| 1568: Defeated by the Protestants, Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England where Queen Elizabeth imprisons her. |
| 1588: The Spanish Armada sets sail from Lisbon, Spain. |
| 1608: The Protestant states form the Evangelical Union of Lutherans and Calvinists. |
| 1635: Cardinal Richelieu of France intervenes in the great conflict in Europe by declaring war on the Hapsburgs in Spain. |
| 1643: The French army defeats a Spanish army at Rocroi, France. |