1291

For broader historical context, see 1290s and 13th century.

Years: 1288 1289 1290 - 1291 - 1292 1293 1294
Decades: 1260s 1270s 1280s - 1290s - 1300s 1310s 1320s
Centuries: 12th century - 13th century - 14th century 1291 state leaders

Events

In the spring of this year, Vandino and Ugolino Vivaldi set sail from Genoa with the goal of reaching India; they never return.
May 10 - Scottish nobles recognize the authority of King Edward I of England in mediating resolution of the succession crisis created by the death of King Alexander III of Scotland five years prior.
Early August - The Swiss Confederation is formed by Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden, the "three forest cantons. A purported enacting document, the Federal Charter of 1291, is now widely believed to be a forgery.
Sancho IV of Castile captures Tarifa from the Moors.
The Habsburgs acquire the Swiss city of Lucerne.
Pope Nicholas IV confirms the independence of San Marino via papal bull.
All glassmakers in Venice are forced to moved to the island of Murano in order to contain the risk of fire, thus establishing the glass industry there.
Klenová castle is constructed in southern Bohemia as part of a frontier defense system.

June 17 - Mamluk Sultan of Egypt Khalil captures Acre, thus exterminating the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem — the final Christian landholding remaining from the Crusades — and ending the Ninth Crusade and effectively all Crusades by eliminating the possibility of further attacks on the Holy Land (see Siege of Acre (1291)).
Kaifeng is made capital of the Chinese Yuan Dynasty province of Henan.
The artificial Kunming Lake is constructed as a reservoir for Beijing in Yuan Dynasty China by famous engineer and astronomer Guo Shoujing.
Emperor Kameyama, emperor of Japan, establishes the Zen Buddhist temple of Nanzenji in Kyoto.