Year 1513 (MDXIII)
Year 1513 was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
== Events ==
=== January–March ===
January 20 – Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa writes a letter to King Ferdinand II of Aragon advocating for the genocide against native peoples on the Caribbean islands, initiating the killing of hundreds of residents of Caribbean villages.
February 18 – In a papal bull shortly before his death, Pope Julius II declares Queen Catherine of Navarre and King John II of Aragon to be heretics for their refusal to join other Roman Catholic nations in the War of the League of Cambrai.
February 20 – King Hans of Denmark dies at the age of 58 from injuries sustained after being thrown from a horse, succeeded by his 32-year-old son Christian II as ruler of Denmark and Norway.
February 21 – Pope Julius II passes away three days after issuing his last papal bull.
March 4 – The conclave of the Roman Catholic Cardinals begins at the Niccoline Chapel in the Apostolic Palace in Rome, with 25 of the 31 Cardinals participating. No Cardinal receives the 17 votes required for a three-fourths majority in the first round.
March 9 – Cardinal Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici is elected to succeed the late Pope Julius II, taking the name Pope Leo X amid a strong challenge by Italian cardinal Raffaele Riario.
March 15 – In the Taino Rebellion on Puerto Rico, Spanish conquistador Diego Guilarte de Salazar attacks Taino towns.
March 26 – Afonso de Albuquerque, Governor of Portuguese India, makes an unsuccessful attempt to capture the port city of Aden, leading to heavy losses for the Portuguese forces.
March 27 – Juan Ponce de León becomes the first European definitively known to sight Florida, mistaking it for another island.
=== April–June ===
April 2 – Juan Ponce de León and his expedition become the first Europeans known to visit Florida.
May 25 – Giano II di Campofregoso resigns as Doge of the Republic of Genoa amid political plots restoring French influence.
May – Portuguese explorer Jorge Álvares and his crew land in China, becoming the first Europeans to reach the country.
June 6 – Italian Wars – The Battle of Novara sees Swiss mercenaries defeat French troops, forcing them to abandon Milan.
June 20 – Ottaviano Fregoso becomes the new Doge of the Republic of Genoa.
June 28 – Pope Leo X sends a letter to King James IV of Scotland threatening him with excommunication for breaking peace treaties with England.
=== July–September ===
July 22 – Christian II ascends as the King of Denmark and Norway.
August 16 – The Battle of Dubica occurs during the Hundred Years’ Croatian–Ottoman War, where Croatian troops defeat Ottoman forces.
September 9 – The Battle of Flodden results in the defeat and death of King James IV of Scotland, with significant casualties on both sides.
September 19 – Following the death of King James IV, the Lords of Council of the Realm meet and agree to rule in the name of James’s widow and son.
=== October–December ===
October 7 – The Battle of La Motta sees Spanish troops decisively defeat Venetian forces.
October 21 – The coronation of James V of Scotland takes place at Stirling Castle.
November 5 – Pope Leo X revives Sapienza University of Rome through the decree Dum suavissimos.
December 17 – The Canton of Appenzell joins the Swiss Confederacy.
== Notable Events ==
- Niccolò Machiavelli is suspected of attempting to overthrow the House of Medici, leading to his arrest and subsequent writing of The Prince.
- Leo Africanus visits Timbuktu, a key city in the Songhai Empire.
- Paracelsus begins studying at Ferrara University.
== Births ==
- February 14 – Domenico Ferrabosco, Italian composer (d. 1573)
- March 15 – Hedwig Jagiellon, Electress of Brandenburg (d. 1573)
- April 22 – Tachibana Dōsetsu, Japanese Daimyō (d. 1585)
- June 10 – Louis, Duke of Montpensier (d. 1582)
- August 3 – John, Margrave of Brandenburg-Küstrin (d. 1571)
- October 30 – Jacques Amyot, French writer (d. 1593)
- December 23 – Thomas Smith, English scholar and diplomat (d. 1577)
== Deaths ==
- January 20 – Helena of Moscow, Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania and queen consort of Poland (b. 1476)
- February 20 – King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455)
- February 21 – Pope Julius II (b. 1443)
- September 9 – King James IV of Scotland (b. 1473)