Events January–March January 1 – William Shakespeare's play, [[A Midsummer Night's Dream, copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester. January 7 – Shakespeare's play, Henry V, copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, presented by the Lord Chamberlain's Men for King James I of England. January 16 – The first part of Miguel de Cervantes' satire on the theme of chivalry, Don Quixote (El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha, "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha"), is published in Madrid. One of the first significant novels in the western literary tradition, it becomes a global bestseller almost at once. January 15 – Shakespeare's play, Love's Labour's Lost, copyrighted 1598, is given its earliest recorded performance, presented at the home of the Earl of Southampton for Queen Anne, wife of King James I of England. February 3 – An estimated 7.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Japan south of the island of Honshu, and triggers a tsunami that washes away hundreds of houses and kills thousands of people, February 10 – Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice is given its earliest recorded performance, presented by the King's Men Players at the Palace of Whitehall for King James I of England. A second performance is given on February 12, Shrove Tuesday, at the King's request. February 21 – Stephen Bocskai is elected Prince of Transylvania at the capital, Belugrad (now Alba Iulia in Romania. February 25 – Admiral Steven van der Hagen leads a fleet of ships for the Dutch East India Company and makes the first capture of land for the Netherlands in what will become the Dutch East Indies, and later Indonesia. Hagen's men capture the Portuguese citadel of Forte Amboino and the rest of Ambon Island, and make it the capital of the Dutch possessions in Asia. March 11 – A proclamation declares all people of Ireland to be the direct subjects of the British Crown and not of any local lord or chief. March 3 – Pope Clement VIII dies at the age of 69 after a reign of 13 years, prompting the assembling of cardinals to elect as successor. March 14 – The Roman Catholic cardinals' conclave to elect a successor to Pope Clement VIII opens in the Vatican at Rome, 11 days after Clement's death. Sixty-one of the 69 cardinals meet behind closed doors for the rest