A large comet entered the Solar System and was visible and recorded by many around the World. Chief amongst them was Tycho Brahe who was able to measure the position of the comet. Although his model of the Solar System was wrong his investigations led to the improved understanding of comets.

Francis Drake aboard the Pelican left Plymouth harbour with a small fleet of ships and headed west in search of the Spanish. This voyage would become his circumnavigation of the World.

When Cardinal Henry of Portugal died in 1580, Philip II, the Spainish king, invaded the country and made it part Spain. This led to several years of Spainish rule where the Portuguese people were oppressed.

A large earthquake struck southern England and northern France. It caused damage on both side of the Channel and caused the bells of the London churches to ring. Waves generated by the quake sank boats on the shores. The epicentre could have been somewhere between England and France.

The large Icelandic volcano Katla erupted. ¹

The Golden Hind with Sir Francis Drake in command arrived at Plymouth. Drake asked if the Queen was still alive and learnt that plague had taken hold in the town. He sent a letter to the Queen and waited aboard the ship for a reply. ¹

Reports of a large earthquake near York. This could be the same event that occurred in April of 1580. ¹

Francis Throckmorton was found guilty of carrying messages with details of an assassination attempt to murder Queen Elizabeth, an invasion by Spain and the freeing of Mary Stuart from captivity. Along with the Earl of Northumberland, Throckmorton was put in the Tower of London before being executed for treason. Before his death, Throckmorton revealed that Queen Mary knew about the plot. ¹

In response to the assassination threat to Queen Elizabeth an agreement signed by her supporters was devised. Those who signed agreed to prevent those who plotted against the Queen to succeed to the throne if the assassination was successful. They also agreed to prosecute anyone who would benefit whether they were involved in the assassination or not. The third agreement promised to chase down and kill those who carried out the assassination attempt. This move was hoped to prevent supporters of Mary Stuart directly or indirectly taking part in any more plots against the Queen. ¹

Queen Elizabeth amended the terms of the Bond of Association as Parliament tried to make the statute law. The Queen had the statute amended because she was unhappy about the clause that would have resulted in people being punished for the actions of others.  ¹

A plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth was uncovered. The person accused and found guilty was Dr. Parry, a supporter of Mary Stuart, the Queen of Scots. It was found that he had been assisted by Thomas Morgan, Mary Stuart's assistant who was looking after her affairs in Paris. Parry was executed for treason but no other action was taken. ¹

John Ballard a Jesuit priest and an exiled soldier called George Savage arrived in England with a plan to kill Queen Elizabeth and place Mary Stuart on the throne. Their plot was made known to Anthony Babington. But the plot was uncovered by spies of Walsingham the Secretary of State and supporter of Queen Elizabeth. Walsingham arrested the plotters just before they attempted to put their plan into operation. When questioned, the plotters admitted that Mary Stuart knew of the plans. The ringleaders of the plot were executed horribly, while the others were put to death more quickly.

Thomas Cavendish spent Christmas in the harbour on the east coast of Patagonia which he named Port Desire after his ship.

A plot against Queen Elizabeth was discovered when letters between Mary and Anthony Babington were found. The plot to assassinate the English Queen had been encouraged by John Ballard, a Catholic priest. Both men were executed for their involvement and Mary was tried and found guilty of treason. She was executed at Fotheringhay Castle.

Drake's mission was to attack Spanish ships in their harbours and capture supplies. After he sailed new orders were sent to prevent him attacking Spanish harbours but he did not receive the message. ¹

In mid-afternoon Drake's small fleet or four ships sailed in to Cadiz harbour and opened fire with their cannons on the many cargo boats lining the docks. By the end of the day the harbour was alight with the flames of the burning ships.

From Cadiz, Drake sailed north west to Cape St Vincent, the point of Portugal that changes from north to west. This was an important location as any Spanish ships coming south would have to go around the Cape and be met by Drake's cannons. A few miles to the east of the Cape is a natural port and town called Sagres. The port was protected by a fort which Drake attacked and captured. ¹

On the order of Queen Elizabeth, Mary, Queen of Scots was buried in the Cathedral several months after having been executed at nearby Fotheringhay Castle.

During the preparation for an attack on Paris, King Henry III of France was approached by a monk called Clement. Instead of delivering a message, the monk stabbed the king fatally wounding him. As Henry did not have a heir he was the last of the Valios dynasty. He was succeeded by Henry IV, the first of the House of Bourbon.

A proxy marriage was performed in Denmark to wed James VI of Scotland, who was not present, to Anne, the daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark.

After the proxy marriage in Denmark, Queen Anne attempted to sail to Scotland to join King James, but bad weather prevented the Danish fleet, carrying the new queen, reaching Scottish shores. On hearing the news King James decided to rescue his queen himself.

A Midsummer Night's Dream may have been written this year by William Shakespeare.

Led by Hugh O'Neill, the earl of Tyrone, the Irish rose up against Tudor rule. He looked to Spain and its king, Philip II for assistance.

Queen Elizabeth commissioned Drake and Hawkins to attack Spanish ships that might be planning an attack on England. The large fleet began to assemble in Plymouth but it was hard to keep such a number of ships secret and word was sent to Spain  ¹

The Spanish laid siege to Cambrai, in the north-east of France and captured the city.

The French king sent a delegation to England to ask for help with his war against Spain. But Queen Elizabeth refused.

Sir Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins departed from England, on their final voyage to the Spanish Main. The fleet, divided into two squadrons, consisted of six galleons and twenty-one armed merchantmen with over two thousand men, half of which were soldiers.  ¹

At the age of 63 and after a lifetime at sea, Sir John Hawkins died, off the north shore of Puerto Rico. ¹

The Dutch navigator Willem Barentsz sailed the seas off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia looking for a route to Asia. The sea would be later names after him.

The tomato is native to South America and is thought to have been brought to England in this year.

The first water closet or toilet was designed by John Harrington and installed at Richmond Palace for Queen Elizabeth.

The Merchant of Venice, Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet may have been written this year by William Shakespeare.

Returning from his failed attempts to attack Puerto Rico and San Juan, Drake fell ill and died on his return to England.

Starting in January a very large volcanic eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland began. The eruption generated large amounts of ash and lasted until June or July.

Philip II of Spain put together another armada in an attempt to invade England. But a violent storm scattered and destroying many of the ships.

Plots to kill Queen Elizabeth were, at times, very inventive. Edward Squier plotted to kill the Queen by poisoning the pommel of her saddle and managed to get access and carry out his plan. But the Queen was unaffected by the poison while Squier fled abroard, He was arrested after attempting to also kill the Earl of Essex and executed for high treason.

Philip III of Spain announced a prize that was to be given to the person who invented a method of calculating longitude at sea. At this point the calculation was done using inaccurate measurements of distance and time leading to dangerous errors. The calculation for latitude was already known and done via the position of the Sun or the North Star, but for the calculation of longitude the position of the Moon was required and referenced to a set of incomplete tables. Other similar prizes were announced by other countries in the following centuries. ¹

Henry IV of France allowed Protestants to exercise their religion and were eligible for all offices.

The English were defeated in Ireland when the Irish led by Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone rebelled against the English. The battle was fought near the Blackwater River in Armagh.

King Philip II of Spain died. He was succeeded by his son Philip III.

The theatre called The Theatre at Shoreditch, originally built by James Burbage in 1577, was demolished and the wood transported across the river to Southwark where it was used to build the "Globe" theatre.

The Globe Theatre, where William Shakespeare's plays were performed was constructed in this year. Actual construction work began at the end of the previous year in late December. The location was Bankside at Southwark.

Plays that Shakespeare could have written this year include As You Like It, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing and Twelfth Night.

To put down the Irish revolt led by Hugh of O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, Queen Elizabeth sent the Earl of Essex to Ireland with a large army. The Queen had given him instructions regarding the campaign againt The Earl of Tyrone, but Essex ignored them all. Rather than bringing the Irish rebellion to an end by force, the two Earls agreed a peace treaty, When word of this reached Elizabeth, she baned Essex from returning to England. Essex was angered by this and even planned to return to England and remove Elizabeth from the thone. But he was pursuaded against this course of action.

Oliver Cromwell was born on the 25th of April 1599. His father was Robert Cromwell and was descended from Thomas Cromwell, Earl of Essex, who was executed for treason by King Henry VIII. ¹

The Earl returned to England without permission and forced his way into the Queen's chambers. After this he was held prisoner under house-arrest where his health deteriorated. The Queen allowed doctors to attend to him and he had recovered by the end of the year.

The large Peruvian volcano Huaynaputina erupted in this year. Not only did it badly affect the local population in Peru it potentially caused a volcanic winter, reducing global temperatures. The northern hemisphere was also affected where a famine began in Russia a year later.

Charles, the future king of England was born at Dunfermline Palace, Fife in Scotland.