Years: 1495 1496 1497 - 1498 - 1499 1500 1501

Decades: 1460s 1470s 1480s - 1490s - 1500s 1510s 1520s

Centuries: 14th century - 15th century - 16th century

Events

• Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama visits Quelimane and Moçambique in southeastern Africa.
• May 20 - Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut (now Kozhikode), India, becoming the first European to get there by sailing around Africa.
• May 23 - Girolamo Savonarola, ruler of Florence, is executed for criticizing the Pope.
• July 31 - On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to discover the island of Trinidad.
• Christopher Columbus lands on the South American continent.
• The Portuguese sail up to the coasts of modern Tanzania and Kenya.

Births

Deaths

• May 23 - Girolamo Savonarola, religious reformer and one time ruler of Florence.