1491

For other uses, see 1491 (disambiguation).

Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	14th century – 15th century – 16th century
Decades:	1460s  1470s  1480s  – 1490s –  1500s  1510s  1520s
Years:	1488 1489 1490 – 1491 – 1492 1493 1494

1491 by topic
Arts and science
Architecture - Art
Politics
State leaders - Sovereign states
Birth and death categories
Births - Deaths
Establishments and disestablishments categories
Establishments - Disestablishments
Art and literature
1491 in poetry

1491 in other calendars

Gregorian calendar	1491 MCDXCI
Ab urbe condita	2244
Armenian calendar	940 ԹՎ ՋԽ
Assyrian calendar	6241
Bengali calendar	898
Berber calendar	2441
English Regnal year	6 Hen. 7 – 7 Hen. 7
Buddhist calendar	2035
Burmese calendar	853
Byzantine calendar	6999–7000
Chinese calendar	庚戌年 (Metal Dog) 4187 or 4127     — to — 辛亥年 (Metal Pig) 4188 or 4128
Coptic calendar	1207–1208
Discordian calendar	2657
Ethiopian calendar	1483–1484
Hebrew calendar	5251–5252
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	1547–1548
- Shaka Samvat	1413–1414
- Kali Yuga	4592–4593
Holocene calendar	11491
Igbo calendar	491–492
Iranian calendar	869–870
Islamic calendar	896–897
Japanese calendar	Entoku 3 (延徳３年)
Julian calendar	1491 MCDXCI
Korean calendar	3824
Minguo calendar	421 before ROC 民前421年
Thai solar calendar	2033–2034

Year 1491 (MCDXCI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.

Events

January–December

• May 3 – The ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo, Nkuwu Nzinga, is baptised by Portuguese missionaries, adopting the baptismal name of João I.
• November – The pretender Perkin Warbeck begins a campaign to take the English throne with a landing in Ireland.
• November 7 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary sign the Peace of Pressburg, giving formal end to the Austrian–Hungarian War.
• November 16 – An auto-da-fé held in Brasero de la Dehesa (outside Ávila) concludes the case of the Holy Child of La Guardia with the execution of several Jewish and converso suspects.
• November 25 – Reconquista: The Granada War is effectively brought to an end (and the Siege of Granada extended for 2 months) with the signing of the Treaty of Granada between the Catholic Monarchs of Spain and the Moorish Emirate of Granada.
• December 6 – King Charles VIII of France marries Anne of Brittany, forcing her to break her marriage with Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, thus incorporating Brittany into the kingdom of France.
• December 21 – Truce of Coldstream secures a 5-year peace between Scotland and England.

Date unknown

• Bread and Cheese Revolt breaks out in North Holland.
• A major fire breaks out in Dresden.
• In the Russian territory of Komi (now the Komi Republic), annexed by Russia in 1478, copper and silver ores are discovered, and the territory gains importance as a mining and metallurgical center.
• Nicolaus Copernicus enters the University of Kraków.

Births

• June 28: King Henry VIII of England (d. 1547)
• November 11: Martin Bucer, German Protestant reformer (d. 1551)
• October 26: Zhengde Emperor of China (d. 1521)
• November 8: Teofilo Folengo, Italian poet (d. 1544)
• December 24: Ignatius of Loyola, Spanish founder of the Society of Jesus (d. 1556)
• December 26: Friedrich Myconius, German Lutheran theologian (d. 1546)
• December 31: Jacques Cartier, French explorer (d. 1557)
• date unknown
  • Lapu-Lapu, Filipino king (d. 1542)
  • Azai Sukemasa, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1546)
• probable
  • George Blaurock, Swiss founder of Anabaptism (d. 1529)
  • Antonio Pigafetta, Italian explorer (d. 1534)

Deaths

• March 6: Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers
• July 13: Afonso, Prince of Portugal (b. 1475)
• October 5: Jean Balue, French cardinal and statesman (b. c. 1421)
• October 12: Fritz Herlen, German artist (b. 1449)
• December 28: Bertoldo di Giovanni, sculptor (b. c. 1435)
• date unknown: John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk (b. 1442)