1638
| Years: 1635 1636 1637 – 1638 – 1639 1640 1641 | |
| Decades: 1600s 1610s 1620s – 1630s – 1640s 1650s 1660s | |
| Centuries: 16th century – 17th century – 18th century 1638 in topic: | |
Events
- March 29 – Swedish colonists establish first settlement in Delaware, called New Sweden.
- April 15 – Shogunate forces defeat the last rebels of Shimabara Rebellion in the fortress of Hara.
- May 11 – French admiral d'Estrees runs his whole fleet aground in Curacao.
- Dutch settle in Ceylon.
- Pedro Teixeira makes the first ascent of the Amazon River, from its mouth to Quito, Ecuador. The same trip had been made in the opposite direction in 1541.
- Willem Kieft, Dutch merchant, appointed Director of New Amsterdam by the Dutch West India Company.
- The Netherlands colonizes Mauritius.
- Shipwrecked sailors from England found the first known European settlement in Belize.
- Swedish settlers arrive on the ships Kalmare Nyckel and Fågel Grip to the American colony New Sweden (Delaware).
Births
- March 15 – Shunzhi Emperor of China.
- September 5 – King Louis XIV of France (d. 1715)
- November 25 – Catherine of Braganza, queen of Charles II of England (d. 1705)
Deaths
- April 7 – Shimazu Tadatsune, Japanese daimyo (b. 1576)
- September 14 – John Harvard, American clergyman (b. 1607)
- Johann Heinrich Alsted, German theologian (b. 1588)
- Pieter Brueghel the Younger, Flemish painter (b. 1564)
Categories: 1638