17th century
(16th century – 17th century – 18th century – more centuries)
As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700 in the Gregorian calendar.
Table of contents |
Events
- 1602: Dutch East India Company founded. Its success contributes to the Dutch Golden Age.
- 1603: Elizabeth I of England dies and is succeeded by her cousin King James VI of Scotland, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England.
- 1603: Tokugawa Ieyasu granted title of shogun from Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan and establishes the Edo or Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo, Japan. This ends the Azuchi-Momoyama period and begins the Edo period.
- 1603: Samuel de Champlain maps the Saint Lawrence River.
- 1603: Safavids capture Baghdad from the Ottomans.
- 1605: Gunpowder Plot foiled in England.
- 1607: The London Company establishes the Jamestown Settlement in North America.
- 1608: Quebec City founded by French settlers in Canada.
- 1613: The Time of Troubles in Russia ends with the establishment of the House of Romanov.
- 1615: The Mughal Empire grants extensive trading rights to the British East India Company.
- 1618 – 1648: Thirty Years' War in Europe
- 1625: New Amsterdam founded by the Dutch West India Company in North America.
- 1630: Boston founded by the Massachusetts Bay Company in North America.
- 1636: Harvard University founded.
- 1637: The Dutch Tulip Mania bubble bursts.
- 1637: The Pequot War, the first of the American Indian Wars
- 1639 – 1651: Wars of the Three Kingdoms, religious civil wars throughout Scotland, Ireland, and England.
- 1640: Torture is outlawed in England.
- 1641: The Tokugawa Shogunate institutes Sakoku- foreigners are expelled and no one is allowed to enter or leave Japan.
- 1643: Louis XIV crowned King of France.
- 1644: The Manchu conquer the Chinese Ming Dynasty and begin the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty of China.
- 1648: Peace of Westphalia
- 1648 – 1653: Fronde civil war in France.
- 1648 – 1667: The Deluge wars leave Poland in ruins.
- 1648 – 1669: Siege of Candia after which the Ottoman Empire captures Crete from the Venetians
- 1652: Cape Town founded by the Dutch East India Company in South Africa.
- 1652: Anglo-Dutch Wars begin.
- 1653: The Taj Mahal in India is completed.
- 1655 – 1661: The Northern Wars cement Sweden's rise as a Great Power.
- 1660: English Restoration
- 1661: The reign of the Kangxi Emperor of China begins.
- 1664: British troops capture New Amsterdam and rename it New York.
- 1665: Portugal defeats the Kongo Empire.
- 1670: The Hudson's Bay Company is founded in Canada.
- 1674: Maratha empire founded in India by Shivaji.
- 1676: Russia and the Ottoman Empire commence the Russo-Turkish Wars.
- 1682 – 1699: The Great Turkish war is fought between the Ottoman Empire and a Holy League.
- 1682: Peter the Great becomes joint ruler of Russia (sole tsar in 1696).
- 1682: La Salle explores the length of the Mississippi River and claims Louisiana for France.
- 1683: China annexes Taiwan.
- 1685: Edict of Fontainebleau outlaws Protestantism in France.
- 1685: European traders restricted to Guangzhou in China.
- 1688 – 1689: Glorious Revolution in England.
- 1688 – 1697: The War of the Grand Alliance between France and the Grand Alliance.
- 1689: Nerchinsk Treaty establishes a border between Russia and China.
- 1692: Salem witch trials in Massachusetts.
- 1700: The Great Northern War between Sweden and a coalition begins.
Significant people
- Sir Thomas Browne, English author, philosopher and scientist (1605-1682).
- Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Spanish Author (1574 – 1616)
- Charles I of England (1600 – 1649).
- Charles II of England (1630 – 1685).
- Queen Christina of Sweden, high profile Catholic convert, matron of arts (1626 – 1689)
- Elder John Crandall, Co-founder of Providence Plantation, later known as Providence, Rhode Island (b.1617 – 1676)
- Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland (1599 – 1658)
- Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland (1626 – 1712).
- René Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician (1596 – 1650)
- John Donne, English metaphysical poet (1572 – 1631)
- Elizabeth I of England (1533 – 1603).
- Galileo Galilei, Italian scientist (1564 – 1642)
- Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (1588 – 1679)
- Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer (1629 – 1695)
- Gottfried Leibniz, German philosopher and mathematician (1646 – 1716)
- John Locke, English philosopher (1632 – 1704)
- James I of England (1566 – 1625).
- James II of England (1633 – 1701).
- Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1640 – 1705)
- Louis XIV, King of France, (1638 – 1715)
- Mary II of England (1662 – 1694).
- John Milton, English author and poet (1608 – 1674)
- Isaac Newton, English physicist and mathematician (1642 – 1727)
- Blaise Pascal, French theologian, mathematician and physicist (1623 – 1662)
- Henry Purcell, English composer (1659 – 1695)
- Cardinal Richelieu, French Cardinal, Duke, and politician (1585 – 1642)
- Rembrandt van Rijn, Dutch painter (1606 – 1669)
- William Shakespeare, English author and poet (1564 – 1616)
- Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher (1632 – 1677)
- Seathrún Céitinn, Irish historian (ca. 1569 – ca. 1644)
- Jan III Sobieski, King of Poland (1629 – 1696)
- William III of England (1650 – 1702).
Inventions, discoveries, introductions
Major changes in philosophy and science take place, often characterized as the Scientific revolution.
- Calculus is invented and used to formulate classical mechanics.
- First measurement of the speed of light, 1676.
- Telescope
- Microscope
- Barometer
- Vacuum pump
- Slide rule
- Mechanical calculator
- Pendulum clock
- Ice cream
- Tea and coffee become popular in Europe.
Decades and years
Categories: Eighty Years' War | 17th century