Editing 1576 (section)

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 12]] &ndash; [[Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor|Maximilian II]], ruler of the  [[Holy Roman Empire]] and most of Central Europe since 1564, dies suddenly in [[Regensburg]] while preparing for an Imperial invasion of Poland. Maximilian's 24-year-old son [[Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor|Rudolf, King of the Romans]] as well as the King of Hungary and of Bohemia, proceeds to [[Vienna]] to assume the Imperial Throne. 
* [[October 20]] &ndash; Spanish rebels [[:nl:Spaanse Furie (Maastricht)|plunder the city of Maastricht]] in Flanders and kill many of the civilian residents in what is later called the "Spaanse Furie" or Fury of Spain.
* [[October 26]] &ndash; In Germany, [[Louis VI, Elector Palatine|Ludwig of Simmern]] becomes the new [[List of Counts Palatine of the Rhine|Elector Palatine of the Rhine]] 10 days after the death of his father, [[Frederick III, Elector Palatine|Frederick III]], taking office at the Palatinate capital at [[Heidelberg]] as Ludwig VI. 
* [[November 1]] &ndash; [[Rudolf II]] is crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Carmelo Peter Comberiati|title=Late Renaissance Music at the Habsburg Court: Polyphonic Settings of the Mass Ordinary at the Court of Rudolf II, 1576-1612|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mUSy358swX0C&pg=PA11|year=1987|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-2-88124-192-5|pages=11|language=en}}</ref>
* [[November 4]] &ndash; [[Eighty Years' War]] &ndash; [[Sack of Antwerp]]: In the [[Low Countries]], mutinous [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish]] soldiers sack [[Antwerp]]; after three days the city is nearly destroyed.
* [[November 8]] &ndash; [[Pacification of Ghent]]: The [[States General of the Netherlands]] meet and unite to oppose pillaging Spanish mutineers.
* [[November 9]] &ndash; Shah Ismail II of Iran begins the execution of all persons whom he believes are a threat to his rule, starting with his half-brothers [[Suleiman Mirza (son of Tahmasp I)|Suleiman Mirza]], Governor of Shiraz, and Mustafa Mirza. Over the next seven months, Ismail arranges the execution of six other half-brothers, Mustafa, Junayd, Mahmud, Qoli, Ahmad, and Murza. 
* [[December 6]] &ndash; Representatives of France's three estates convene at the [[Estates General of 1576]] in [[Blois]] at the invitation of [[Henry III of France|King Henri III]]. Of the 383 delegates, the 187 of the Third Estate (commoners) narrowly vote in favor of outlawing Protestantism and expelling Protestant pastors from the kingdom, while the 110 of the First Estate (clergy) and 86 of the Second Estate (the nobility) strongly oppose ending hostility in the name of religious tolerance.<ref name=Knecht>Robert Knecht, ''Catherine de' Medici'' (Routledge, 2014) p.187</ref>
* [[December 19]] &ndash; Representatives of the nobility of the Second Estate vote in favor of outlawing Protestantism in France.<ref name=Knecht/>
* [[December 22]] &ndash; Representatives of the clergy of the First Estate join the Second vote in favor of outlawing Protestantism.<ref name=Knecht/> By January, the Edict of Beaulieu fails and the [[Sixth War of Religion]] begins later in 1577.
* [[December]] &ndash; [[James Burbage]] opens the first permanent public [[Theater (building)|playhouse]] in Britain, ''[[The Theatre]]''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Alan|last2=Palmer |first2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=156–159|isbn=0-7126-5616-2}}</ref>