January 23– The Treaty of Plessis-les-Tours between the Duchy of Anjou and most of the states of the Dutch Republic is ratified at Bourdeaux, granting Francis, Duke of Anjou executive authority over the Republic with the title "Protector of the Liberty of the Netherlands".
February 8– (7th waxing of Tabaung 942 ME) Prince Shin Thissa, later to become King of Burma in 1599 as Nyaungyan Min, receives his first executive job when he is appointed to be Governor of Nyaungyan by his father, King Bayinnaung.
February 23– The Spanish Army is forced to abandon the siege of Steenwijk in the Netherlands after more than four months.
May 15–Zsigmond Báthory, the 8-year-old son of Kristóf Báthory, ruler of the Principality of Transylvania, is elected by the Diet of Transylvania as the new voivode at the request of Kristóf, who dies 12 days later.
May 26– (10th waning of Nayon 943 ME) In Burma, Thiri Thudhamma Yaza of Martaban becomes the new Viceroy of Martaban (now Mottama in the Mon State of Myanmar) after the demise of Minye Nandameit.
June 2–James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton, the last regent for Scotland from 1572 to 1578 during the minority of King James VI, is beheaded at Edinburgh using the "Scottish Maiden", after being convicted of conspiracy in the 1567 murder of Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots and father of King James.
June 14– The representatives of the States General of the Netherlands vote to declare that the throne of the Union of Utrecht is vacant because of the erratic behavior of King Philip II.
July 22 - At a meeting of the States General of the Union of Utrecht at Antwerp, the representatives vote to proclaim their independence from Spain in the Act of Abjuration, abjuring loyalty to Philip II of Spain as their sovereign, and appointing Francis, Duke of Anjou, as the new sovereign of the Netherlands; public practice of Roman Catholicism is forbidden.
The Act of Abjuration is signed at The Hague by representatives of eight Dutch provinces as a declaration of independence from Spanish rule and a secession from the Union of Utrecht. The signing confirms a decision made in a July 22 meeting of the States General in Antwerp. King Philip II of Spain refuses to acknowledge the Abjuration.
July 27–Capture of Breda: After a surprise attack the day before, Spanish troops under the command of Claude de Berlaymont, Lord of Haultepenne, take the walled city Breda in the Netherlands. Once inside the gates, the Spanish troops overcome the defenders and carry out the massacre of 584 citizens in the "Haultepenne Fury".
September 30– In Japan, warlord Oda Nobunagainvades the Iga Province. With 42,000 troops under his command against 10,000 defenders led by Takino Jurobei, Nobunaga controls most of central Japan within eight days.
October–December
October 8– The Tenshō Iga War ends in Japan with the surrender of Kashiwara Castle to Oda Nobunaga.
October 10– King Bayinnaung of Burma, who created the largest empire in mainland southeast Asia, dies at age 65.
↑"Morton, James Douglas, 4th Earl of", Encyclopædia Britannica (Vol. 18) (Cambridge University Press, 1911) pp. 880–881
↑L. P. Gachard, Études et notices historiques concernant l'histoire des Pays-Bas ("Studies and Historical Comment Concerning the History of the Low Countries") (Hayez, 1890) p.388
↑"An eventful year for the Order of St John in Malta", by David Dandria, Times of Malta, June 19, 2011