"So longe as Englyshemen have anye power, we truste they will never submitte themselfes to vile Spanyardes. Which treason we have disappointed; trustinge, and firmelye belevinge, by the mighte of the omnipotente, everlastinge God, with the ayde and helpe of all trewe Englyshmen, to deliver owr country from all presente peril, daunger, and bondage, wherunto it is like to be broughte, by the moste develyshe devize of Mary, unrightful and unworthye Quene of England, who, both by the will of hir father, Kinge Henrye the viijth, and by the lawes of this noble realme of England, hathe forfette the crowne, for marriage with a straunger."
- From the manifesto of Thomas Stafford calling on all Englishmen to rise up and overthrow Queen Mary I,
issued three days before his capture and arrest on charges of treason.
In the year AD 1557...
- The Influenza Pandemic of 1557 begins in Asia and sweeps all around the world, killing untold numbers of people on every continent except Antarctica, including numerous Native Americans.
- The last of the numerous Italian Wars continues between France and Spain for control of Italy.
- King Philip II of Spain has been pestering his wife Queen Mary I to bring England into the war on his side, but she keeps resisting. However, when English aristocrat Thomas Stafford attempts to foment a revolt against Mary with French aid, she declares war on France.
- In August, the Spanish, supported by their new English allies, win a decisive victory in the Battle of St. Quentin, destroying the French army under Anne de Montmorency, Duke of Montmorency and capturing Montmorency himself. The French soldier Martin Guerre fights in this battle, losing his leg which has to be amputated.
- From his captivity, Montmorency begins negotiating for peace with the Spanish.
- China's Ming Dynasty grants the Portuguese the right to form a permanent settlement on Macau, which they lease in perpetuity at a rate of 500 taels of silver per year (Macau would finally be retroceded to China in 1999).
- In the Third Battle of Kawanakajima, Japanese warlord Takeda Shingen launches his most daring attempt yet to defeat his arch-rival Uesugi Kenshin, penetrating deep into Uesugi territory, crossing the Sai River and capturing the mountain fortress of Katsurayama Castle, but when Kenshin counterattacks in force, Shingen decides that discretion is the better part of valor and withdraws.
- Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde publishes The Whetstone of Witte in London, containing the first recorded use of the equals sign and also introducing into English for the first time the preexisting plus and minus signs.
- French astrologer Nostradamus publishes the third edition of his wildly popular book The Prophesies, including the original text from the previous edition supplemented by three entirely new "centuries" of 100 quatrains each.
These people were born in 1557:
These people died in 1557:
1556 - 1557 - 1558
16th century
How they were made