October 12 –Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas from Spain.Calendar year
January 2 –Muhammad XII , lastMoorish Emir of Granada , surrenders his city to the army ofFerdinand II of Aragon andIsabella I of Castile .Year1492 (MCDXCII leap year starting on Sunday of theJulian calendar .
The year 1492 marked a significant milestone in world history, with the beginning of the invasion and conquest of the "New World" of the Americas, and the "Old World" in Europe, as well as the unification of Spain, the end of Islamic rule in continental Europe, and the expulsion of the Jewish people from Spain.
January 2 –Fall of Granada :Muhammad XII , the lastEmir of Granada , surrenders his city to the army of theCatholic Monarchs (Ferdinand II of Aragon andIsabella I of Castile ) after a lengthy siege, ending the ten-yearGranada War and the centuries-longReconquista , and bringing an end to 780 years ofMuslim control inAl-Andalus .[ 1] January 6 – Ferdinand and Isabella enterGranada .[ 2] January 15 –Christopher Columbus meets Ferdinand and Isabella at theAlcázar de los Reyes Cristianos inCórdoba, Andalusia , and persuades them to support his Atlantic voyage intended to find a new route to theEast Indies .January 16 –Antonio de Nebrija publishesGramática de la lengua castellana Spanish language , inSalamanca , which he introduces to theCatholic Monarchs ,Isabella I of Castile andFerdinand II of Aragon , newly restored to power inAndalusia , as "a tool of empire".January 23 – The Soncino Bible, which includes thePentateuch ,[ 3] February 1 – TheTitulus Crucis relic is discovered, during the renovation ofSanta Croce in Gerusalemme Church in Rome.March 31 – Ferdinand and Isabella sign theAlhambra Decree , expelling all Jews from Spain unless they convert toRoman Catholicism .April 17 – TheCapitulations of Santa Fe are signed betweenChristopher Columbus and theCrown of Castile , agreeing on arrangements for his forthcoming voyage.May 3 – In theCanary Islands , the Spanish conquistadorAlonso Fernandez de Lugo finishes the conquest of the island ofLa Palma by capturingTanausu , King of the nativeGuanches .[ 4] May 23 – At the shipbuilding town ofPalos de la Frontera inSpain , an April 30 decree of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon is read aloud to the residents, directing that two ships are to be delivered toChristopher Columbus and people chosen by the Pinzon brothers will be required to travel on the voyage westward "by command of Their Highnesses").[ 5] May 31 – Pope Innocent VIII and members of the College of Cardinals meet at the church ofSanta Maria del Popolo inRome with diplomatic envoys sent by the Ottoman SultanBayezid II . The envoys present the Pope a gift, said to be the Holy Lance, from the Sultan, along with the Sultan's proposal, payment of 120,000 crowns of gold and an annual subsidy of 45,000 ducats in return for the continued imprisonment ofCem Sultan , a half-brother of Bayezid and a rival claimant to the throne.[ 6] June 7 –Casimir IV Jagiellon , of theJagiellon Royal House, dies, ending his reign over Poland and Lithuania.June 8 –Elizabeth Woodville , the last livingYorkist queen consort, dies in England.July 25 –Pope Innocent VIII , leader of the Roman Catholic Church since 1484, dies at the age of 59 fromcatarrh .[ 6] July 30 –Alexander Jagiellon is crowned asGrand Duke of Lithuania .[ 7] August 2 –The Jews are expelled from Spain on theTisha B'Av fast day, pursuant to the Alhambra Decree. More than 40,000 and perhaps as many as 200,000 leave. SultanBayezid II of theOttoman Empire , learning of this, dispatches theOttoman Navy to bring the Jews safely to Ottoman lands, mainly to the cities ofThessaloniki (in modern-day Greece) andİzmir (in modern-dayTurkey );[ 8] Sarajevo .August 3 – TheGenoese navigatorChristopher Columbus sails with three ships (Niña Pinta andSanta María Palos de la Frontera , in the service of theCrown of Castile , on hisfirst voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, intending to reach Asia.[ 9] [ 10] August 8 – Thepapal conclave , the first to be held in theSistine Chapel , begins balloting with 23 of the 27 members of the College of Cardinals in attendance. With 16 votes needed for the required two-thirds majority, the first ballot is split among three candidates, withOliviero Carafa receiving 9,Rodrigo Borja 7 andGiuliano della Rovere 5, while two cast a blank vote.[ 11] August 11 – Cardinal Rodrigo Borja is unanimously elected on the fourth ballot of the papal conclave, and takes the name ofPope Alexander VI , 214th pope of the Roman Catholic Church.[ 12] September 6 –Christopher Columbus sails fromLa Gomera in theCanary Islands , his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time.September 23 –Jan I Olbracht is crowned as King of Poland, more than three months after the death of his father, King Casimir IV.[ 13] October 3 – TheEnglish armybesieges Boulogne .[ 14] October 7 – The Columbus expedition, having seen no land for 29 days while sailing eastward, and with some of its sailors threatening to mutiny, spots large flocks of birds, confirming that land is ahead. Christopher Columbus orders a change of course to follow the flight direction of the birds.[ 15] October 10 – The day before sighting land for the first time in a month, Columbus quells an attempt at mutiny by sailors who demand that he turn theNiña around to sail back to Spain.[ 16] October 12 – Believing he has reached theEast Indies ,Christopher Columbus and his expedition of three ships make landfall in the Caribbean and land on the island ofGuanahani , now part of theBahamas . He names the island "San Salvador ".[ 17] Rodrigo de Triana on thePinta had become the first person to spot land.[ 18] October 28 – Christopher Columbus lands in what is now theHolguín Province of the island ofCuba .November 3 – ThePeace of Étaples is signed between England and France, ending French support forPerkin Warbeck , the pretender to theEnglish throne . All English-held territory in France (with the exception ofCalais ) is returned to France.[ 19] November 6 – In what is now the West African nation ofMali ,Sonni Baru becomes the new monarch of theSonghai Empire following death of his father, the EmperorSonni Ali .[ 20] November 7 – TheEnsisheim meteorite , a 127 kg (280 lb)meteorite , lands in a wheat field near the village ofEnsisheim inAlsace .November 10 – The Catholic Monarchs of Spain issue anOrdinance legalizing the return ofSephardi Jews who had been expelled in August and the terms for remaining. In both cases, all need a baptism as Christian converts in the Roman Catholic church.[ 21] December 5 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island ofHispaniola in present day northwesternHaiti .[ 22] December 25 – Columbus' shipSanta María Cap-Haïtien in present dayHaiti , and is abandoned. The local chief,Guacanagaríx , allows 39 men of Columbus' crew to remain on the island after his departure.Martin Behaim constructs the first surviving globe of Earth, theErdapfel . As Columbus would only return from his voyage in1493 , this globe does not show the New World yet.The firstarboretum to be designed and planted is theArboretum Trsteno , nearDubrovnik in current-dayCroatia . Russians build theIvangorod Fortress , on the eastern banks of theNarva River . InMing dynasty China, the commercial transportation of grain to the northern border, in exchange for salt certificates, is monetized.[ 23] Ermysted's Grammar School ,Skipton ,North Yorkshire , is founded.Marsilio Ficino publishes his translation and commentary ofPlotinus .Stiegl brewery first recorded inSalzburg .QueenMarguerite de Navarre DuchessSabina of Bavaria January 22 –Beatrix of Baden , Margravine of Baden, Countess Palatine consort of Simmern (d.1535 )March 4 –Francesco de Layolle , Italian composer (d. c.1540 )March 21 –John II, Count Palatine of Simmern , Count Palatine of Simmern (1509-1557) (d.1557 )March 27 –Adam Ries , German mathematician (d.1559 )April 4 –Ambrosius Blarer , influential reformer in southern Germany and north-eastern Switzerland (d.1564 )April 6 –Maud Green , English noble (d.1531 )April 11 –Marguerite de Navarre , queen ofHenry II of Navarre (d.1549 )[ 24] April 20 –Pietro Aretino , Italian author (d.1556 )April 24 – DuchessSabina of Bavaria (d.1564 )May 8 –Andrea Alciato , Italian jurist and writer (d.1550 )June 4 –Hirate Masahide , Japanese retainer and tutor ofOda Nobunaga (d.1553 )August 1 –Wolfgang, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen , German prince (d.1566 )August 8 –Matteo Tafuri , Italian alchemist (d.1582 )September 12 –Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (d.1519 )[ 25] September 29 –Chamaraja Wodeyar III , King of Mysore (d.1553 )October 1 –Georg Rörer , German theologian (d.1557 )October 11 –Charles Orlando, Dauphin of France , French noble (d.1495 )October 30 –Anne d'Alençon , French noblewoman (d.1562 )November 12 –Johan Rantzau , German general (d.1565 )November 27 –Donato Giannotti , Italian writer (d.1573 )date unknown probable Lorenzo de' Medici KingCasimir IV Jagiellon Pope Innocent VIII SaintBeatrice of Silva January 25 –Ygo Gales Galama , Frisian warlord and freedom-fighting rebel (murdered) (b.1443 )April 8 –Lorenzo de' Medici , ruler of Florence (b.1449 )[ 26] March 19 –Philip II, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1429–1492) (b.1418 )c.May 21 –John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk (b.1442 ) June 7 –Casimir IV Jagiellon , King of Poland (b.1427 )June 8 –Elizabeth Woodville , Queen ofEdward IV of England (b.1437 )[ 27] July 1 –Henry the Younger of Poděbrady , Bohemian nobleman (b.1452 )July 25 –Pope Innocent VIII (b.1432 )[ 28] August 9 –Beatrice of Silva , SpanishDominican andRoman Catholic nun and a saintSeptember 20 –Anne Neville, Countess of Warwick (b.1426 )September 23 –Peter Courtenay , English bishop and politicianOctober 12 –Piero della Francesca , Italian artist (b. c.1412 )[ 29] October 25 –Thaddeus McCarthy , Irish bishop (b. c.1455 )November 6 –Antoine Busnois , French composer and poet (b. c.1430 )November 9 –Jami , Persian poet (b.1414 )November 24 –Loys of Gruuthuse , Earl ofWinchester (b. c.1427 )^ Elizabeth Nash (13 October 2005).Seville, Cordoba, and Granada: A Cultural History ISBN 978-0-19-518204-0 ^ "La conquista de Granada por los Reyes Católicos" .National Geographic . Retrieved26 October 2018 .^ Brekelmans, Christianus; Saebo, Magne; Sæbø, Magne; Haran, Menahem; Fishbane, Michael A.; Ska, Jean Louis; Machinist, Peter (1996).Hebrew Bible / Old Testament: The History of Its Interpretation: II: From the Renaissance to the Enlightenment Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht . p. 283.ISBN 9783525539828 ^ Abréu Galindo, Juan de (1848).Historia de la conquista de las siete islas de Gran Canaria History of the Conquest of the seven Canary Islands ]. Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Imprenta, Litografía y Librería Isleña. p. 188.hdl :20.500.12285/mdcte/1668 . RetrievedMarch 26, 2025 . ^ Real Provisión de los Reyes Católicos que mandaron a Diego Rodríguez Prieto y a otros compañeros, vecinos de la villa de Palos, para que tuvieran preparadas dos carabelas al servicio de Cristóbal Colón. Texto completo , Granada, 30 April 1492.Archivo General de Indias . Sección: Patronato. Signatura: Patronato, 295, N. 3. (Castellano antiguo)^a b "Sede Vacante" .^ Jerzy Jan Lerski; Piotr Wróbel; Richard J. Kozicki (1996).Historical dictionary of Poland, 966–1945 Greenwood Publishing Group .ISBN 978-0-313-26007-0 ^ "Turkey Virtual Jewish History Tour" .www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org .^ Phillips, William D. Jr.; Phillips, Carla Rahn (1992).The Worlds of Christopher Columbus 197– 198.ISBN 978-0-521-35097-6 ^ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1 August 1939)."Texts and Translations of the Journal of Columbus's First Voyage" .Hispanic American Historical Review .19 (3):235– 261.doi :10.1215/00182168-19.3.235 JSTOR 2507257 . ^ Ludwig Pastor,The History of Popes (K. Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd. 1902) p.381 ^ Setton, Kenneth Meyer. 1984. The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571: The 13th & 14th Centuries. ISBN 0-87169-127-2, p. 433 ^ Albertrandy, Jan (1827).Panowanie Kazimierza Jagiellończyka, króla polskiego i.w. księcia litewskiego OCLC 785885479 . ^ Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992).The Chronology of British History . London: Century Ltd. pp. 135– 138.ISBN 0-7126-5616-2 ^ Nicholls, Steve (2009).Paradise Found: Nature in America at the Time of Discovery 103–104 .ISBN 978-0-226-58340-2 ^ Morison, Samuel Eliot (1991) [1942].Admiral of the Ocean Sea: A Life of Christopher Columbus 214– 216.ISBN 978-0316584784 ^ Bergreen, Lawrence (2011).Columbus: The Four Voyages, 1493–1504 ISBN 978-1101544327 ^ Columbus, Christopher (1893).Markham, Clements R. (ed.).The Journal of Christopher Columbus (During His First Voyage, 1492–93) and Documents Relating to the Voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real Hakluyt Society . p. 35. ^ Williams, Hywel (2005).Cassell's Chronology of World History 189 –192.ISBN 0-304-35730-8 ^ Hunwick, John O. (2003)."Songhay: an Interpretive Essay" .Timbuktu and the Songhay Empire: Al-Sadi's Tarikh al-Sudan down to 1613 and other contemporary documents . Leiden: Brill. p. xxxviii.ISBN 978-9004128224 ^ Pérez, Joseph (2007).History of a Tragedy: The Expulsion of the Jews from Spain ISBN 978-0-252-03141-0 ^ Lawrence M. Greenberg (1987).United States Army Unilateral and Coalition Operations in the 1965 Dominican Republic Intervention ^ Puk Wing-kin (20 November 2015).The Rise and Fall of a Public Debt Market in 16th-Century China: The Story of the Ming Salt Certificate ISBN 9789004306400 . Retrieved23 August 2020 . ^ A. J. Krailsheimer (1966).Three Sixteenth-century Conteurs ^ "Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, duca di Urbino | Italian ruler" .Encyclopedia Britannica . Retrieved18 January 2021 .^ Fryde, E. B (1 July 1984)."Humanism and Renaissance Historiography" .A&C Black . p. 122.ISBN 9780826427502 ^ David Williamson (1986).Debrett's Kings and Queens of Britain ISBN 978-0-86350-101-2 ^ Kenneth Meyer Setton (1976).The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571 ISBN 978-0-87169-127-9 ^ Pietro Allegretti (2006).Piero Della Francesca ISBN 978-0-8478-2810-4 
