February 21 – Ming–Việt War: Hồ Nguyên Trừng, commander of the Vietnamese armada of 500 ships, launches a counterattack on invading Chinese ships on the Thai Binh River, but the Chinese forces use cannons to destroy the Viet fleet, killing as many as 10,000 of the defending forces.[2]
March 18 – Ming–Việt War: In Vietnam's Phung Hoa prefecture, the invading Chinese troops use a larger weapon, the da jiangjun chong cannon, to destroy more of the Viet ships.[2]
April 10 – After several invitations by the Yongle Emperor of China, the lama Deshin Shekpa, the fifth Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism, finally visits the Emperor at Nanjing, the Ming dynasty. In his 22-day visit, the Karmapa thrills the Ming court with alleged miracles that are recorded in a gigantic scroll, translated into five different languages. In a show of mystical prowess, Deshin Shekpa adds legitimacy to a questionable succession to the throne by Yongle, who had killed his nephew the Jianwen Emperor in the culmination of a civil war. For his services to the Ming court, including his handling of the ceremonial rites of Yongle's deceased parents, Deshin Shekpa is awarded the title Great Treasure Prince of Dharma (大寶法王).
May 4 – Ming–Việt War: A Vietnamese force of 70,000 troops attempts to stop the advance of the Chinese at the Hong River at the Ham Tu pass in what is now Vietnam's Hưng Yên province. With superior firepower, the Chinese kill over 10,000 Viet troops and capture hundreds of warships.[2]
May 30 – Ming–Việt War: In a last ditch effort to stop the Chinese invasion, the Vietnamese forces fight a final battle at Thanh Hóa, where the Emperor Hon Han Thuong had moved his capital. The Viet force loses 10,000 additional soldiers and the Vietnamese royal family flees during the retreat.[2]
October 5 – A group of high officials of the former Vietnamese government are put on trial before China's Yongle Emperor at Nanjing, and charged with treason for killing the previous Vietnamese ruler. Most of the prisoners are executed.[8]
October 20 – The English Parliament is opened at Gloucester after being summoned on August 26 by King Henry IV, and is marked by arguments between the House of Lords and the House of Commons over primacy and initiation of money bills.[9]
China's Yongle Emperor sends an order to Marquis Zhang Fu, who had recently conquered Vietnam and executed many of its officials, to avoid harming any innocent Vietnamese civilians.[11]
The English Parliament closes after having met for six weeks.
December – The Yongle Encyclopedia, until the 21st century the largest encyclopedia of history, is completed in China after four years of work by 2,169 scholars at the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial University.[12]
Date unknown
Rudolfo Belenzani leads a revolt against Bishop Georg von Liechtenstein in Trento, Bishopric of Trent.
^ abcdSun, Laichen (2006), "Chinese Gunpowder Technology and Đại Việt, ca. 1390–1497", in Reid, Anthony; Tran, Nhung Tuyet (eds.), Viet Nam: Borderless Histories, University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 79–83, ISBN978-1-316-44504-4
^Giuseppe Felloni, Amministrazione ed etica nella Casa di San Giorgio (1407-1805). Lo statuto del 1568 ("Administration and ethics in the House of San Giorgio (1407-1805): The statute of 1568"), (Firenze: Leo Olschki Press, 2014) p.3
^Chan, Hok-lam (2008), "The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-hsi, and Hsiian-te reigns, 1399 – 1435", in Twitchett, Denis Crispin; Fairbank, John K. (eds.), The Cambridge History of China: Volume 7, The Ming Dynasty, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 230
^Tsai, Shih-shan Henry (2011). Perpetual happiness: The Ming emperor Yongle. Seattle: University of Washington Press. p. 181. ISBN978-0-295-98109-3.
^H.G. Richardson and G. Sayles, Rotuli Parliamentorum , Volume II (Royal Historical Society, 1935), pp.608–610
^Chan, Hok-lam (1988). "The Chien-wen, Yung-lo, Hung-hsi, and Hsüan-te reigns". In Mote, Frederick W.; Twitchett, Denis C (eds.). The Cambridge History of China Volume 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 220. ISBN0521243327.