17th century

The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601, to December 31, 1700. This time period was part of the early modern period of Europe, when many important changes happened in culture, science, and politics.

Europe saw the rise of the Baroque style in art and music. France grew very powerful under King Louis XIV, who built the grand Palace of Versailles. In England, the king and the Parliament began to argue more, leading to big changes in how the country was ruled.

A scene on the ice, Dutch Republic, first half of the 17th century

This century was also a time of big discoveries in science. Scientists learned about logarithms, electricity, telescopes, and microscopes. Famous thinkers like Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton helped change how people understood the world.

Many parts of the world were also changing. Europeans began to settle more in places like the Americas and Asia. In Japan, a new government took control, and in China, a new dynasty began to rule after a long struggle. There were also many wars across Europe and Asia during this time.

Events

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of the 17th century.

1601–1650

Main articles: 1600s, 1610s, 1620s, 1630s, and 1640s

Tsar Michael I of Russia reigned 1613–1645

(/wiki/1601): 4th Spanish Armada; in the Battle of Kinsale, England defeats Irish and Spanish forces, driving the Gaelic aristocracy out of Ireland.
(/wiki/1601)–(/wiki/1603): A big hunger in Russia kills many people.
(/wiki/1602): Matteo Ricci makes a map of the world that will be used in East Asia for many years.
(/wiki/1602): The Dutch East India Company starts, helping the Dutch Golden Age grow.
(/wiki/1603): Elizabeth I of England dies and James VI of Scotland becomes king, joining Scotland and England together.
(/wiki/1603): Tokugawa Ieyasu becomes leader, starting the Edo period in Japan.
(/wiki/1603): A book in Nagasaki becomes the first dictionary of Japanese to a European language.
(/wiki/1605): The king of Gowa in South Sulawesi starts following Islam.
(/wiki/1605)–(/wiki/1627): The rule of Mughal emperor Jahangir begins.
(/wiki/1606): A peace agreement ends a war between the Ottoman Empire and Austria.
(/wiki/1606): An agreement ends a rebellion in Royal Hungary.
(/wiki/1606): Willem Janszoon is the first European to land on Australia.
(/wiki/1607): Many leaders leave County Donegal in Ireland.
(/wiki/1607): Jamestown is settled.
(/wiki/1607): Iskandar Muda becomes leader of Aceh for 30 years.
(/wiki/1610): An army from Poland–Lithuanian Commonwealth defeats Russian and Swedish forces and takes Moscow.
(/wiki/1610): King Henry IV of France is killed by a man named François Ravaillac.
(/wiki/1611): The oldest university in Asia opens in Manila.
(/wiki/1611): The first version of the King James Bible is published.
(/wiki/1612): A celebration of games starts in England.
(/wiki/1613): Problems in Russia end when the House of Romanov starts ruling.
(/wiki/1613)–(/wiki/1617): The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth is attacked many times by the Tatars.
(/wiki/1613): The Dutch East India Company has to leave Gresik but later sets up a trading post in Jepara.
(/wiki/1614)–(/wiki/1615): A big fight ends around Osaka in Japan.
(/wiki/1616): The last group of Moriscos in Spain are sent away.
(/wiki/1616): William Shakespeare dies.
(/wiki/1618): A big fight starts in Prague.
(/wiki/1618): A big fight called the Thirty Years' War starts and hurts Europe for many years.
(/wiki/1618): People from Manchu start taking over China.
(/wiki/1619): The first Africans arrive in what is now the United States.
(/wiki/1619): The Dutch East India Company takes over Jayakarta and builds a new place called Batavia.
(/wiki/1620)–(/wiki/1621): A war happens between Poland and the Ottoman Empire over Moldavia.
(/wiki/1620): Bethlen Gabor teams up with the Ottomans and attacks Moldavia.
(/wiki/1620): The Mayflower leaves England for what becomes Plymouth Colony in New England.
(/wiki/1621): A battle happens where Polish and Cossack forces defeat the Ottomans.
(/wiki/1622): Natives kill many English settlers near Jamestown, Virginia.
(/wiki/1624)–(/wiki/1642): A man named Cardinal Richelieu helps make France stronger.
(/wiki/1626): St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is finished.
(/wiki/1627): A type of wild animal called Aurochs disappears forever.
(/wiki/1628)–(/wiki/1629): A leader from Mataram tries but fails to take over the Dutch in Batavia.
(/wiki/1629): The leader of Safavid Persia, Abbas I, dies.
(/wiki/1629): Cardinal Richelieu helps Sweden fight in the Thirty Years' War.
(/wiki/1630): Shivaji is born in India, who later starts the Maratha Empire.
(/wiki/1631): Mount Vesuvius erupts.
(/wiki/1632): A big battle happens at Lützen, and the king of Sweden, Gustav II Adolf, dies.
(/wiki/1632): Work starts on the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.
(/wiki/1633): Galileo Galilei goes to Rome for a trial.
(/wiki/1633)–(/wiki/1639): Japan becomes more closed off from the rest of the world.
(/wiki/1634): A big battle happens at Nördlingen.
(/wiki/1636): Harvard University is started in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
(/wiki/1637): A big fight happens in Japan with local leaders and farmers.
(/wiki/1637): The first opera house opens in Venice.
(/wiki/1637): The Qing dynasty attacks another country.
(/wiki/1639): A big sea battle happens near The Downs.
(/wiki/1639): Arguments between leaders in Rome start a series of wars.
(/wiki/1639)–(/wiki/1651): Big fights happen in Scotland, Ireland, and England.
(/wiki/1640)–(/wiki/1668): A war ends a union between countries.
(/wiki/1641): A big protest happens in Ireland by people who want more rights.
(/wiki/1641): René Descartes writes a book called Meditationes de prima philosophia.
(/wiki/1642): The English Civil War starts.
(/wiki/1643): An opera called L'incoronazione di Poppea by Monterverdi is shown.
(/wiki/1644): The Manchu take over China and start the Qing dynasty.
(/wiki/1644)–(/wiki/1674): A long war happens in Mauritania.
(/wiki/1645)–(/wiki/1669): The Ottomans fight Venice and take over part of Crete.
(/wiki/1647)–(/wiki/1652): A big sickness happens in Seville in Spain.
(/wiki/1648): A peace agreement ends the Thirty Years' War and the Eighty Years' War.
(/wiki/1648)–(/wiki/1653): A civil war happens in France called the Fronde.
(/wiki/1648)–(/wiki/1657): A big fight happens in Ukraine for freedom from Poland.
(/wiki/1648)–(/wiki/1667): Big wars leave Poland–Lithuanian Commonwealth damaged.
(/wiki/1648)–(/wiki/1669): The Ottomans take over Crete from the Venetians.
(/wiki/1649): The king of England, King Charles I, is executed.
(/wiki/1649)–(/wiki/1653): More fighting happens in Ireland.

James I of England and VI of Scotland ruled in the first quarter of the 17th century

1651–1700

Main articles: 1650s, 1660s, 1670s, 1680s, 1690s, and 1700s

(/wiki/1651): The English Civil War ends.
(/wiki/1656)–(/wiki/1661): A leader named Mehmed Köprülü is in charge.
(/wiki/1655)–(/wiki/1661): Wars help Sweden become a strong country.
(/wiki/1657) : Sambhaji, the future leader of the Maratha Empire, is born.
(/wiki/1658): After his father finishes the Taj Mahal, his son Aurangzeb takes over as ruler.
(/wiki/1659): King Shivaji kills a leader from another country at a fort.
(/wiki/1660): The rule of England changes and the king returns during the English Restoration.
(/wiki/1660): The Royal Society starts.
(/wiki/1660): A civil war starts in Brunei.
(/wiki/1661): The rule of the Kangxi Emperor in China begins.
(/wiki/1663): A war starts between the Ottoman Empire and Habsburg Hungary.
(/wiki/1664): A battle happens where Raimondo Montecuccoli defeats the Ottomans.
(/wiki/1665): Maratha King Shivaji makes an agreement with a Mughal leader.
(/wiki/1665): A scientist named Robert Hooke looks at cells with a microscope.
(/wiki/1665): Portugal defeats another country at a battle.
(/wiki/1665)–(/wiki/1667): A war happens between England and the United Provinces.
(/wiki/1666): A big fire happens in London.
(/wiki/1660s_in_archaeology): Shivaji visits a leader and later escapes.
(/wiki/1667): An attack happens during the war between England and the United Provinces.
(/wiki/1667)–(/wiki/1668): A war happens between France and the Netherlands.
(/wiki/1667)–(/wiki/1699): A big war stops the Ottoman Empire from spreading into Europe.
(/wiki/1672)–(/wiki/1673): The Ottomans help another group, but are defeated.
(/wiki/1672)–(/wiki/1674): Another war happens between England and the United Provinces.
(/wiki/1672)–(/wiki/1676): A war happens between Poland and the Ottoman Empire.
(/wiki/1672)–(/wiki/1678): A war happens between France and the Netherlands.
(/wiki/1673): The civil war in Brunei ends.
(/wiki/1674): Shivaji starts the Maratha Empire and makes himself the first leader.
(/wiki/1676)–(/wiki/1681): Russia and the Ottoman Empire start fighting.
(/wiki/1678): A peace agreement ends several wars in Europe.
(/wiki/1680): A group called the Pueblo drives Spanish people out of New Mexico.
(/wiki/1680): Prince Sambhaji becomes the next leader of the Maratha Empire.
(/wiki/1682): An explorer claims land for France.
(/wiki/1683): China takes over Taiwan.
(/wiki/1683): The Ottoman Empire is defeated at a big wall in Vienna.
(/wiki/1683)–(/wiki/1699): A big war leads to the taking of land from the Ottoman Empire.
(/wiki/1687): A scientist named Isaac Newton writes an important book.
(/wiki/1688): A big siege happens in Ireland.
(/wiki/1688): A change in Siam removes French influence.
(/wiki/1688)–(/wiki/1689): A big change in England makes it a country where the leader is chosen by laws.
(/wiki/1688)–(/wiki/1691): A war happens in Ireland.
(/wiki/1688)–(/wiki/1697): An alliance tries to stop France from taking over.
(/wiki/1689): A big fight happens in Scotland.
(/wiki/1689): A group in North Macedonia is defeated.
(/wiki/1689): A new leader is chosen for the Maratha Empire.
(/wiki/1689): A document called the Bill of Rights is approved.
(/wiki/1689): A writer named John Locke writes important books.
(/wiki/1690): A big battle happens in Ireland.
(/wiki/1692): A town in Jamaica is damaged by a quake and waves.
(/wiki/1692)–(/wiki/1694): A big hunger happens in France.
(/wiki/1693): A college is started in Virginia.
(/wiki/1694): A bank in England is started.
(/wiki/1695): A big trading company almost stops because of a capture.
(/wiki/1696)–(/wiki/1697): A hunger happens in Finland.
(/wiki/1697)–(/wiki/1699): A leader from Russia visits Europe.
(/wiki/1699): A man shows the first version of a machine that can help with work.
(/wiki/1700): A new leader is chosen for the Maratha Empire.

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

See also: Timeline of historic inventions § 17th century

The 17th century was a time of many important discoveries and inventions that changed how people lived and understood the world. This period is often called the Scientific Revolution, when big changes happened in science and ideas.

During this time, many new things were introduced, such as banknotes in Europe, ice cream, and drinks like tea and coffee. Important buildings like minarets and the Jamé Mosque of Isfahan in Persia were constructed. Scientists made many discoveries, like seeing Jupiter's moons for the first time and learning about how blood flows in the body. New ways of measuring time and calculating numbers were also developed, showing how much progress was made in understanding the world.

Events

1601–1650

1651–1700

Inventions, discoveries, introductions

Images

Related articles