| Invention | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 | Nippled Baby Bottle | Europe | |
| 1500 | Sheep Sheers | Italy Belgium |
|
| 1500 | Watch | Germany | by Peter Henlein |
| 1513 | Etching | Switzerland | by Urs Graf |
| 1514 | Plus and Minus Signs (Maths) | Europe | used by merchants to mark sacks of goods + (surplus); - (less) |
| 1518 | Fire Engine | Germany | in Augsberg |
| 1520 | Wheel Lock | Germany | to allow internal ignition of fire arms |
| 1540 | Pistol | Italy | by Caminelleo Vitelli of Pistoria |
| 1557 | Equals Sign (Maths) | Europe | the = sign |
| 1564 | Lead Pensil | England | the lead is graphite |
| 1565 | Musket | Europe | hand held and could pearce armour |
| 1569 | Mercator Projection | Netherlands | represents a globe as a map by Gerard Mercator |
| 1570 | Sulphur Tipped Matches | England | |
| 1579 | Glass Eyes | Europe | |
| 1589 | Knitting Machine | England | by William Lee |
| 1590 | Microscope | Denmark | by Zacharias Jansen |
| 1592 | Thermometer | Italy | by Galileo |
| 1597 | Flushing Toilet | England | by John Harington |
| 1600 | The Vice | Europe | |
| 1604 | Mine Railway | England | by Huntingdon Beaumont |
| 1608 | Telescope | Netherlands | by Hans Lippershey |
| 1609 | Newspaper | Germany | from Strasbourg (The Relation) |
| 1620 | Submarine | England | the James I demonstrated in the River Thames |
| 1621 | Slide Rule | England | by William Oughtred |
| 1631 | Multiplication Sign | Europe | × for times |
| 1635 | Coal Burning Oven | England | by John Sibthorpe |
| 1639 | Micrometer | England | for measuring small angles in a telescope by William Gascoigne |
| 1643 | Barometer | Italy | by Torricelli |
| 1647 | Bayonet | France | pike attached to gun by French army |
| 1650 | Air Pump | Germany | by Otto von Guericke |
| 1657 | Pendulum Clock | Netherlands | by Christian Huygens |
| 1659 | Syringe | England | by Christopher Wren |
| 1660 | Cheque Book | England | by a London bank cheques used in Arabia c8th century |
| 1662 | City Bus Service | France | in Paris by Blaise Pascal but short lived |
| 1665 | Calculus | England Germany |
the mathematics of change by I Newton and G Leibnitz |
| 1666 | Cheddar Cheese | England | in Cheddar Gorge |
| 1670 | Alcohol (Champagne) | France | by Dom Pérignon |
| 1670 | Minute Hand for Clock | England | by William Clement |
| 1674 | Lead Crystal | England | by George Ravenscroft |
| 1674 | Spring Watch | Netherlands | by Christian Huygens |
| 1675 | Weight Driven Pendulum Clock | England | by William Clement |
| 1676 | Universal Joint | England | by Robert Hooke |
| 1679 | Pressure Cooker | France | by Denis Papin |
| 1680 | Phosphorus Matches | England | by Robert Boyle |
| 1688 | Plate Glass | France | |
| 1698 | Steam Water Pump | England | used for mining by Thomas Savery |
People born during this period include:
By 1502, the Julian Calender, which had been in use since 45 BC, had got eleven days out of step with the seasons. A new calendar was created under Pope Grogory XIII (the Gregorian Calendar). To remove the extra days, it was decided that 4 October of that year was to be followed by 15 October. The Catholic countries adopted the calendar immediately; eventually all European countries adopted this calendar and it is now used by the whole world for business purposes.
In 1509, Portugal destroyed the Arab fleet at Diu (modern India) taking control of Arab trade routes in the Indian Ocean. In 1588, England defeated the Spanish armada, gaining control of the world's seas.
Various foods passed from Asia to Europe between 1512 and 1600, including nutmeg (from China), aubergine (also known as eggplant, from India) and ice cream. Coffee reached Europe after the Siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire in 1539. Tea arrived from China via the Arabs and Venetians around 1559.
Sweden was the first country in Europe to have paper money (in 1601). From 1610, Galileo's use of the telescope revolutionised astronomy. In 1687 Isaac Newton published "Principia", considered to be one of the greatest scientific books of all time, in which he gave gravity a mathematical footing. Between 1632 and 1648 the Taj Mahal was constructed in India by Moghul Emperor, Shah Jahan; this is considered by many to be the world's most beautiful building. The Parthenon (one of the most beautiful buildings from ancient Greece, built c450 BC) was left in ruins during a battle between the Ottoman Empire and Venice in 1687.
In 1681 the dodo, a flightless bird on the island of Mauritius, became extinct.
Nine chemical elements were known to the ancients: gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, mercury, iron, carbon and sulphur. A further four were discovered by alchemists during medieval times: arsenic, antimony, bismuth and zinc. In 1669, German chemist Hennig Brand became the first named person to discover a new element: Phosphorus.
The Spanish founded Havana, (modern Cuba) in 1515 and Buenos Aires, (modern Argentina) in 1546.
Rio de Janeiro, (modern Brazil), was founded in 1568 by the Portuguese.
The English founded Jamestown (in Virginia) in 1607 (the first English settlement in what was to become the USA) and Boston in 1635. The Dutch founded the city of New Amsterdam (later New York) in 1626 and Cape Town in 1652. The French founded Montreal in 1642. An English company founded Calcutta (India) in 1690.
In 1603 James VI of Scotland became James I of England resulting in two separate countries under a single monarch. Louis XIV (born 1638) reigned for a modern record of 72 years in France.
Green peas arrived in England in 1514. Sulphuric acid was prepared in Arabia in 1535.
