1602

Events 
 3 January – Battle of Kinsale  – the battle happened on 3 January 1602 according to the Gregorian Calendar used by the Irish and Spanish forces in the battle, although, for the English who were still using the old Julian Calendar, the date of the battle was 24 December 1601
 February 14 – William Shakespeare First performance of Twelfth Night  on Candlemas
 March 20 – The Dutch East India Company is established as The United East India Company by the Dutch States-General
 May 15 – Bartolomew Gosnold becomes the first European to discover Cape Cod.
 June – James Lancaster's East India Company fleet arrives at Achin (now Aceh), Sumatra to deal with the local ruler. Having defeated Portugal's ally, the ruler is happy to do business, and Lancaster seizes a large Portuguese Galleon and loots it.
 November 8 – The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford is opened to the public.
 December 11 – A surprise attack by forces under the command of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva. (This actually took place after midnight, in the early morning of December 12, but commemorations/celebrations on Fête de l'Escalade are usually held on December 11 or the closest weekend.)
Ben Jonson writes Poetaster
William Shakespeare writes The Merry Wives of Windsor
 Persia and Spain conclude a defensive alliance and declare war on the Ottoman Empire
 In Praque, Florian Mathias performs the first successful bowel surgery – removes a dagger from stomach
 Jesuit missionary Jeronimo de Angeluin arrives in Japan
 A private trading company is established in Copenhagen, with the monopoly on the trade with Iceland.