Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh, sent by the Nguyễn lord, organises the administration of Gia Định; the year is often taken as the founding of Saigon.
Jesuit missionary Alexandre de Rhodes publishes in Rome a Vietnamese–Portuguese–Latin dictionary, a milestone in the development of the Latin-based Vietnamese alphabet.
Nguyễn Du, author of The Tale of Kiều, is born.
Konbaung Burmese forces capture and destroy Ayutthaya, ending the Siamese kingdom after more than four centuries.
A protracted war between the Trịnh lords in the north and the Nguyễn lords in the south ends with the country divided at the Gianh River.
The brothers Nguyễn Nhạc, Nguyễn Huệ and Nguyễn Lữ rise in revolt at Tây Sơn (Bình Định), eventually overthrowing both the Nguyễn and Trịnh lords.
Jan Pieterszoon Coen of the Dutch East India Company seizes Jayakarta and founds Batavia (now Jakarta), the hub of Dutch power in Asia.