1421

Political and military events

In Europe the long-running struggles of the Hundred Years' War continued to shape diplomacy and warfare between England and France, while religious and social tensions fuelled the Hussite Wars in Bohemia that had begun in 1419. These conflicts reflected shifting balances of power between monarchs, nobles and emerging urban centers.

Ottoman succession and the Islamic world

The Ottoman realm experienced a dynastic transition in 1421 with the death of Sultan Mehmed I. His passing led to the accession of Murad II, a change that would affect Ottoman policy in the Balkans and Anatolia as the state continued to recover and expand after the civil strife of the previous decades.

Ming China and the move to Beijing

Under the Yongle Emperor the Ming dynasty completed major projects begun earlier in the reign. By 1421 the imperial court was effectively established in Beijing, consolidating the capital transfer from Nanjing and following the construction of the imperial palace complex that had been largely finished around this time.

Exploration and maritime developments

Portuguese-sponsored navigation along the Atlantic coast of Africa and the Atlantic islands continued under the influence of Prince Henry the Navigator. The early decades of the 15th century set the stage for later voyages of discovery that would reshape global trade and contact.

Notable births and deaths

• Births: Henry VI of England (born 6 December 1421), who would inherit the crown as an infant and rule during a turbulent phase of English history.
• Deaths: Mehmed I (died 1421), Ottoman sultan whose reign had reunited the Ottoman territories after the civil war of the earlier 15th century.

Significance: 1421 sits at a crossroads of medieval and early modern transformations. Political centralization in some states, persistent regional wars in others, and the beginnings of sustained Atlantic exploration together foreshadowed the major geopolitical shifts of the coming centuries.