Tables of History : A.D. 1600 - 1699

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1-99 | 100-199 | 200-299 | 300-399
400-499 | 500-599 | 600-699 | 700-799
800-899 | 900-999 | 1000-1099 | 1100-1199
1200-1299 | 1300-1399 | 1400-1499 | 1500-1599
1600-1699 | 1700-1799 | 1800-1899 | 1900-1919
1920-1939 | 1940-1959 | 1960-1979 | 1980-1999

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1600
  • The battle of Sekigahara
    The Japanese warlord, Tokugawa Ieyasu, defeats Ishida Mitsunari and unites Japan.
  • First performance of Shakespeare's "Hamlet"
1603
  • Tokugawa Ieyasu has himself appointed shogun of Japan
1604
  • England and Spain make peace
  • Spain and the Netherlands agree to an armistice
1607
  • Virginia colony is founded
    The Virginia Company establishes Jamestown, Virginia as the first permanent English colony in North America.
1609
  • Johannes Kepler formulates theory of planetary movement
  • Henry Hudson travels up the river later named for him
1611
  • King Frederick II of Denmark-Norway dies, and Christian IV becomes king
    The country is governed for the young king by the Privy Council, under Chancellor Niels Kaas.
  • King James Bible issued
    In England, the King James translation of the Bible is published.
1616
  • First Danish East India Company chartered by Christian IV
  • William Shakespeare dies
1618
  • Thirty Years' War begins
    The Defenestration in Prague leads to the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. The czech estates refuse to approve Ferdinand II of Habsburg as king of Bohemia, choosing instead the Protestant Elector Palatine, Frederick V.
1619
  • The battle of the White Mountain
    A bloody battle near Prague ends in a crushing defeat for the Bohemians, and Bohemia falls to the Habsburg Emperor, and thus to Spain.
1620
  • Danes at Tranquebar
    Tranquebar on the Coromandel coast of India is deeded to the Danish-Norwegian Crown by an agreement between the nayak of Tanjore and Christian IV (represented by Ove Gjedde).
1622
  • Natives raid Virginia colony
    The indian tribes of Virginia carry out a collective assault on the English colony. 347 out of 1240 settlers are killed.
1623
  • The Amboina Massacre
    The Dutch governor of Amboina (in present-day Indonesia) orders the execution of the leader of the English factory, as well as nine other Englishmen, ten Japanese mercenaries and a slave overseer. The charge is planning to seize the fort and murder the governor. True or false, the accusations and the executions lead to a decline in Anglo-Dutch relations for years to come, and are used for propaganda purposes by the English in all three 17th century wars with the Netherlands.
1624
  • The Virginia Company is dissolved
    A royally appointed governor is assigned to Virginia, which becomes a crown colony.
1625
  • Nieuw Amsterdam (later New York) is founded by the Dutch
1632
  • Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden is killed at Lützen
1633
  • Galileo Galilei is brought before the Inquisition in Rome
    Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, is placed on trial for heresy, for defending the Copernican world-view, which places the Earth in orbit around the sun, instead of vice versa. To save himself from torture, he recants, but is placed under house arrest for the rest of his life.
1634
  • Swedes suffer decisive defeat at Nördlingen
  • French ally themselves with the Netherlands, and declare war on Spain
1638
  • Japan closes its borders
    The Sakoku decree of 1638 leads to a gradual closing of the Japanese borders, until, in 1641, only a small group of Dutch merchants remain, on the island of Deshima off Nagasaki.
1640
  • The last ship for 29 years arrives in Tranquebar
1644
  • The Torstensson War begins
    War between Denmark and Sweden starts with Sweden attacking Denmark, provoked by the far-from-impartial mediation activities of Denmark's King Christian IV in connection with the final phases of the Thirty Years' War.
1648
  • The peace of Westphalia ends the Thirty Years' War
    The Netherlands achieve formal independence and receive some Portuguese possessions in Asia. Sweden acquires new possessions in Northern Germany. France takes possession of various insignificant border regions. The principle of the ruler's right to determine the religious affairs of his subjects is reconfirmed ("cuius regio, eius religio", as originally determined by the treaty of Augsburg, 1555).
  • The Iroquois defeat the Huron
    The Huron are driven north into Canada.
1649
  • Charles I of England is beheaded
1653
  • The Iroquois defeat the Erie
    Iroquois dominance extends to the Ohio region.
1655
  • Jamaica is seized by the English
1658
  • The Mogul Emperor Shahjahan is deposed by his son Aurangzeb
1659
  • The Peace of the Pyrenees ends the war between Spain and France
1660
  • Sweden and Poland make peace
    At the same time, the border between Denmark-Norway and Sweden is fixed by the Treaty of Copenhagen.
  • English monarchy is restored with the succession of Charles II
    The regicides are executed, and Puritan religious freedoms are limited by the Clarendon Code.
1661
  • Louis XIV introduces absolute monarchy in France
  • The Danish colony of Christiansborg is founded
    Danes establish a fortress colony (in present-day Ghana), following negotiations between Denmark and the King of Accra.
1667
  • Russia and Poland make peace
    Russia receives Smolensk and Eastern Ukraine.
  • French troops enter Franche-Comté and Flanders
    England and the Netherlands, who were at war, make peace immediately, forming a triple alliance with Sweden.
1668
  • France and her opponents make peace
    France receives portions of Flanders.
  • The Swedish national bank is founded
1669
  • After a 29-year hiatus, Danish trade with Tranquebar resumes
1670
  • Spain recognizes the English possession of Jamaica
1672
  • France invades the Netherlands
    The invasion is aided by England and Sweden, but meets with little success. The Netherlands are aided by the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs.
1673
  • The Iroquois drive the Mosopelea indians out of Southwestern Ohio
1678
  • The Peace of Nijmegen
    France makes peace with Spain and the Netherlands.
1679
  • Peace is made between France and the Netherlands
    Franche-Comté becomes French.
  • Thomas Hobbes dies
  • In France, dueling is banned
  • French Jesuit explorer Louis Hannepin discovers the Niagara Falls
  • New Hampshire splits from Massachusetts, becoming separate province
1680
  • Stradivari makes his earliest known cello
  • The dodo becomes extinct
1681
  • Brandenburg concludes defensive alliances with Sweden and France
  • The Pennsylvania colony receives its royal charter
1682
  • 58000 French Huguenots forcibly converted to Catholicism
1683
  • Plot to assassinate King Charles II discovered
  • Colbert dies
  • Izaak Walton dies
1684
  • The French Huguenots are offered refuge by the Elector of Brandenburg
1685
  • Charles II of England dies
    He is succeeded on the throne by his brother, James II.
  • Louis XIV revokes Edict of Nantes (1598)
    Thousands of French Protestants go into exile.
1686
  • Charles, Duke of Lorraine, retakes Buda
    Buda (in present-day Hungary) had been in Turkish possession for 145 years.
1687
  • Battle of Mohács
    The Turks under Suleiman Pasha are defeated.
  • Venetian bombardment damages Parthenon
    The Parthenon, centrepiece of the Acropolis of Athens, was damaged when Venetian bombardment hit a Turkish powder store.
  • Isaac Newton's "Philosophiae naturalis principia mathematica" is published
1688
  • "The Glorious Revolution"
    King James II of England flees, and William of Hanover becomes king.
1689
  • Peter I "the Great" becomes Czar of Russia
  • English author and poet Aphra Behn dies
1690
  • Christiaan Huyghens publishes discovery of polarisation of light
  • John Locke's "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding" is published
1691
  • Plymouth colony absorbed into Massachusetts, which is given new charter
  • English natural philosopher Robert Boyle dies
1692
  • Salem witch trials
    In Salem, Massachusetts, mass hysteria leads to a series of witch trials that will cause the death of 20 people, executed for being witches, over the next two years.
  • The massacre of Glencoe
    In Scotland, Clan Campbell, siding with the King, murders members of Clan McDonald.
  • Massive earthquake hits Jamaica
1693
  • John Locke's "Thoughts Concerning Education" is published
1694
  • Bank of England founded
1695
  • Bank of Scotland founded
1696
  • In Berlin, the Kunstakademie is founded
  • Peter I "the Great" seizes Azov from the Turks
1697
  • Voyage of Peter I "the Great"
    Peter I "the Great" sets off, incognito, on an eighteen month trip through Prussia, Denmark, Holland, England, and Austria to study Western thinking and way of life.
1698
  • In Russia, the Czar's "Streltsy" lifeguards mutiny
    The mutiny is swiftly put down, and the leaders executed.
  • Beard tax instituted in Russia
1699
  • Peace of Karlowitz signed
    The peace treaty end hostilities between Austria, Russia, Poland and Venice on one side, and Turkey on the other
  • In Russia, Peter I "the Great" revises the date of New Year's Day
    His decree sets the New Year at January 1st, instead of September 1st.

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Last modified: July 20, 2001