17th century

(16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries)

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Events

• The Thirty Years' War in Europe (1618-1648).

• Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England
• Scottish and English Protestants sent to colonize Ireland, as reaction to Catholicism there
• The English Civil War (1642-1651).

• The Deluge[?]: series of wars and civil wars in Poland with Sweden, Russia, Prussia and Transylvania which caused Poland to lose power status and began rise of Russia to power status.

• Antwerp merchants established the Dutch East India Company in 1602, embarking on colonial expansion based on shareholdership rather than royal control
• The Dutch republic became the dominant economic and political power in Europe. It also underwent crashes, e.g. the windhandel in tulips led to many bankruptcies in 1637
• Republic of the Seven United Netherlands gains formal independence from Spain in 1648. Dutch merchant ships sail all over the world, leading to a Golden Age in the country, which also shows by the many famous Dutch painters living in this age.
• Major changes in philosophy and science take place, often characterised as the Scientific revolution.

Significant people

• William Shakespeare, author and poet
• Isaac Newton, physicist and mathematician
• Gottfried Leibniz, philosopher and mathematician
• Galileo Galilei, scientist
• René Descartes, philosopher and mathematician
• Blaise Pascal, theologian, mathematician and physicist.
• Baruch Spinoza, philosopher
• Thomas Hobbes, philosopher
• John Locke, philosopher
• Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England
• Christina of Sweden, high profile catholic convert, matron of arts
• Sir Thomas Browne author,philosopher and scientist

Inventions, Discoveries, Introductions

• Calculus is invented and used to formulate classical mechanics.
• Cannon and gunpowder technology refined.
• First measurement of the speed of light, 1676.

Decades and Years

1590s	1590	1591	1592	1593	1594	1595	1596	1597	1598	1599
1600s	1600	1601	1602	1603	1604	1605	1606	1607	1608	1609
1610s	1610	1611	1612	1613	1614	1615	1616	1617	1618	1619
1620s	1620	1621	1622	1623	1624	1625	1626	1627	1628	1629
1630s	1630	1631	1632	1633	1634	1635	1636	1637	1638	1639
1640s	1640	1641	1642	1643	1644	1645	1646	1647	1648	1649
1650s	1650	1651	1652	1653	1654	1655	1656	1657	1658	1659
1660s	1660	1661	1662	1663	1664	1665	1666	1667	1668	1669
1670s	1670	1671	1672	1673	1674	1675	1676	1677	1678	1679
1680s	1680	1681	1682	1683	1684	1685	1686	1687	1688	1689
1690s	1690	1691	1692	1693	1694	1695	1696	1697	1698	1699
1700s	1700	1701	1702	1703	1704	1705	1706	1707	1708	1709