1626 CE

Battle of Ningyuan: In Xingcheng in China, after an 8-day battle, Ming dynasty commander Yuan Chonghuan defeats the much larger force of Manchu leader Nurhaci, who dies soon after and is succeeded by Huang Taiji. Emperor Susenyos of Ethiopia and Patriarch Afonso Mendes declare the primacy of the Roman See over the Ethiopian Church, and Roman Catholicism the state religion of Ethiopia. Nurhaci, chief of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing dynasty, dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji.

In the 1620s, the 17th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • February 5 – The Huguenot rebels and the French government sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the second Huguenot rebellion.source
  • February: Peace of Paris: The Huguenots agree to leave the islands of Olèron and Ré they've occupied since 1625 in exchange for keeping their fortified towns and the right to continue their worship.Francesource
  • March 5 – The Treaty of Monzón is signed between France and Spain to end the Valtellina War and the First Genoese-Savoyard War.source
  • March 7 – Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga becomes the new monarch of Kongo (in what is now Angola) after the overthrow of Garcia I Mvemba a Nkanga, restoring the Kwilu dynasty to power.source
  • May: Treaty of Monzon: The French and their allies, the Grisons, gain overlordship over the Val Tellina pass, an important pass through the Alps they've been fighting for with the Spaniards and the Papal troops for roughly a yearFrancesource
  • June 15 – King Charles I of England dissolves the English Parliament.source
  • November 6 (O.S.) – The ship Arms of Amsterdam arrives in Europe from New Netherland (left September 23) with the news: "They have purchased the Island Manhattes [Manhattan] from the Indians for the value of 60 guilders."source
  • December 20 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and Transylvanian monarch Bethlen Gabor sign the Peace of Pressburg.source
  • Charter of Waterford (revoked in 1618) is restored.Irelandsource

Conflict & Security

  • January 7 – Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army.source
  • 7 January – Swedish victory in the Battle of WallhofSwedensource
  • March 15 – Portugal declares war on Queen Nzinga of the Kingdom of Ndongo, located in what is now Angola.source
  • April 25 – Thirty Years' War: Battle of Dessau Bridge – Albrecht von Wallenstein defeats Ernst von Mansfelds army.source
  • 25 April – The Battle of Dessau Bridge.Denmarksource
  • May 1626 – Sweden invades Polish PrussiaSwedensource
  • July 4 – The Ottoman Army halts its attempt to retake Baghdad from the Persians, after having lost it in 1624.source
  • August 1 – Eighty Years' War: Ernst Casimir of Nassau-Dietz retakes Oldenzaal, forcing the Army of Flanders to withdraw from Overijssel.source
  • August 27 – Thirty Years' War: Battle of Lutter – Tilly defeats King Christian IV of Denmark's army.source
  • 27 August – The Battle of Lutter.Denmarksource
  • September-October – Swedish victory in the Battle of GniewSwedensource
  • December 1 – Pasha Muhammad ibn Farukh, tyrannical Governor of Jerusalem, is forced out.source

Exploration & Expansion

  • January 9 – Peter Minuit sails from Texel Island for America's New Netherland colony, with two ships of Dutch emigrants.source
  • Establishment of the coastal settlement of Salem, Massachusetts.source
  • The visions of Margareta i Kumla attracts pilgrimages from all the nation.Swedensource

Religion & Belief

  • February 11 – Emperor Susenyos of Ethiopia and Patriarch Afonso Mendes declare the primacy of the Roman See over the Ethiopian Church, and Roman Catholicism the state religion of Ethiopia.source
  • November 18 – The new St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is consecrated, on the 1,300th anniversary of the previous church in 326.source
  • Hans Poulsen Resen succeeds Christen Sørensen Longomontanus as rector of the University of Copenhagen.Denmarksource

Economy & Finance

  • May 4 – Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherland, for the Dutch West India Company.source
  • May 24 – Peter Minuit buys Manhattan from a Native American tribe (Lenape or Shinnecock) for trade goods, valued at 60 guilders ($1,143 U.S. dollars as of 2020).source

Technology & Infrastructure

  • Christian IV initiates the construction of Sankt Annæ Skans on the coast north of Copenhagen.Denmarksource
  • King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland institutes a plantation on the royal estate of Upper Ossory in County Laois.Irelandsource

Health & Medicine

  • 1626 influenza pandemic begins in Asia, then spreads into Europe, Africa, North America, and South America.source

Crime & Justice

  • May-19 August: Chalais conspiracy: A group of illustrious nobles, including Marie de Rohan-Montbazon, Duchess of Chevreuse; Henri de Talleyrand-Périgord, comte de Chalais, First Gentleman of the Chamber and César de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, Governor of Brittany, with Gaston, Duke of Orléans and his governor Jean-Baptiste d'Ornano as the instigators, are plotting against the king and Cardinal Richelieu.Francesource
  • The Würzburg and Bamberg witch trials, which will lead to the mass executions of hundreds of people until 1630/31, begin.source

Disasters & Accidents

  • May 30 – Wanggongchang Explosion in Beijing, China: a gunpowder factory explosion destroys part of the city and kills 20,000 people.source

Climate & Environment

  • June 28 – A 7.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Lingqiu County, in China, killing 5,200 residents.source
  • Samuel de Champlain decides to build Cap tourmente (Kap toor-mont) Farm to raise livestock to provide food for settlers in Quebec, rather than depending on supplies sent from France.source

Culture & Society

  • February 2 – King Charles I of England is crowned, but without his wife, Henrietta Maria, who declines to participate in a non-Catholic ceremony.source
  • July 27 – George II becomes the new Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt upon the death of his father, Louis V.source
  • 5 August: Gaston, Duke of Orléans marries Marie de Bourbon, Duchess of MontpensierFrancesource

Births

  • February 5 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French aristocrat and writer (died 1696)source
  • February 18 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician (died 1697)source
  • March 12 – John Aubrey, English antiquary and writer (died 1697)source
  • March 21 – Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, Spanish Catholic saint, missionary to Guatemala (died 1667)source
  • 7 April – Ole Borch, scientist, physician, grammarian, and poet (died 1690)Denmarksource
  • 19 April – Christina, Queen of Sweden, monarch (died 1689)Swedensource
  • May 10 – Jan Jacobszoon Hinlopen, Dutch art collector and merchant (died 1666)source
  • May 14 – Willem Joseph van Ghent, Dutch admiral (died 1672)source
  • May 17 – Countess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of Zweibrücken, sister of King Charles X of Sweden (died 1692)source
  • May 27 – William II, Prince of Orange (died 1650)source
  • August 1 – Sabbatai Zevi, Sephardic Rabbi (died 1676)source
  • August 5 – Richard Ottley, English politician (died 1670)source
  • August 12 – Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (died 1690)source
  • September 28 – Elizabeth Maitland, Duchess of Lauderdale, influential British noblewoman (died 1698)source
  • October 4 – Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland (died 1712)source
  • December 8 – Queen Christina of Sweden (died 1689)source
  • Willam Dongan, 1st Earl of LimerickIrelandsource
  • Andrea Guarneri, luthier and founder of the house of Guarneri violin makers (died 1698)Italysource

Deaths

  • January 19 – Ruqaiya Sultan Begum (born 1542)source
  • January 24 – Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (born 1580)source
  • 29 January – Ture Axelsson, Lord of Traneberg (born 1604)Swedensource
  • February 10 – Battle of Ningyuan: In Xingcheng in China, after an 8-day battle, Ming dynasty commander Yuan Chonghuan defeats the much larger force of Manchu leader Nurhaci, who dies soon after and is succeeded by Huang Taiji.source
  • February 20 – John Dowland, English composer and lutenist (born 1563)source
  • April 9 – Francis Bacon, English scientist and statesman (born 1561)source
  • May 28 – Thomas Howard, 1st Earl of Suffolk (born 1561)source
  • July: Jean-Baptiste d'Ornano dies in prison as a result of kidney and bladder ailments after having been arrested for taking part in the Chalais conspiracyFrancesource
  • 22 September – Hugh MacCaghwell, Franciscan theologian and archbishop (born 1571)Irelandsource
  • September 25 – Lancelot Andrewes, English scholar (born 1555)source
  • September 30 – Nurhaci, chief of the Jurchens and founder of the Qing dynasty, dies and is succeeded by his son Hong Taiji.source
  • September 30 – Nurhaci, Chinese chieftain (born 1559)source
  • October 2 – Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, 1st Count of Gondomar, Spanish diplomat (born 1567)source
  • October 28 – Muhammad Parviz, Mughal emperor (born 1589)source
  • November 25 – Edward Alleyn, English actor (born 1566)source
  • December 8 – John Davies, English poet and politician (born 1569)source
  • A dam failure causes the sudden flooding of the mining city of Potosí in present-day Bolivia leading to the death of thousands and the massive release of toxic mercury into the environment.source
  • Hans Nielsen, composer (born 1559)Denmarksource