| February 5 | Beggars assault Oisterwijk, Netherlands, drive nuns out |
| March 12 | Luis Vaz de Camoes publishes "Os Lusiados" in Portugal |
| April 1 | Bloys van Treslong conquers Brielle |
| April 21 | France and England sign anti-Spanish military covenant |
| May 4 | Veere sides with Geuzen |
| May 15 | Louis van Nassau and huguenots occupy Valenciennes |
| June 9 | Willem van Oranges army occupies Gelderland |
| June 11 | Spanish co-land guardian duke of Medinaceli arrives in Lock |
| June 19 | Garrison under Adrian van Swieten occupy Oudewater |
| June 21 | Garrison under Adrian of Swieten conquers Gouda |
| June 24 | 5 clergymen of Enkhuizen, hanged |
| July 9 | 19 Catholic priests hanged in Gorcum |
| July 18 | Willem van Orange recognized as viceroy of Holland/Friesland/Utrecht |
| July 19 | Battle at Saint-Ghislain: Spanish army beats The Genlis' mercenaries |
| July 23 | Willem van Oranges troops occupy Roermond on the Spanjaarden |
| August 18 | King Navarra Henri de Bourbon marries Margaretha van Valois |
| August 22 | Failed assassination on Admiral De Coligny |
| August 24 | King Charles IX orders massacre of thousands of French Protestants |
| October 2 | Spanish army occupies/plunders/destroys Mechelen |
| October 5 | Spanish army under Alva's son Don Frederik plunders Mechelen |
| October 18 | Spanish troops attack Maastricht |
| November 6 | Supernova is observed in constellation known as Cassiopeia |
| November 11 | Duke of Alva's son Don Fredrik begins siege for Haarlem |
| November 16 | Don Frederiks troops occupy/plunder Zutphen |
| December 11 | Spanish troops begin siege of Haarlem |
| December 13 | Spanish army beats Geuzen fleet under Admiral Lumey |
| December 17 | Spanish army begins fires in Haarlem Netherlands |
