1524
German Peasants' War Erupts
Inspired by Luther's rhetoric of Christian liberty, peasants in Swabia, Thuringia, and Franconia rose against their landlords demanding lower rents and common pastures. They articulated their demands in the Twelve Articles, the first printed manifesto of mass grievance in European history. The rebellion would end in massacre. The uprising, involving perhaps three hundred thousand peasants, was the largest popular rebellion before the French Revolution.
Verrazzano Charts the North American Coast
The Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, sailing under French colors, traced the coastline from the Carolinas to Newfoundland and became the first European to enter New York harbor. He returned convinced, wrongly, that a vast western sea lapped just beyond the Carolina Outer Banks. His letter to Francis I described encounters with the Narragansett and the natural harbor of New York, providing France its first coastal intelligence.
Giovanni da Verrazzano Dies
The Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, having charted the North American coast for France, later sailed to the Caribbean where Carib islanders killed and reportedly ate him. His younger brother Girolamo survived to carry home the family's charts and memory of his brother's achievements. His death by cannibalism, witnessed by his brother from the ship, became one of exploration's most horrifying cautionary tales.
Verrazzano Enters New York Bay
The Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano, aboard the French ship Dauphine, became the first European to sail into the harbor at the mouth of the Hudson River. Lenape canoes paddled out to greet him. He named the place the Bay of Saint Margaret after the French king's sister and sailed on.