==Events and trends== 1541 Hernando de Soto is the first European to see the Mississippi River. 1542 The first contact of Japan with the West (Portugal). 1542 St. John of the Cross is born. 1543 The invasion of Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi is finally defeated by a joint Ethiopia-Portuguese force. 1547 Miguel de Cervantes (Alcalá de Henares), author of Don Quixote, is born on September 29th in Spain. 1549 Francis Xavier is the first Christian Missionary to visit Japan.… (More on 1540s)