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The 1490s: 1490–1499

Stories set in the 1490s — top stories

1490–1499 · worldwide, all places

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Granada fell in January 1492, ending eight centuries of Muslim rule in Iberia, and Columbus sailed west that August under the Catholic Monarchs' flag. Italian armies marched under French banners from 1494, and Florence expelled the Medici while Savonarola preached bonfires of the vanities.

1492 put two worlds in permanent contact and ended another. Ridley Scott's 1492: Conquest of Paradise follows Columbus, and Radwa Ashour's Granada trilogy follows a Muslim family living through the fall of the city. Open the 1490s on the StoryTerra map and explore its stories by place.

Sets 1490–1499 automatically — all places

8 famous stories set in the 1490s

Live snapshot of the top 8 most popular catalogue items (2026-09-05). Click any card to open this entry on the live map.

Browse 15 books and 1 movie set in the 1490s (1490–1499).

1492: Conquest of Paradise

1492: Conquest of Paradise

Paramount-Gaumont-France 3 Cinéma-ABC Pictures-Due West-Cyrkfilms-Ministère de la culture-Spanish Ministry of Culture-Légende Films
movie

1492: Conquest of Paradise depicts Christopher Columbus’ discovery of The New World and his effect on the indigenous people.

Setting: Caribbean Islands; SpainTime Period: 1492
ثلاثية غرناطة

ثلاثية غرناطة

by رضوى عاشور, Radwa Ashour
book

ثلاثية غرناطة هي ثلاثية روائية تتكون من ثلاث روايات للكاتبة المصرية رضوى عاشور و هم على التوالي: غرناطة - مريمة - الرحيل.وتدور الأحداث في مملكة غرناطة بعد سقوط جميع الممالك الإسلامية في الأندلس، و تبدأ أحداث الثلاثية في…

Setting: ['الأندلس']Time Period: 1491; Fall of Granada
1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus

by Charles C. Mann
book

In this groundbreaking work of science, history, and archaeology, Charles C. Mann radically alters our understanding of the Americas before the arrival of Columbus in 1492.Contrary to what so many Americans learn in…

Setting: AmericasTime Period: 1491; Pre-Columbian Americas
The Birth of Venus

The Birth of Venus

by Sarah Dunant
book

Alessandra Cecchi is not quite fifteen when her father, a prosperous cloth merchant, brings a young painter back from northern Europe to decorate the chapel walls in the family’s Florentine palazzo. A child of the…

Setting: ['Italy', 'Florence (Italy)']Time Period: 1490s; Renaissance Florence
Prince of Foxes

Prince of Foxes

by Samuel Shellabarger
book

Set in Renaissance Italy, this classic of American popular fiction is the story of Andrea Orsini, a peasant boy who rises to perform delicate political, military and romantic missions for Cesare Borgia. When first…

Setting: ItalyTime Period: 1490
The Last Jew

The Last Jew

by Noah Gordon, Mirjana Cvekić (Translator), Ljiljana Cvekić (Translator)
book

In the year 1492, the Inquisition has all of Spain in its grip. After centuries of pogrom-like riots encouraged by the Church, the Jews - who have been an important part of Spanish life since the days of the Romans -…

Setting: ['Spain']Time Period: 1492; Spain in 1492
By Fire, By Water

By Fire, By Water

by Mitchell James Kaplan
book

Luis de Santángel, chancellor to the court and longtime friend of the lusty King Ferdinand, has had enough of the Spanish Inquisition. As the power of Inquisitor General Tomás de Torquemada grows, so does the brutality…

Setting: Spain; Granada, SpainTime Period: 1492
The Borgia Bride

The Borgia Bride

by Jeanne Kalogridis (Goodreads Author)
book

Vivacious Sancha of Aragon arrives in Rome newly wed to a member of the notorious Borgia dynasty. Surrounded by the city's opulence and political corruption, she befriends her glamorous and deceitful sister-in-law,…

Setting: ['Italy']Time Period: 1492; Borgia dynasty

The 8 stories above are just a sample of the 16 in the catalogue for this entry. For the live 1490–1499 catalogue, use the button above — or browse the whole 15th century. On the live map you can also filter by the exact time the stories take place — any year, decade or century, from BCE to the future.

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