Year 1534 (MDXXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June January 15 – The Parliament of England passes the Act Respecting the Oath to the Succession, recognising the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, and their children as the legitimate heirs to the throne. February 23 – A group of Anabaptists, led by Jan Matthys, seize Münster, Westphalia and declare it The New Jerusalem, begin to exile dissenters, and forcibly baptize all others. c. March – The Portuguese crown divides Colonial Brazil into fifteen donatory captaincies. April 5 (Easter Sunday) – Anabaptist Jan Matthys is killed by the Landsknechte, who laid siege to Münster on the day he predicted as the Second Coming of Christ. His follower John of Leiden takes control of the city. April 7 – Sir Thomas More is confined in the Tower of London. May 10 – Jacques Cartier explores Newfoundland, while searching for the Northwest Passage. June 9 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the Gulf of St Lawrence. June 23 – Copenhagen opens its gates to Count Christopher of Oldenburg, leading the army of Lübeck (and the Hanseatic League), nominally in the interests of the deposed King Christian II of Denmark. The surrenders of Copenhagen and, a few days later, of Malmö represent the high point of the Count's War for the forces of the League. These victories presumably lead the Danish nobility to recognize Christian III as King on July 4. June 29 – Jacques Cartier discovers Prince Edward Island. July–December July 4 – The Election of Christian III, as King of Denmark, takes place in the town of Rye. July 7 – The first known exchange occurs between Europeans and natives of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in New Brunswick. August 15 – Ignatius of Loyola and six others take the vows that lead to the establishment of the Society of Jesus, in Montmartre (Paris). August 26 – Piero de Ponte becomes the 45th Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller. October 13 – Pope Paul III succeeds Pope Clement VII, as the 220th pope. October 18 – Huguenots post placards all over France attacking the Catholic Mass, provoking a violent sectarian reaction. November 3–December 18 – The English Reformation Parliament passes the Act of Supremacy, establishing Henry VIII as supreme head of the Church of England. December