Unix Timestamp: -12023942400
Friday, December 23. 1588, 12:00:00 AM UTC

The Armada Portrait of Elizabeth I of England is created to celebrate the English defeat of the Spanish Armada and to assert the strength of Elizabeth herself.

Ahmad al-Mansur, sultan of Morocco, demands that the king of Songhay pay a heavy tribute in exchange for Saharan salt, probably as an intentional provocation. When Songhay's answer is defiant, the sultan declares war and marches his army through Sahara to Songhay.

William Morgan\'sWelshtranslation of the Bible is published.

Henry III of France strikes his ultra-Catholic enemies, having the Duke of Guise and his brother, Cardinal Louis of Guise, killed, and holding the Cardinal de Bourbon a prisoner. As a result, large parts of France reject Henry III as their king, forcing him to side with Henry of Navarre