==Events and trends== 1541 Hernando de Soto was the first known European to see the Mississippi River. 1542 The first known contact occurred between Japan and the West occurred, with Portuguese being the first Westerners to contact the Japanese. 1542 St. John of the Cross was born. 1542 Mary Queen of Scots's born. 1543 The invasion of Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi was defeated and thus halted by a joint Ethiopia-Portuguese force. 1547 Miguel de Cervantes (Alcalá de Henares), author of Don… (More on 1540s)