Year by year · 16th century

1561

1561 in world history: 5 events, 7 births, 7 deaths, 4 states founded and 4 that came to an end. 1,000 recorded states existed that year.

Events

  1. 19 August

    Mary, Queen of Scots returns to Scotland

    Widowed by Francis II of France, Mary landed at Leith after 13 years in France. She returned as a Catholic queen to a kingdom that had just adopted the Protestant Reformation.

    Holy Roman EmpireProtestant ReformationFrancis IIScotland

  2. Treaty

    Treaty of Vilnius (1561)

    The Treaty of Vilnius, or Pacta subiectionis, was concluded on 28 November 1561 between Sigismund II Augustus, king of Poland and grand duke of Lithuania, and the Livonian Order and the Archbishopric of Riga.

ProfileState873 states with a known seat in 1561Open the atlas at 1561 →

In the profiles

  • Mutapa EmpireJesuit Gonçalo da Silveira converts the Mwene Mutapa and is then killed at court
  • RevalReval submits to Eric XIV of Sweden during the Livonian War
  • CircassiaIvan the Terrible marries Maria Temryukovna, daughter of the Kabardian prince Temryuk

Born in 1561 7

Died in 1561 7

States founded 4

States that came to an end 4

All years → The 16th century →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). 1561. In The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1561
MLA
“1561.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1561. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “1561.” The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1561.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘1561’, The Epoch Institute, Year by Year. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/years/1561 (Accessed: ).