The Battle of Ankara (or Angora) takes place on July 28, 1402 between the forces of Timur (Tamerlane) and the Ottoman Empire forces under Sultan Bayezid I, resulting in a decisive victory for Timur.
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Henry IV of England's forces defeat rebel forces led by Henry "Hotspur" Percy at the Battle of Shrewsbury.
The Battle of Shrewsbury takes place after Henry "Hotspur" Percy and his uncle, Thomas Percy, the Earl of Worcester, rebelled against King Henry IV in 1403 (The Percy Rebellion). The rebellion was fueled by the Percy's feeling betrayed for not receiving the promised rewards after helping Henry IV gain the throne. The battle resulted in a decisive royalist victory, with Hotspur being killed, and the rebellion collapsing.
The Battle of Shrewsbury is fought on July 21, 1403 in England near Shrewsbury, Shropshire takes place between King Henry IV and rebellious forces led by Henry Percy, known as Hotspur. It Resulting in a decisive victory for King Henry IV forces, the death of Hotspur and the collapse of the Percy family's rebellion.
The Chinese admiral Zheng He, sets sail on his first voyage to explore the Indian Ocean on July 11, 1405. He commanded the largest and most advanced fleet the world had ever seen with 317 ships and nearly 28,000 crew.
The voyages were intended to showcase the Ming Dynasty's power and culture and bring foreign treasures back to the Ming court, establish diplomatic relations, and engage in trade. Departing from Nanjing, the fleet sailed to Southeast Asia including Champa (Vietnam), Java, and Malacca, before crossing the Indian Ocean to reach the southwest coast of India, specifically Calicut and Ceylon (Sri Lanka). Zheng made a total of seven voyages. He died on the return of the seventh trip in 1433 and was buried at sea. More
Jendul, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons (Cropped)
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The Council of Pisa is announced on July, 13,1408, by Cardinals from both Roman and Avignon lines, aiming to resolve the Western Schism by deposing both Pope Gregory XII and Antipope Benedict XIII. The Council officially opened in Pisa the following year on March 25, 1409.
Instead of resolving the schism, the Council of Pisa actually complicated the situation even more by electing Alexander V on June 26, 1409, and since neither Pope Gregory XII and Antipope Benedict XIII agree to resign, there were now three Pope claimants. It took the Council of Constance, years later to resolve it. (1414-1418).
The Battle of Harlaw takes place on July 24, 1411, in Scotland between the Celtic Highlanders led by Donald, Lord of the Isles and the Normanized, Lowlanders led by Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar. The battle concluded basically in a draw with heavy casualties on both sides but a strategic win for the Lowlanders as they stopped the Highlanders expansion to the south.
Pope Gregory XII resigned on July 4, 1415, to help end the Western Schism. His resignation was announced at the Council of Constance, a key event in reunifying the Catholic Church.
Jan Hus is executed by burning at the stake after the The Council of Constance finds him guilty of heresy and condemns his teachings. Hus, a Bohemian reformer, promoted ideas like the Bible's ultimate authority and criticized church corruption. His death fueled the Hussite Wars and positioned him as a significant forerunner of the Protestant Reformation.
The "First Defenestration" of Prague, took place on July 30, 1419, marking the start of the Hussite Wars in Bohemia. Hussites, led by Jan Želivský, threw seven anti-Hussite magistrates from the New Town Hall windows, leading to a widespread revolt against Catholic authority and Royal power.
The 1419 defenestration is often confused with the second major defenestration which took place 200 years later in 1618, triggering the Thirty Years' War.
The Council of Siena convened by Pope Martin V to discuss church reforms and address corruption officially begins on July 21, 1423. It was ordinally to be held in Pavia but it was moved to Siena because of an outbreak of the plague in Pavia. The Council was dissolved on February 26, 1424.
The Siege of Montargis in France begins during the Lancastrian phase of the Hundred Years' War. It took place from July 15 to September 5, 1427, and it resulted in a decisive French victory.
The Council of Basel is formally convened on July 23,1431 by papal legate Cardinal Cesarini, acting on behalf of Pope Martin V, who had called the council shortly before his death in February 1431.
The Council met to address reforms within the Catholic Church, in Basel, Switzerland, to address the Hussite heresy, establish peace in Europe, and pursue reunion with the Eastern Church. The council immediately struggled with the new Pope Eugenius IV, who attempted to dissolve or move it, leading to a long-running dispute. The council lasted until 1449, during which it declared Pope Eugenius IV deposed and elected an anti-pope, Felix V, in 1439.
The Siege of Belgrade begins, with Hungarian forces led by John Hunyadi and Serbian forces defending the city against the Ottomans. successfully repelling Sultan Mehmed II's army. A major Hungarian-Serbian victory that halted the Ottoman advance into Central Europe.
The Siege of Belgrade (Nándorfehérvár) by Sultan Mehmet II begins. Hungarian forces led by John Hunyadi a Hungarian nobleman and warlord of Vlach lineage, defended the city, ultimately compelling the wounded Sultan Mehmet II to lift the siege and retreat. The battle had significant consequences, as it stabilized the southern frontiers of the Kingdom of Hungary for more than half a century and delaying the Ottoman advance in Europe.
King Richard III of England is crowned, following the death of his nephew Edward V.
The printing of the first edition of "Malleus Maleficarum," a treatise on witchcraft, is completed around July 15, 1847, in Germany, contributing to the witch-hunt hysteria of the time.
July 1-31 1487
Bartolomeu Dias sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal with a small fleet on an expedition to find a sea route to India. He succeeded, reaching Africa's southern cape on February 4, 1488 and entering what it is now known as Mossel Bay, becoming the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa.
Bartolomeu Dias - KUDOS 365 BIOGRAPHY SERIES
Bartolomeu Dias was a Portuguese navigator and explorer whose voyage around the southern tip of Africa helped open the sea route between Europe and Asia. Little is known with certainty about his early life, but he served the Portuguese crown during an era when Portugal was steadily exploring the Atlantic coast of Africa in search of trade, geographic knowledge, and a maritime route to the Indian Ocean.
In 1487, King João II sent Dias southward along the African coast. His expedition sailed beyond the limits reached by earlier Portuguese voyages and, after being driven by storms, rounded the southern end of Africa without initially realizing it. When Dias later turned east and then north, he had proved that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans were connected by a navigable route around Africa.
Dias wanted to continue farther, but his crew pressed for a return to Portugal. On the voyage back, he saw the cape that marked Africa’s southern turning point. He is traditionally associated with naming it the Cape of Storms, reflecting the dangerous weather encountered there. The Portuguese king later favored the more hopeful name Cape of Good Hope, because the discovery suggested a sea route to India.
Dias’s achievement did not immediately complete Portugal’s goal, but it made later success possible. Vasco da Gama used the route around the Cape a decade later to reach India, transforming European trade and expanding Portuguese influence in the Indian Ocean. Dias also participated in later Portuguese expeditions, including the fleet associated with Pedro Álvares Cabral.
In 1500, Dias died when storms struck Cabral’s fleet near the Cape of Good Hope. His death occurred close to the waters that had made him famous. His legacy rests on a single decisive voyage: by rounding southern Africa, he changed European geographic understanding and helped redirect global maritime history.
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Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama departs on July 8, 1497 on his voyage to find a sea route to India. He set sail from Lisbon with four ships and a crew of 170 men, eventually rounding the Cape of Good Hope and reaching Calicut, India, on May 20, 1498, opening a direct maritime route from Europe to the East by circumnavigating Africa.
His fleet carried three interpreters (two Arabic speakers and one who spoke several Bantu dialects). It also carried padraos, (stone pillars) to set up as marks of discovery. He eventually rounded the Cape of Good Hope on November 22 and three days later da Gama anchored in Mossel Bay and erected a padrão on an island. His trip ultimately opened a sea route from western Europe to Asia by way of the Cape of Good Hope, ushering in a new era in world history.
Italian explorer Christopher Columbus discovered the island of Trinidad on July 31, 1498, during his third voyage to the Americas and claimed the island for Spain. He named the island La Isla de la Trinidad (The Island of the Trinity) in honor of the Holy Trinity.