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
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 19), where the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 11 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 17) ...
(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
Grand Siècle or Great Century refers to the period of French history during the 17th century, under the reigns of Louis XIII and Louis XIV.
The period was notable for its development of art and literature, along with the construction of the P ...
'' 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
Megacorporation, mega-corporation, or megacorp, a term originally coined by Alfred Eichner in his book ''The Megacorp and Oligopoly: Micro Foundations of Macro Dynamics'' but popularized by William Gibson,
derives from the combination of the pre ...
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 ...
of
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 ...
, 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 ...
of
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.

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 ...
s,
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
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 ...
, 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
Pierre de Fermat (; ; 17 August 1601 – 12 January 1665) was a French mathematician who is given credit for early developments that led to infinitesimal calculus, including his technique of adequality. In particular, he is recognized for his d ...
,
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 ...
in
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 gunpowder empires, or Islamic gunpowder empires, is a collective term coined by Marshall G. S. Hodgson and William H. McNeill at the University of Chicago, referring to three early modern Muslim empires: the Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire a ...
– 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
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
– 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
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
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
*
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 ...
:
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.
*
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 ...
–
1603
Events
January–March
* January 24 – Anglo-Spanish War: English Admiral Christopher Newport leads an unsuccessful attempt to take the Spanish-controlled Caribbean island of Jamaica, where he was attempting to pillage the area t ...
: The
Russian famine of 1601–1603
The Russian famine of 1601–1603, Russia's worst famine in terms of proportional effect on the population, killed perhaps two million people: about 30% of the Russian people. The famine compounded the Time of Troubles (1598–1613), when the Ts ...
kills perhaps one-third of Russia.
*
1602
Events January–March
* January 3 – Battle of Kinsale: The English defeat Irish rebels and their Spanish allies. (The battle happens on this date according to the Gregorian calendar used by the Irish and Spanish but on Thursday, 24 Dece ...
:
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
Events January–March
* January 3 – Battle of Kinsale: The English defeat Irish rebels and their Spanish allies. (The battle happens on this date according to the Gregorian calendar used by the Irish and Spanish but on Thursday, 24 Dece ...
: 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 ...
(VOC) is established by merging competing
Dutch
Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
** Dutch people as an ethnic group ()
** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship ()
** Dutch language ()
* In specific terms, i ...
trading companies.
[Ricklefs (1991), page 28] Its success contributes to 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 ...
.
*
1603
Events
January–March
* January 24 – Anglo-Spanish War: English Admiral Christopher Newport leads an unsuccessful attempt to take the Spanish-controlled Caribbean island of Jamaica, where he was attempting to pillage the area t ...
:
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
Events
January–March
* January 24 – Anglo-Spanish War: English Admiral Christopher Newport leads an unsuccessful attempt to take the Spanish-controlled Caribbean island of Jamaica, where he was attempting to pillage the area t ...
:
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 ...
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
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 ...
. This begins 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 ...
, which will last until 1868.
*
1603
Events
January–March
* January 24 – Anglo-Spanish War: English Admiral Christopher Newport leads an unsuccessful attempt to take the Spanish-controlled Caribbean island of Jamaica, where he was attempting to pillage the area t ...
: 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
Events
January–March
* January 1 – William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester.
* January 7 – Shakespeare's play ' ...
: The King of
Gowa
Gowa ('' Makassar language : '') is a regency in the province of South Sulawesi, Indonesia. It has an area of 1,883.33 km2 and a population of 652,329 at the 2010 census,Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. increasing to 765,836 at the 2020 ...
, 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.

*
1605
Events
January–March
* January 1 – William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester.
* January 7 – Shakespeare's play ' ...
–
1627
Events
January–March
* January 26 – The Dutch ship '' 't Gulden Zeepaert'', skippered by François Thijssen, makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia.
* February 15 – The administrative rura ...
: The reign of
Mughal
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
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
The Peace of Zsitvatorok (or Treaty of Sitvatorok) was a peace treaty which ended the 13-year Long Turkish War between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy on 11 November 1606. The treaty was part of a system of peace treaties which put a ...
—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 ...
.
*
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 ...
:
Treaty of Vienna ends an anti-Habsburg uprising in
Royal Hungary
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family or royalty
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Roy ...
.
*
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 ...
:
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 – ...
:
(the fleeing of most of the native
Gaelic
Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to:
Languages
* Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...
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.
*
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 – ...
:
Iskandar Muda
Iskandar Muda (1583? – 27 December 1636Yusra Habib Abdul Gani, accessed on 4 January 2007) was the twelfth Sultan of Acèh Darussalam, under whom the sultanate achieved its greatest territorial extent, holding sway as the strongest power ...
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
Some have suggested that 1610 may mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man', marking a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system, but earlier starting dates (ca. 1000 C.E.) have received broa ...
: 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
The Battle of Klushino, or the Battle of Kłuszyn, was fought on 4 July 1610, between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia during the Polish–Russian War, part of Russia's Time of Troubles. The battle occu ...
and conquers Moscow.
*
1610
Some have suggested that 1610 may mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man', marking a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system, but earlier starting dates (ca. 1000 C.E.) have received broa ...
:
King Henry IV of France
Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...
is assassinated by
François Ravaillac
François Ravaillac (; 1578 – 27 May 1610) was a French Catholic who assassinated King Henry IV of France in 1610.
Biography Early life and education
Ravaillac was born in 1578 at Angoulême to an educated family; his grandfather François ...
.
*
1611
Events
January–March
* January 26 – Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully is forced by Queen regent Marie's Regency Council to resign as chief minister of France. He is replaced by Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Vill ...
: 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 Manila
[History of UST](_blank)
UST.edu.ph. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
*
1611
Events
January–March
* January 26 – Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully is forced by Queen regent Marie's Regency Council to resign as chief minister of France. He is replaced by Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Vill ...
: 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
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Axel Oxenstierna becomes Lord High Chancellor of Sweden. He persuades the Riksdag of the Estates to grant the Swedish nobility the right and privilege to hold all higher offices of governme ...
: The first
Cotswold Olympic Games
The Cotswold Olimpick Games is an annual public celebration of games and sports now held on the Friday after Spring Bank Holiday near Chipping Campden, in the Cotswolds of England. The games likely began in 1612 and ran (through a period of dis ...
, 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
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Workers in a sandpit in the Dauphiné region of France discover the skeleton of what is alleged to be a 30-foot tall man (the remains, it is supposed, of the giant Teutobochus, a legendar ...
: 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
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Workers in a sandpit in the Dauphiné region of France discover the skeleton of what is alleged to be a 30-foot tall man (the remains, it is supposed, of the giant Teutobochus, a legendar ...
–
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 ...
:
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 ...
is invaded by the
Tatars
Tatars ( )[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary are a group of Turkic peoples across Eas ...
dozens of times.

*
1613
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Workers in a sandpit in the Dauphiné region of France discover the skeleton of what is alleged to be a 30-foot tall man (the remains, it is supposed, of the giant Teutobochus, a legendar ...
: 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 ...
is forced to evacuate
Gresik
Gresik Regency ( older spelling: Grissee, ) is a regency within East Java Province of Indonesia. As well as a large part of the northern and western suburbs of the city of Surabaya, it includes the offshore Bawean Island, some 125 km to the ...
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
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The New Netherland Company is granted a three-year monopoly in North American trade, between the 40th and 45th parallels.
* January 30 – Japan's diplomatic mission to Europe, led b ...
: 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
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 ...
) 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.
*
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. ...
: 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
Events
January–March
* January 6
** Jahangir, ruler of the Mughal Empire in northern India, gives an audience for the first time to a representative of the British East India Company, receiving Sir Thomas Roe at the capital at ...
:
The Defenestration of Prague.
*
1618
Events
January–March
* January 6
** Jahangir, ruler of the Mughal Empire in northern India, gives an audience for the first time to a representative of the British East India Company, receiving Sir Thomas Roe at the capital at ...
: The
Bohemian Revolt
The Bohemian Revolt (; ; 1618–1620) was an uprising of the Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian Estates of the realm, estates against the rule of the Habsburg dynasty that began the Thirty Years' War. It was caused by both religious and power dispu ...
precipitates 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 ...
, which devastates Europe in the years 1618–48.
*
1618
Events
January–March
* January 6
** Jahangir, ruler of the Mughal Empire in northern India, gives an audience for the first time to a representative of the British East India Company, receiving Sir Thomas Roe at the capital at ...
: 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 ...
s start invading China. Their
conquest
Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...
eventually topples the
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 ...
.
*
1619
Events
January– March
* January 12 – James I of England's Banqueting House, Whitehall in London is destroyed by fire."Fires, Great", in ''The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Co ...
: European slaving reaches America when the first Africans are brought to the present-day United States.
*
1619
Events
January– March
* January 12 – James I of England's Banqueting House, Whitehall in London is destroyed by fire."Fires, Great", in ''The Insurance Cyclopeadia: Being an Historical Treasury of Events and Circumstances Co ...
: 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 ...
storm
Jayakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and an autonomous region at the provincial leve ...
and withstand a months-long siege by the combined
English,
Bantenese and Jayakartan forces. They are relieved by
Jan Pieterszoon Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (; 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was a Dutch naval officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of ...
and a fleet of ships from
Ambon. The dutch destroys
Jayakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and an autonomous region at the provincial leve ...
and builds its new headquarters,
Batavia, on top of it.
*
1620
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Ben Jonson's play ''News from the New World Discovered in the Moon'' is given its first performance, a presentation to King James I of England. In addition to dialogue about actual observ ...
–
1621
Events
January–March
* January 12 – Şehzade Mehmed, the 15-year old half-brother of Ottoman Sultan Osman II, is put to death by hanging on Osman's orders. Before dying, Mehmed prays aloud that Osman's reign as Sultan be r ...
:
Polish–Ottoman War over
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
.
*
1620
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Ben Jonson's play ''News from the New World Discovered in the Moon'' is given its first performance, a presentation to King James I of England. In addition to dialogue about actual observ ...
:
Bethlen Gabor
Gabriel Bethlen (; 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of the whole kingdom. Bethlen, sup ...
allies with the Ottomans and an invasion of
Moldavia
Moldavia (, or ; in Romanian Cyrillic alphabet, Romanian Cyrillic: or ) is a historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester River. An initially in ...
takes place. The Polish suffer a disaster at
Cecora on the River
Prut
The Prut (also spelled in English as Pruth; , ) is a river in Eastern Europe. It is a left tributary of the Danube, and is long. Part of its course forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine.
Characteristics
The Prut originates on the eas ...
.
*
1620
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Ben Jonson's play ''News from the New World Discovered in the Moon'' is given its first performance, a presentation to King James I of England. In addition to dialogue about actual observ ...
: The
Mayflower
''Mayflower'' was an English sailing ship that transported a group of English families, known today as the Pilgrims, from England to the New World in 1620. After 10 weeks at sea, ''Mayflower'', with 102 passengers and a crew of about 30, reac ...
sets sail from
Plymouth, England
Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...
to what became the
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...
in
New England
New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
.

*
1621
Events
January–March
* January 12 – Şehzade Mehmed, the 15-year old half-brother of Ottoman Sultan Osman II, is put to death by hanging on Osman's orders. Before dying, Mehmed prays aloud that Osman's reign as Sultan be r ...
: The
Battle of Chocim: Poles and
Cossacks
The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic languages, East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borde ...
under
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz
Jan Karol Chodkiewicz (; 1561 – 24 September 1621) was a Polish–Lithuanian identity, Polish–Lithuanian military commander of the Grand Ducal Lithuanian Army, who was from 1601 Field Hetman of Lithuania, and from 1605 Grand Hetman of Lit ...
defeat the Ottomans.
*
1622
Events
January–May
* January 7 – The Holy Roman Empire and Transylvania sign the Peace of Nikolsburg.
* February 8 – King James I of England dissolves the Parliament of England, English Parliament.
* March 12 – ...
:
Jamestown massacre:
Algonquian natives kill 347 English settlers outside
Jamestown, Virginia
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent British colonization of the Americas, English settlement in the Americas. It was located on the northeast bank of the James River, about southwest of present-day Willia ...
(approximately one-third of the colony's population) and burn the
Henricus
The "Citie of Henricus"—also known as Henricopolis, Henrico Town or Henrico—was a settlement in Virginia founded by Sir Thomas Dale in 1611 as an alternative to the swampy and dangerous area around the original English settlement at James ...
settlement.
*
1624
Events
January–March
* January 14 – After 90 years of Ottoman occupation, Baghdad is recaptured by the Safavid Empire.
* January 22 – Korean General Yi Gwal leads an uprising of 12,000 soldiers against King Injo i ...
–
1642
Events
January–March
* January 4 – King Charles I of England, accompanied by soldiers, arrives at a session of the Long Parliament and attempts to arrest his chief opponents, the Five Members, John Hampden, Arthur Haselri ...
: As chief minister,
Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
centralises power in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
*
1626
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Polish–Swedish War (1625–1629), Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army.
* January 9 – Peter Minuit sail ...
:
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...
in the Vatican completed.
*
1627
Events
January–March
* January 26 – The Dutch ship '' 't Gulden Zeepaert'', skippered by François Thijssen, makes the first recorded sighting of the coast of South Australia.
* February 15 – The administrative rura ...
:
Aurochs
The aurochs (''Bos primigenius''; or ; pl.: aurochs or aurochsen) is an extinct species of Bovini, bovine, considered to be the wild ancestor of modern domestic cattle. With a shoulder height of up to in bulls and in cows, it was one of t ...
go extinct.
*
1628
Events
January–March
* January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 Islamic calendar, A.H.) The reign of Shahryar Mirza, Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than tw ...
–
1629
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Henry Frederick, Hereditary Prince of the Palatinate, the 15-year-old son of the German Palatinate elector, Frederick V of the Palatinate, Frederick V, drowns in an accident while sailing ...
:
Sultan Agung
Sultan Agung Adi Prabu Anyakrakusuma (; 1593 – 1654), commonly known as Sultan Agung, was the third Sultan of Mataram in Central Java ruling from 1613 to 1645. He was a skilled soldier who conquered neighbouring states and expanded and cons ...
of
Mataram launches a failed campaign to
conquer Dutch Batavia.
*
1629
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Henry Frederick, Hereditary Prince of the Palatinate, the 15-year-old son of the German Palatinate elector, Frederick V of the Palatinate, Frederick V, drowns in an accident while sailing ...
:
Abbas I, the
Safavids
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 ...
king, died.
*
1629
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Henry Frederick, Hereditary Prince of the Palatinate, the 15-year-old son of the German Palatinate elector, Frederick V of the Palatinate, Frederick V, drowns in an accident while sailing ...
:
Cardinal Richelieu
Armand Jean du Plessis, 1st Duke of Richelieu (9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a Catholic Church in France, French Catholic prelate and statesman who had an outsized influence in civil and religi ...
allies with Swedish Protestant forces in 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 ...
to counter
Ferdinand II's expansion.
*
1630
Events
January–March
* January 2 – A shoemaker in Turin is found to have the first case of bubonic plague there as the plague of 1630 begins spreading through Italy.
* January 5 – A team of Portuguese military advisers ...
: Birth of
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
at
Shivneri fort
Shivneri Fort (''known as Killa'') (Marathi pronunciation: �iʋneɾiː is an ancient military fortification located near Junnar in Pune district in Maharashtra, India. It is the birthplace of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of Maratha ...
, in present day Maharashtra, India, who later founded
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
in year 1674.
*
1631
Events
January–March
* January 23 – Thirty Years' War: Sweden and France sign the Treaty of Bärwalde, a military alliance in which France provides funds for the Swedish army invading northern Germany.
* February 5 &ndas ...
:
Mount Vesuvius erupts.
*
1632
Events
January–March
* January 8 – University of Amsterdam is established at the site of the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam.
* January 31 – The dissection of a body for the benefit of medical students is carried o ...
:
Battle of Lützen, death of king of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
Gustav II Adolf
Gustavus Adolphus (9 December N.S 19 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 19 December15946 November Old Style and New Style dates">N.S 16 November] 1632), also known in English as ...
.
*
1632
Events
January–March
* January 8 – University of Amsterdam is established at the site of the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam.
* January 31 – The dissection of a body for the benefit of medical students is carried o ...
:
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
building work started in
Agra, India
Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...
.
*
1633
Events
January–March
* January 20 – Galileo Galilei, having been summoned to Rome on orders of Pope Urban VIII, leaves for Florence for his journey. His carriage is halted at Ponte a Centino at the border of Tuscany, wher ...
:
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 ...
arrives in Rome for his trial before the
Inquisition
The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...
.
*
1633
Events
January–March
* January 20 – Galileo Galilei, having been summoned to Rome on orders of Pope Urban VIII, leaves for Florence for his journey. His carriage is halted at Ponte a Centino at the border of Tuscany, wher ...
–
1639
Events
January–March
* January 19 – Hämeenlinna () is granted privileges, after it separates from the Vanaja parish, as its own city in Tavastia.
*c. January – The first printing press in British North America is ...
: Japan transforms into
"locked country".
*
1634
Events
January–March
* January 12 – After suspecting that he will be dismissed, Albrecht von Wallenstein, supreme commander of the Holy Roman Empire's Army, demands that his colonels sign a declaration of personal loyalty ...
:
Battle of Nördlingen results in Catholic victory.
*
1636
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Anthony van Diemen takes office as Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and will serve until his death in 1645.
* January 18 – ''The Duke's Mistress'', the las ...
:
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
*
1637
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy '' Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France.
* January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in the modern-day Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...
:
Shimabara Rebellion
The , also known as the or , was an rebellion, uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638.
Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpo ...
of Japanese Christians,
rōnin
In feudal Japan to early modern Japan (1185–1868), a ''rōnin'' ( ; , , 'drifter' or 'wandering man', ) was a samurai who had no lord or master and in some cases, had also severed all links with his family or clan. A samurai became a ''rō ...
and peasants against Edo.
*
1637
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy '' Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France.
* January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in the modern-day Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...
: The first opera house,
Teatro San Cassiano The Teatro San Cassiano (or Teatro di San Cassiano and other variants) was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637 in Venice. The first mention of its construction dates back to 1581. The name with which it is best known co ...
, opens in Venice.
*
1637
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy '' Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France.
* January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in the modern-day Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...
:
Qing dynasty attacked the Joseon dynasty.
*
1639
Events
January–March
* January 19 – Hämeenlinna () is granted privileges, after it separates from the Vanaja parish, as its own city in Tavastia.
*c. January – The first printing press in British North America is ...
: Naval
Battle of the Downs
The Battle of the Downs took place on 21 October 1639 (New Style), during the Eighty Years' War. A Spanish fleet, commanded by Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, was decisively defeated by a Dutch force under Lieutenant-Admiral Maarten Tromp. ...
–
Republic of the United Provinces
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherland ...
fleet decisively defeats a Spanish fleet in English waters.
*
1639
Events
January–March
* January 19 – Hämeenlinna () is granted privileges, after it separates from the Vanaja parish, as its own city in Tavastia.
*c. January – The first printing press in British North America is ...
: Disagreements between the
Farnese and
Barberini
The House of Barberini is a family of the Italian nobility that rose to prominence in the 17th century Rome. Their influence peaked with the election of Cardinal Maffeo Barberini to the papal throne in 1623, as Pope Urban VIII. Their urban pal ...
Pope Urban VIII
Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...
escalate into the
Wars of Castro
The Wars of Castro were a series of conflicts during the mid-17th century revolving around the ancient city of Castro (located in present-day Lazio, Italy), which eventually resulted in the city's destruction on 2 September 1649. The conflict ...
and last until 1649.
*
1639
Events
January–March
* January 19 – Hämeenlinna () is granted privileges, after it separates from the Vanaja parish, as its own city in Tavastia.
*c. January – The first printing press in British North America is ...
–
1651
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Charles II is crowned King of Scots at Scone ( his first crowning).
* January 24 – Parliament of Boroa in Chile: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet at Boroa, renewing the fragile ...
:
Wars of the Three Kingdoms
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities in a personal union un ...
, civil wars throughout Scotland, Ireland, and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
*
1640
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Siege of Salses ends almost six months after it had started on June 9, 1639, with the French defenders surrendering to the Spanish attackers.
* January 17 – A naval battle over ...
–
1668: The
Portuguese Restoration War
The Restoration War (), historically known as the Acclamation War (''Guerra da Aclamação''), was the war between Portugal and Spain that began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a forma ...
led to the end of the
Iberian Union
The Iberian Union is a historiographical term used to describe the period in which the Habsburg Spain, Monarchy of Spain under Habsburg dynasty, until then the personal union of the crowns of Crown of Castile, Castile and Crown of Aragon, Aragon ...
.
*
1641
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The stratovolcano Mount Parker (Philippines), Mount Parker in the Philippines has a major eruption.
* January 14 – Battle of Malacca (1641), The Battle of Malacca concludes with the D ...
: The
Irish Rebellion, by Irish Catholics who wanted an end to discrimination, greater self-governance, and reverse ownership of the
plantations of Ireland
Plantation (settlement or colony), Plantations in 16th- and 17th-century Ireland () involved the confiscation of Irish-owned land by the Kingdom of England, English The Crown, Crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from Great Br ...
.
*
1641
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The stratovolcano Mount Parker (Philippines), Mount Parker in the Philippines has a major eruption.
* January 14 – Battle of Malacca (1641), The Battle of Malacca concludes with the D ...
:
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 ...
publishes ''Meditationes de prima philosophia''
Meditations on First Philosophy
''Meditations on First Philosophy, in which the existence of God and the immortality of the soul are demonstrated'' (), often called simply the ''Meditations'', is a philosophical treatise by René Descartes first published in Latin in 1641. T ...
.
*
1642
Events
January–March
* January 4 – King Charles I of England, accompanied by soldiers, arrives at a session of the Long Parliament and attempts to arrest his chief opponents, the Five Members, John Hampden, Arthur Haselri ...
: Beginning of
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
, conflict will end in 1649 with the execution of
King Charles I, the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of the supremacy of Parliament over the king.
*
1643
Events
January–March
* January 21 – Abel Tasman sights the island of Tonga.
* February 6
**(17 Dhu al-Qadah 1052 AH) In India, the first ceremony at the nearly-complete Taj Mahal in Agra, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan ob ...
:
L'incoronazione di Poppea
''L'incoronazione di Poppea'' (Stattkus-Verzeichnis, SV 308, ''The Coronation of Poppaea'') is an Italian List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi, opera by Claudio Monteverdi. It was Monteverdi's last opera, with a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Buse ...
,
Monterverdi
*
1644
It is one of eight years (CE) to contain each Roman numeral once (1000(M)+500(D)+100(C)+(-10(X)+50(L))+(-1(I)+5(V)) = 1644).
Events
January–March
* January 22 – The Royalist Oxford Parliament is first assembled by King Cha ...
: 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 ...
conquer China ending the
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 ...
. The subsequent
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 ...
rules until 1912.
*
1644
It is one of eight years (CE) to contain each Roman numeral once (1000(M)+500(D)+100(C)+(-10(X)+50(L))+(-1(I)+5(V)) = 1644).
Events
January–March
* January 22 – The Royalist Oxford Parliament is first assembled by King Cha ...
–
1674
Events January–March
* January 2 – The French West India Company is dissolved after less than 10 years.
* January 7 – In the Chinese Empire, General Wu Sangui leads troops into the Giuzhou province, and soon takes cont ...
: The
Mauritanian Thirty-Year War.
*
1645
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The Long Parliament adopts the ''Directory for Public Worship'' in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, replacing the Book of Common Prayer ( 1559). Holy Days (other than Sundays) are not ...
–
1669
Events January–March
* January 2 – Pirate Henry Morgan of Wales holds a meeting of his captains on board his ship, the former Royal Navy frigate ''Oxford'', and an explosion in the ship's gunpowder supply kills 200 of his crew a ...
: Ottoman war with
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. The Ottomans invade
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
and capture
Canea.
*
1647
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Chinese bandit leader Zhang Xianzhong, who has ruled the Sichuan province since 1644, is killed at Xichong County, Xichong by a Qing archer, after having been betrayed by one of his officer ...
–
1652
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Michiel de Ruyter marries the widow Anna van Gelder and plans retirement, but months later becomes a vice-commodore in the First Anglo-Dutch War.
* February 4 – At Edinburgh, the parl ...
: The
Great Plague of Seville.
*
1648
The year 1648 has been suggested as possibly the last time in which the overall human population declined, coming towards the end of a broader period of global instability which included the collapse of the Ming dynasty and the Thirty Year ...
: The
Peace of Westphalia
The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy Roman Empire ...
ends 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 ...
and the
Eighty Years' War
The Eighty Years' War or Dutch Revolt (; 1566/1568–1648) was an armed conflict in the Habsburg Netherlands between disparate groups of rebels and the Spanish Empire, Spanish government. The Origins of the Eighty Years' War, causes of the w ...
and marks the ends of
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
as major European powers.

*
1648
The year 1648 has been suggested as possibly the last time in which the overall human population declined, coming towards the end of a broader period of global instability which included the collapse of the Ming dynasty and the Thirty Year ...
–
1653
Events
January–March
* January 3 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
* January – The Swiss Peasant War begins after magistrates meeting at Lucern ...
:
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, which had begun in 1635. The government of the young King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition ...
civil war in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
*
1648
The year 1648 has been suggested as possibly the last time in which the overall human population declined, coming towards the end of a broader period of global instability which included the collapse of the Ming dynasty and the Thirty Year ...
–
1657
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Miles Sindercombe and his group of disaffected Levellers are betrayed in their attempt to assassinate Oliver Cromwell by blowing up the Palace of Whitehall in London and are arrested.
* Ja ...
: The
Khmelnytsky Uprising
The Khmelnytsky Uprising, also known as the Cossack–Polish War, Khmelnytsky insurrection, or the National Liberation War, was a Cossack uprisings, Cossack rebellion that took place between 1648 and 1657 in the eastern territories of the Poli ...
– a Cossack rebellion in
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
which turned into a Ukrainian war of liberation from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
.
*
1648
The year 1648 has been suggested as possibly the last time in which the overall human population declined, coming towards the end of a broader period of global instability which included the collapse of the Ming dynasty and the Thirty Year ...
–
1667
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's derelic ...
:
The Deluge wars leave
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 ...
in ruins.
*
1648
The year 1648 has been suggested as possibly the last time in which the overall human population declined, coming towards the end of a broader period of global instability which included the collapse of the Ming dynasty and the Thirty Year ...
–
1669
Events January–March
* January 2 – Pirate Henry Morgan of Wales holds a meeting of his captains on board his ship, the former Royal Navy frigate ''Oxford'', and an explosion in the ship's gunpowder supply kills 200 of his crew a ...
: The
Ottomans
Ottoman may refer to:
* Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire
* Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II"
* Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...
capture
Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
from the
Venetians after the
Siege of Candia
The siege of Candia (now Heraklion, Crete) was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled capital city of the Kingdom of Candia. It lasted from 1648 to 1669 (a total of 21 years) and is one of the longest sieges in ...
.
*
1649
Events
January–March
* January 4 – In England, the Rump Parliament passes an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice, to try Charles I for high treason.
* January 17 – The Second Ormonde Peace concludes an allian ...
:
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
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal (England and Wales), Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Courts of England and Wales, Senior Cour ...
and put to death.
*
1649
Events
January–March
* January 4 – In England, the Rump Parliament passes an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice, to try Charles I for high treason.
* January 17 – The Second Ormonde Peace concludes an allian ...
–
1653
Events
January–March
* January 3 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
* January – The Swiss Peasant War begins after magistrates meeting at Lucern ...
: The
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...
.
1651–1700
*
1651
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Charles II is crowned King of Scots at Scone ( his first crowning).
* January 24 – Parliament of Boroa in Chile: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet at Boroa, renewing the fragile ...
:
English Civil War
The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
ends with the Parliamentarian victory at the
Battle of Worcester
The Battle of Worcester took place on 3 September 1651 in and around the city of Worcester, England and was the last major battle of the 1642 to 1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. A Parliamentarian army of around 28,000 under Oliver Cromwell def ...
.
*
1656
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The First War of Villmergen, a civil war in the Old Swiss Confederacy, Confederation of Switzerland pitting its Protestant and Roman Catholic Swiss canton, cantons against each other, breaks o ...
–
1661
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Fifth Monarchists, led by Thomas Venner, unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London; George Monck's regiment defeats them.
* January 29 – The Rokeby baronets, a Br ...
:
Mehmed Köprülü is
Grand Vizier
Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
.
*
1655
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Emperor Go-Sai ascends to the throne of Japan.
* January 7 – Pope Innocent X, leader of the Roman Catholic Church and the Papal States, dies after more than 10 years of rule.
* Febr ...
–
1661
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Fifth Monarchists, led by Thomas Venner, unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London; George Monck's regiment defeats them.
* January 29 – The Rokeby baronets, a Br ...
: The
Northern Wars
"Northern Wars" is a term used for a series of wars fought in northern Europe, northern and northeastern Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, primarily between the territorial rivals of the Swedish Empire, Tsardom of Russia, Poland–Lithuani ...
cement
Sweden's rise as a
Great Power
A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power ...
.
*
1657
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Miles Sindercombe and his group of disaffected Levellers are betrayed in their attempt to assassinate Oliver Cromwell by blowing up the Palace of Whitehall in London and are arrested.
* Ja ...
:
Sambhaji
Sambhaji (Sambhajiraje Shivajiraje Bhonsle, ; 14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689), also known as Shambhuraje, ruled from 1681 to 1689 as the second king ( Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Empire, a prominent state in early modern India. He was the elde ...
, the second King of Maratha Empire and eldest son of King Shivaji was born at
Purandar Fort
Purandar Fort is a mountain fort in Pune district in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra, India. The fort stands at above sea level in the Western Ghats, to the southeast of Pune.Survey of India - Scale 1:50K Map sheet number 47F/15
The ...
on 14 May.
*
1658
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Edward Sexby, who had plotted against Oliver Cromwell, dies in the Tower of London.
* January 30 – The " March Across the Belts" (''Tåget över Bält''), Sweden's use of winter w ...
: After his father
Shah Jahan
Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...
completes the
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal ( ; ; ) is an ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was commissioned in 1631 by the fifth Mughal Empire, Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his belo ...
, his son
Aurangzeb
Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
deposes him as ruler of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
.
*
1659
Events
January–March
* January 14 – In the Battle of the Lines of Elvas, fought near the small city of Elvas in Portugal during the Portuguese Restoration War, the Spanish Army under the command of Luis Méndez de Haro s ...
: King
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
killed
Adil Shahi dynasty's general
Afzal Khan at
Pratapgad fort
Pratapgad is a mountain fort located in Satara district, in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra. The fort is situated 24 kilometres from the Mahabaleshwar hill station. The fort is now a popular tourist destination.
The fort's historical ...
on 9 November.
*
1660
Events
January–March
* January 1
** At daybreak, English Army Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops from his Scottish occupational force, fords the River Tweed at Coldstream in Scotland to cross the Anglo-Scottish ...
: The
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when Kingdom of England, England and Wales, later along with Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, were governed as a republi ...
ends and the monarchy is brought back during the
English Restoration
The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...
.
*
1660
Events
January–March
* January 1
** At daybreak, English Army Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops from his Scottish occupational force, fords the River Tweed at Coldstream in Scotland to cross the Anglo-Scottish ...
: The
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
is founded.
*
1660
Events
January–March
* January 1
** At daybreak, English Army Colonel George Monck, with two brigades of troops from his Scottish occupational force, fords the River Tweed at Coldstream in Scotland to cross the Anglo-Scottish ...
: The
Bruneian Civil War
The Bruneian Civil War ( and in ) was a civil war in the Bruneian Sultanate (1368–1888), Bruneian Sultanate from 1660 to 1673 between Abdul Hakkul Mubin and Muhyiddin of Brunei, Muhyiddin. During Sultan Muhammad Ali (Brunei), Muhammad Ali's r ...
begins
*
1661
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Fifth Monarchists, led by Thomas Venner, unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London; George Monck's regiment defeats them.
* January 29 – The Rokeby baronets, a Br ...
: The reign of the
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...
of China begins.
*
1663
Events
January–March
* January 10 – The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter by Charles II of England.
* January 23 – The Treaty of Ghilajharighat is signed in India between representatives of the Mughal ...
:
Ottoman war against
Habsburg Hungary.
*
1664
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Battle of Surat in India: The Maratha leader, Chhatrapati Shivaji, defeats the Mughal Army Captain Inayat Khan, and sacks Surat.
* January 7 – Indian entrepreneur Virji Vora, desc ...
: The
Battle of St. Gotthard: count
Raimondo Montecuccoli
Raimondo Montecuccoli (; 21 February 1609 – 16 October 1680) was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy.
Experiencing the Thirty Years' War from scratch as a simple footsoldier, ...
defeats the Ottomans. The
Peace of Vasvar
Peace is a state of harmony in the absence of hostility and violence, and everything that discusses achieving human welfare through justice and peaceful conditions. In a societal sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such a ...
– intended to keep the peace for 20 years.
*
1665
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The ''Journal des sçavans'' begins publication of the first scientific journal in France.
* February 15 – Molière's comedy '' Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre'', based on the Spanis ...
:
Maratha
The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...
King
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
signed the
Treaty of Purandar with Mughal general
Jai Singh I
Mirza Raja Jai Singh I (15 July 1611 – 28 August 1667) was the senior most general ("Mirza (noble), Mirza Raja") and a high-ranking mansabdar at the imperial court of Mughal Empire as well as the Kachhwaha Rajput ruler of the Jaipur State, Ki ...
after
Battle of Purandar
The Battle of Purandar was fought between the Mughal Empire and the Marathas in 1665.
Background
The Mughal Emperor, Aurangzeb, appointed Jai Singh to lead a 12,000-man army against Maratha king Shivaji. Shaista Khan and Muazzam were both re ...
.
*
1665
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The ''Journal des sçavans'' begins publication of the first scientific journal in France.
* February 15 – Molière's comedy '' Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre'', based on the Spanis ...
:
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 ...
discovers cells using a microscope.
*
1665
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The ''Journal des sçavans'' begins publication of the first scientific journal in France.
* February 15 – Molière's comedy '' Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre'', based on the Spanis ...
:
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
defeats the
Kongo Empire
The Kingdom of Kongo ( or ''Wene wa Kongo;'' ) was a kingdom in Central Africa. It was located in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Gabon and the Republic of the Congo. At its gre ...
at the
Battle of Mbwila
Battle of Mbwila (also the Battle of Ambuila, Battle of Mbuila, or Battle of Ulanga) occurred on 29 October 1665 in which Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king António I of Kongo, also called Nv ...
.
*
1665
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The ''Journal des sçavans'' begins publication of the first scientific journal in France.
* February 15 – Molière's comedy '' Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre'', based on the Spanis ...
–
1667
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's derelic ...
: The
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...
fought between
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and the
United Provinces.
*
1666
This is the first year to be designated as an ''Annus mirabilis'', in John Dryden's 1667 Annus Mirabilis (poem), poem so titled, celebrating Kingdom of England, England's failure to be beaten either by the Dutch or by fire.
Events
Januar ...
: The
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...
.
*
1666
This is the first year to be designated as an ''Annus mirabilis'', in John Dryden's 1667 Annus Mirabilis (poem), poem so titled, celebrating Kingdom of England, England's failure to be beaten either by the Dutch or by fire.
Events
Januar ...
:
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
visited
Aurangzeb
Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
at
Agra Fort
The Agra Fort (''Qila Agra'') is a historical Mughal fort in the city of Agra, also known as Agra's Red Fort. Mughal emperor Humayun was crowned at this fort in 1530. It was later renovated by the Mughal emperor Akbar from 1565 and the presen ...
and forced him into house arrest. Shivaji later escaped and returned to the
Maratha kingdom
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent Maratha states under the nominal leadership of the former.
...
.
*
1667
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's derelic ...
: The
Raid on the Medway
The Raid on the Medway, during the Second Anglo-Dutch War in June 1667, was a successful attack conducted by the Dutch navy on English warships laid up in the fleet anchorages off Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham in the county of Kent. At th ...
during the
Second Anglo-Dutch War
The Second Anglo-Dutch War, began on 4 March 1665, and concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Breda (1667), Treaty of Breda on 31 July 1667. It was one in a series of Anglo-Dutch Wars, naval wars between Kingdom of England, England and the D ...
.
*
1667
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's derelic ...
–
1668: The
War of Devolution
The War of Devolution took place from May 1667 to May 1668. In the course of the war, Kingdom of France, France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and County of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire ...
: France invades the Netherlands. The
Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668) brings this to a halt.
*
1667
Events
January–March
* January 11 – Aurangzeb, monarch of the Mughal Empire, orders the removal of Rao Karan Singh as Maharaja of the Bikaner State (part of the modern-day Rajasthan state of India) because of Karan's derelic ...
–
1699: 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 ...
halts 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 ...
's expansion into Europe.
*
1672
Events
January–March
* January 2 – After the government of England is unable to pay the nation's debts, Charles II of England, King Charles II decrees the Stop of the Exchequer, the suspension of payments for one year "up ...
–
1673
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Impersonator Mary Carleton is hanging, hanged at Newgate Prison in London, for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation.
* February 10 – Molière's ''comédie-ballet ...
: Ottoman campaign to help the
Ukrainian Cossacks
The Zaporozhian Cossacks (in Latin ''Cossacorum Zaporoviensis''), also known as the Zaporozhian Cossack Army or the Zaporozhian Host (), were Cossacks who lived beyond (that is, downstream from) the Dnieper Rapids. Along with Registered Cossa ...
.
John Sobieski
John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696.
Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...
defeats the Ottomans at the second
battle of Khotyn (1673)
The Battle of Khotyn or Battle of Chocim, also known as the Hotin War, took place on 11 November 1673 in Khotyn, where the forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth under the Hetmans of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Grand Hetman ...
.
*
1672
Events
January–March
* January 2 – After the government of England is unable to pay the nation's debts, Charles II of England, King Charles II decrees the Stop of the Exchequer, the suspension of payments for one year "up ...
–
1674
Events January–March
* January 2 – The French West India Company is dissolved after less than 10 years.
* January 7 – In the Chinese Empire, General Wu Sangui leads troops into the Giuzhou province, and soon takes cont ...
: The
Third Anglo-Dutch War
The Third Anglo-Dutch War, began on 27 March 1672, and concluded on 19 February 1674. A naval conflict between the Dutch Republic and England, in alliance with France, it is considered a related conflict of the wider 1672 to 1678 Franco-Dutch W ...
fought between
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
and the
United Provinces
*
1672
Events
January–March
* January 2 – After the government of England is unable to pay the nation's debts, Charles II of England, King Charles II decrees the Stop of the Exchequer, the suspension of payments for one year "up ...
–
1676
Events
January–March
* January 29 – Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
* January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is f ...
:
Polish–Ottoman War.

*
1672
Events
January–March
* January 2 – After the government of England is unable to pay the nation's debts, Charles II of England, King Charles II decrees the Stop of the Exchequer, the suspension of payments for one year "up ...
–
1678
Events
January–March
* January 10 – England and the Dutch Republic sign a mutual defense treaty in order to fight against France.
* January 27 – The first fire engine company in North America goes into service in Boston. ...
:
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...
.
*
1673
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Impersonator Mary Carleton is hanging, hanged at Newgate Prison in London, for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation.
* February 10 – Molière's ''comédie-ballet ...
: The
Bruneian Civil War
The Bruneian Civil War ( and in ) was a civil war in the Bruneian Sultanate (1368–1888), Bruneian Sultanate from 1660 to 1673 between Abdul Hakkul Mubin and Muhyiddin of Brunei, Muhyiddin. During Sultan Muhammad Ali (Brunei), Muhammad Ali's r ...
ends with
Muhiyiddin winning the war.
*
1674
Events January–March
* January 2 – The French West India Company is dissolved after less than 10 years.
* January 7 – In the Chinese Empire, General Wu Sangui leads troops into the Giuzhou province, and soon takes cont ...
:
Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
founded the
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
and crowned himself as first
Chatrapati of the empire.
*
1676
Events
January–March
* January 29 – Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
* January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is f ...
–
1681
Events January–March
* January 1 – Prince Muhammad Akbar, son of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, initiates a civil war in India. With the support of troops from the Rajput states, Akbar declares himself the new Mughal Emperor ...
: Russia and 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 ...
commence the
Russo-Turkish Wars
The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...
.
*
1678
Events
January–March
* January 10 – England and the Dutch Republic sign a mutual defense treaty in order to fight against France.
* January 27 – The first fire engine company in North America goes into service in Boston. ...
: The
Treaty of Nijmegen
The Treaties or Peace of Nijmegen (; ; ) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sw ...
ends various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sweden, Denmark, the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, and the Holy Roman Empire.

*
1680
Events
January–March
* January 2 – King Amangkurat II of Mataram (located on the island of Java, part of modern-day Indonesia), invites Trunajaya, who had led a failed rebellion against him until his surrender on Decem ...
: The
Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé, Popé's Rebellion or Po'pay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the Indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger t ...
drives the Spanish out of
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...
until 1692.
*
1680
Events
January–March
* January 2 – King Amangkurat II of Mataram (located on the island of Java, part of modern-day Indonesia), invites Trunajaya, who had led a failed rebellion against him until his surrender on Decem ...
: Prince
Sambhaji
Sambhaji (Sambhajiraje Shivajiraje Bhonsle, ; 14 May 1657 – 11 March 1689), also known as Shambhuraje, ruled from 1681 to 1689 as the second king ( Chhatrapati) of the Maratha Empire, a prominent state in early modern India. He was the elde ...
crowned himself as the second ''
Chatrapati'' of
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
20 July.
*
1682
Events
January–March
* January 7 – The Republic of Genoa forbids the unauthorized printing of newspapers and all handwritten newssheets; the ban is lifted after three months.
* January 12 – Scottish minister James Ren ...
: French explorer
Robert La Salle
The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
claims all the land east of the Mississippi River.
*
1683
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The Brandenburger-African Company, of the German state of Brandenburg, signs a treaty with representatives of the Ahanta tribe (in modern-day Ghana), to establish the fort and settlement ...
:
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
conquers the
Kingdom of Tungning
The Kingdom of Tungning, also known as Tywan, was a dynastic maritime state that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan and the Penghu islands between 1661 and 1683. It is the first predominantly ethnic Han state in Taiwanese history. At its z ...
and annexes
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...
.
*
1683
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The Brandenburger-African Company, of the German state of Brandenburg, signs a treaty with representatives of the Ahanta tribe (in modern-day Ghana), to establish the fort and settlement ...
: The Ottoman Empire is defeated in the second
Siege of Vienna.
*
1683
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The Brandenburger-African Company, of the German state of Brandenburg, signs a treaty with representatives of the Ahanta tribe (in modern-day Ghana), to establish the fort and settlement ...
–
1699: 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 ...
leads to the conquest of most of
Ottoman Hungary
Ottoman Hungary () encompassed the parts of the Kingdom of Hungary which were under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from the occupation of Buda in 1541 until the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. The territory was incorporated into the empire, under ...
by the Habsburgs.
*
1687
Events
January–March
* January 3 – With the end of latest of the Savoyard–Waldensian wars in the Duchy of Savoy between the Savoyard government and Protestant Italians known as the Waldensians, Victor Amadeus III, Duke o ...
:
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 ...
publishes ''
Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, value, mind, and language. It is a rational and critical inquiry that reflects on ...
''.
*
1688
Events January–March
* January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Ocota ...
: The
Siege of Derry
The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by an attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates. Thi ...
, the first major event in the
Williamite War in Ireland
The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...
.
*
1688
Events January–March
* January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Ocota ...
:
Siamese revolution of 1688
The Siamese revolution of 1688 was a major popular uprising in the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom (modern Thailand) which led to the overthrow of the pro-French Siamese king Narai. Phetracha, previously one of Narai's trusted military advisors, took a ...
ousted French influence and virtually severed all ties with the West until the 19th century.
*
1688
Events January–March
* January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Ocota ...
–
1689
Events
Notable events during this year include:
* Coup, war, and legislation in England and its territories.
** The overthrow of Catholic king James of England, Ireland, and Scotland in the Glorious Revolution.
** The latter realms ente ...
: The
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
starts with the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
invading England, England becomes a
constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...
.
*
1688
Events January–March
* January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Ocota ...
–
1691
Events
January–March
* January 6 – King William III of England, who rules Scotland and Ireland as well as being the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, departs from Margate to tend to the affairs of the Netherlands.
* January 14 – ...
:
The War of the Two Kings in Ireland.
*
1688
Events January–March
* January 2 – Fleeing from the Spanish Navy, French pirate Raveneau de Lussan and his 70 men arrive on the west coast of Nicaragua, sink their boats, and make a difficult 10 day march to the city of Ocota ...
–
1697
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Thomas Aikenhead is hanged outside Edinburgh, becoming the last person in Great Britain to be executed for blasphemy.
* January 11 – French writer Charles Perrault releases the book '' Histoires ...
: The
Grand Alliance sought to stop French expansion during 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 ...
.
*
1689
Events
Notable events during this year include:
* Coup, war, and legislation in England and its territories.
** The overthrow of Catholic king James of England, Ireland, and Scotland in the Glorious Revolution.
** The latter realms ente ...
: The
Battle of Killiecrankie
The Battle of Killiecrankie, also known as the Battle of Rinrory, took place on 27 July 1689 during the Jacobite rising of 1689, 1689 Scottish Jacobite rising. An outnumbered Jacobitism, Jacobite force under Ewan Cameron of Lochiel, Sir Ewen Ca ...
is fought between
Jacobite and
Williamite
A Williamite was a follower of King William III of England (r. 1689–1702) who deposed King James II and VII in the Glorious Revolution. William, the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, replaced James with the support of English Whigs.
On ...
forces in Highland
Perthshire
Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
.
*
1689
Events
Notable events during this year include:
* Coup, war, and legislation in England and its territories.
** The overthrow of Catholic king James of England, Ireland, and Scotland in the Glorious Revolution.
** The latter realms ente ...
: The
Karposh rebellion is crushed in present-day
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
, Skopje is retaken by the Ottoman Turks. Karposh is killed, and the rebels are defeated.

*
1689
Events
Notable events during this year include:
* Coup, war, and legislation in England and its territories.
** The overthrow of Catholic king James of England, Ireland, and Scotland in the Glorious Revolution.
** The latter realms ente ...
:
Bill of Rights
A bill of rights, sometimes called a declaration of rights or a charter of rights, is a list of the most important rights to the citizens of a country. The purpose is to protect those rights against infringement from public officials and pri ...
gains royal consent.
*
1689
Events
Notable events during this year include:
* Coup, war, and legislation in England and its territories.
** The overthrow of Catholic king James of England, Ireland, and Scotland in the Glorious Revolution.
** The latter realms ente ...
:
John Locke
John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...
publishes ''
Two Treatises of Government
''Two Treatises of Government'' (full title: ''Two Treatises of Government: In the Former, The False Principles, and Foundation of Sir Robert Filmer, and His Followers, Are Detected and Overthrown. The Latter Is an Essay Concerning The True O ...
'' and ''
A Letter Concerning Toleration.''
*
1690
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbian rebels and Austrian troops in battle at Kaçanik Gorge, prompting more than 30,000 Serb refugees to flee northward from Kosovo, Macedonia and Sandžak to the Au ...
: The
Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...
in Ireland.
*
1692
Events
January–March
* January 24 – At least 75 residents of what is now York, Maine are killed in the Raid on York (1692), Candlemas Massacre, carried out by French soldiers led by missionary Louis-Pierre Thury, along with a ...
:
Port Royal
Port Royal () was a town located at the end of the Palisadoes, at the mouth of Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1494 by the Spanish, it was once the largest and most prosperous city in the Caribbean, functioning as the cen ...
in Jamaica is struck by an earthquake and a tsunami. Approximately 2,000 people die and 2,300 are injured.
*
1692
Events
January–March
* January 24 – At least 75 residents of what is now York, Maine are killed in the Raid on York (1692), Candlemas Massacre, carried out by French soldiers led by missionary Louis-Pierre Thury, along with a ...
–
1694: Famine in France kills two million.
*
1693
Events
January–March
* January 11 – The Mount Etna volcano erupts in Italy, causing a devastating earthquake that kills 60,000 people in Sicily and Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Sout ...
:
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public university, public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III of England, William III and Queen ...
is founded in
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...
, by a royal charter.
*
1694: The
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...
is established.
*
1695
Events
January–March
* January 7 (December 28, 1694 O.S.) – The United Kingdom's last joint monarchy, the reign of husband-and-wife King William III and Queen Mary II comes to an end with the death of Queen Mary, at the age of 3 ...
: The
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...
nearly bans the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
in response to pirate
Henry Every
Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery (20 August 1659Disappeared: June 1696), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used s ...
's capture of the trading ship ''
Ganj-i-Sawai
The ''Ganj-i-Sawai'' ( Persian/ Hindustani:''Ganj-i-Sawai'', in English "Exceeding Treasure", often anglicized as ''Gunsway'') was an armed Ghanjah dhow (trading ship) belonging to the Mughals. During Aurangzeb's reign, it was captured on ...
''.
*
1696
Events
January–March
* January 21 – The Recoinage Act, passed by the Parliament of England to pull counterfeit silver coins out of circulation, becomes law.James E. Thorold Rogers, ''The First Nine Years of the Bank of E ...
–
1697
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Thomas Aikenhead is hanged outside Edinburgh, becoming the last person in Great Britain to be executed for blasphemy.
* January 11 – French writer Charles Perrault releases the book '' Histoires ...
:
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...
in
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
wipes out almost one-third of the population.
[Karen J. Cullen (2010). "]
Famine in Scotland: The 'Ill Years' of the 1690s
'". Edinburgh University Press
Edinburgh University Press is a scholarly publisher of academic books and journals, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.
History
Edinburgh University Press was founded in the 1940s and became a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of Edinburgh ...
. p. 20.
*
1697
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Thomas Aikenhead is hanged outside Edinburgh, becoming the last person in Great Britain to be executed for blasphemy.
* January 11 – French writer Charles Perrault releases the book '' Histoires ...
–
1699:
Grand Embassy of Peter the Great
The Grand Embassy () was a Russian diplomatic mission to Western Europe from 9 March 1697 to 25 August 1698 led by Peter the Great.
Description
In 1697 and 1698, Peter the Great embarked on his Grand Embassy. The primary goal of the mission wa ...
to Western Europe.
*
1699:
Thomas Savery
Thomas Savery (; c. 1650 – 15 May 1715) was an English inventor and engineer. He invented the first commercially used steam-powered device, a steam pump which is often referred to as the "Savery engine". Savery's steam pump was a revolutiona ...
demonstrates his first
steam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...
to the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
.
Gallery
File:Albrecht Wallenstein.jpeg, Catholic general Albrecht von Wallenstein
Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein, Duke of Friedland (; 24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein (), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Thirty Years' War (1618–16 ...
(1583–1634), supreme commander of the armies of the Imperial Army during 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 European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...
File:Jan Pieterszoon Coen.jpg, Jan Pieterszoon Coen
Jan Pieterszoon Coen (; 8 January 1587 – 21 September 1629) was a Dutch naval officer of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the early 17th century, holding two terms as governor-general of the Dutch East Indies. He was the founder of ...
(1587–1629), the founder of Batavia, was an officer of 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 ...
(VOC), holding two terms as its Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies
File:René Descartes i samtal med Sveriges drottning, Kristina.jpg, 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 ...
(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 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 ...
File:Aurangzeb-portrait.jpg, Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb
Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
(1618–1707), who ruled over almost the entire Indian subcontinent for a period of 49 years
File:Shivaji British Museum.jpg, Chhatrapati Shivaji
Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
(1630–1680) founder of Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
is widely regarded as one of the greatest Hindu rulers
File:Portrait of the Kangxi Emperor in Court Dress.jpg, Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...
(1661–1722) one of the most influential emperors 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 ...
File:Tokugawa Ieyasu2.JPG, ''Shōgun'' 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 ...
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
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 ...
.
* 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
Events
January–March
* January 1 – William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester.
* January 7 – Shakespeare's play ' ...
:
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 ...
starts investigating Kepler's laws of planetary motion, elliptical orbits of planets.
*
1605
Events
January–March
* January 1 – William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', copyrighted 1600, is given its earliest recorded performance, and witnessed by the Viscount Dorchester.
* January 7 – Shakespeare's play ' ...
: 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
Some have suggested that 1610 may mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man', marking a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system, but earlier starting dates (ca. 1000 C.E.) have received broa ...
: The Orion Nebula is identified by Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc of France.
*
1610
Some have suggested that 1610 may mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man', marking a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system, but earlier starting dates (ca. 1000 C.E.) have received broa ...
:
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 ...
and Simon Marius observe Jupiter's Galilean moons.
*
1611
Events
January–March
* January 26 – Maximilien de Béthune, Duke of Sully is forced by Queen regent Marie's Regency Council to resign as chief minister of France. He is replaced by Nicolas de Neufville, seigneur de Vill ...
: King James Version, King James Bible or 'Authorized Version' first published.
*
1612
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Axel Oxenstierna becomes Lord High Chancellor of Sweden. He persuades the Riksdag of the Estates to grant the Swedish nobility the right and privilege to hold all higher offices of governme ...
: The first flintlock musket likely created for Louis XIII of
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
by gunsmith Marin Bourgeois.
*
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 ...
: John Napier introduces the
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 ...
to simplify calculations.
*
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. ...
: Niccolò Zucchi describes experiments with a bronze parabolic reflector, parabolic mirror trying to make a reflecting telescope.
*
1620
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Ben Jonson's play ''News from the New World Discovered in the Moon'' is given its first performance, a presentation to King James I of England. In addition to dialogue about actual observ ...
: 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
Events
January–March
* January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 Islamic calendar, A.H.) The reign of Shahryar Mirza, Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than tw ...
: William Harvey publishes and elucidates his earlier discovery of the Systemic circulation, circulatory system.
*
1637
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy '' Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France.
* January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in the modern-day Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...
: Dutch Bible published.
*
1637
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy '' Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France.
* January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in the modern-day Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...
:
Teatro San Cassiano The Teatro San Cassiano (or Teatro di San Cassiano and other variants) was the world's first public opera house, inaugurated as such in 1637 in Venice. The first mention of its construction dates back to 1581. The name with which it is best known co ...
, the first public opera house, opened in Venice.
*
1637
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy '' Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France.
* January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in the modern-day Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...
: Pierre de Fermat formulates his so-called Fermat's Last Theorem, Last Theorem, unsolved until 1995.
*
1637
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Pierre Corneille's tragicomedy '' Le Cid'' is first performed, in Paris, France.
* January 16 – The siege of Nagpur ends in the modern-day Maharashtra state of India, as Kok Shah, the ...
: Although Chinese naval mines were earlier described in the 14th century ''Huolongjing'', the ''Tian Gong Kai Wu'' book of
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 ...
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
Events
January–March
* January 4 – King Charles I of England, accompanied by soldiers, arrives at a session of the Long Parliament and attempts to arrest his chief opponents, the Five Members, John Hampden, Arthur Haselri ...
:
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 ...
invents the mechanical calculator called Pascal's calculator.
*
1642
Events
January–March
* January 4 – King Charles I of England, accompanied by soldiers, arrives at a session of the Long Parliament and attempts to arrest his chief opponents, the Five Members, John Hampden, Arthur Haselri ...
: Mezzotint engraving introduces grey tones to printed images.
*
1643
Events
January–March
* January 21 – Abel Tasman sights the island of Tonga.
* February 6
**(17 Dhu al-Qadah 1052 AH) In India, the first ceremony at the nearly-complete Taj Mahal in Agra, the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan ob ...
: Evangelista Torricelli of Italy invents the mercury barometer.
*
1645
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The Long Parliament adopts the ''Directory for Public Worship'' in England, Wales, Ireland and Scotland, replacing the Book of Common Prayer ( 1559). Holy Days (other than Sundays) are not ...
: Giacomo Torelli of Venice, Italy invents the first rotating stage.
*
1651
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Charles II is crowned King of Scots at Scone ( his first crowning).
* January 24 – Parliament of Boroa in Chile: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet at Boroa, renewing the fragile ...
: Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Giovanni Riccioli renames the Lunar mare, lunar maria.
*
1656
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The First War of Villmergen, a civil war in the Old Swiss Confederacy, Confederation of Switzerland pitting its Protestant and Roman Catholic Swiss canton, cantons against each other, breaks o ...
:
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 ...
describes the true shape of the rings of Saturn.
*
1657
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Miles Sindercombe and his group of disaffected Levellers are betrayed in their attempt to assassinate Oliver Cromwell by blowing up the Palace of Whitehall in London and are arrested.
* Ja ...
:
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 ...
develops the first functional pendulum clock based on the learnings of
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 ...
.
*
1659
Events
January–March
* January 14 – In the Battle of the Lines of Elvas, fought near the small city of Elvas in Portugal during the Portuguese Restoration War, the Spanish Army under the command of Luis Méndez de Haro s ...
:
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 ...
first to observe surface details of Mars.
* 1662: Christopher Merret presents first paper on the production of sparkling wine.
*
1663
Events
January–March
* January 10 – The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter by Charles II of England.
* January 23 – The Treaty of Ghilajharighat is signed in India between representatives of the Mughal ...
: James Gregory (astronomer and mathematician), James Gregory publishes designs for a reflecting telescope.
*
1669
Events January–March
* January 2 – Pirate Henry Morgan of Wales holds a meeting of his captains on board his ship, the former Royal Navy frigate ''Oxford'', and an explosion in the ship's gunpowder supply kills 200 of his crew a ...
: The first known operational reflecting telescope is built by
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 ...
.
*
1676
Events
January–March
* January 29 – Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
* January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is f ...
:
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 " ...
discovers Bacteria.
*
1676
Events
January–March
* January 29 – Feodor III of Russia, Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
* January 31 – Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, the oldest institution of higher education in Central America, is f ...
: First measurement of the speed of light.
* 1679: Binary numeral system, Binary system developed by
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 ...
.
* 1684: Calculus independently developed by both Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Sir Isaac Newton and used to formulate classical mechanics.
References
Further reading

* Chang, Chun-shu, and Shelley Hsueh-lun Chang. ''Crisis and Transformation in Seventeenth-Century China'' (1998).
* Langer, William. ''An Encyclopedia of World History'' (5th ed. 1973); highly detailed outline of event
online free* Reid, A. J. S. ''Trade and State Power in 16th & 17th Century Southeast Asia'' (1977).
* Spence, J. D. ''The Death of Woman Wang: Rural Life in China in the 17th Century'' (1978).
Focus on Europe
* George Norman Clark, Clark, George. ''The Seventeenth Century'' (2nd ed. 1945).
* Hampshire, Stuart. ''The Age of Reason the 17th Century Philosophers, Selected, with Introduction and Interpretive Commentary'' (1961).
*
* Lewitter, Lucian Ryszard. "Poland, the Ukraine and Russia in the 17th Century." ''The Slavonic and East European Review'' (1948): 157–171
in JSTOR* David Ogg (historian), Ogg, David. ''Europe in the Seventeenth Century'' (6th ed. 1965).
* Rowbotham, Sheila. ''Hidden from history: Rediscovering women in history from the 17th century to the present'' (1976).
* Trevor-Roper, Hugh R. "The general crisis of the 17th century." ''Past & Present (journal), Past & Present'' 16 (1959): 31–64.
External links
Vistorica Timelines of 17th century events, science, culture and persons
{{Authority control
17th century,
2nd millennium
Centuries
Early modern period