1579 ( MDLXXIX ) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar , the 1579th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 579th year of the 2nd millennium , the 79th year of the 16th century , and the 10th and last year of the 1570s decade. As of the start of 1579, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which was the dominant calendar of the time.

Events [ change | change source ]

• January 6 ? The Union of Atrecht united the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma , governor in the name of king Philip II of Spain .
• January 23 ? The Union of Utrecht united the northern Netherlands in a confederation called the United Provinces . William I of Orange becomes Stadtholder, and the Duc d'Anjou , younger brother of Henry III of France is invited to become hereditary sovereign.
• March ? Capture of Maastricht by the Spanish under Parma.
• June 17 ? Sir Francis Drake , during his circumnavigation of the world, lands in what is now California , which he claims for Queen Elizabeth I . With an English claim here and in Newfoundland , it becomes the basis for English colonial charters which will claim all land from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from "sea to sea." Drake's claim is called "Nova Albion" (meaning, New England ), and subsequent maps will show all lands north of New Spain and New Mexico under this name.