1540
Jesuits Officially Approved
Pope Paul III issued the bull Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae, formally recognizing the Society of Jesus. Ignatius of Loyola became the first Superior General. Within a decade, Jesuit schools would stretch from Coimbra to Goa, and missionaries would be preaching in kimono and Mandarin. The initial limit of sixty members was lifted within a decade as the order's rapid growth and effectiveness made restriction impractical.
Sher Shah Suri Drives Out Humayun
The Afghan warrior Sher Shah Suri crushed the Mughal emperor Humayun at Kannauj and drove him into exile in Persia. For fifteen years the Suri dynasty would hold Hindustan, building the Grand Trunk Road and a model administration the returning Mughals would quietly inherit and expand. His Grand Trunk Road remains one of South Asia's most important road systems, and his revenue reforms were adopted wholesale by the returning Mughals.
Coronado Marches for Cibola
Francisco Vazquez de Coronado led a glittering expedition of three hundred Spaniards and thirteen hundred native allies out of Compostela in search of the Seven Cities of Gold. He found dusty Pueblo villages instead and pushed on into Kansas, dragging disappointment across half a continent. His expedition produced the first European descriptions of the Grand Canyon, the Pueblo peoples, and the great bison herds of the prairie.
Ming Wakou Piracy Surges
Along the southeastern coast of Ming China, so-called wakou pirates, many of them actually Chinese with some Japanese, Portuguese, and renegade participants, began conducting devastating raids. The crisis would force Ming authorities to fortify the coast and strain their relations with Japan and the Portuguese at Macao. The crisis exposed contradictions of the maritime ban, which drove Chinese merchants into partnership with Japanese and Portuguese smugglers.
Henry VIII Divorces Anne of Cleves
After six months of awkward marriage to a bride chosen by portrait, Henry VIII obtained a quick annulment from Anne of Cleves on grounds of non-consummation. She graciously accepted a generous settlement and was styled the King's beloved sister, outliving every other wife. Anne's graceful acceptance made her the most fortunate of Henry's wives, outliving him by a decade and dying peacefully.
Jesuits Arrive in Portugal's Empire
Francis Xavier and other early Jesuits departed Lisbon aboard Portuguese Indiamen bound for Goa, Malacca, and beyond. The Society of Jesus had decided to follow the spice routes and plant Christianity wherever Portuguese cannons had opened doors. Within decades it would reach Japan and knock on China. Xavier's journey established the missionary network along Portuguese trade routes that carried Catholic Christianity across maritime Asia.