International Events
- English philosopher John Locke publishes two of his most influential works: An Essay Concerning Human Understanding and Two Treatises of Government.
- Sutanuti, modern-day Kolkata (Calcutta), is established as a trading post by the English East India Company.
- A massive outbreak of the measles epidemic occurs in Japan.
- The first Astronomer Royal of England, John Flamsteed, records the earliest sighting of the planet Uranus. At the time, Flamsteed thinks the distant planet is a star and identifies it “34 Tarus.”
- German settlers in Germantown, Pa., erect the first paper mill in North America.
- At Stellenbosch in Cape Colony, South Africa, a slave revolt erupts, but is quickly quelled by Dutch settlers.
- The Golden Age of Piracy begins.
- The Jamaican slave population reaches 40,000.
- Dutch traders smuggle coffee plants from the Arabian port of Mocha in Yemen. Gradually Muslim merchants lose their monopoly on the coffee trade.
- Battle of the Boyne: James II is defeated in Ireland by his son-in-law and nephew William III of Orange. The defeat does not bring a close to the War of the Two Kings; however, it is a devastating blow to James II in his attempt to regain the British throne.
- Joseph I, the eldest son of the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I, is elected King of the Romans (King of Germany) and officially becomes successor to Leopold I.
- The British Fort of Mazagaon, located in modern-day Mumbai, is razed at the order of Sidi Yakub, a Mughal marine of African descent.
- The first wave of the great Serbian Migration occurs as the Habsburg army retreats from Serbia during the Austro-Turkish War. The Serbs historically opposed the Ottoman Empire and fled Serbia because of fear of retribution from the Turks. Anrsenije III Carnojevic, the patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, encouraged his 60,000-member church to move north into Hungary to escape the advancing Turkish Army.
- South America, Central America and the Caribbean are dominated by sugar production and booming slave trade.
- Aja Kingdom, a West African kingdom located in modern-day Benin, becomes the primary supplier of African slaves for the Atlantic slave trade.
- England becomes the leading trafficker of African slaves from 1690 until the 1807 Slave Trade Act is passed by Parliament, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire.
- The clarinet is invented by Joann Christopher Denner, a German instrument maker.
- Japanese merchants trading in rice receipts begin the first-ever futures commodity trading.
Ongoing Conflicts
- Austro-Turkish War (1683-1699): The Ottoman Empire invades Hungary on March 2, 1683. Austria and Poland go to war with the Ottoman Empire, and with the help of Pope Innocent XI, ally with the Holy Roman Empire, Venice and Moscow. The Ottoman Empire is defeated and Austria gains control of Hungary at the Treaty of Karlowitz on January 26, 1699.
- War of the Grand Alliance (1688-1697): France’s Louis XIV’s territorial aggression and involvement with the Jacobites in England, Scotland and Ireland lead to a defensive alliance of England, the Austrian Habsburgs, and eventually, Savoy, Sweden, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. In the end, France surrenders all territories gained since 1678 and recognizes William III as king of England.
- In North America the War of the Grand Alliance extends and becomes known as King William’s War.
- Irish War of 1689-1691: King James II calls upon Ireland to help restore himself to the English throne following the Glorious Revolution of 1688. With the backing of Louis XIV, James II lands in Ireland with the intention of striking the Protestant stronghold of Londonderry. William III lands in Ireland in 1690 and defeats James II at the Battle of the Boyne.
- The Dzgungar Empire, the last nomadic empire in Asia, attempts to invade Khalkha in Outer Mongolia, but is defeated by the Chinese army.
Sources
- Figueredo, D.H., and Frank Argote-Freyre. “Industry and Slavery in the Caribbean.” A Brief History of the Caribbean, Brief History. Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Modern World History Online, Facts On File, Inc.
- Fotić, Aleksandar. “Serbia and the Ottoman Empire.” In Ágoston, Gábor, and Bruce Masters, eds. Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Facts On File, Inc., 2009. Modern World History Online, Facts On File, Inc.
- Kohn, George Childs. Dictionary of Wars. Facts on File, Inc., 1999.
- Kohn, George Childs. “Japanese Measles Epidemic of 1690-1691.” Encyclopedia of Plague and Pestilence, Third Edition. Facts On File, Inc. Modern World History Online.
- Keay, John. India: A Concise History. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2000.
- O’Brien, Patrick K., gen. ed. “Rozwi Empire.” Encyclopedia of World History. Copyright George Philip Limited. Facts On File, Inc., 2000. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc.
- Rodriguez, Junius P. Chronology of World Slavery. ABC-CLIO, 1999.
- Teeple, John B., Timelines of World History. DK Publishing, 2002.
- Todd, Deborah, and Joseph A. Angelo Jr. “Bode, Johann Elert.” A to Z of Scientists in Space and Astronomy. Facts on File, Inc., 2005. (Updated 2006.) Science Online. Facts On File, Inc.
- Trager, James. The People’s Chronology: A Year-by-Year Record of Human Events from Prehistory to the Present. Holt, 1994.
- Williams, Neville. Chronology of World History: 1492-1775: The Expanding World, vol 2. ABC-CLIO, Inc., 1999.
Content last updated: October 31, 2010
