The Muslims

The New World

1453 a.d. - 1600 a.d.

1453

Constantinople falls to the Muslim Ottoman Turks who make it their capital. An Islamic service of thanksgiving is held in the church of Saint Sophia.

1462

Johannes Gutenberg begins printing the Bible with his movable-type printing process.

1485

After having come into contact with the Portuguese, the King of Benin requests that a church be planted in his kingdom.

1491

The Congo sees its first group of missionaries arrive. Under the ministry of these Franciscan and Dominican priests, the king would soon be baptized and a church built at the royal capital.

1494

First missionaries arrive in Dominican Republic.

1496

First Christian baptisms in the New World take place when Guaticaba along with other members of his household are baptized on the island of Hispaniola.

1499

Portuguese Augustinian missionaries arrive at Zanzibar. Their mission will end in 1698 due to the Oman-Arab conquest.

1500

Franciscans enter Brazil with Cabral.

1508

Franciscans begin evangelizing in Venezuela.

1514

Franciscans begin missionary work in California.

1518

Don Henrique, son of the king of the Congo, is consecrated by Pope Leo X as the first indigenous bishop from sub-Saharan Black Africa.

1523

Martin Luther writes a missionary hymn based on Psalm 67, May God Bestow on Us His Grace. It has been called "the first missionary hymn of Protestantism."

1527

Martyrs' Synod, organized by Anabaptists, it is the first Protestant missionary conference.

1530

In his On Translating: An Open Letter, Martin Luther lays out some principles of correct Bible translating.

1534

The entire caste of Paravas on the Coromandel Coast (India) are baptized -- perhaps 20,000 people in all.

1535

German monk Maximilian Uhland speaks out against the wretched conditions of Indigenous peoples in the Americas.

1550

Printed Scriptures are available in 28 languages.

1552

Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier dies awaiting admission to China.

1553

Portuguese missionaries build a church in Malacca Town, Malaysia.

1554

1,500 converts to Christianity are reported in Siam (now called Thailand).

1555

John Calvin sends Huguenots to Brazil.

1559

Missionary Vilela settles in Kyoto, Japan.

1560

Goncalo da Silveira, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary, visited the Munhumutapa Empire (Zimbabwe), where he rapidly made converts.

1587

All foreigners ordered out of Japan.

1587

Manteo becomes the first American Indian to be baptized by the Church of England.

1594

First Jesuit missionaries arrive in Pakistan.

1597

Twenty-six Japanese Christians are crucified for their faith by General Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Nagasaki, Japan. By 1640, thousands of Japanese Christians will have been martyred.