Decades: 1520s 1530s 1540s 1550s 1560s - 1570s - 1580s 1590s 1600s 1610s 1620s
Years: 1568 1569 1570 1571 1572 - 1573 - 1574 1575 1576 1577 1578
Events January - articles of Warsaw Confederation signed, sanctioning religious freedom in Poland. July - Spanish forces under the Duke of Alva capture Haarlem after a seven month siege. August-October - Unsuccessful siege of Alkmaar by Alva November - Alva resigns as Spanish Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in the Netherlands, and is succeeded by Luis de Requesens, who attempts to pursue a more conciliatory policy. End of the Fourth War of Religion in France. Oda Nobunaga drives the 14th Ashikaga shogun Ashikaga Yoshiaki out of Kyoto effectively destroying the Ashikaga shogunate and historically ending the Muromachi period. The Azuchi-Momoyama period of Japan begins. Births July 15 - Inigo Jones, English architect Deaths