| January 2 | Spain and Catholic France sign Saint League of Joinville |
| April 5 | Clemens Crabbeels becomes bishop of Hertogenbosch |
| May 19 | Spain confisquates English ships |
| June 23 | Spanish army under Tassis beats Amerongen Staatse troops |
| July 7 | King Henri III and Duke De Guise signs Treaty of Nemours: French Huguenots loose all freedoms |
| July 17 | English secret service discovers Anthony Babingtons murder plot against queen Elizabeth I |
| July 25 | Amsterdam bans 45 roman catholics |
| July 29 | Friese academy opens |
| August 8 | Pope Sixtus excommunicates Hendrik van Navarra (Henri IV) |
| August 10 | English Queen Elizabeth I signs Treaty of Nonsuch: Aid for Netherlands |
| August 14 | Queen Elizabeth I refuses sovereignty of Netherlands |
| August 17 | Antwerp surrenders after 8 months siege by duke of Parma |
| August 20 | English queen Elizabeth I signs Treaty of Nonsuch: aid to Netherland |
| August 27 | Duke van Parma's troops occupy Antwerp |
| December 20 | English fleet and earl Robert Dudley van Leicester reach Vlissingen |
