Charles V was born on 24 February 1500 in Ghent. A Habsburg ruler who inherited an enormous collection of territories, Charles was king of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor, and his realms stretched across Europe and the Americas. His reign saw the conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires by Spanish adventurers, the rise of Protestantism after Luther's appearance at the Diet of Worms in 1521, and wars with France and the Ottoman Empire. He struggled to hold his lands together against rivals and religious division, and agreed to the Peace of Augsburg through his brother Ferdinand. Exhausted, he abdicated in 1556 and retired to a monastery in Spain.
Before and after
- 15th centuryConstruction of Red Square
- from 15th century to 18th centuryEarly modern period
- from 1500 to 1785Khanate of Bukhara
- from 15th century to 16th centuryRise of Manueline
- 24 February 1500Birth of Charles V
- from 1501 to 1736Safavid dynasty
- from 1501 to 1736Safavid Iran
- 1501Birth of Ana Bolena
- 1 January 1502Birth of Gregory XIII
More in Wars, politics & history
- from 1618 to 1648Thirty Years' War
- from 1642 to 1651English Civil War
- 24 October 1648Peace of Westphalia
- from 1652 to 1784Anglo-Dutch Wars
- from March 1701 to September 1714War of the Spanish Succession
- from 17 May 1756 to 15 February 1763Seven Years' War
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 15th century.