We just moved into a new apartment: 15/18 Ocean Street. And somebody made the strange suggestion that we find out what was happening in that year, so we could say:
We live at 15/18 - the year that:
In Australia, the natives were as yet, officially undiscovered. The occasional rogue European landed, but they were more in need of help and gave no indication of the carnage that was to come from the north in about two and a half centuries.
In England, King Henry VIII had been king and happily married to Catherine of Aragon for nine years. Their daughter, Mary was two years old, and showing a lot of promise.
In fact, things were going so well, that Henry established the Ordinance depot at Greenwich, which later became the Royal Arsenal.
And his right hand man established a European alliance against the Turks.
Spain and Portugal had their sights set firmly on the Americas. This was the year that Magellan secured funding from the Spanish king to develop new routes to the Orient in 1519. Corn was soon to be on its way to the Old World.
In France, King Francis I was ruling. Leonardo da Vinci was spending his final years, having finished the Mona Lisa, working on various projects.
In the Bavarian region, Martin Luther's 95 Theses had been circulating for months, and the Reformation was ready to begin in earnest.
In Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli is appointed to the Cathedral of Zurich.
In Italy, a patriot was trying to rid himself of the reputation his book had earned him five years prior. It stuck with him for nearly five hundred years, and counting.
In China, the Ming dynasty was going strong.
The Middle East were dominated by the Ottoman empire, which was causing concern for Europe, as they expanded into the area.
Born:
It would seem to me, that 1518 was a quiet year, and eye of the storm. The Renaissance was giving way to the Reformation. Maybe, this place will be a place for us to take stock and start a new and exciting era ourselves.
Major Sources:
http://www.activehistory.co.uk/
http://www.hyperhistory.com/index.html
Sadly, we have left our Ocean Street address - but this truly was a good year. Happily, the new place is F-A-B) even if it isn't a funky year.