17th century

As a means of recording the passage of, the 17th Century was that which lasted from - in the.

The 17th Century falls into the period of Europe and was characterized by the  cultural movement and the, including the contributions of , , , ; Europe was torn by warfare throughout the century, by the , the  and the  among others, while  began in earnest.

In the east, the 17th Century saw the flowering of the and  empires, the beginning of the  in feudal Japan, and the violent transition from the  to the  in China.


 * : born to  and.
 * :, one of the most important battles in Irish history, fought.
 * : founded. Its success contributes to the.
 * : dies and is succeeded by her cousin King, uniting the crowns of  and.
 * : seizes control of  and establishes the  which rules the country until.
 * -: After modernizing his army, expands  by capturing territory from the  and the.
 * : failed in.
 * : The between the  and  is ended with the.
 * :, is settled as what would become the first permanent colony in.
 * : founded by  in  (present-day ).
 * : The and  agree to a  in the.
 * : Pedro de Peralta, a later, establishes the settlement of.
 * : establishes the.


 * : The in  ends with the establishment of the  which rules until.
 * : The precipitates the  which devastates  in the years -.
 * : The s start invading China. Their eventually topples the.


 * : defeats the Bohemian rebels in the.
 * : The  arrive in the  at,.
 * -: As chief minister, centralizes power in France.
 * : founded by the  in North America.
 * : in the Vatican completed.
 * : lays siege to Protestant  which eventually capitulates.
 * : allies with Swedish Protestant forces in the  to counter  expansion.


 * -:, civil wars throughout , , and.


 * : King Charles was compelled to summon Parliament due to the revolt of the Scots.
 * -: The led to the end of the.
 * : is outlawed in.
 * : The institutes - foreigners are expelled and no one is allowed to enter or leave Japan.
 * : The.
 * : Dutch explorer achieves the first recorded European sighting of.
 * -: Civil War in England; Charles I is beheaded by Cromwell
 * : The conquer  ending the . The subsequent  rules until.
 * -: The.
 * -: The.
 * : The ends the  and the  and marks the ends of  and the  as major European powers.
 * -:  in France.
 * -: wars leave  in ruins.
 * -: The capture  from the  after the.
 * -: The.


 * : founded by the Dutch East India Company in.
 * : begin.
 * -: The cement  rise as a.
 * : After his father completes the, his son  deposes him as ruler of the.


 * : The ends and the monarchy is brought back during the.
 * : founded.
 * : The reign of the of China begins.
 * : captures  from the  and founds the  which rules until 1683.
 * , who later reintroduced into popular use in, is born.
 * : France takes full political and military over its colonial possessions in . Hooke's microscope discovers cells
 * : British troops capture New Amsterdam and rename it.
 * : The.
 * : defeats the.
 * : The.
 * -: The halts the 's expansion into Europe.
 * - Peace between Spain and Portugal recognizes Portugal as independent country.


 * : The is founded in.
 * : founded in  by.
 * : Russia and the commence the.
 * : founded in  by.
 * : Russia and the commence the.


 * : becomes joint ruler of  (sole  in ).
 * : explores the length of the  and claims  for France.
 * : conquers the  and annexes.
 * : The finishes the 's hegemony in south-eastern Europe.
 * : outlaws  in France. King Charles II dies
 * : publishes .
 * -: After the, England becomes a and the  goes into decline.
 * -: The sought to stop French expansion during the.
 * : The established a border between  and.


 * : in.
 * -: in  kills 2 million.
 * - in  wipes out almost a third of the population.
 * : The against the.

Significant people

 * , English philosopher and politician (-)
 * , English author and poet ( - )
 * , Italian natural philosopher ( - )
 * , Irish historian (ca. - ca. )
 * , German astronomer ( - )
 * , English ( - )
 * , Spanish author ( - )
 * , medical doctor ( – )
 * , Hungarian prince of Transylvania (-)
 * , Catholic German general in the ( - )
 * , famous warrior in, author of ',' a treatise on and martial combat ( - )
 * , Italian composer of Renaissance and Baroque music, and possibly the first opera ever ( - )
 * , French cardinal, duke, and politician ( - )
 * , Chinese geographer (-)
 * , English philosopher and mathematician ( - )
 * , Chinese geographer (-)
 * , English philosopher and mathematician ( - )
 * , French philosopher and mathematician ( - )
 * , Italian artist ( - )
 * , of,  and  ( - )
 * , Spanish painter (-)
 * , Hindu saint ( - )
 * , Spanish dramatist ( - )
 * , French lawyer and mathematician –
 * , Queen consort and regent of France ( - )
 * , French cardinal and politician of Italian origin ( - )
 * , Dutch seafarer and explorer ( - )
 * Sir, English author, philosopher and scientist (-)
 * , Dutch painter ( - )
 * , French dramatist ( - )
 * , Chinese encyclopedist (-)
 * , Dutch admiral ( - )
 * , English author and poet ( - )
 * , Hindu saint ( - )
 * , Irish historian and genealogist (d.)
 * , Irish historian and genealogist (d.)
 * , French landscape architect ( - )
 * , German poet and dramatist ( - )
 * , 9th Sikh Guru ( - )
 * , French poet ( - )
 * , French dramatist, actor, director ( - )
 * , French theologian, mathematician and physicist ( - )
 * Queen, high profile Catholic convert, matron of arts ( - )
 * , of,  and  ( - )
 * , Chinese painter, calligrapher, encyclopedist, foreign delegate to Japan ( - )
 * , Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer ( - )
 * , King of Poland ( - )
 * , Hindu king, 1st Maratha ruler, established Hindavi Swaraj (-)
 * , English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright ( - )
 * , Dutch Painter ( - )
 * , Dutch philosopher ( - )
 * , Italian-born French composer ( - )
 * , English philosopher ( - )
 * , English philosopher ( - )
 * , English civil servant and diarist ( - )
 * , second wife of ( - )
 * , French poet and critic ( - )
 * , King of France ( - )
 * , French dramatist ( - )
 * , lover of ( - )
 * , English physicist and mathematician ( - )
 * , German philosopher and mathematician ( - )
 * , English poet ( - )
 * , prince of Transylvania, leader of the anti-Habsburg uprising in ( - )
 * , English composer ( - )
 * , Russian tsar ( - )
 * , English Ironmaster, Introduced the first coke-consuming blast furnace ( – )
 * , German composer of genius(-)
 * , Russian tsar ( - )
 * , English Ironmaster, Introduced the first coke-consuming blast furnace ( – )
 * , German composer of genius(-)

Inventions, discoveries, introductions
Major changes in philosophy and science take place, often characterized as the.
 * s reintroduced in Europe.
 * and become popular in Europe.
 * in France and by Scottish economist
 * : Supernova is observed in the
 * : starts investigating  of planets
 * : constructs a, the first for which sufficient evidence exists
 * : of Germany publishes the 'Relation', the first newspaper
 * : The is identified by  of France
 * : and  observe 's
 * : or 'Authorized Version' first published
 * c. : The first flintlock musket likely created for Louis XIII of France by gunsmith
 * : introduces the  to simplify calculations
 * :, funded by of , builds the first '' made of wood and greased leather
 * : The first English dictonary, 'English Dictionarie' is published by, listing difficult words with definitions
 * : publishes and elucidates his earlier discovery of the
 * : Dutch Bible published
 * :, the first public opera house, opened in Venice
 * : formulates his so-called, unsolved until 1995
 * : Although Chinese s were earlier described in the 14th century , the Tian Gong Kai Wu book of scholar  describes naval mines wrapped in a  bag and ignited by an ambusher pulling a rip cord on the nearby shore that triggers a steel-wheel  mechanism.
 * : builds an early mechanical  for addition and subtraction
 * : engraving introduces grey tones to printed images
 * : of  invents the mercury
 * : of,  invents the first rotating stage
 * : renames the
 * : describes the true shape of the
 * : develops the first functional  based on the learnings of
 * : first to observe surface details of
 * : The first reflecting is built by  based on suggestions of Italian astronomer
 * c. : Monk discovers  in
 * : discovers
 * : First measurement of the
 * : developed by
 * : independently developed by both  and  and used to formulate
 * : independently developed by both  and  and used to formulate