Miguel de Cervantes publishes Don Quixote, the first modern novel
Published in two volumes, in 1605 and 1615, Don Quixote is considered the most influential work of literature from the Spanish Golden Age and the entire Spanish literary canon
Europe
John Napier publicly propounds the method of logarithms
The history of logarithm in seventeenth century Europe is the discovery of a new function that extended the realm of analysis beyond the scope of algebraic methods.
Europeans land in modern-day Australia for the first time ever
The first known landing in Australia by Europeans was by Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon in 1606. Twenty-nine other Dutch navigators explored the western and southern coasts in the 17th century, and dubbed the continent New Holland.
Shakespeare writes Hamlet, one of the most influential pieces of literature in history
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play, and is considered among the most powerful and influential works of world literature, with a story capable of “seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others”.
Zacharias and Hans Jansen invent the compound microscope
The microscope was said to have a magnification of 3x when fully closed, and 9x when fully extended.
The Union of Lublin formally establishes the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was a dual state, a bi-confederation of Poland and Lithuania ruled by a common monarch. It was one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th- to 17th-century Europe.
The Spanish Golden Age begins
The Spanish Golden Age is a period of flourishing in arts and literature in Spain, coinciding with the rise of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty and the Spanish Empire.
King Gustav I of Sweden founds Helsinki
Helsinki was established as a trading town by King Gustav I of Sweden in 1550 as the town of Helsingfors, which he intended to be a rival to the Hanseatic city of Reval (today known as Tallinn). It is now the capital and most populous city of Finland.
Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca becomes first European to travel to Iguazú Falls
The first European to discover the Falls was the Spanish Conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca in 1541, after whom one of the falls on the Argentine side is named.
The Portuguese become the first Europeans to visit modern-day Micronesia
European explorers, first the Portuguese in search of the Spice Islands (Indonesia) and then the Spanish, reached the Carolines in the sixteenth century.