The 17th century lasted from January 1,

1601 This Epoch (reference date)#Computing, epoch is the beginning of the 400-year Gregorian leap-year cycle within which digital files first existed; the last year of any such cycle is the only leap year whose year number is divisible by 100. Jan ...

(represented by the

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...

MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized by the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

cultural movement, the latter part of the

Spanish Golden Age The Spanish Golden Age (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Siglo de Oro'', , "Golden Century"; 1492 – 1681) was a period of literature and the The arts, arts in Spain that coincided with the political rise of the Spanish Empire under the Catholic M ...

, the

Dutch Golden Age The Dutch Golden Age ( ) was a period in the history of the Netherlands which roughly lasted from 1588, when the Dutch Republic was established, to 1672, when the '' Rampjaar'' occurred. During this period, Dutch trade, scientific development ...

, the French '' Grand Siècle'' dominated by

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

, the

Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of History of science, modern science during the early modern period, when developments in History of mathematics#Mathematics during the Scientific Revolution, mathemati ...

, the world's first public company and megacorporation known as the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

, and according to some historians,

the General Crisis The General Crisis is a term used by some historians to describe an alleged period of widespread regional conflict and instability that occurred from the early 17th century to the early 18th century in Europe, and in more recent historiography ...

. From the mid-17th century, European politics were increasingly dominated by the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the Middle Ages, medieval and Early modern France, early modern period. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe from th ...

, where royal power was solidified domestically in the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

the Fronde The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in the Kingdom of France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659), Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV c ...

. The semi-feudal territorial

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

was weakened and subjugated to the power of an absolute monarchy through the reinvention of the

Palace of Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

from a hunting lodge to a gilded prison, in which a greatly expanded royal court could be more easily kept under surveillance. With domestic peace assured, Louis XIV caused the borders of France to be expanded. It was during this century that the

English monarch The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...

became increasingly involved in conflicts with the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

- this would culminate in the English civil war and an end to the dominance of the English monarchy. Hendrick Avercamp - A Scene on the Ice - WGA01076

By the end of the century, Europeans were masters of

logarithm In mathematics, the logarithm of a number is the exponent by which another fixed value, the base, must be raised to produce that number. For example, the logarithm of to base is , because is to the rd power: . More generally, if , the ...

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...

, the

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

and

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory equipment, laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic ...

calculus Calculus is the mathematics, mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithmetic operations. Originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the ...

universal gravitation Newton's law of universal gravitation describes gravity as a force by stating that every particle attracts every other particle in the universe with a force that is Proportionality (mathematics)#Direct proportionality, proportional to the product ...

Newton's Laws of Motion Newton's laws of motion are three physical laws that describe the relationship between the motion of an object and the forces acting on it. These laws, which provide the basis for Newtonian mechanics, can be paraphrased as follows: # A body re ...

air pressure Atmospheric pressure, also known as air pressure or barometric pressure (after the barometer), is the pressure within the atmosphere of Earth. The Standard atmosphere (unit), standard atmosphere (symbol: atm) is a unit of pressure defined as , whi ...

, and

calculating machines A mechanical calculator, or calculating machine, is a mechanical device used to perform the basic operations of arithmetic automatically, or a simulation like an analog computer or a slide rule. Most mechanical calculators were comparable in si ...

due to the work of the first scientists of the

, including

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...

Johannes Kepler Johannes Kepler (27 December 1571 – 15 November 1630) was a German astronomer, mathematician, astrologer, Natural philosophy, natural philosopher and writer on music. He is a key figure in the 17th-century Scientific Revolution, best know ...

René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...

, Pierre Fermat,

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...

Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, Alchemy, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the foun ...

Christiaan Huygens Christiaan Huygens, Halen, Lord of Zeelhem, ( , ; ; also spelled Huyghens; ; 14 April 1629 – 8 July 1695) was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who is regarded as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution ...

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch art, science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " ...

Robert Hooke Robert Hooke (; 18 July 16353 March 1703) was an English polymath who was active as a physicist ("natural philosopher"), astronomer, geologist, meteorologist, and architect. He is credited as one of the first scientists to investigate living ...

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

, and

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (or Leibnitz; – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the creation of calculus in addition to ...

. It was also a period of development of culture in general (especially theater, music, visual arts and philosophy). Some of the greatest inventions took place in this century. It was during this period that the

European colonization of the Americas During the Age of Discovery, a large scale colonization of the Americas, involving a number of European countries, took place primarily between the late 15th century and the early 19th century. The Norse explored and colonized areas of Europe a ...

began in earnest, including the exploitation of the silver deposits, which resulted in bouts of inflation as wealth was drawn into Europe. Also during this period, there would be a more intense European presence in Southeast Asia and East Asia (such as the colonization of Taiwan). These foreign elements would contribute to a

revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

Ayutthaya Ayutthaya, Ayudhya, or Ayuthia may refer to: * Ayutthaya Kingdom, a Thai kingdom that existed from 1350 to 1767 ** Ayutthaya Historical Park, the ruins of the old capital city of the Ayutthaya Kingdom * Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province (locall ...

. While the

Mataram Sultanate The Sultanate of Mataram () was the last major independent Javanese people, Javanese kingdom on the island of Java (island), Java before it was Dutch Empire, colonised by the Dutch. It was the dominant political force radiating from the inte ...

and the

Aceh Sultanate The Sultanate of Aceh, officially the Kingdom of Aceh Darussalam (; Jawoë: ), was a sultanate centered in the modern-day Indonesian province of Aceh. It was a major regional power in the 16th and 17th centuries, before experiencing a long pe ...

would be the major powers of the region, especially during the first half of the century. In the

Islamic world The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...

, the gunpowder empires – the Ottoman,

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

, and Mughal – grew in strength as well. The southern half of India would see the decline of the

Deccan Sultanates The Deccan sultanates is a historiographical term referring to five late medieval to early modern Persianate Indian Muslim kingdoms on the Deccan Plateau between the Krishna River and the Vindhya Range. They were created from the disintegrati ...

and extinction of the

Vijayanagara Empire The Vijayanagara Empire, also known as the Karnata Kingdom, was a late medieval Hinduism, Hindu empire that ruled much of southern India. It was established in 1336 by the brothers Harihara I and Bukka Raya I of the Sangama dynasty, belongi ...

. The Dutch would colonize Ceylon and endure hostilities with

Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...

. The end of the 17th century saw the first major surrender of Ottoman territory in Europe when the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1699, in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by the Holy League at the Battle of Zenta, was signed in Karlowitz, in the Military Frontier of the Habsburg Monarchy (present-day ...

ceded most of Hungary to the

Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

in 1699. In Japan,

Tokugawa Ieyasu Tokugawa Ieyasu (born Matsudaira Takechiyo; 31 January 1543 – 1 June 1616) was the founder and first ''shōgun'' of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan, which ruled from 1603 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. He was the third of the three "Gr ...

established the

Tokugawa shogunate The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. The Tokugawa shogunate was established by Tokugawa Ieyasu after victory at the Battle of Sekigahara, ending the civil wars ...

at the beginning of the century, beginning the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

; the isolationist

Sakoku is the most common name for the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and almost all ...

policy began in the 1630s and lasted until the 19th century. In China, the collapsing

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

was challenged by a series of conquests led by the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic peoples, Tungusic East Asian people, East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized Ethnic minorities in China, ethnic minority in China and the people from wh ...

warlord

Nurhaci Nurhaci (14 May 1559 – 30 September 1626), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Qing, was the founding khan of the Jurchen people, Jurchen-led Later Jin (1616–1636), Later Jin dynasty. As the leader of the House of Aisin-Gi ...

, which were consolidated by his son

Hong Taiji Hong Taiji (28 November 1592 – 21 September 1643), also rendered as Huang Taiji and sometimes referred to as Abahai in Western literature, also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizong of Qing, was the second khan of the Later Jin ...

and finally consummated by his grandson, the

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizu of Qing, personal name Fulin, was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China pro ...

, founder of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

Qing China The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty ...

spent decades of this century with economic problems (results of civil wars between the Qing and former Ming dynasty loyalists), only recovering well at the end of the century. The greatest military conflicts of the century were the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

Dutch–Portuguese War The Dutch–Portuguese War (; ) was a global armed conflict involving Dutch forces, in the form of the Dutch East India Company, the Dutch West India Company, and their allies, against the Iberian Union, and after 1640, the Portuguese Empire. Beg ...

, the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

, the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

, Mughal–Safavid Wars, and the Qing annexation of the Ming.

Events

1601–1650

4th Spanish Armada The Fourth Spanish Armada, also known as the Last Armada, was a military expedition sent to Ireland that took place between August 1601 and March 1602 towards the end of Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604), Anglo-Spanish war. The armada – the fou ...

; in the

Battle of Kinsale The siege of Kinsale (), also known as the battle of Kinsale, was the ultimate battle in England's conquest of Gaelic Ireland, commencing in October 1601, near the end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and at the climax of the Nine Years' War� ...

, England defeats Irish and Spanish forces, driving the Gaelic aristocracy out of Ireland and destroying the Gaelic clan system. *

– 1603: The Russian famine of 1601–1603 kills perhaps one-third of Russia. * 1602:

Matteo Ricci Matteo Ricci (; ; 6 October 1552 – 11 May 1610) was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit China missions. He created the , a 1602 map of the world written in Chinese characters. In 2022, the Apostolic See decl ...

produces the Map of the Myriad Countries of the World (坤輿萬國全圖, ''Kūnyú Wànguó Quántú''), a world map that will be used throughout East Asia for centuries. * 1602: The

(VOC) is established by merging competing Dutch trading companies.Ricklefs (1991), page 28 Its success contributes to the

. * 1603:

Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

dies and is succeeded by her cousin King

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England. * 1603:

takes the title of ''

shōgun , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

'', establishing the

. This begins the

, which will last until 1868. * 1603: In

Nagasaki , officially , is the capital and the largest Cities of Japan, city of Nagasaki Prefecture on the island of Kyushu in Japan. Founded by the Portuguese, the port of Portuguese_Nagasaki, Nagasaki became the sole Nanban trade, port used for tr ...

, the Portuguese Jesuit missionary João Rodrigues publishes ''

Nippo Jisho The or Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam (''Vocabulário da Língua do Japão'' in modern Portuguese; "Vocabulary of the Language of Japan" in English) is a Japanese-to- Portuguese dictionary compiled by Jesuit missionaries and published in Naga ...

'', the first dictionary of Japanese to a European (Portuguese) language. * 1605: The King of Gowa, a Makassarese kingdom in

South Sulawesi South Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province in the South Peninsula, Sulawesi, southern peninsula of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Selayar Islands archipelago to the south of Sulawesi is also part of the province. The capital and largest ci ...

, converts to Islam. Tsar Mikhail I

* 1605– 1627: The reign of Mughal emperor

Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...

after the death of emperor

Akbar Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor expa ...

. *

1606 Events January–March * January 9 – The Black Nazarene, a statue, arrives in Manila from Mexico. * January 24 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators, for plotting against Parliament and James I o ...

: The

Long Turkish War The Long Turkish War (, ), Long War (; , ), or Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Holy Roman Empire (primarily the Habsburg monarchy) and the Ottoman Empire, primarily over the principalities of Wallachia, Transylvania, ...

between the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

is ended with the Peace of Zsitvatorok—Austria abandons

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

. *

: Treaty of Vienna ends an anti-Habsburg uprising in Royal Hungary. *

Willem Janszoon Willem Janszoon (; ) was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. He served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 1603–1611 and 1612–1616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of Solor. During his voyage of 1605–1606 ...

captained the first recorded European landing on the

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

continent, sailing from Bantam,

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

, in the ''

Duyfken ''Duyfken'' (; ), also in the form ''Duifje'' or spelled ''Duifken'' or ''Duijfken'', was a small ship built in the Dutch Republic. She was a fast, lightly armed ship probably intended for shallow water, small valuable cargoes, bringing messages ...

''. *

1607 Events January–March * January 13 – The Bank of Genoa fails. * January 19 – San Agustin Church, Manila, is officially completed; by the 21st century it will be the oldest church in the Philippines. * January 30 – ...

Flight of the Earls On 14 September ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 4 September1607, Irish earls Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, and Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, permanently departed Rathmullan in Ireland for mainland Europe, accompanied by their fa ...

(the fleeing of most of the native Gaelic

aristocracy Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocracy (class), aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense Economy, economic, Politics, political, and soc ...

) occurs from

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

in the west of

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

in Ireland. *

: Iskandar Muda becomes the Sultan of

Aceh Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...

for 30 years. He will launch a series of naval conquests that will transform Aceh into a great power in the western

Malay Archipelago The Malay Archipelago is the archipelago between Mainland Southeast Asia and Australia, and is also called Insulindia or the Indo-Australian Archipelago. The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of a Malay race, later based ...

. * 1610: The

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

army defeats combined Russian–Swedish forces at the Battle of Klushino and conquers Moscow. * 1610: King Henry IV of France is assassinated by François Ravaillac. * 1611: The Pontifical and Royal

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (UST; ), officially the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, The Catholic University of the Philippines or colloquially as ''Ustê'' (), is a Private university, private Catholic school, Catholic researc ...

, the oldest existing university in Asia, is established by the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

in ManilaHistory of UST
UST.edu.ph. Retrieved December 21, 2008. * 1611: The first publication of the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...

. * 1612: The first Cotswold Olympic Games, an annual public celebration of games and sports begins in the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds ( ) is a region of central South West England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper River Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and the Vale of Evesham. The area is defined by the bedroc ...

, England. * 1613: The

Time of Troubles The Time of Troubles (), also known as Smuta (), was a period of political crisis in Tsardom of Russia, Russia which began in 1598 with the death of Feodor I of Russia, Feodor I, the last of the Rurikids, House of Rurik, and ended in 1613 wit ...

in Russia ends with the establishment of the

House of Romanov The House of Romanov (also transliterated as Romanoff; , ) was the reigning dynasty, imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after Anastasia Romanovna married Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of all Russi ...

, which rules until 1917. * 1613–

1617 Events January–March * January 5 **Pocahontas and Tomocomo of the Powhatan Algonquian tribe, in the Virginia colony of America, meet King James I of England as his guests, at the Banqueting House at Whitehall. **'' The Mad L ...

is invaded by the

Tatars Tatars ( )Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...

dozens of times. John de Critz the Elder James I of England with a Red Curtain

* 1613: The

is forced to evacuate Gresik due to the Mataram siege in neighboring

Surabaya Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...

. The dutch negotiates with Mataram and is allowed to set up a trading post in

Jepara Jepara is a town in the province of Central Java, Indonesia. Jepara is on the north coast of Java, northeast of Semarang, not far from Mount Muria, with a population of 85,970 in mid 2024.Badan Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 28 February 2025, ''Kabup ...

. *

1614 Events January–March * January 22 – Led by Hasekura Tsunenaga, Japan's trade expedition to New Spain (now Mexico) arrives on the Mexican coast with 22 samurai, 120 Japanese merchants, sailors and servants, and 40 Spaniards and Port ...

– 1615: The

Siege of Osaka A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

(last major threat to

) ends. *

1616 Events January–March * January 1 – King James I of England attends the masque '' The Golden Age Restored'', a satire by Ben Jonson on fallen court favorite the Earl of Somerset. The king asks for a repeat performance on January 6. ...

: The last remaining

Morisco ''Moriscos'' (, ; ; "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Catholic Church and Habsburg Spain commanded to forcibly convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed Islam. Spain had a sizeable Mus ...

s (Moors who had nominally converted to Christianity) in Spain are expelled. *

: English poet and playwright

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

dies. * 1618: Defenestrations of Prague, The Defenestration of Prague. * 1618: The Bohemian Revolt precipitates the

, which devastates Europe in the years 1618–48. * 1618: The

s start invading China. Their Manchu conquest, conquest eventually topples the

. * 1619: European slaving reaches America when the first Africans are brought to the present-day United States. * 1619: The

storm Jakarta, Jayakarta and withstand a months-long siege by the combined East India Company, English, Banten Sultanate, Bantenese and Jayakartan forces. They are relieved by Jan Pieterszoon Coen and a fleet of ships from Ambon, Maluku, Ambon. The dutch destroys Jayakarta and builds its new headquarters, Jakarta, Batavia, on top of it. * 1620–1621: Polish–Ottoman War (1620–1621), Polish–Ottoman War over Moldavia. * 1620: Bethlen Gabor allies with the Ottomans and an invasion of Moldavia takes place. The Polish suffer a disaster at Cecora on the River Prut. * 1620: The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, England to what became the Plymouth Colony in New England. 1622 massacre jamestown de Bry

* 1621: The Battle of Khotyn (1621), Battle of Chocim: Poles and Cossacks under Jan Karol Chodkiewicz defeat the Ottomans. * 1622: Jamestown massacre: Algonquian peoples, Algonquian natives kill 347 English settlers outside Jamestown, Virginia (approximately one-third of the colony's population) and burn the Henricus settlement. * 1624–1642: As chief minister, Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Richelieu centralises power in France. * 1626: St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican completed. * 1627: Aurochs go extinct. * 1628–1629: Sultan Agung of Mataram launches a failed campaign to Siege of Batavia, conquer Dutch Batavia. * 1629: Abbas I of Persia, Abbas I, the Safavids king, died. * 1629: Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, Cardinal Richelieu allies with Swedish Protestant forces in the

to counter Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand II's expansion. * 1630: Birth of Shivaji at Shivneri Fort, Shivneri fort, in present day Maharashtra, India, who later founded Maratha Confederacy, Maratha Empire in year 1674. * 1631: Mount Vesuvius#Later eruptions from the 3rd to the 19th centuries, Mount Vesuvius erupts. * 1632: Battle of Lützen (1632), Battle of Lützen, death of king of Swedish Empire, Sweden Gustav II Adolf. * 1632: Taj Mahal building work started in Agra, India. * 1633:

arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. * 1633–1639: Japan transforms into Sakoku, "locked country". * 1634: Battle of Nördlingen (1634), Battle of Nördlingen results in Catholic victory. * 1636: Harvard University is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts. * 1637: Shimabara Rebellion of Japanese Christians, rōnin and peasants against Edo. * 1637: The first opera house, Teatro San Cassiano, opens in Venice. * 1637: Second Manchu invasion of Korea, Qing dynasty attacked the Joseon dynasty. * 1639: Naval Battle of the Downs – Republic of the United Provinces fleet decisively defeats a Spanish fleet in English waters. * 1639: Disagreements between the House of Farnese, Farnese and Barberini Pope Urban VIII escalate into the Wars of Castro and last until 1649. * 1639–1651: Wars of the Three Kingdoms, civil wars throughout Scotland, Ireland, and English Civil War, England. * 1640–1668: The Portuguese Restoration War led to the end of the Iberian Union. * 1641: The Irish Rebellion of 1641, Irish Rebellion, by Irish Catholics who wanted an end to discrimination, greater self-governance, and reverse ownership of the plantations of Ireland. * 1641:

publishes ''Meditationes de prima philosophia'' Meditations on First Philosophy. * 1642: Beginning of English Civil War, conflict will end in 1649 with the execution of Charles I of England, King Charles I, the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the supremacy of Parliament over the king. * 1643: L'incoronazione di Poppea, Claudio Monteverdi, Monterverdi * 1644: The

conquer China ending the

. The subsequent

rules until 1912. * 1644–1674: The Char Bouba war, Mauritanian Thirty-Year War. * 1645–1669: Ottoman war with Republic of Venice, Venice. The Ottomans invade Crete and capture Canea. * 1647–1652: The Great Plague of Seville. * 1648: The Peace of Westphalia ends the

and the Eighty Years' War and marks the ends of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire as major European powers. Europe map 1648

* 1648–1653: Fronde civil war in France. * 1648–1657: The Khmelnytsky Uprising – a Cossack rebellion in Ukraine which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from Poland. * 1648–1667: The Deluge (Polish history), The Deluge wars leave

in ruins. * 1648–1669: The Ottoman Empire, Ottomans capture Crete from the Republic of Venice, Venetians after the Siege of Candia. * 1649: Charles I of England, King Charles I is executed for high treason, the first and only English king to be subjected to legal proceedings in a High Court of Justice and put to death. * 1649–1653: The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland.

1651–1700

*1651: English Civil War ends with the Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester. * 1656–1661: Mehmed Köprülü is Grand Vizier. * 1655–1661: The Northern Wars cement Swedish Empire, Sweden's rise as a Rise of Sweden as a Great Power, Great Power. * 1657 : Sambhaji, the second King of Maratha Empire and eldest son of King Shivaji was born at Purandar Fort on 14 May. * 1658: After his father Shah Jahan completes the Taj Mahal, his son Aurangzeb deposes him as ruler of the Mughal Empire. * 1659: King Shivaji killed Adil Shahi dynasty, Adil Shahi dynasty's general Afzal Khan (general), Afzal Khan at Pratapgad Fort, Pratapgad fort on 9 November. * 1660: The Commonwealth of England ends and the monarchy is brought back during the English Restoration. * 1660: The Royal Society is founded. * 1660: The Bruneian Civil War begins * 1661: The reign of the Kangxi Emperor of China begins. * 1663: Ottoman–Habsburg wars, Ottoman war against Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867), Habsburg Hungary. * 1664: The Battle of Saint Gotthard (1664), Battle of St. Gotthard: count Raimondo Montecuccoli defeats the Ottomans. The Peace of Vasvar – intended to keep the peace for 20 years. * 1665: Maratha Empire, Maratha King Shivaji signed the Treaty of Purandar (1665), Treaty of Purandar with Mughal general Jai Singh I after Battle of Purandar. * 1665:

discovers cells using a microscope. * 1665: Portuguese Empire, Portugal defeats the Kongo Empire at the Battle of Mbwila. * 1665–1667: The Second Anglo-Dutch War fought between England and the Dutch Republic, United Provinces. * 1666: The Great Fire of London. * 1660s in archaeology, 1666: Shivaji visited Aurangzeb at Agra Fort and forced him into house arrest. Shivaji later escaped and returned to the Maratha Kingdom, Maratha kingdom. * 1667: The Raid on the Medway during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. * 1667–1668: The War of Devolution: France invades the Netherlands. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668), Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668) brings this to a halt. * 1667–1699: The

halts the

's expansion into Europe. * 1672–1673: Ottoman campaign to help the Ukrainian Cossacks. John Sobieski defeats the Ottomans at the second battle of Khotyn (1673). * 1672–1674: The Third Anglo-Dutch War fought between England and the Dutch Republic, United Provinces * 1672–1676: Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676), Polish–Ottoman War. 1680 van der Meulen Louis XIV bei Lobith anagoria

1680 van der Meulen Louis XIV bei Lobith anagoria

* 1672–1678: Franco-Dutch War. * 1673: The Bruneian Civil War ends with Muhyiddin of Brunei, Muhiyiddin winning the war. * 1674: Shivaji founded the Maratha Empire and crowned himself as first Chhatrapati, Chatrapati of the empire. * 1676–1681: Russia and the

commence the Russo-Turkish War (1676–1681), Russo-Turkish Wars. * 1678: The Treaty of Nijmegen ends various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sweden, Denmark, the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, and the Holy Roman Empire. Lasalle au Mississippi

* 1680: The Pueblo Revolt drives the Spanish out of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, New Mexico until 1692. * 1680: Prince Sambhaji crowned himself as the second ''Chhatrapati, Chatrapati'' of Maratha Empire 20 July. *1682: French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, Robert La Salle claims all the land east of the Mississippi River. * 1683: China conquers the Kingdom of Tungning and annexes Taiwan. * 1683: The Ottoman Empire is defeated in the second Battle of Vienna, Siege of Vienna. * 1683–1699: The

leads to the conquest of most of Ottoman Hungary by the Habsburgs. * 1687:

publishes ''Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica''. * 1688: The Siege of Derry, the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. * 1688: Siamese revolution of 1688 ousted French influence and virtually severed all ties with the West until the 19th century. * 1688–1689: The Glorious Revolution starts with the Dutch Republic invading England, England becomes a constitutional monarchy. * 1688–1691: Williamite War in Ireland, The War of the Two Kings in Ireland. * 1688–1697: The Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance sought to stop French expansion during the

. * 1689: The Battle of Killiecrankie is fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite and Williamite forces in Highland Perthshire. * 1689: The Karposh's rebellion, Karposh rebellion is crushed in present-day North Macedonia, Skopje is retaken by the Ottoman Turks. Karposh is killed, and the rebels are defeated. Atlas Van der Hagen-KW1049B10 050-De belegering van Wenen door de Turken in 1683

Atlas Van der Hagen-KW1049B10 050-De belegering van Wenen door de Turken in 1683

* 1689: Bill of Rights 1689, Bill of Rights gains royal consent. * 1689: John Locke publishes ''Two Treatises of Government'' and ''A Letter Concerning Toleration.'' * 1690: The Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. * 1692: Port Royal in Jamaica is struck by an earthquake and a tsunami. Approximately 2,000 people die and 2,300 are injured. * 1692–1694: Famine in France kills two million. * 1693: College of William & Mary is founded in Williamsburg, Virginia, by a royal charter. * 1694: The Bank of England is established. * 1695: The Mughal Empire nearly bans the East India Company in response to pirate Henry Every's capture of the trading ship ''Ganj-i-Sawai''. * 1696–1697: List of famines, Famine in Finland wipes out almost one-third of the population.Karen J. Cullen (2010). "
Famine in Scotland: The 'Ill Years' of the 1690s
'". Edinburgh University Press. p. 20. * 1697–1699: Grand Embassy of Peter the Great to Western Europe. * 1699: Thomas Savery demonstrates his first steam engine to the Royal Society.

Gallery

File:Albrecht Wallenstein.jpeg, Catholic general Albrecht von Wallenstein (1583–1634), Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the armies of the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor, Imperial Army during the Thirty Years' War, Thirty Years War File:Jan Pieterszoon Coen.jpg, Jan Pieterszoon Coen (1587–1629), the founder of Jakarta, Batavia, was an officer of the

(VOC), holding two terms as its Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies File:René Descartes i samtal med Sveriges drottning, Kristina.jpg,

(1596–1650) with Queen Christina of Sweden (1626–1689) File:Cardinal Mazarin by Pierre Mignard (Musée Condé).jpg, Cardinal Mazarin (1602–1661), who served as the Chief minister of France, chief minister to the kings of France Louis XIII and

File:Aurangzeb-portrait.jpg, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (1618–1707), who ruled over almost the entire Indian subcontinent for a period of 49 years File:Shivaji British Museum.jpg, Chhatrapati Shivaji (1630–1680) founder of Maratha Empire is widely regarded as one of the greatest Hindu rulers File:Portrait of the Kangxi Emperor in Court Dress.jpg, Kangxi Emperor (1661–1722) one of the most influential emperors of the

File:Tokugawa Ieyasu2.JPG, ''Shōgun''

was the founder of Japan's final shogunate, which lasted well into the 19th century

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Major changes in philosophy and science take place, often characterized as the

. * Banknotes reintroduced in Europe. * Ice cream. * Tea and Coffeehouse, coffee become popular in Europe. * Banking, Central Banking in France and Finance, modern Finance by Scottish economist John Law (economist), John Law. * Minarets, Jamé Mosque of Isfahan, Isfahan, Persia (Iran), are built. * 1604: Supernova SN 1604 is observed in the Milky Way. * 1605:

starts investigating Kepler's laws of planetary motion, elliptical orbits of planets. * 1605: Johann Carolus of Germany publishes the 'Relation', the first newspaper. * 1608: Refracting telescopes first appear. Dutch spectacle-maker Hans Lippershey tries to obtain a patent on one, spreading word of the invention. * 1610: The Orion Nebula is identified by Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc of France. * 1610:

and Simon Marius observe Jupiter's Galilean moons. * 1611: King James Version, King James Bible or 'Authorized Version' first published. * 1612: The first flintlock musket likely created for Louis XIII of France by gunsmith Marin Bourgeois. *

: John Napier introduces the

to simplify calculations. *

: Niccolò Zucchi describes experiments with a bronze parabolic reflector, parabolic mirror trying to make a reflecting telescope. * 1620: Cornelis Drebbel, funded by James I of England, builds the first 'submarine' made of wood and greased leather. * 1623: The third English dictionary, ''English Dictionarie'', is published by Henry Cockeram, listing difficult words with definitions. * 1628: William Harvey publishes and elucidates his earlier discovery of the Systemic circulation, circulatory system. * 1637: Dutch Bible published. * 1637: Teatro San Cassiano, the first public opera house, opened in Venice. * 1637: Pierre de Fermat formulates his so-called Fermat's Last Theorem, Last Theorem, unsolved until 1995. * 1637: Although Chinese naval mines were earlier described in the 14th century ''Huolongjing'', the ''Tian Gong Kai Wu'' book of

scholar Song Yingxing describes naval mines wrapped in a lacquer bag and ignited by an ambusher pulling a rip cord on the nearby shore that triggers a steel-wheel flint mechanism. * 1642:

invents the mechanical calculator called Pascal's calculator. * 1642: Mezzotint engraving introduces grey tones to printed images. * 1643: Evangelista Torricelli of Italy invents the mercury barometer. * 1645: Giacomo Torelli of Venice, Italy invents the first rotating stage. * 1651: Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Giovanni Riccioli renames the Lunar mare, lunar maria. * 1656:

describes the true shape of the rings of Saturn. * 1657:

develops the first functional pendulum clock based on the learnings of

. * 1659:

first to observe surface details of Mars. * 1662: Christopher Merret presents first paper on the production of sparkling wine. * 1663: James Gregory (astronomer and mathematician), James Gregory publishes designs for a reflecting telescope. * 1669: The first known operational reflecting telescope is built by

. * 1676:

discovers Bacteria. * 1676: First measurement of the speed of light. * 1679: Binary numeral system, Binary system developed by

. * 1684: Calculus independently developed by both Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Sir Isaac Newton and used to formulate classical mechanics.

References

External links

Vistorica
Timelines of 17th century events, science, culture and persons {{Authority control 17th century, 2nd millennium Centuries Early modern period

Events

1601–1650

1651–1700

Gallery

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

References

Further reading

Focus on Europe

External links