1540

1540 (MDXL) was a leap year in the Julian calendar. It was marked by significant religious and political developments in Europe and ongoing expansion of European colonial activity worldwide. The year reflects the broader dynamics of the Renaissance, the Reformation, and early modern state-building.

One of the most enduring legacies of 1540 was the founding of the Society of Jesus. On September 27, 1540, Pope Paul III approved the order, founded by Ignatius of Loyola with companions including Francis Xavier and Peter Faber. The Jesuits would become a major force in education, scholarship, and missionary work, playing a central role in the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

In England, the year featured rapid dynastic changes within the court of Henry VIII. On January 6, 1540, Henry VIII married Anne of Cleves; the marriage was annulled on July 9. He then married Catherine Howard on July 28, 1540. The year also saw the ongoing Dissolution of the Monasteries, with numerous religious houses dissolved and their wealth transferred to the Crown and nobility, reinforcing the broader English break with Catholic authority.

Globally, European powers continued to press their expansion. The Portuguese and Spanish empires pursued exploration and trade across the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and beyond, while conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and its European rivals persisted on the continental frontier of Central Europe. 1540 sits within a broader mid-16th century context of religious reform, imperial competition, and cross-cultural contact that shaped world history in the decades that followed.