805, Bernadotte, with his army corps from Hanover formed into the I Corps, commanded the Left Wing of the Grande Armée overseeing Auguste de Marmont's II Corps and having the majority of the Bavarian Army attached to his command; some 65,000 men or 1/4th of the Army. Bernadotte was also tasked with assuring France's newest ally, the Elector of Bavaria, Maximillian IV Joseph, that the Austrians would be driven from his country.

Bernadotte, with Davout's III Corps attached to his command, and the Bavarians, gained a victory over the Austrians driving them out of Munich on 12 October, taking some 3000 prisoners and 19 guns and installing Maximillian Joseph back onto his throne. I Corps then co-operated in the great movement which resulted in the shutting off of Mack in the Battle of Ulm. Bernadotte's troops then captured Salzburg on 30 October. In the Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805) he was posted with his corps in the center between Soult and Lannes, and contributed to defeating the attempt of the right wing of the allies to outflank the French army. As a reward for his services at Austerlitz, he became the 1st Sovereign Prince of Pontecorvo (5 June 1806), a district in southern Italy formerly subject to the Pope.

During the 1806 campaign against Prussia, Bernadotte was reproached by Napoleon for not participating with his army corps in the battles of Jena and Auerstädt (14 October 1806). Napoleon, on the night of 13 October, thinking he had faced the whole Prussian Army at Jena, sent orders to Davout, through Marshal Berthier, Davout relayed the order to Bernadotte at 0400 on 14 October with the order stating: "If the Prince of Ponte Corvo [Bernadotte] is with you, you may both march together, but the Emperor hopes that he will be in the position which had been indicated at Dornburg." This was in accordance with Bernadotte's last set of written orders from 12 October which ordered him and Davout to get across the Prussian line of retreat. In pursuance of these orders, Bernadotte, separately from Davout, left Naumburg at dawn on the morning of the 14th for Dornburg and marched toward Apolda, which he reached by 16:00. Hampered by the very poor state of the roads, and a steep defile within which Dornburg is situated and the narrow bridge which passes over the Saale, that could pass but one artillery piece at a time according to General Dupont, he could not engage in the Battle of Jena, though he effectively compelled the Prussians to retreat from both battlefields by posting his troops on the heights of Apolda.

The defile was such an obstacle that Bernadotte's 3rd Infantry division, commanded by Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Comte d'Erlon, was still in the midst of crossing the bridge well after nightfall, making it unlikely that Bernadotte could have intervened at Auerstädt in any event. He later was accused of deliberately refusing to support Davout, who had unexpectedly encountered the Prussian main army at Auerstädt, out of jealousy, and Napoleon, if reminiscences from St. Helena may be believed, once intended to put Bernadotte before a court-martial. In fact, he did what he had been ordered to do, and more fundamental responsibility for his absence rests upon the ambiguous and indirect orders issued by Berthier and Napoleon's unawareness of the Prussian position. Documentary evidence supports Bernadotte's assertion that he was ordered to Dornberg as no orders from Napoleon to Bernadotte to march with Davout were ever found in French Imperial Archives while Berthier's order of 14 October were confirmed.

After the Battle of Jena, Bernadotte crushed the Prussian Reserve Army, all fresh troops fortified behind a marsh and the River Saale, under Duke Eugen of Württemberg at Halle (17 October 1806), though Imperial Headquarters did not much appreciate this victory. When visiting Halle after the battle, and commenting on the degree of difficulty of storming a fortified position accessible only by a single bridge, Napoleon enigmatically commented "Bernadotte stops at nothing. Someday the Gascon will get caught." Subsequently, Bernadotte pursued, conjointly with Soult and Murat (known as the "Pursuit of the Three Marshals"), Prussian general Blücher's Corps to Lübeck, where his troops stormed the Prussian defenses, taking the city and forcing Blücher's capitulation at Ratekau (7 November 1806). When the French forced their way into Lübeck, the city became the target of large-scale looting and rampage by the French soldiers. Bernadotte, struggling desperately to prevent his men from sacking the city, was given six horses from the Council of Lübeck as a token of their appreciation. He also treated with courtesy 1600 Swedish prisoners, under the command of Colonel Count Gustaf Mörner, and allowed them to return to their home country. The impressed Swedes went home with a tale of Bernadotte's fairness in maintaining order within the city. Count Mörner would later play a prominent role in the election of Bernadotte as Crown Prince of Sweden.

Thereafter he marched to Poland in command of the French Left Wing, composed of his I Corps and Ney's VI Corps. Left unsupported by Ney's unexpected movement toward Königsberg, the Russians under Levin August von Bennigsen, passed over to the offensive and attempted to destroy Bernadotte's and Ney's isolated Corps. Napoleon, having received word of the Russian offensive, gave word to Bernadotte to retreat West as to draw the Russians toward him so that Napoleon could then cut-off and surround the Russians. Bernadotte moved West as ordered, pursued by Bennigsen where he defeated the numerically superior Russian vanguard at Mohrungen (25 January 1807). During the battle Bernadotte's personal wagon was captured by the Russians and he was accused, by the Cossacks who looted his baggage, of having extorted a large quantity of silver plate from minor German states. This claim is unsubstantiated and contrary to his reputation. He was known throughout the army for his probity and honesty in the conduct of his affairs on campaign and he refrained from the looting and brigandage that many of his fellow marshals engaged in. As a consequence, his table fare was considered poor by his brother marshals and while others dined on fine service and employed chefs, he habitually used his own money to pay for food for his troops, and to give money awards to those who merited recognition. He held his troops to the same high standard; he punished looting and rape severely, and was known to intervene with his sword drawn against those engaged in pillaging, as was the case following the capture of Lübeck.

Due to the capture of a courier carrying the Emperor's latest orders, Bernadotte was not informed of a change of strategy to move East toward the rest of the French Army. As a consequence, Bernadotte's I Corps was too far away to take part in the Battle of Eylau (7 to 8 February 1807). Napoleon rebuked him for his absence but it became acknowledged that it was not due to Bernadotte, but Berthier's carelessness in dispatching the orderly. The Russians resumed the offensive that summer and Bernadotte was attacked by, and defeated, a strong Prussian Corps at Spanden, preserving the French bridgehead over the Pasłęka, where he was nearly killed when a spent ball struck him in the neck. Due to this near fatal wound, Bernadotte was invalided to the rear and missed the remainder of the Polish Campaign.

After the Peace of Tilsit, on 14 July 1807, he became governor of the Hanseatic towns, where he once again proved his administrative and diplomatic abilities and was well-liked. He was to direct the expedition against Sweden, via the Danish islands, but the plan came to naught because of the want of transports and the defection of the Spanish contingent, which went back to Spain to fight against Napoleon at the start of the Peninsular War. Pursuant to the projected invasion of Sweden, and by virtue of Denmark becoming an ally of France in 1808, Bernadotte found himself de facto head of a French occupation of Denmark. He maintained strict discipline of his troops and his good treatment of the Danes made him popular with the populace and Danish Royal Family. Upon his departure from Denmark he was one of few Frenchmen of the period to be awarded the Order of the Elephant.

During Bernadotte's time as governor of the Hanseatic cities, the Abdications of Bayonne occurred, an event that triggered the Peninsular War that would play so large a role in Napoleon's defeat. For a time Napoleon considered the notion of placing Bernadotte on the Spanish throne; going so far as to hint at it in a letter to him. Bernadotte made it known to Napoleon that he did not want the Spanish Crown. Joseph Bonaparte, Bernadotte's friend and brother-in-law, was chosen instead. It was not the first, or last time, that Napoleon thought of placing Bernadotte on a foreign throne. Indeed, Napoleon on several occasions, both during his days as First Consul and then as Emperor, thought of naming Bernadotte (Napoleon also considered Murat) as his successor by adoption. Despite their rivalry, Napoleon thought Bernadotte alone had the popularity, administrative and military skill to safeguard the Empire he had built. The birth of the King of Rome put an end to Napoleon's need for an heir. Ironically, Bernadotte eventually wore a crown, not through the auspices of Napoleon, but as an enemy of France.

Recalled to Germany to assist in the new war between France and Austria, he received the command of the 9th Corps, which was mainly composed of Saxons. Further difficulties with Berthier, and a saddling with ill-prepared Saxons, combined with an illness, compelled Bernadotte to beg for release from service. Bernadotte wrote to Napoleon that "I see my efforts perpetually paralyzed by a hidden force over which I can not prevail." Napoleon disregarded these appeals and Bernadotte proceeded with the campaign, commanding mostly foreign troops with few French troops under his command. At the Battle of Wagram (5 July 1809), he entered battle with his Saxon corps, to which the division of Dupas was attached and which formed his reserve. Resting on the French Left, Bernadotte's corps was battered during the night but resisted the full fury of the Austrian attack facing superior numbers. At a critical moment he ordered Dupas forward to his support; the latter replied that he had orders from the emperor to remain where he was. Having been badly mauled, and fully exposed ahead of the main French line, IX Corps withdrew from the village of Aderklaa against Napoleon's orders. On the second day of battle, 6 July 1809, IX Corps, having been mauled the night before, wherein Bernadotte struggled to rally his demoralized Saxons, was attacked by two Austrian corps, as part of Archduke Charles's effort to break the French line. This time Bernadotte's depleted forces—he had only 6,000 infantry left—broke and fled (Bernadotte's Corps was not the only one to break that day, Masséna's troops were also routed by the attack). The routed Saxons retreated in disorder toward Raasdorf as Bernadotte attempted to rally his men, where he encountered Napoleon. IX Corps rallied and played a further role in the battle. Rumors that Napoleon relieved Bernadotte of command on the spot at Raasdorf have long been the stuff of legend, but are not verified. After the battle, Bernadotte complained to Napoleon for having, in violation of all military rules, ordered Dupas to act independently of his command, and for having thereby caused great loss of life to the Saxons, and tendered his resignation. Napoleon accepted after he had become aware of an order of the day issued by Bernadotte in which he gave the Saxons credit for their courage in terms inconsistent with the emperor's official bulletin. Accounts of Bernadotte's role at Wagram are contradictory. While it is true that IX Corps broke on 6 July, as did other French formations, they later rallied and played a part in the victory. Moreover, Bernadotte fought with exceptional personal courage, at the head of his troops, and narrowly avoided death when attacked by Austrian cavalry. It is likely that IX Corps' poor performance would have been forgotten, and Bernadotte would have retained his command, had he never published the controversial Order of the Day. His praise for the Saxons, as well as his mild and courteous treatment of them while under his command, was never forgotten by the Saxon officers and this would later have disastrous consequences for the French when a whole Saxon division defected to Bernadotte's Army of the North during a key moment of the Battle of Leipzig.

With Bernadotte having returned to Paris, the Walcheren Campaign (July 1809) caused the French ministry in the absence of the emperor to entrust him with the defense of Antwerp with both regular French and Dutch troops along with the National Guard. Bernadotte took command of a chaotic situation wherein troops from all over the Empire and its vassal states, and raw conscripts, were sent to Holland under divided command. He re-organized and trained his forces, named by the Emperor as the Army of Antwerp, by instilling discipline in old soldiers too long at the depots and teaching raw conscripts their trade. Everywhere he instilled a fighting spirit, making an army out of a mob, and thus he rapidly brought the defenses of Antwerp to a high order of readiness. With Antwerp bristling with cannon and numerous defenders, and with the Army of Antwerp whipped into fighting shape, the British, vexed by poor leadership and with half the army immobilized with fever thanks to the insalubrious islands upon which they were quartered, realized that it was no longer possible to close the Scheldt, or take Antwerp, and they withdrew their forces. In a proclamation issued to his troops at Antwerp he made an implied charge against Napoleon of having neglected to prepare the proper means of defense for the Belgian coast. A displeased Napoleon relieved Bernadotte of command of his ad hoc army, and ordered his return to Paris to leave for Catalonia and take command of the Army there. Refusing to comply with the order, he was summoned to Vienna, and after an interview with Napoleon at Schönbrunn accepted the general government of the Roman departments.

Offer of the Swedish throne
In 1810, Bernadotte was about to enter his new post as governor of Rome when he was unexpectedly elected the heir-presumptive to King Charles XIII of Sweden. The problem of Charles's successor had been acute almost from the time he had ascended the throne a year earlier. He was 61 years old and in poor health. He was also childless; Queen Charlotte had given birth to two children who had died in infancy, and there was no prospect of her bearing another child. Soon after his coronation, the king had adopted a Danish prince, Charles August, who had died just a few months after his arrival. Despite the fact that Napoleon favored his ally Danish King Frederick VI, Danish Prince Frederick Christian initially had the most support to become the Swedish Crown Prince.

The political situation internally and externally for Sweden meant that selecting a foreign king was an attractive option. Sweden wanted to strengthen its relationship with Napoleon for militaristic reasons and so sought to select a king who would be able to attract Napoleon's support. The Swedish court initially sounded out the emperor for his preferences on candidates for crown prince, whereupon Napoleon made it clear he preferred his adopted stepson Eugène de Beauharnais, or one of his nephews or brothers. The Swedish envoys did not accept Eugène as a candidate. Baron Lagerbielke, the Swedish envoy in Paris, reported to Stockholm that Eugène was "gentle and good," "but he does not seem to be a man of strong character; and, although he had had great opportunities, he does not appear to have developed any distinguishing talents." Also, Eugène, serving as viceroy in Italy, did not wish to convert to Lutheranism, a prerequisite for accepting the Swedish offer. Moreover, none of Napoleon's brothers were interested in going to Sweden and his nephews were too young, as the Swedes did not want the hazards of minority rule in the event King Charles died prematurely. The matter was decided by an obscure Swedish courtier, Baron Karl Otto Mörner (nephew of Count Gustav Mörner, the commander of the Swedish force captured by Bernadotte at Lübeck), who, entirely on his own initiative, offered the succession to the Swedish crown to Bernadotte. Bernadotte communicated Mörner's offer to Napoleon who at first treated the situation as an absurdity, but later came around to the idea and while adopting a public attitude of indifference, quietly lent support to Bernadotte's candidacy both financially and diplomatically.

Although the Swedish government, amazed at Mörner's effrontery, at once placed him under arrest on his return to Sweden, the candidature of Bernadotte gradually gained favour and on 21 August 1810 he was elected by the Riksdag of the Estates in Örebro to be the new crown prince, and was subsequently made Generalissimus of the Swedish Armed Forces by the King. Several factors benefitted Bernadotte's election. Being foreign was, although problematic, also to his favour due to geopolitical factors and the internal situation at the time. One benefit was his (presumed) close ties to French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, with whom a relationship would provide military backing as the intention at the time was to reacquire Finland. The current King, Charles XIII, viewed Napoleon in a more positive way than Gustav IV Adolf had, who had held him in very ill regard. Another point in favour was that a large part of the Swedish Army, anticipating conflict with Russia, were in favour of electing a soldier. Also, Bernadotte was personally popular, owing to the kindness he had shown to the Swedish prisoners in Lübeck and his reputation as the well-liked governor of the Hanseatic Cities from 1807 to 1809; as many Swedish merchants had operated under his auspices. Finally, Bernadotte had no qualms about converting to Lutheranism, recalling the conversion of Henry IV for the benefit of France with whom he felt a kinship as both hailed from Pau, nor converting his son Oscar (though his wife Désirée never did renounce Catholicism).

Before freeing Bernadotte from his allegiance to France, Napoleon asked him to agree never to take up arms against France. Bernadotte refused to make any such agreement, upon the ground that his obligations to Sweden would not allow it; Napoleon exclaimed "Go, and let our destinies be accomplished" and signed the act of emancipation unconditionally. Many were also optimistic that Sweden would recover Finland under Charles John. The Swedish crown prince even unsuccessfully sought Napoleon's support to assist Sweden in conquering Norway.

Crown Prince and Regent
On 2 November 1810 Bernadotte made his solemn entry into Stockholm, and on 5 November he received the homage of the Riksdag of the Estates, and he was adopted by King Charles XIII under the name of "Charles John" (Karl Johan). At the same time, he converted from Roman Catholicism to the Lutheranism of the Swedish court.

The new Crown Prince was very soon the most popular and most powerful man in Sweden and quickly impressed his adoptive father. Following his first meeting with his new heir, Charles XIII (who had initially opposed Bernadotte's candidacy) remarked to his aide-de-camp count Charles de Suremain "My dear Suremain, I have gambled heavily, and I believe that after all I have won." He also made himself well liked by Queen Charlotte, who regarded him a "gentleman in every sense of the word", and established a net of contact within the Swedish aristocracy, befriending in particular the Brahe family through his favorite Magnus Brahe and countess Aurora Wilhelmina Brahe, whose cousin Mariana Koskull became his lover.

The infirmity of the old King and the dissensions in the Privy Council of Sweden placed the government, and especially the control of foreign policy, entirely in his hands. Amongst the first of Charles John's acts as Crown Prince was to address the dire state of the Swedish economy. The Swedish economy was in shambles after years of mismanagement since the reign of Gustav III and aggravated during the reign of his son Gustav IV Adolf. The economic turmoil had been caused, in part, by the debts accrued from Gustav III's Russian War, in part to the failure of several of Gustav IV Adolf's well intentioned economic reforms (Gustav IV Adolf was rather more successful in his agrarian reforms) and the costs of the more recent wars against France and Russia. Under Gustav IV Adolf genuine attempts at economic reform, including paying down the national debt by some 700,000 Riksdalers in the first years of his active reign, and revitalizing the currency, met with limited success.

Such measures were undermined by his other policies. Gustav IV Adolf's personal dislike of the Riksdag, which had the power to raise taxes, led to his refusal to call them into session after 1800, crippling his attempts to raise state revenues. Gustav IV Adolf's foreign policy plunged Sweden into disastrous (and expensive) wars against France and Russia. The cost of years of war, several poor harvests in the years between 1798 and 1809, the ineptitude of his ministers in carrying out fiscal reforms, and the loss of the tax base of Finland had ballooned Sweden's national debt. The impending demands of Napoleon to adhere to the Continental System forecasted even greater difficulties. Charles John immediately began making reforms, and used his sizable fortune, accrued honestly during his time as French Marshal, to pay off much of the debt, and to stabilize the economy by both grants and via a loan to the state of £300,000 sterling at five percent interest. Charles John also purchased back from the French private estates that had been confiscated during the occupation of Swedish Pomerania from 1808 to 1810 and returned them to their original Swedish and German owners.

The keynote of his foreign and domestic policy was maintenance of Swedish independence of action, often in the face of French demands, and the acquisition of Norway as a compensation for the loss of Finland. Many Swedes expected him to reconquer Finland, which had been ceded to Russia. The Crown Prince was aware of its difficulty for reasons of the desperate situation of the state finance and the reluctance of the Finnish people to return to Sweden. Even if Finland was regained, he thought, it would put Sweden into a new cycle of conflicts with a powerful neighbor because there was no guarantee Russia would accept the loss as final. Therefore, he made up his mind to make a united Scandinavian peninsula, which was easier to defend, by taking Norway (intentionally without the ancient and remote provinces of Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands) from Denmark and uniting her to Sweden. He tried to divert public opinion from Finland to Norway, by arguing that to create a compact peninsula, with sea for its natural boundary, was to inaugurate an era of peace, and that waging war with Russia would lead to ruinous consequences.

Soon after Charles John's arrival in Sweden, Napoleon compelled him to accede to the Continental System and declare war against Great Britain; otherwise, Sweden would have to face the determination of France, Denmark and Russia. This demand would mean a hard blow to the national economy and the Swedish population. Sweden reluctantly declared war against the UK, which was treated by both countries as merely nominal, although Swedish imports of British goods decreased from £4,871 million in 1810 to £523 million in the following year.

In January 1812, French troops suddenly invaded Swedish Pomerania and the island of Rügen. Officially, the French claimed that Sweden had repeatedly violated the Continental System and that the occupation of Stralsund and Swedish Pomerania was closing an entrepôt for illegal British goods. Napoleon, before marching to Moscow, also had to secure his rear and dared not allow a Swedish continental foothold behind him as he did not trust Charles John. Charles John believed that Napoleon scheduled the occupation to occur on the Crown Prince's birthday, and ordered Charles John's old rival Marshal Davout to execute the operation, as a personal insult, adding another dimension of personal enmity to the incident. As a result, the initially amicable relationship which Charles John had with Napoleon, following his election as Crown Prince, soon changed because of the invasion. The invasion was a clear violation of international law as well as an act of war and public opinion in Sweden was outraged. Moreover, it antagonized the pro-French faction at the Swedish court. Thereafter, the Crown Prince declared the neutrality of Sweden and opened negotiations with the UK and Russia.

In 1812, he allied Sweden with its traditional enemy Russia, and sought to make peace with the United Kingdom with whom Sweden was technically at war. Charles John's personal diplomacy served as the bridge between Russia and the UK as on 18 July 1812 the Treaty of Örebro formally ended the wars between Britain and Sweden and Britain and Russia and formed an alliance between Russia, Britain, and Sweden; creating the Sixth Coalition. The treaty stipulated that Sweden would land an army of no less than 25,000 on the continent for the express purpose of fighting France, as well as liberating Swedish Pomerania, and in exchange, Russia and the UK would diplomatically and militarily support the cession of Norway from the doggedly French-allied Denmark to Sweden. Throughout summer and fall 1812, Bernadotte sought to add more allies to the Coalition, and negotiated a treaty with the Spanish Supreme Central Junta against his own brother-in-law who was currently the French-backed King of Spain. Although Napoleon had forced Frederick William III to break off relations with Sweden, Charles John corresponded with the King of Prussia, encouraging him to renounce the forced alliance with France and join the Coalition. Following the Convention of Tauroggen, which broke the Prussian/French Alliance, Frederick Wilhelm signed the Treaty of Kalisz with Russia, and then a separate peace treaty with Sweden, on the basis of Prussian recognition of the Norwegian cession to Sweden, in exchange for Swedish Pomerania, thus formally joining the Coalition in spring 1813.

After the defeats at Lützen (2 May 1813) and Bautzen (21 May 1813), it was the Swedish Crown Prince who put fresh fighting spirit into the Allies; and at the conference of Trachenberg he drew up the Trachenberg Plan, the general plan for the campaign which began after the expiration of the Truce of Pläswitz.

Charles John, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Army, successfully defended the approaches to Berlin and was victorious in battle against Oudinot in August and against Ney in September at the Battles of Großbeeren and Dennewitz. Bernadotte's Army of the North would continue to guard Berlin and keep watch on Davout's forces in Hamburg while the Allies, in accordance with the plan conceived at Trachenberg, maneuvered toward Napoleon's army at Leipzig. With the other Allied armies engaged in battle on 17 October, Bernadotte's army finally crossed the Elbe and joined in the Battle of Leipzig on 19 October. His fresh troops, reinforced by 30,000 Prussians, joined the fray against the already battered French lines where Swedish forces entered battle in numbers for the first time in the campaign. At a critical moment entire Saxon regiments went over to his army in response to a proclamation released a week prior in which Bernadotte invited the Saxons to join their old commander in defeating Napoleon. The Army of the North committed the coup de grâce on the already depleted French and Bernadotte was the first of the Allied sovereigns to enter Leipzig.

After the Battle of Leipzig he went his own way, determined at all hazards to cripple Denmark and to secure Norway, defeating the Danes in a relatively quick campaign. His efforts culminated in the favourable Treaty of Kiel, which transferred Norway to Swedish control.

The Norwegians rejected Swedish control. They declared independence, adopted a liberal constitution and elected Danish crown prince Christian Frederick to the throne. The ensuing war was swiftly won by Sweden under Charles John's generalship. The military operations in 1814 were to be Sweden's last war to this day. Charles John could have named his terms to Norway, but in a key concession accepted the Constitution of Norway and its own political autonomy. This paved the way for Norway to enter a personal union with Sweden later that year.

During the period of the Allied invasion of France in the winter and spring of 1814, when it was unclear who would rule France after the war, the Russian Tsar Alexander I, with support from French liberals like Benjamin Constant and Madame de Staël, advocated placing Charles John on the French throne in place of Napoleon. He would rule France as a Constitutional Monarch and leave Oscar as Regent in Sweden and Norway. Ultimately the British and Austrians vetoed the idea, and the Allies agreed that if Napoleon were to be deposed, the only acceptable alternative was the restoration of the House of Bourbon.

King of Sweden and Norway
Charles John had been regent and de facto head of state upon his arrival, and took an increasing role in government from 1812 onward, with Charles XIII reduced to a mute witness in government councils following a stroke.

Upon Charles's death on 5 February 1818, Charles John ascended the throne. He was initially popular in both countries. The democratic process and forces steadily matured under the King's restrained executive power.

The foreign policy applied by Charles John in the post-Napoleonic era was characterized by the maintenance of balance between the Great Powers and non-involvement into conflicts that took place outside of the Scandinavian peninsula. It made a sharp contrast with Sweden's previous hegemonic expansionism resulting in uninterrupted wars with neighboring countries for centuries, and he successfully kept his kingdoms in a state of peace from 1814 until his death. He was especially concerned about the conflict between the UK and Russia. In 1834, when the relationship between the two countries strained regarding the Near East Crisis, he sent memoranda to British and Russian governments and proclaimed neutrality in advance. It is pointed out as the origin of Swedish neutrality.

His domestic policy particularly focused on promotion of economy and investment in social overhead capital, and the long peace since 1814 led to an increased prosperity for the country. During his long reign of 26 years (34 years if one counts his time as regent from 1810 to 1818), the population of the Kingdom was so increased that the inhabitants of Sweden alone became equal in number to those of Sweden and Finland before the latter province was torn from the former, the national debt was paid off, a civil and a penal code were proposed for promulgation, education was promoted, agriculture, commerce, and manufactures prospered, and the means of internal communication were increased.

On the other hand, radical in his youth, his views had veered steadily rightward over the years, and by the time he ascended the throne he was an ultra-conservative. His autocratic methods, particularly his censorship of the press, were very unpopular, especially after 1823. His dynasty faced little danger, as the Swedes and the Norwegians alike were proud of a monarch with a good European reputation.

He also faced challenges in Norway. The Norwegian constitution gave the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, more power than any legislature in Europe. While Charles John had the power of absolute veto in Sweden, he only had a suspensive veto in Norway. He demanded that the Storting give him the power of absolute veto, but was forced to back down. Charles John's difficult relationship with Norway was also demonstrated by the Storting's unwillingness to grant funds for the construction of a Royal Palace in the Norwegian capital Oslo. The construction began in 1825, but the Storting halted the funding after the costly foundation was laid and demanded that the appointed architect, Hans Linstow, construct a simpler palace. This was seen by many as a protest against unnecessary spending and the king's authority. The palace itself was not completed until 1849, long after the death of Charles John, and was inaugurated by Oscar I. The main street in Oslo, Slottsgaten, would later be named after Charles John as Karl Johans gate.

His popularity decreased for a time in the 1830s, culminating in the Rabulist riots after the Lèse-majesté conviction of the journalist Magnus Jacob Crusenstolpe, and some calls for his abdication. Charles John survived the abdication controversy and he went on to have his silver jubilee, which was celebrated with great enthusiasm on 18 February 1843. He reigned as King of Sweden and Norway from 5 February 1818 until his death on 8 March 1844.

Death
On 26 January 1844, his 81st birthday, Charles John was found unconscious in his chambers having suffered a stroke. While he regained consciousness, he never fully recovered and died on the afternoon of 8 March. On his deathbed, he was heard to say:"'Nobody has had a career in life like mine. I could perhaps have been able to agree to become Napoleon’s ally: but when he attacked the country that had placed its fate in my hands, he could find in me no other than an opponent. The events that shook Europe and that gave her back her freedom are known. It is also known which part I played in that.'"

His remains were interred after a state funeral in Stockholm's Riddarholmen Church. He was succeeded by his only son, Oscar I.

Honours

 * The main street of Oslo, Karl Johans gate, was named after him in 1852.
 * The former main base for the Royal Norwegian Navy, Karljohansvern, was also named after him in 1854.
 * The Karlsborg Fortress (Karlsborgs fästning), located in present-day Karlsborg Municipality in Västra Götaland County, was also named in honour of him.
 * The, a French military building located in Pau, was also named after him in 1875.
 * The bronze equestrian statue of the King at the Royal Palace, Oslo, unveiled in 1875, is the largest bronze statue in Norway.

National

 * French Empire: Knight Grand Eagle of the Legion of Honour, 2 February 1805
 * Kingdom of Italy: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Iron Crown
 * Sweden:
 * Knight of the Order of the Seraphim, 21 August 1810
 * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Sword, 1st Class, 21 August 1810
 * Commander Grand Cross of the Order of Vasa, 28 January 1813
 * Commander Grand Cross of the Order of the Polar Star, 21 August 1810
 * Knight of the Order of Charles XIII, 21 August 1810

He became Lord and Master of all Swedish orders of chivalry upon his accession to the throne.

Foreign
• Kingdom of Bavaria: Knight of the Order of St. Hubert, 1805

• Kingdom of Prussia:

• * Knight of the Order of the Black Eagle, 7 April 1805

• * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Red Eagle, 7 April 1805

• * Grand Cross of the Iron Cross, 1813

• Denmark: Knight of the Order of the Elephant, 15 October 1808

• Kingdom of Saxony:

• * Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Henry, 1809

• * Knight of the Order of the Rue Crown, 1832

• Russia:

• * Knight of the Order of St. Andrew, 30 August 1812

• * Knight of the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky, 30 August 1812

• * Knight of the Order of St. Anna, 1st Class

• * Knight of the Order of St. George, 1st Class, 30 August 1813

• Austrian Empire: Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of Maria Theresa, 1813

• Spain: Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, 2 September 1822

• Baden:

• * Knight Grand Cross of the House Order of Fidelity, 1830

• * Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Zähringer Lion, 1830

• Kingdom of Portugal: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword

• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland: Knight of the Order of St. Patrick

Fictional portrayals
Louis-Émile Vanderburch and Ferdinand Langlé's 1833 play Le Camarade de lit ("The Bedfellow") depicts Bernadotte as King of Sweden; an old grenadier claims that, as a young man, Bernadotte received a tattoo of a scandalous republican motto: either Mort aux Rois ("Death to kings"), or Mort aux tyrans ("Death to tyrants"), or Mort au Roi ("Death to the king"). The tattoo is finally revealed to read Vive la république ("Long live the Republic") and a Phrygian cap: a highly ironic image and text for the skin of a king. This play was so popular that the idea that King Charles XIV John had a tattoo reading "Death to kings" is often repeated as fact, although there is no basis to it. For reasons of discretion, he publicly proclaimed himself in 1797 "a Republican both by principle and conviction" who would “to the moment of my death, oppose all Royalists and enemies to the Directory".

Désirée Clary's relationships with Bonaparte and Bernadotte were the subject of the novel Désirée by Annemarie Selinko.

The novel was filmed as Désirée in 1954, with Marlon Brando as Napoleon, Jean Simmons as Désirée, and Michael Rennie as Bernadotte.

Bernadotte is a primary supporting character in the historical fiction novel by New York Times Bestselling author Allison Pataki A Queen's Fortune: A Novel of Désirée, Napoleon, and the Dynasty that outlasted the Empire, that tells the life story of his wife (and Queen of Sweden and Norway) Désirée Clary.

title: Charles XIV John


text:
Esperanto symbols

Esperanto symbols, primarily the Esperanto flag, have seen much consistency over the time of Esperanto's existence (namely in the consistent usage of the colour green), though a few variations in exact flag patterning and symbology exist.

The main flag of Esperanto, featuring the Verda Stelo ('Green Star '), was adopted in 1905 for use as a symbol of mutual recognition among Esperantists, and is used by most Esperantists. As an alternative to the flag, the jubilea simbolo ('jubilee symbol') has been more recently proposed (in 1987).

Verda Stelo
Since the earliest days of Esperanto, the colour green has been used as a symbol of mutual recognition, and it appears prominently in all Esperanto symbols. In a letter to The British Esperantist in 1911, L. L. Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, wrote: "It seems to me, that my attention was drawn to the color green by Mr. Richard H. Geoghegan and from that time I began to publish all of my works with green covers . . . Looking at one of my pamphlets that I had entirely by chance printed with a green cover, he pointed out that this was the color of his homeland, Ireland; at that time it came to me, that we could certainly look at that color as a symbol of HOPE. About the five-pointed star, it seems to me, that at first Mr. de Beaufront had it imprinted on his grammar [of Esperanto]. I liked that and I adopted it as a symbol. Afterward by association of ideas, the star appeared with a green color."

The Verda Stelo was first proposed in an 1892 article in La Esperantisto for use as a symbol of mutual recognition among Esperantists. The flag was created by the Esperanto Club of Boulogne-sur-Mer, initially for their own use, but was adopted as the flag of the worldwide Esperanto movement by a decision of the first World Esperanto Congress, which took place in 1905 in that town.

Other proposed flags and symbols

In 1905, delegates to the first conference of Esperantists at Boulogne-sur-Mer, unanimously approved a version differing from the modern only by the superimposition of an "E" over the green star. Other variants include that for Christian Esperantists, with a white Christian cross superimposed upon the green star, and that for Leftists, with the color of the field changed from green to red.

Some Esperanto speakers consider the traditional flag too nationalistic for an international language, so many organizations no longer recommend its use and, instead, use the jubilea simbolo (jubilee symbol, two green "E"s facing each other—or alternatively a Latin-alphabet "E" facing a Cyrillic-alphabet "Э", the first letter of "Эсперанто", the Russian name for Esperanto—on a white field). This symbol was created in 1987 by a Brazilian Esperantist to mark the centenary of the creation of Esperanto.

Design of the Verda Stelo

The Esperanto flag is composed of a green background with a white square (canton) in the upper lefthand corner, which in turn contains a green star. The green field symbolizes hope, the white symbolizes peace and neutrality, and the five-pointed star represents the five continents (Europe, America, Asia, Oceania, Africa).

By recommendation of the board of the Universal Esperanto Association, the flag should have the following proportions: The ratio of the width of the flag to the height of the flag to a side of the white square should be 3 to 2 to 1. The ratio of a side of the white square to the radius of a circle enclosing the star should be 10 to 3.5.

In popular culture
Most Esperantists continue to hold the verda stelo dear as a symbol of international or supranational solidarity (with the jubilea simbolo jokingly called la melono ('the melon') by some), though many also regard the preference of one symbol over another as a purely personal choice. At most Esperanto congresses, all three main symbols can be seen in use on displays or being worn as badges. Sometimes, Esperanto travelers will display the flag, wear a badge with one of the above symbols, or even wear green clothes, to make themselves known to other Esperanto speakers.

On December 15, 2009, the Verda Stelo flew on the Google home search page "Google" logo to mark L. L. Zamenhof's 150th birthday. The flag flew on a flagstaff consisting of the "L" in the search-company's name.

Influence
One hypothesis about the red star as a symbol of socialism relates to an alleged encounter between Leon Trotsky and Nikolai Krylenko. Krylenko, an Esperantist, was wearing a green-star lapel badge; Trotsky enquired as to its meaning and received an explanation that each arm of the star represented one of the five traditional continents. On hearing this, he specified that a similar red star should be worn by soldiers of the Red Army.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Esperanto symbols


text:
Charles IX

Charles IX may refer to:

 * Charles IX of France (1550–1574)
 * Charles IX of Sweden (1550–1611)

title: Charles IX


text:
1599

January–March

 * January 8 – The Jesuit educational plan, known as the Ratio Studiorum, is issued.
 * January 22 – The Acoma Massacre begins in what is now northern New Mexico in the U.S., as Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico viceroy Juan de Oñate leads 70 armed Spanish soldiers against the indigenous Keres people at Aak'u (the Acoma Pueblo) near what is now Albuquerque, New Mexico. In three days, 500 Acoma men and 300 women and children are killed by the Spanish.
 * February 20 – On Shrove Tuesday, the earliest known performance of William Shakespeare's play As You Like It is given, presented at Richmond Park for Queen Elizabeth.
 * February 21
 * At Southwark, near London on the south bank of the River Thames, the land upon which the Globe Theatre will be built is leased by Nicholas Brend to a team of investors led by William Shakespeare, Thomas Pope, actors Cuthbert and Richard Burbage, and three others.
 * Lorenzo Sauli becomes the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa, succeeding Lazzaro Grimaldi Cebà. Sauli will serve until 1601.
 * March 12 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, by Queen Elizabeth I of England.

April–June

 * April 23 – The Earl of Essex arrives in Dublin at the head of 16,000 troops, the largest army ever seen in Ireland.
 * May 15 – Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604): The Siege of Zaltbommel, located in the Dutch Republic, is begun by Spanish general Francisco López de Mendoza.
 * May 16 – The Kalmar Bloodbath takes place in Kalmar, Sweden.
 * May 29 – Essex takes Cahir Castle, supposedly the strongest in Ireland, after a short siege.
 * June 1 – Bishops' Ban of 1599: The Archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift, and the Bishop of London, Richard Bancroft order a ban on a selection of literary works, including Microcynicon: Six Snarling Satires, by Thomas Middleton.
 * June 20 – The Synod of Diamper is convened.

July–September

 * July 17 – Second Dutch Expedition to East Indies: A Dutch fleet returns to Amsterdam from what is now Indonesia, carrying 600,000 pounds of pepper and 250,000 pounds of cloves and nutmeg.
 * July 22 – The combined Dutch and English armies successfully defend Zaltbommel after a siege of two months.
 * July 24 – Swedish King Sigismund III Vasa is dethroned by his uncle Duke Charles, who takes over as regent of the realm until 1604, when he becomes King Charles IX.
 * August 15 – First Battle of Curlew Pass: Irish forces defeat the English.
 * September 21 – The first reported performance at the Globe Theatre in London (erected over Spring/Summer), a presentation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (probably new to that year), is recorded by Swiss traveller Thomas Platter the Younger.
 * September 28 – The Earl of Essex arrives back in England, disobeying the Queen's strict orders.

October–December

 * October 18 – Battle of Sellenberk: Michael the Brave, Prince of Wallachia, defeats the army of Andrew Báthory near Șelimbăr, leading to the first recorded unification of the Romanians.
 * November 10 – The Åbo Bloodbath takes place in Åbo, Swedish Finland.
 * November – Persian embassy to Europe (1599–1602): A diplomatic delegation from Safavid Persia, led by Hossein Ali Beg Bayat and his staff after being dispatched by the Shah Abbas the Great, arrives in Moscow as part of a mission to enlist European nations into an alliance against the Ottoman Empire. The Persians are accompanied by English adventurer Anthony Shirley, who had persuaded Shah Abbas to undertake the initiative.
 * December 19 – The forces of Minye Thihathu II of Toungoo and his ally Min Razagyi of the Kingdom of Mrauk U end the First Toungoo Empire by capturing Pegu (modern-day Bago, Myanmar).

Date unknown

 * The first Capuchin friar is entombed in the Catacombe dei Cappuccini in Palermo (Sicily).
 * The Toyokuni Shrine in Kyoto and Oyama Shrine, dedicated to Maeda Toshiie, were founded.

January–March

 * January 22 – Robert Petre, 3rd Baron Petre, English baron (d. 1638)
 * January 31 – Juraj V Zrinski, Ban of Croatia (d. 1626)
 * February 12
 * Duke Friedrich of Saxe-Altenburg, third son of Duke Friedrich Wilhelm I of Saxe-Weimar (d. 1625)
 * Thomas Whitmore, English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons (d. 1677)
 * February 13 – Pope Alexander VII (d. 1667)
 * March 1 – John Mennes, English Royal Navy admiral (d. 1671)
 * March 3 – Juan Alfonso Enríquez de Cabrera, Viceroy of Sicily and Viceroy of Naples (d. 1647)
 * March 13 – John Berchmans, Belgian Jesuit scholastic and saint (d. 1621)
 * March 22 – Anthony van Dyck, Flemish painter (d. 1641)
 * March 23 – Thomas Selle, German baroque composer (d. 1663)
 * March 28 – Witte de With, famous Dutch naval officer of the 17th century (d. 1658)

April–June

 * April 9 – Sir Thomas Mauleverer, 1st Baronet (d. 1655)
 * April 17 – Patrick Fleming, Irish Franciscan friar and scholar (murdered) (d. 1631)
 * April 25 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland (d. 1658)
 * May 16 – Nicolaes Olycan, Dutch businessman (d. 1639)
 * May 30 – Samuel Bochart, French Protestant biblical scholar (d. 1667)
 * June 1 – Elizabeth Lucretia, Duchess of Cieszyn, Duchess suo jure of Cieszyn (d. 1653)
 * June 6 – Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter (d. 1660)
 * June 24 – Konoe Nobuhiro, Japanese court noble (d. 1649)

July–September

 * July 23 – Stephanius, Danish historian (d. 1650)
 * July 27 – Albert IV, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (1640–1644) (d. 1644)
 * August 11 – Christian II, Prince of Anhalt-Bernburg (1630–1656) (d. 1656)
 * August 13 – Johannes Buxtorf II, Swiss theologian (d. 1664)
 * August 14 – Méric Casaubon, English classicist (d. 1671)
 * August 16 – Diego López Pacheco, 7th Duke of Escalona, Spanish noble (d. 1653)
 * August 22 – Agatha Marie of Hanau, German noblewoman (d. 1636)
 * September 7 – Jacob Westerbaen, Dutch poet (d. 1670)
 * September 20 – Christian, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Wolfenbüttel, German Protestant military leader (d. 1626)
 * September 24 – Adam Olearius, German scholar (d. 1671)
 * September 25 – Francesco Borromini, Swiss sculptor and architect (d. 1667)
 * September 30 – Frances Seymour, Duchess of Somerset (d. 1674)

October–December

 * October 10
 * Samuel Clarke, English writer and priest (d. 1683)
 * Étienne Moulinié, French Baroque composer (d. 1676)
 * October 11 – Abraham de Fabert, Marshal of France (d. 1662)
 * October 15 – Cornelis de Graeff, Dutch mayor (d. 1664)
 * October 28 – Marie of the Incarnation, French foundress of the Ursuline Monastery in Quebec (d. 1672)
 * October 31 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English statesman and writer (d. 1680)
 * November 5 – Carlo Emanuele Madruzzo, Italian prince-bishop (d. 1658)
 * November 11
 * Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, German princess and queen consort of Sweden (d. 1655)
 * Ottavio Piccolomini, Austrian-Italian field marshal (d. 1656)
 * November 13 – Otto Christoph von Sparr, German general (d. 1668)
 * November 15 – Werner Rolfinck, German physician, chemist, botanist and philosopher (d. 1673)
 * November 29 – Peter Heylin, English ecclesiastic and author of many polemical works (d. 1662)
 * November 30 – Andrea Sacchi, Italian painter of High Baroque Classicism (d. 1661)
 * December 2
 * Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, Scottish nobleman (d. 1663)
 * Alexander Daniell, sole proprietor of the Manor of Alverton, Cornwall (d. 1668)
 * December 11 – Pieter Codde, Dutch painter (d. 1678)
 * December 14 – Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge, English politician (d. 1668)
 * December 16 – Jacques Vallée, Sieur Des Barreaux, French poet (d. 1673)
 * December 20 – Niels Trolle, Governor General of Norway (d. 1667)
 * December 29 – Gabriel Bucelin, German historian (d. 1681)

Date unknown

 * John Alden, English settler of Plymouth Colony (d. 1687)
 * Stefan Czarniecki, Polish military commander (d. 1665)
 * Lucy Hay, Countess of Carlisle, English courtier (d. 1660)
 * Charlotte Stanley, Countess of Derby defender of Latham House (d. 1664)
 * Jirgalang, Qing Dynasty prince (d. 1655)

Deaths

 * January 13 – Edmund Spenser, English poet (b. 1552)
 * January 22 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian composer (b. 1547)
 * February 8 – Robert Rollock, Scottish Presbyterian, first principal of the university of Edinburgh (b. 1555)
 * March 19 – Stanisław Radziwiłł, Grand Marshal of Lithuania (b. 1559)
 * April 1 – Matsura Takanobu, Japanese samurai (b, 1529)
 * April 10 – Gabrielle d'Estrées, mistress of King Henry IV of France (b. 1573)
 * April 14 – Henry Wallop, English statesman (b. c. 1540)
 * April 22 – Lorenz Scholz von Rosenau, German botanist (b. 1552)
 * April 27 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1538)
 * May 12 – Sultan Murad Mirza, Mughal prince (b. 1570)
 * May 28 – Maria of Nassau, Dutch Countess (b. 1539)
 * June 2 – Philipp V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (b. 1541)
 * June 14 – Kōriki Masanaga, Japanese military commander (b. 1558)
 * June 29 – Archduchess Catherine Renata of Austria, Austrian archduchess (b. 1576)
 * July – Kwon Yul, Korean military commander (b. 1537)
 * July 11 – Chōsokabe Motochika, Japanese Sengoku Period daimyō
 * August 22 – Luca Marenzio, Italian composer (b. 1553)
 * September 1 – Cornelis de Houtman, Dutch explorer (b.1565)
 * September 11 – Beatrice Cenci, Italian noblewoman (executed for patricide) (b. 1577)
 * August 8 – Song Ik-pil, Korean scholar (b. 1534)
 * October 18 – Daniel Adam z Veleslavína, Czech lexicographer (b. 1546)
 * November 3 – Andrew Báthory, deposed Prince of Transylvania (decapitated) (b. c. 1563)
 * November 7 – Gasparo Tagliacozzi, Italian surgeon (b. 1545)
 * November 8 – Francisco Guerrero, Spanish composer (b. 1528)
 * November 22 – Nanbu Nobunao, Japanese daimyō (b. 1546)
 * December 13 – Enrico Caetani, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1550)
 * December 14 – Joan Boyle, English noble, first spouse of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork (b. 1578)
 * December 27 – Francisco Pérez de Valenzuela, Spanish noble (b. 1528)
 * After December 18 – Minye Kyawswa II of Ava, Burmese defecting crown prince of the Toungoo Empire (killed by invading forces) (b. 1567)
 * date unknown – Chand Bibi, Indian regent and warrior (b. 1550)

title: 1599


text:
1591

January–March

 * January 27 – Scottish schoolmaster John Fian becomes the first person to be executed after the North Berwick witch trials, following his conviction for the crime of witchcraft. Fian is taken to the Castlehill outside of Edinburgh and strangled after which his body is burned. Agnes Sampson is garroted the next day at Castehill and then burned.
 * February 7 – Pope Gregory XIV, who had succeeded Pope Urban VII in December, appoints Cardinal Marco Antonio Colonna and six other cardinals to a commission to revise the Sixtine Vulgate Latin translation of the Bible, published in 1590 under the editorship of Pope Sixtus V, to which the College of Cardinals has taken exception. The revision of the revision, dubbed the Sixto-Clementine Vulgate, will be completed in 1592 and be the official version used by the Catholic Church until 1979.
 * February 25 – Poet Edmund Spenser is granted an annual pension of 50 pounds sterling by Queen Elizabeth I of England in recognition of his publication of The Faerie Queen. The pension is paid in quarterly installments of 12s. 10d. on March 25, June 24, September 29 and December 25.
 * March 1 – Pope Gregory XIV excommunicates King Henry IV of France and orders the clergy, nobles, judicial functionaries and the Third Estate of France to renounce the nation's king.
 * March 13 – Battle of Tondibi: In Mali, forces sent by the Saadi dynasty ruler of Morocco, Ahmad al-Mansur, and led by Judar Pasha, defeat the Songhai Empire, despite being outnumbered by at least five to one.
 * March 21 – Pope Gregory XIV issues the papal bull Cogit nos, prohibiting the placing of bets on the outcome of papal elections, the length of time that a pope will reign, or who will be appointed as a cardinal.

April–June

 * April 10
 * The emancipation of Filipino slaves in the Spanish Philippines along with reparations to former slaves, with the threat of excommunication of any Spanish slaveholder who refuses to comply, is ordered by Pope Gregory XIV in the papal bull Cum Sicuti.
 * English merchant James Lancaster sets off on a voyage to the East Indies.
 * April 21 – Japanese tea-master Sen no Rikyū commits seppuku, on the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
 * May 15 – In Russia, Tsarevich Dimitri, son of Ivan the Terrible, is found dead in mysterious circumstances, at the palace in Uglich. The official explanation is that he has cut his own throat during an epileptic seizure. Many believe he has been murdered by his rival, Boris Godunov, who becomes tsar.
 * May 24 – Sir John Norreys, with an expeditionary force sent by Queen Elizabeth I of England, takes the town of Guingamp in Brittany after a brief siege, on behalf of Henry of Navarre.
 * May 30
 * Timbuktu is captured by an expedition of Arma people sent by the Saadi ruler of Morocco and led by Judar Pasha.
 * Zutphen is captured by the Dutch and English, under Maurice of Nassau.
 * June 10 – Deventer is captured by the Dutch, under Maurice of Nassau.
 * June 26 – The siege of the Spanish Netherlands city of Delfzijl is started by Maurice, Prince of Orange, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who leads a Dutch and English Army against the Spanish defenders. Delfzijl falls after six days, and is surrendered on July 2.

July–September

 * July 13 – A Crimean army, led by the Tatar Khan Ğazı II Giray, begins a siege of Moscow.
 * July 15 – The Battle of the Berlengas takes place off of the coast of Portugal as the Earl of Cumberland's five English privateers are surprised by five Spanish galleys commanded by General Francisco Coloma, commander of the Armada de Guarda Costa. Cumberland's ship, the Golden Noble, is captured.
 * July 18 (6 Shawal 999 AH) – In India, the four-day Battle of Bhuchar Mori ends in the Gujarat state, as General Mirza Aziz Koka leads the Mughal Empire gains a decisive victory over Nawanagar, led by the Sultan Muzaffar Shah III.
 * July 22 – The Durtnell (Dartnell) family of Brasted, Kent, England, begin to work as building contractors. The business continues under thirteen generations of the family until ceasing to trade in 2019.
 * July 25 – Siege of Knodsenburg: Dutch Republic staatholder Maurice of Nassau and English General Francis Vere defeat the Duke of Parma outside Nijmegen after a four-day siege.
 * August 1 – Serdar Ferhad Pasha is appointed the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Murad III, replacing Koca Sinan Pasha following a revolt of the Janissaries.
 * August 9 – The Khan of the Crimean Tatara, Ğazı II Giray, is wounded by the defenders against his siege of Moscow. Gazi's brother, Fetih I Giray, continues the siege, which is finally settled with a peace agreement and payment of 10,000 rubles in 1594.
 * August 29 – Peter the Lame, ruler of the Principality of Moldavia (part of modern-day Romania and of Moldova) abdicates in Iași after having reigned for most of the previous 17 years. Peter's downfall comes after he is unable to raise the money paid as tribute to the Ottoman Empire. He is replaced by Aaron the Tyrant (Aron Vodă).
 * August 30 – The Battle of Flores begins off Flores Island (Azores). By September 1, the Spanish fleet is victorious over the English and captures the English ship Revenge, fatally wounding Richard Grenville.
 * September 4 – The Kunohe rebellion, which was started by Kunohe Masazane on March 13 on northern Honshu island in Japan's Mutsu Province (in the modern-day Iwate Prefecture), is suppressed by the samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Chancellor of the Realm. The victory completes the unification of Japan.
 * September 5 – A storm near the Azores in the North Atlantic begins, sinking a large number of the Spanish ships, including the recently-captured HMS Revenge. During August and September, at least eight intense hurricanes occur in the most severe of the pre-1600 seasons on record.
 * September 14 – Siege of Hulst: Hulst is captured by Maurice of Orange, the staatholder of the Dutch Republic.

October–December

 * October 8 – The Separation Edict, a law imposing an immobile social class structure in Japan, is promulgated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
 * October 16 – Pope Gregory XIV dies from an attack of gallstones and leaves the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church vacant for the third time in 14 months. The Pope, formerly Cardinal Niccolò Sfondrati, had served for only 10 months after being elected on December 5, 1590.
 * October 19 – The Islamic calendar year 1000 A.H. begins with the first day of the month of Muharram, with concerns that the new year will herald the end of the world. When the year ends on October 7, 1592, without an apocalypse, the official interpretation among Ottoman Muslims is that the Ottoman Empire "had come closer to perfection than any other Muslim state.
 * October 21 – The city of Nijmegen is captured from Spanish occupiers by Maurice of Orange, the staatholder of the Dutch Republic.
 * October 26 – The Portuguese invasion of the Jaffna Kingdom begins on the north side of the island of Sri Lanka.
 * October 29 – Giovanni Antonio Facchinetti is elected on the third ballot to succeed the late Pope Gregory XIV, after Cardinal Ludovico Madruzzo withdraws his candidacy. and takes the name Pope Innocent IX.
 * November 3 – The coronation of Pope Innocent IX takes place in Rome as Cardinal Andreas von Österreich places the crown on the head of Giovanni Facchinetti.
 * November 6 – Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War: The Ottoman Empire successfully captures the Croatian rebel fort of Ripač.
 * November 11 – King Henry IV of France begins the siege of Rouen, the Spanish-held capital of Normandy. The Spanish Navy arrives after five months and King Henry abandons the siege on April 20.
 * November 27 – In Italy, Giovanni Giustiniani Campi is elected as the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa after a 12-day search for a successor to Battista Negrone.
 * December 10 – Four Roman Catholic priests and three laymen are executed in England in a campaign against the Roman Catholic Church.
 * December 18 – Pope Innocent IX begins a tour of the seven pilgrimage churches around Rome, despite being unwell, and his illness worsens. He dies 12 days later.
 * December 27 – Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell leads the attack on the Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. Having been alerted by a premature attack on the palace's prison, King James VI of Scotland and Queen Anne are able to take refuge within the castle, and the raid fails. Seven of Bothwell's men are subsequently captured and hanged.
 * December 30 – Pope Innocent IX dies only two months after having been elected as the Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, leaving the Papacy vacant for the 4th time in 16 months.

Date unknown

 * The city of Hyderabad, India, is founded by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah.
 * The Rialto Bridge in Venice, designed by Antonio da Ponte, is completed.
 * The first of the Conimbricenses commentaries on Aristotle, by the Jesuits of the University of Coimbra, is published.
 * The Siamese-Cambodian War begins.
 * The defeated Askia dynasty move to the Dendi province in modern-day Niger.

January–June

 * January 3 – Valentin de Boulogne, French painter (d. 1632)
 * January 4 – William Spencer, 2nd Baron Spencer of Wormleighton, British baron (d. 1636)
 * January 7 – Princess Dorothea, Abbess of Quedlinburg (d. 1617)
 * January 11 – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English Civil War general (d. 1646)
 * January 12 – Jusepe de Ribera, Spanish Tenebrist painter and printmaker (d. 1652)
 * January 15 – David van Goorle, Dutch theologian and theoretical scientist (d. 1612)
 * January 26 – Matthew Boynton, English politician (d. 1647)
 * January 29 – Franciscus Junius, pioneer of Germanic philology (d. 1677)
 * February 8
 * Hervey Bagot, English politician (d. 1660)
 * Guercino, Italian painter (d. 1666)
 * February 13 – Antonio Sabino, Italian composer (d. 1650)
 * February 21 (or March 2) – Girard Desargues, French mathematician (d. 1661)
 * February 25 – Friedrich von Spee, German Jesuit and poet (d. 1635)
 * February 28 – Henry Clifford, 5th Earl of Cumberland, English politician (d. 1643)
 * March 2 – Willem Boreel, Dutch diplomat (d. 1668)
 * March 3 – Lucas de Wael, Flemish painter (d. 1661)
 * March 6 – Tommaso Tamburini, Italian theologian (d. 1675)
 * March 9 – Johannes Chrysostomus vander Sterre, Dutch abbot, ecclesiastical writer (d. 1652)
 * March 11 – Isabella of Savoy, Italian noble (d. 1626)
 * March 15 or 1593 – Alexandre de Rhodes, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1660)
 * March 19 – Dirck Hals, Dutch painter (d. 1656)
 * March 28 – William Cecil, 2nd Earl of Salisbury, English earl (d. 1668)
 * April 5 – Prince Frederick Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1634)
 * April 11 – Bartholomeus Strobel, Silezian painter (d. 1650)
 * April 25 – Marcos de Torres y Rueda, interim viceroy of New Spain (d. 1649)
 * May 2 – Prince Francis Charles of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1660)
 * May 5 – Frederick Achilles, Duke of Württemberg-Neuenstadt (d. 1631)
 * May 26 – Olimpia Maidalchini, Italian noblewoman (d. 1657)
 * June 16 – Joseph Solomon Delmedigo, Italian physician, mathematician, and music theorist (d. 1655)
 * June 24 – Mustafa I, sultan of the Ottoman empire (d. 1639)

July–December

 * July 4 – Jonathan Rashleigh, English politician (d. 1675)
 * July 9 – Jean Bagot, French theologian (d. 1664)
 * July 20 – Anne Hutchinson, English Puritan preacher (d. 1643)
 * August 6 – George William, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (d. 1669)
 * August 12 – Louise de Marillac, French co-founder of the Daughters of Charity (d. 1660)
 * August 24 – Robert Herrick, English poet (d. 1674)
 * August 28 – John Christian of Brieg, Duke of Brzeg (1602–1639) (d. 1639)
 * September 8 – Marie Angélique Arnauld, French abbess of the Abbey of Port-Royal (d. 1661)
 * September 29 – Michael de Sanctis, Spanish saint (d. 1625)
 * October 2 – Margherita Gonzaga, Duchess of Lorraine (1608–1624) (d. 1632)
 * October 7 – Pierre Le Muet, French architect (d. 1669)
 * October 22 – Alfonso III d'Este, Duke of Modena, Italian noble (d. 1644)
 * November 20 – George Albert II, Margrave of Brandenburg (d. 1615)
 * November 29 – Bernhard von Mallinckrodt, German bibliophile (d. 1664)
 * December 22 – Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (d. 1666)
 * December 30 – Joseph Furttenbach, German architect (d. 1667)

Date unknown

 * David Blondel, French Protestant clergyman (d. 1655)
 * Andrew Bobola, Polish Jesuit missionary and martyr (d. 1657)
 * Thomas Goffe, English dramatist (d. 1629)
 * William Lenthall, English politician of the Civil War period (d. 1662)

Deaths

 * February 6 – Anna Sophia of Prussia, Duchess of Prussia and Duchess of Mecklenburg (b. 1527)
 * February 15 – Toyotomi Hidenaga, Japanese warlord (b. 1540)
 * February 26 – Vespasiano I Gonzaga, Italian noble and diplomat (b. 1531)
 * March 17 – Jost Amman, Swiss printmaker (b. 1539)
 * April 9 – Emilie of Saxony, German noble (b. 1516)
 * April 21 – Sen no Rikyū, Japanese exponent of the tea ceremony (b. 1522)
 * May 19 – Elizabeth Cecil, 16th Baroness de Ros, English noblewoman (b. c. 1574)
 * May 15 – Tsarevich Dimitri, of Russia (b. 1582)
 * June 21 – Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian Jesuit and saint (b. 1568)
 * July 2 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian composer (b. 1520)
 * July 10 – Anna of Hesse, Countess Palatine of Zweibrücken (b. 1529)
 * July 18 – Jacobus Gallus Carniolus, Slovenian composer (b. 1550)
 * August 23 – Luis Ponce de León, Spanish lyric poet (b. 1527)
 * August 27 – Katheryn of Berain, Welsh noblewoman (b. 1534)
 * September 7 – Heinrich Sudermann, German politician (b. 1520)
 * September 10 – Richard Grenville, English soldier and explorer (b. 1542)
 * September 19 – Alonso de Orozco Mena, Spanish Catholic priest (b. 1500)
 * September 25 – Christian I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1560)
 * September 29 – Count Johan II of East Frisia (b. 1538)
 * October 15 – Duke Otto Henry of Brunswick-Harburg, Hereditary Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Harburg (b. 1555)
 * October 16 – Pope Gregory XIV (b. 1535)
 * November 20 – Christopher Hatton, English politician (b. 1540)
 * December 14 – Saint John of the Cross, Spanish Carmelite friar and poet (b. 1542)
 * December 18 – Marigje Arriens, Dutch woman executed for witchcraft (b. c. 1520)
 * December 30 – Pope Innocent IX (b. 1519)

Date unknown

 * Ananias Dare, father of Virginia Dare, (b. circa 1560)
 * Virginia Dare, first English child born in America, (b. 1587) (Unverified)
 * (by February 6) – Crispin van den Broeck, Flemish painter (b. 1523)
 * John Erskine of Dun, Scottish religious reformer (b. 1509)
 * Veronica Franco, Italian poet and courtesan (b. 1546)

title: 1591


text:
1590

January–March

 * January 6 – García Hurtado de Mendoza becomes the new Viceroy of Peru (nominally including most of South America except for Brazil). He will serve until 1596.
 * January 10 – Construction of the Fortezza Nuova around the city of Livorno begins in Italy in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany on the orders of Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany and continues for more than 14 years.
 * January 25 – Luis de Velasco y Castilla, Marquess of Salinas, becomes the new Viceroy of New Spain, a colony comprising most of Central America, Mexico and what is now a large part of the southwestern United States. Velasco will govern until 1595, and then again from 1607 to 1611.
 * February 3 – Peter Ernst I von Mansfeld-Vorderort, the German-born commander of the Spanish Imperial Army captures the German fortress of Rheinberg after a four-year long siege during the Eighty Years' War.
 * March 4 – Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange, takes Breda, by concealing 68 of his best men in a peat-boat, to get through the impregnable defenses.
 * March 14 – Battle of Ivry: Henry IV of France again defeats the forces of the Catholic League, under Charles, Duke of Mayenne.
 * March 21 – The Treaty of Constantinople is signed between the Ottoman Empire (in modern-day Turkey) and the Safavid Empire (modern-day Iran), ending a 12-year war between the two nations.

April–June

 * April 4 – The Cortes of Castile approves a new subsidy, the millones.
 * April 24 – Ten armed English merchant vessels of the Levant Company are intercepted by 12 galleys of the Spanish Navy while attempting to pass through the Straits of Gibraltar after trading in the Mediterranean Sea. Levant Company's Benedict Barnham, on the flagship Salomon, leads the corporate fleet in a six-hour battle and heavily damages the Spanish ships, clearing the way for the company ships to return home.
 * May 7 – King Henry of Navarre, claimant to the throne of France, begins an unsuccessful attempt to besiege Paris, at the time controlled by the Catholic League. By August 30, Henry is forced to raise the siege, when Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma comes to its rescue with a Spanish army.
 * May 17 – Anne of Denmark is crowned queen consort of Scotland, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh.
 * June 23 – The Japanese samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi sends an army of 15,000 men, led by generals Maeda Toshiie and Uesugi Kagekatsu, in an attack on the Hachiōji Castle in what is now Tokyo. The castle is lightly defended, by only 1,300 men, because the samurai Hōjō Ujiteru has most of his troops engaged in defending Hideyohsi's siege of Odawara. The castle is captured after one day, and later destroyed on orders of the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.

July–September

 * July 1 (13th waning of 1st Ashadha, 952 CS) – Naresuan Maharat becomes the new ruler of Thailand as Sanphet II of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, upon the death of his father, Sanphet I.
 * July 19 – The day after his 12th birthday, Ferdinand of Habsburg becomes the new Archduke of Inner Austria (Innerösterreich) upon the death, in Graz, of his father Charles II. A regency council rules in the place of Ferdinand until 1596.
 * July 21 – Japan's first diplomatic representatives to Europe, Itō Mancio, Michele Chijiwa, Giuliano Nakaura and Martino Hara, return to Japan after eight years, having departed on February 20, 1582.
 * August 4 – In Japan, the siege of Odawara, part of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's campaign to eliminate the clan of samurais led by Hōjō Ujinao, ends with the surrender of Odawara.
 * August 18 – John White, governor of the Colony of Roanoke, returns to Roanoke after having left the North American colony in 1587 to get supplies. Upon arrival at, the crew of the ships Hopewell and Moonlight find that the Roanoke Colony is deserted, with the only clues to where the colonist went being the word "CRO" carved into a tree, and the word CROATOAN (believed to be a reference to Hatteras Island, where the colonists formerly lived).
 * August 27 – Pope Sixtus V dies after serving for five years, and a new papal conclave is organized, to start on September 7 at the Apostolic Palace in Rome.
 * September 5 – Alexander Farnese's army forces Henry IV of France to lift the siege of Paris.
 * September 15
 * After the eight day conclave, Giovanni Battista Castagna, the Cardinal-Priest of San Marcello al Corso receives the necessary two-thirds majority despite support for Cardinal Marco Antonio Colonna. Castagna takes becomes Pope Urban VII but contracts malaria and dies 12 days later.
 * The estimated 6.0 magnitude Neulengbach earthquake causes significant damage and some loss of life, in Lower Austria and Vienna; the effects are felt as far as Bohemia and Silesia.

October–December

 * October 6 – Two days before the scheduled papal conclave begins, Enrique de Guzmán, 2nd Count of Olivares, Spain's ambassador to the Papal States, presents the cardinals with King the recommendations of King Philip II of Spain, a set of candidates whom the Spanish cardinals will support, and 30 whom they are instructed not to vote for.
 * October 8 – The second papal conclave in less four weeks two months opens at the Apostolic Palace in Rome, 23 days after the previous conclave had been concluded, and 53 cardinals arrive.
 * October 13
 * (5th waxing of Tazaungmon 952 ME) – In what is now Myanmar, King Nanda Bayin of Burma sends a 10,000-man army, led by the Viceroy Thado Dhamma Yaza III of Prome, and General Natshinnaung to suppress a rebellion in the Shan state of Mogaung.
 * German astronomer Michael Maestlin becomes the first person to record an observation of the occultation of the planet Mars by the planet Venus.
 * October 16 – Saadian invasion of the Songhai Empire: An army of 20,000 troops, led by Judar Pasha is dispatched from Marrakesh in the Saadi Sultanate (now Morocco), on orders of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur. The Saadi Army's objective is to conquer the Songhai Empire, led by the Emperor Askia Ishaq II, in North Africa, corresponding to what is now the Republic of Mali.
 * October 24 – After an unsuccessful search of the "lost colony" of Roanoke, English officer John White and the surviving crew of the ships Hopewell and Moonlight return to England on October 24.
 * November 22 (12th waning of Tazaungmon 952 ME) – Burmese King Nanda Bayin sends a his son, the Crown Prince Mingyi Swa and 20,000 troops to what is now Thailand.
 * November 29 – A truce is signed between representatives of the Holy Roman Empire (ruled by Emperor Rudolf II) and the Ottoman Empire (ruled by Sultan Murad III.
 * December 5 – Niccolò Sfondrato, Cardinal-priest of Santa Cecilia in Trastevere, is elected as the new pope and takes the name Pope Gregory XIV. Sfondrato is selected as a compromise candidate after Gabriele Paleotti falls 3 votes short of being elected.
 * December 7 – North Berwick witch trials: Agnes Sampson is questioned by King James VI of Scotland, and confesses to practising witchcraft. She will be executed on January 28.

Date unknown

 * Orthodox Patriarch Meletius I of Alexandria succeeds Silvester.
 * Japan is united by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
 * The Spanish are pushed out of southern Gelderland, by the Dutch forces.

January–June

 * January 9 – Simon Vouet, French painter (d. 1649)
 * January 13 – Arthur Bell, English Franciscan martyr (d. 1643)
 * January 20 – Edward Convers, American settler (d. 1663)
 * January 27 – Charles Caesar, English politician and judge (d. 1642)
 * January 30 – Lady Anne Clifford, 14th Baroness de Clifford (d. 1676)
 * February 7 – Barthold Nihus, Roman Catholic priest (d. 1657)
 * March – Roger Ludlow, one of the founders of the colony (later the state) of Connecticut (d. 1664)
 * March 6 – Margaret of the Blessed Sacrament, French Discalced Carmelite nun (d. 1660)
 * March 10 – Dietrich Reinkingk, German lawyer and politician (d. 1664)
 * March 18 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Spanish and Portuguese historian and poet (d. 1649)
 * March 29 – Michael Reyniersz Pauw, Dutch businessman (d. 1640)
 * April 7
 * Louis de Dieu, Dutch theologian (d. 1642)
 * John Upton, English politician (d. 1641)
 * April 18 – Ahmed I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1617)
 * May – William Cecil, 17th Baron de Ros (d. 1618)
 * May 3 – Franco Burgersdijk, Dutch logician (d. 1635)
 * May 5
 * John Albert II, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1636)
 * Jakub Sobieski, Polish noble (d. 1646)
 * May 12 – Cosimo II de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1621)
 * May 31 – Frances Carr, Countess of Somerset (d. 1632)
 * June 1 – Isaac Manasses de Pas, Marquis de Feuquieres, French soldier (d. 1640)
 * June 9 – Caspar Sibelius, Dutch Protestant minister (d. 1658)
 * June 19 – Philip Bell, British colonial governor (d. 1678)
 * June 24 – Samuel Ampzing, Dutch linguist and historian (d. 1632)
 * June 29 – Edward Rodney, English politician (d. 1657)

July–December

 * July 3 – Lucrezia Orsina Vizzana, Italian singer and composer (d. 1662)
 * July 13 – Pope Clement X (d. 1676)
 * July 26 – Johannes Crellius, Polish–German theologian (d. 1633)
 * August 6 – Count John Louis of Nassau-Hadamar (d. 1653)
 * August 7 – Charles of Austria, Bishop of Wroclaw (d. 1624)
 * August 9 – John Webster, colonial settler and governor of Connecticut (d. 1661)
 * August 19 – Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier (d. 1649)
 * August 27 – Ferruccio Baffa Trasci, Italian bishop (d. 1656)
 * August 30 – Anthony Stapley, English politician (d. 1655)
 * September 12 – María de Zayas, Spanish writer (d. 1661)
 * September 15 – Erasmus Earle, English barrister and politician (d. 1667)
 * October 3 – Anna of Pomerania, Duchess-Consort of Croy and Havré (d. 1660)
 * October 11 – William Pynchon, English colonist and fur trader in North America (d. 1662)
 * November 25 – Juan Alonso de Cuevas y Davalos, Roman Catholic prelate, Archbishop of Mexico and Antequera (d. 1665)
 * December 3 – Daniel Seghers, Flemish Jesuit brother and painter (d. 1661)
 * December 14 – John West, colonial governor of Virginia (d. 1659)
 * December 18 – William Louis, Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken (d. 1640)

Date unknown

 * Angelica Veronica Airola, Italian painter (d. 1670)
 * Boris Morozov, Russian statesman and boyar (d. 1661)
 * Isaac de Caus, French landscaper (d. 1648)
 * Yamada Nagamasa, Japanese adventurer (d. 1630)
 * Ii Naokatsu, Japanese daimyō (d. 1662)

Probable

 * William Bradford, English leader of Plymouth Colony (d. 1657)
 * William Browne, English poet (d. 1645)
 * Theophilus Eaton, Puritan colonial merchant (d. 1658)
 * Kösem Sultan (d. 1651)
 * Mícheál Ó Cléirigh, Irish chronicler (d. 1643)
 * Marie Vernier, French actress (d. 1627)
 * Caterina Assandra, Italian composer (died c. 1618)
 * Magdalena Andersdotter, Norwegian-Faroese shipowner (d. 1650)
 * Teofila Chmielecka, Polish military role model (d. 1650)
 * Marie Fouquet, French medical writer and philanthropist (d. 1681)

Deaths

 * January 7 – Jakob Andreae, German theologian (b. 1528)
 * January 20 – Giambattista Benedetti, Italian mathematician and physicist (b. 1530)
 * February 1 – Lawrence Humphrey, president of Magdalen College, Oxford (b. 1527)
 * February 2 – Catherine of Ricci, Catholic prioress and saint (b. 1522)
 * February 4 – Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian music theorist and composer (b. 1517)
 * February 12
 * François Hotman, French Protestant lawyer and writer (b. 1524)
 * Blanche Parry, personal attendant to Elizabeth I of England (b. c. 1508)
 * February 18 – Asahi no kata, Japanese lady, Toyotomi Hideyoshi's half-sister (b. 1543)
 * February 19 – Philipp IV, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (b. 1514)
 * February 21 – Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, English nobleman and general (b. 1528)
 * March 4 – Duchess Hedwig of Württemberg, by marriage countess of Hesse-Marburg (b. 1547)
 * April 2 – Elisabeth of Saxony, Countess Palatine of Simmern (b. 1552)
 * April 6 – Francis Walsingham, English spymaster (b. 1530)
 * May 9 – Charles de Bourbon French cardinal and pretender to the throne (b. 1523)
 * June 28 – Hori Hidemasa, Japanese warlord (b. 1553)
 * June 30 – Maha Thammaracha (b. 1509)
 * July 10 – Charles II, Archduke of Austria, regent of Inner Austria (b. 1540)
 * July 21 – Sophie of Württemberg, German noble (b. 1563)
 * August 10
 * Hōjō Ujimasa, Japanese warlord (b. 1538)
 * Hōjō Ujiteru, Japanese warlord (b. 1540？)
 * August 17 – James III, Margrave of Baden-Hachberg (b. 1562)
 * August 27 – Pope Sixtus V (b. 1521)
 * September 10 – Archduchess Magdalena of Austria, Member of the House of Habsburg (b. 1532)
 * September 13 – Pedro Téllez-Girón, 1st Duke of Osuna, Spanish duke (b. 1537)
 * September 20 – Lodovico Agostini, Italian composer (b. 1534)
 * September 27 – Pope Urban VII (b. 1521)
 * October 4 – Jacques Cujas, French legal expert (b. 1522)
 * October 12 – Kanō Eitoku, Japanese painter (b. 1543)
 * October 16 – Archduchess Anna of Austria, Duchess of Bavaria (b. 1528)
 * October 18 – Philip, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (b. 1570)
 * October 23 – Bernardino de Sahagún, Franciscan missionary (b. 1499)
 * October 29 – Dirck Volckertszoon Coornhert, Dutch politician and theologian (b. 1522)
 * November 18 – George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, English statesman (b. 1528)
 * November 19 – Girolamo Zanchi, Italian theologian (b. 1516)
 * November 29 – Philipp Nicodemus Frischlin, German philologist and poet (b. 1547)
 * December 20 – Ambroise Paré, French surgeon (b. 1510)
 * December 27 – Emanuel Philibert de Lalaing, Belgian noble and army commander (b. 1557)

Date unknown

 * Nicholas Bobadilla, one of the first Spanish Jesuits (b. 1511)
 * Marietta Robusti, Venetian Renaissance painter (b. 1555 or 1560)
 * Roger Dudley, British soldier (b. 1535)
 * Sorley Boy MacDonnell, Irish chieftain (b. 1505)
 * Juan Bautista de Pomar, Spanish colonial historian and writer
 * Catherine Salvaresso, Wallachian regent
 * Maddalena Casulana, Italian composer, lutenist and singer (d. 1544)

Probable
Bernard Palissy, French potter (b. 1510)

title: 1590