Timeline of the Ming dynasty
Year Date Event
1550 1 October Altan Khan pillages the suburbs of Beijing
1550 6 October Ming forces are defeated by Mongols
1550 Towns and villages in Zhejiang erect palisades in response to brigands
1551 Fishing boats are forbidden from going out to sea
1552 April Ming forces are defeated by Mongols north of Datong
1552 Jiajing wokou raids : Raiding parties attack the coast of Zhejiang
1552 The Jiajing Emperor selects 800 girls between the ages of 8 and 14 for palace service
1553 Jiajing wokou raids : Wang Zhi raids the coast of Zhejiang north of Taizhou
1554 spring Serious epidemics break out in Beijing
1554 March Jiajing wokou raids : Pirates kill the magistrate of Songjiang and occupy Chongming Island
1554 Luso-Chinese agreement ( 1554 ) : Leonel de Sousa bribes the vice-commissioner of maritime defense into letting the Portuguese stay at Macau for an annual payment of 500 taels and 20 percent imperial duty on half their products
1555 Jiajing wokou raids : Pirates attack Hangzhou
1555 May Jiajing wokou raids : Ming forces defeat a large raiding party north of Jiaxing
1555 The Jiajing Emperor selects 180 girls under the age of 10 for palace service
1556 January 1556 Shaanxi earthquake : An earthquake devastates Shaanxi , with over 800,000 reported dead
1556 Jiajing wokou raids : Pirates raid the entire coastline from Nanjing to Hangzhou
1556 The Jiajing Emperor asks the Ministry of Rites to find some magical plants to make him immortal
1557 May The three main audience halls in the Forbidden City are destroyed in a fire
1557 winter Sengge , son of Altan Khan , lays siege to a garrison near Datong
1558 April Jiajing wokou raids : Pirates raid Zhejiang and northern Fujian
16th century -- 1550s
This is a timeline of the Ming dynasty from the rise of the Hongwu Emperor to the rise and establishment of the Qing dynasty.