Year 1557 (MDLVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June March – The Takeda clan besiege Katsurayama Castle in eastern Japan. The siege ends with the last stand of the castle garrison, and the complete destruction of Katsurayama, allowing the Takeda to further expand in Shinano Province. April 12 – The Spanish settlement of Cuenca, Ecuador, is founded. April 30 – Arauco War – Battle of Mataquito: Spanish forces of Governor Francisco de Villagra launch a dawn surprise attack against the Mapuche (headed by their toqui Lautaro), in present-day Chile. By June – The 1557 influenza pandemic has spread, probably from China, to Europe. June 7 – Mary I of England joins her husband Philip II of Spain, in his war against France. June 10 – The New Testament of the Geneva Bible, a Protestant Bible translation into English (produced under the supervision of William Whittingham, and printed in Roman type), is published in Geneva. July–December August 10 – Battle of St. Quentin: French forces under Marshal Anne de Montmorency are decisively defeated by the Spanish and English under Duke Emanuel Philibert of Savoy. Montmorency himself is captured, but Philip II refuses to press his advantage, and withdraws to the Netherlands. September 11–October 8 – The Colloquy of Worms convenes. October 23 – Mohammed al-Shaykh is assassinated. October 27 – Emperor Ōgimachi accedes to the throne of Japan. Date unknown Özdemir Pasha conquers the Red Sea port of Massawa for the Ottoman Empire. Cossack chieftain Dimitrash tries to take Azov. With the permission of the Ming dynasty government of China, and for the benefit of both Western and Eastern merchants, the Portuguese settle in Macau (retroceded in 1999). Direct Sino-Portuguese trade has existed since 1513, but this is the first official legal treaty port on traditional Chinese soil, that will form a long-term Western settlement. Spain becomes bankrupt, throwing the German banking houses into chaos. Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, is refounded by John Caius. The following schools are founded in England: Brentwood School, Essex, by Sir Antony Browne. Hampton School, Hampton, London, by Robert Hammond. Repton School, by Sir John Port. Welsh-born mathematician Robert Recorde publishes The Whetstone of Witte in London, containing the first recorded use of the equals sign and also the first use in English of plus and minus signs. German adventurer Hans Staden