Sonam Drakpa deposes Drakpa Changchub as ruler of Tibet.
The Ming dynasty of China annexes the areas of the old Kingdom of Dali, in modern-day Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, inhabited by the Miao and Yao peoples. Hundreds of thousands of Chinese (including military colonists) will migrate there from the rest of China.
In Ming dynasty China, the lijia census registration system begun in 1371 is now universally imposed, during the reign of the Hongwu Emperor. The census counts 59,873,305 people living in China in this year. This depicts a drastic drop in population since the Song dynasty, which counted 100 million people at its height in the early 12th century. A modern historian states that the Ming census is inaccurate, as China at around this time has at least 65,000,000 inhabitants, if not 75,000,000.[2]
Louis' daughter Mary is crowned the "King" of Hungary.
The Poles, who do not wish to be ruled by Mary's fiancee, the future Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, choose Mary's younger sister, Jadwiga, to become ruler of Poland. After two years of negotiations, Jadwiga is eventually crowned "King" in 1384.
Khan Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde overruns Muscovy, as punishment for Grand Prince Dmitry Donskoy's resistance to Khan Mamai of the Blue Horde in the 1370s. Dmitry Donskoy pledges his loyalty to Tokhtamysh, and is allowed to remain as ruler of Moscow and Vladimir.
Kęstutis, the Grand Duke of Lithuania, is taken prisoner by former Grand Duke Jogaila, whilst meeting him to hold negotiations. Kęstutis is subsequently murdered, and Jogaila regains the rule of Lithuania.
August 16 – The Hongwu Emperor of Ming China hears a case of a couple who tore paper money notes, while fighting over them. Under the law, this is considered to be destroying stamped government documents, which is to be punished by a caning with a bamboo rod of 100 strokes. However, the Emperor decides to pardon them, on the grounds that it was unintentional.
The Hongwu Emperor of China reinstates the Imperial examination system for drafting scholar-officials to the civil service, after suspending the system since 1373, in favor of a recommendation system to office.
The Hongwu Emperor of China's Ming dynasty relents after eighteen tribute missions over the previous eight years, and agrees to invest King U of Goryeo.
A period of interregnum begins in Achaea, lasting until 1396. The rule of Achaea is sought by numerous pretenders, none of whom can be considered to have reigned.
August 22 – Olaf, King of Norway and Denmark and claimant to the throne of Sweden, dies. The vacant thrones come under the regency of his mother Margaret I of Denmark, who will soon become queen in her own right.
Ramesuan is reinstated as King of Ayutthaya (modern-day southern Thailand), after dethroning and executing 17-year-old King Thong Lan.
Goryeo Revolution: General Yi Seong-gye begins a four year revolution in Goryeo (modern-day Korea), after being ordered by King U of Goryeo to attack the superior Chinese army. King U is forced from power, and replaced by his son Chang.
Tran Ngung overthrows Tran Hien as King of Vietnam.
Omar I is succeeded by Sa'id, as King of the Kanem-Bornu Empire (modern-day east Chad and Nigeria). Sa'id is succeeded in the same year by Kade Alunu. Omar and Sa'id are both killed by Bilala invaders from the west.
February 24 – Queen Margaret of Norway and Denmark defeats Albert, King of Sweden in battle and becomes ruler of all three kingdoms. Albert is deposed from the Swedish throne and taken prisoner.
May 3 – Richard II takes control of England, away from the Lords Appellant.
Goryeo Revolution in Korea (1388–1392): King Chang of Goryeo is forced from power and replaced by King Gongyang. The ten-year-old Chang and his predecessor, U, are both assassinated later in the year.
Hadji II is restored as Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, after overthrowing Sultan Barquq.
Biri II succeeds Kade Alunu as King of the Kanem-Bornu Empire (now eastern Chad and Nigeria), and the Empire loses its land in present-day Chad to the Bilala.
^"Fires, Great", in The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Connected with the Origin and Progress of Insurance, Cornelius Walford, ed. (C. and E. Layton, 1876) p27
^Barsoum, Ephrem (2003). The Scattered Pearls: A History of Syriac Literature and Sciences. Translated by Matti Moosa (2nd ed.). Gorgias Press. p. 495.
^Langlois, John D. Jr. (1998). "The Hung-wu reign, 1368–1398". The Cambridge History of China, Volume 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN0-521-24332-7.