Albert II of Habsburg becomes King of the Romans (King of Germany) on March 18, 1438, after the death of his father-in-law, Sigismund. He also ruled briefly as King of Hungary and Bohemia before his death in 1439. He introduced administrative reforms for the Holy Roman Empire but died campaigning against the Ottomans, never achieving the imperial coronation.
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What Happened in March?
The first Olympic games, the founding of dynasties, and legendary battles. Explore historic milestones from March that influenced today's world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The Treaty of Medina del Campo is signed between England and Spain (Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile) confirmed a marriage alliance between the future English king Arthur and the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon. It also established mutual support against France and commercial concessions.
Spain King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castille issue the Alhambra Decree, mandating that all Jews be expelled from the country. The decree was issued shortly after freeing Spain from Muslim rule after nearly 800 years.
Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in his home port of Palos, Spain on March 15, 1493, following his first voyage to the Americas. His return voyage was difficult, and his ships were separated by a storm; making landfall first in the Azores before reaching Lisbon, Portugal, and eventually arriving back in his home port.
After rounding the Cape of Good Hope during his journey to India, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reaches the Mozambique coast on March 2, 1498. The Mozambique's area was a vital trading hub in the Indian Ocean which was then controlled by Arabs. De Gama continued his trip to India arriving in Calicut, India, on May 20, 1498, completing the first sea voyage from Europe to India.
Cesare Borgia captures Urbino after a long siege.
Pope Julius II is elected.
Christopher Columbus returns to Spain from his fourth and final voyage to the Americas.
The world map containing the name "America," by Martin Waldseemüller, is published.
Spaniard Juan Ponce de León sights Florida.
Duke Charles of Habsburg becomes Charles I of Spain.
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, dies.
Cortés lands in Mexico.
Magellan and his crew first came into contact with inhabitants of the Homonhon Island, which would later become part of the archipelago known as the Philippines. Five weeks later, on April 27 Magellan was mortally wounded by the warriors of island chief Lapu-Lapu during a battle on the island of Mactan in the Philippines. He died at the age of 41.
Battle of Pavia: Charles V's Imperial army defeats the French, capturing King Francis I of France.
Treaty of Delft is signed, formalizing an alliance between the Holy Roman Empire and England against France.
Henry VIII recognized as Supreme Head of the Church of England.
The Act in Conditional Restraint of Annates is passed by the English parliament on March 21, 1532 as an initial tactic to threaten the Pope by suspending the payment of annates to Rome but allowed for a small portion to still be sent to Rome, with the rest redirected to the Crown, if a papal annulment of King Henry VIII marriage wasn't granted within a year.
Pope Paul III opens the first session of the Council of Trent.
The Galapagos Islands are discovered by chance on March 10, 1535 when the ship carrying the Bishop of Panama, Dominican friar Fray Tomas de Berlanga was dragged to the Galapagos by a combination of calm and strong currents. Berlanga was on his way to Peru by order of the Spanish monarch, Charles V, to arbitrate in a dispute between Francisco Pizarro and his subordinates after the conquest of the Inca empire.