- Asia
Founding of Malacca by Paramesvara
The Sumatran prince Paramesvara, having fled Palembang and Tumasik before Majapahit's forces, settles at Malacca and founds a city that becomes the leading port of the Malay world.
Era: The Malacca Sultanate, Islam and the Spice Trade
Sources: Paramesvara, Malay ruler and founder of Malacca · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Portuguese Malacca · World History Encyclopedia
- Africa
Clans coalesce into kingdoms
Across the highlands, clans containing Hutu, Tutsi and Twa form into small kingdoms; the Nyiginya dynasty of the Tutsi begins to extend its authority, founding the kingdom of Rwanda.
Era: The Kingdom of the Mwami
Sources: History of Rwanda · Wikipedia, Kingdom of Rwanda · Wikipedia, Rise of Rwanda · EBSCO Research Starters
- Africa
Foundation of Buganda
Buganda takes shape east of Bunyoro under its first kabakas; tradition credits its founding to Kintu or, in Bunyoro accounts, to Kato Kimera of the Babito dynasty.
Era: Peoples and the Great Lakes Kingdoms
Sources: History of Buganda · Wikipedia, Ebyafayo — History of Buganda · Buganda Kingdom (official)
- Africa
Founding of the Sultanate of Aïr
Tuareg clans of the Aïr massif organised the Sultanate of Aïr, choosing a sultan to mediate their rivalries; its capital Agadez became a major trans-Saharan trading and religious centre. (Some accounts place the city's rise nearer 1449.)
Era: Aïr, the caravans, and the eastern reach of Songhai
Sources: Sultanate of Agadez · Wikipedia, Agadez · Wikipedia, History of Niger · Wikipedia
- Africa
Foundation of the Mossi states
Tradition attributes the Mossi kingdoms of Tenkodogo, Ouagadougou and Yatenga to the line of Ouédraogo, son of the princess Yennenga; the dating is uncertain and some accounts place the origins earlier.
Era: The Mossi Kingdoms
Sources: Mossi states · Encyclopædia Britannica, Mossi Kingdoms · Wikipedia, Mossi (people) · EBSCO Research Starters
- Africa
Rise of the Mutapa state
The Mutapa (Monomotapa) state emerges on the Zimbabwean plateau, its gold and ivory passing down the Zambezi and out through the Mozambican ports.
Era: The Swahili Coast and the Gold of Sofala
Sources: Mozambique · Encyclopaedia Britannica, A history of the medieval coastal towns of Mozambique (c. 500–1890 CE) · African History Extra
- Africa
Founding of the Shilluk Kingdom
The Shilluk establish a centralised kingdom on the White Nile under the sacred kingship of the Reth, traditionally traced to the founder-figure Nyikang.
Era: Peoples of the Upper Nile
Sources: Shilluk Kingdom · Wikipedia, Precolonial History of South Sudan · Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History
- Africa
Rise of the Mutapa empire
The Mutapa (Mwenemutapa) empire emerged toward the Zambezi, inheriting Great Zimbabwe's gold trade and ruling much of the northern plateau and parts of present-day Mozambique.
Era: Mutapa, Torwa and Rozvi
Sources: Zimbabwe: History · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Mutapa Empire · Wikipedia, Torwa: historical state, Africa · Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Africa
The Torwa state and Khami
In the south-west the Torwa state built its capital at Khami near present-day Bulawayo, continuing the stone-walling tradition in decorated terraces; Khami is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Era: Mutapa, Torwa and Rozvi
Sources: Torwa: historical state, Africa · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Khami Ruins National Monument · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
- Africa
Ribeira Grande founded on Santiago
Portuguese settlers established Ribeira Grande (today Cidade Velha) on Santiago — the first permanent European city in the tropics — drawing Portuguese, Genoese and Flemish settlers, convicts and Sephardic Jews.
Era: Uninhabited islands and the first town in the tropics
Sources: Cidade Velha, Historic Centre of Ribeira Grande · UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Cidade Velha · Wikipedia, History of Cape Verde · Wikipedia
- Asia
Foundation of the Kazakh Khanate
The Jochid sultans Janibek and Kerei break with Abu'l-Khayr Khan and lead their followers into Zhetysu, founding the Kazakh Khanate, the realm Kazakhs regard as the root of their nation and statehood.
Era: The Kazakh Khanate and the Three Jüz
Sources: Establishment of the Kazakh Khanate · Portal 'History of Kazakhstan' (e-history.kz), National Academic Library, History of Kazakhstan · Encyclopædia Britannica
- Africa
Portuguese reach the uninhabited islands
Portuguese navigators, by tradition João de Santarém and Pero Escobar, reached São Tomé and Príncipe, finding the equatorial islands entirely uninhabited and suited to bases for mainland trade.
Era: Empty islands and the first plantation society
Sources: São Tomé and Príncipe · Encyclopaedia Britannica, History of São Tomé and Príncipe · Wikipedia, São Tomé and Príncipe · Wikipedia
- Africa
Founding of the Maravi Confederacy
The Amaravi, ancestors of the Chewa, established a confederacy under the Kalonga on the southwestern shores of Lake Nyasa, ruling from Mankhamba — the state that gave Malawi its name.
Era: The Maravi Confederacy
Sources: Maravi Confederacy · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Maravi · Wikipedia, History of Malawi · Wikipedia
- North America
Founding of Santo Domingo
Bartholomew Columbus founds Santo Domingo on the Ozama River; refounded soon after, it becomes the oldest permanent European city in the Americas and the seat of Spanish power.
Era: Quisqueya, Columbus, and the First Colony
Sources: Santo Domingo · Encyclopaedia Britannica, Colonial City of Santo Domingo · UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Formation in the 15th century
Every event in the Terralore archive tagged formation — origins, unifications and the founding of states as each nation's archive records them, narrowed to the 15th century — 14 of them, drawn from 13 nations, running from 1400 to 1496. Each entry keeps the sources it was verified against and links back to the chronicle it came from.
- Events
- 14
- Nations
- 13
- Earliest
- 1400
- Latest
- 1496
- Africa
- 11
- Asia
- 2
- North America
- 1
Every entry below is the same record, with the same sources, as the one on its nation’s chronicle.