1631 CE

(1 Safar 1041 A.H.) Abd Allah ibn Hasan, Emir of Mecca, abdicates in favor of two successors, his son Muhammad ibn Abd Allah and his great-nephew Zayd ibn Muhsin. Thirty Years' War – Battle of Breitenfeld: Tilly's Holy Roman Imperial army is decisively defeated by Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden, shattering the imperial army of the Holy Roman Empire, and marking the first significant victory for the Protestants in the war. Thirty Years' War: In the Battle of Breitenfeld, Tilly's imperial army is defeated by Gustavus II Adolphus, shattering the imperial army of the Holy Roman Empire and marking the first significant victory for the Protestants in the war.

In the 1630s, the 17th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 23 – Thirty Years' War: Sweden and France sign the Treaty of Bärwalde, a military alliance in which France provides funds for the Swedish army invading northern Germany.source
  • 23 January – Thirty Years' War: France and Sweden sign the Treaty of Bärwalde, a military alliance in which France provides funds for Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden to maintain an army campaign against northern Germany.Francesource
  • February 5 – Puritan leader Roger Williams arrives in Boston.source
  • 5 February – Puritan minister and theologian Roger Williams emigrates to Boston in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.Englandsource
  • 6 April – War of the Mantuan Succession is ended by the Treaty of Cherasco (confirmed 19 June) by which France renounces its conquests in Italy but in fact by secret agreement retains Pinerolo.Francesource
  • May 18 – In Dorchester, Boston, John Winthrop takes the oath of office, and becomes the first Governor of Massachusetts.source
  • May 30 – Thirty Years' War: Bavaria and France sign the Treaty of Fontainebleau, forming a secret alliance; however, this does not last long.source
  • 30 May – Thirty Years' War: France and Bavaria sign the Treaty of Fontainebleau, forming a secret alliance; this is largely negated by autumn.Francesource
  • June 19 – War of the Mantuan Succession: The Treaty of Cherasco is signed, ending the War of the Mantuan Succession.source
  • 18 July – Marie de' Medici leaves for the Low Countries.Francesource
  • 19 July – Marie de' Medici flees from Compiègne to the Low Countries.Belgiumsource
  • August 22 – The Treaty of Werben is signed as an alliance between Hesse-Cassel and Sweden.source
  • August 29 – (1 Safar 1041 A.H.) Abd Allah ibn Hasan, Emir of Mecca, abdicates in favor of two successors, his son Muhammad ibn Abd Allah and his great-nephew Zayd ibn Muhsin.source
  • 4 September – Richelieu is granted the dignity of duc et pair. The following day, he is received by the Parlement of Paris.Francesource
  • November 29 – The Treaty of Höchst is signed between King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and George II of Hesse-Darmstadt, with Darmstadt giving up the fortress of Rüsselsheim in return for Sweden's recognition of Darmstadt's neutrality.source
  • Swedish treaty with Brandenburg.Swedensource

Conflict & Security

  • March 20 – The siege of the Protestant German city of Magdeburg by the Catholic League begins and lasts for more than two months before the city falls and the inhabitants are massacred.source
  • April 13 – Thirty Years' War: Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden defeats an imperial garrison at the city of Frankfurt an der Oder.source
  • May 10 – Thirty Years' War: After a two-month siege, an Imperial army under the command of Tilly storms the German city of Magdeburg and brutally sacks it, massacring over 20,000 inhabitants. Shocked by the massacre, many Protestant states in the Holy Roman Empire decide to ally with Sweden its ongoing invasion.Swedensource
  • May 20 – Thirty Years' War: After a two-month siege, the Imperial Army of the Holy Roman Emperor, under the command of Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly sacks the Protestant German city of Magdeburg, and massacres over 20,000 inhabitants. Shocked by the massacre, many Protestant states in the Holy Roman Empire decide to ally with Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, and support his ongoing invasion.source
  • 30 May – Gaston of Orléans issues at Nancy a manifesto against Richelieu.Francesource
  • June 20 – Sack of Baltimore: the town of Baltimore, County Cork, is sacked by Algerian pirates.Irelandsource
  • 4 July – 400 Piedmontais raise the garrison of the castle of Nice, which is almost destroyed.Francesource
  • July 9 – Koca Musa Pasha, the Ottoman Governor of Egypt, arranges the murder of Emir Kitas Bey, commander of Turkish troops who had been scheduled to invade Persia.source
  • July 22 – Thirty Years' War – Battle of Werben: Tilly defeats Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, but not decisively.source
  • 29 July – Marie de' Medici takes up residence in Mons.Belgiumsource
  • August – The Martyrs of Mombasa were a group of approximately 288 Christians, Portuguese and African, killed in Mombasa (in present-day Kenya) in August 1631 during an uprising led by Yusuf ibn al-Hasan, the Swahili sultan of Mombasa.source
  • August – Thirty Years' War: Running out of supplies, Tilly is forced to send his army into the Electorate of Saxony in order to secure supplies, as well as to force a reaction from John George, Elector of Saxony and Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden.source
  • September 11 – Thirty Years' War: As a result of Tilly's invasion, John George, Elector of Saxony, who has until now stayed neutral, allies with Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, in order to drive the Imperial army out of Saxony.source
  • September 12 – Eighty Years' War – Battle of Albrolhos: A Spanish fleet, under the command of Admiral Antonio de Oquendo, defeats a Dutch fleet off the coast of Brazil.source
  • September 13– Eighty Years' War – Battle of the Slaak: A Spanish fleet of 95 ships, carrying 5,500 soldiers tasked with taking over the Dutch Republic, is almost completely destroyed (with 83 ships sunk) the day after being intercepted by a Dutch fleet off of the coast of the Netherlands.source
  • September 17 – Thirty Years' War – Battle of Breitenfeld: Tilly's Holy Roman Imperial army is decisively defeated by Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden, shattering the imperial army of the Holy Roman Empire, and marking the first significant victory for the Protestants in the war.source
  • September 17 – Thirty Years' War: In the Battle of Breitenfeld, Tilly's imperial army is defeated by Gustavus II Adolphus, shattering the imperial army of the Holy Roman Empire and marking the first significant victory for the Protestants in the war.Swedensource
  • October 10 – Thirty Years' War: A Saxon army takes over Prague.source
  • November 15 – King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden takes possession of Prague, capital of Bohemia.source
  • December 23 – Thirty Years' War: Gustavus II Adolphus of Sweden takes the city of Mainz, without any resistance.source
  • December – The Holland's Leguer, a notorious brothel in Southwark (London), is ordered closed and besieged for a month before this can be carried out.Englandsource
  • 1 to 4 June – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, launches an abortive invasion of the County of Flanders from IJzendijke, probing the defences of Bruges.Belgiumsource

Exploration & Expansion

  • May 28 – William Claiborne sails from England to establish a trading post on Kent Island, the first English settlement in Maryland.source
  • 28 May – William Claiborne sails from England to establish a trading post on Kent Island, the first English settlement in Maryland.Englandsource
  • 2 June – Frederik III gave 20 Danish-Dutch peasants the rights to settle at Allégade, founding the settlement of "Ny Amager" (New Amager) or "Ny Hollænderby" (New Dutchman-town) in what would later become known as Frederiksberg.Denmarksource

Religion & Belief

  • 30 January – Gaston, Duke of Orléans, breaks with Cardinal Richelieu and leaves the court.Francesource
  • 8 February – Council of Flanders reissues a 1605 clarification of their 1601 proclamation on the production and sale of brandywine, prohibiting innkeepers and tavernkeepers from distilling brandywine, and brandywine distillers from selling retail except to medical professionals.Belgiumsource
  • March 10 – Al Walid ben Zidan becomes the new Sultan of Morocco upon the death of Abu Marwan Abd al-Malik II.source
  • 22 March – Detailed proclamation on hunting in the County of Flanders issued in Brussels.Belgiumsource
  • June 17 – The death in childbirth of Mumtaz Mahal at Burhanpur causes her husband Shah Jahan to commission the Taj Mahal at Agra, as a mausoleum for her. Construction is started in 1632, and finished in 1653.source
  • 1 September–10 October – National Synod of Charenton of the Protestant Reformed Church of France at Charenton-le-Pont.Francesource
  • December 22 – the titles of Viscount Clanmalier and Baron Phillipstown are created in the Peerage of Ireland in favour of Terence O'Dempsey.Irelandsource
  • Moses Amyraut's Traite des Religions.source
  • Antonio Colmenero de Ledesma Chocolate: or, An Indian Drinke.source
  • Membership of the Walloon Province (Provincia Gallo-Belgica) of the Society of Jesus peaks at 856.Belgiumsource
  • Worshipful Company of Clockmakers established in London.Englandsource

Economy & Finance

  • 5 August – Decree on foreign and billon coinage issued.Belgiumsource

Technology & Infrastructure

Science & Discovery

  • William Oughtred publishes Clavis Mathematicae, introducing the multiplication sign (×) and proportion sign (::).Englandsource

Health & Medicine

  • 5 February – Export of saltpetre and gunpowder prohibited by royal order.Belgiumsource
  • 23 February – Marie de' Medici is exiled to Compiègne.Francesource
  • 23 May – Procession in Nice seeking relief from plague.Francesource
  • November 21 – In Venice, a special mass celebrates the end of the two years of bubonic plague that had killed thousands of people.source

Crime & Justice

  • 30 March – The king at Dijon accuses accomplices of Gaston of Orléans of lèse-majesté.Francesource
  • 14 June – The king at Saint-Germain-en-Laye establishes an extraordinary Chambre de justice to try crimes of counterfeit money.Francesource
  • June 20 – Algerian pirates sack Baltimore, County Cork, in Ireland.source
  • 26 November – Antwerp city council issues by-laws against price-gouging in the transportation of firewood.Belgiumsource

Disasters & Accidents

  • February 20 – A fire breaks out in Westminster Hall, but is put out before it can cause serious destruction.source
  • 20 February – A fire breaks out in Westminster Hall, but is put out before it can cause serious destruction.Englandsource
  • July 16 – The city of Würzburg is taken by Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, putting an end to the Würzburg witch trials, but not before an estimated 900 people from the city and its environs have been burned at the stake for witchcraft.source

Climate & Environment

  • December 16 – A volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius at Pompeii occurs, for the first time in several centuries.source
  • Poor harvest for second year in a row causes widespread social unrest.Englandsource

Culture & Society

  • 9 January – The masque Love's Triumph Through Callipolis, written by Ben Jonson with music by Nicholas Lanier and designed by Inigo Jones, is performed at Whitehall Palace.Englandsource
  • 11 January – The Master of the Revels refuses to license Philip Massinger's new play, Believe as You List, because of its seditious content; it is first performed in a revised version on 7 May.Englandsource
  • February 16 – The Reval Gymnasium is founded in Tallinn, Estonia, by Swedish king Gustavus II Adolphus.source
  • February 16 – Gustav Adolf Secondary School is founded in Tallinn, Estonia by the king.Swedensource
  • March 28 – the Morres Baronetcy, of Knockagh in the County of Tipperary, is created in the Baronetage of Ireland in favour of John Morres.Irelandsource
  • May 30 – Gazette de France, the first weekly French newspaper, is published.source
  • 30 May – La Gazette, the first French newspaper, is founded by Théophraste Renaudot.Francesource
  • 11 August – Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia arrives in Mons to welcome Marie de' Medici.Belgiumsource
  • Thomas Hobbes is employed as a tutor by the Cavendish family, to teach the future Earl of Devonshire.Englandsource

Births

  • January 1 or 1632 – Katherine Philips, Anglo-Welsh poet (died 1664)source
  • January 12 – Hasanuddin of Gowa, 16th Ruler of The Sultanate of Gowa (died 1670)source
  • 22 February – Peder Syv, philologist, folklorist and priest, known for his collections of Danish proverbs and folksongs (died 1702).Denmarksource
  • April 29 – Joseph Bridger, Colonial Governor of Virginia (died 1686)source
  • May 2 – John Murray, 1st Marquess of Atholl (died 1703)source
  • May 18 – Stanislaus Papczyński, Polish priest (died 1701)source
  • July 15 – Richard Cumberland, English philosopher (died 1718)source
  • August 19 – John Dryden, English writer (died 1700)source
  • 19 August – John Dryden, writer (died 1700)Englandsource
  • August 24 – Philip Henry, English minister (died 1696)source
  • September 6 – Charles Porter, English-born judge (died 1696)source
  • October 18 – Michael Wigglesworth, American Puritan minister (died 1705)source
  • November 4 – Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (died 1660)source
  • November 21 – Catharina Questiers, Dutch poet (died 1669)source
  • 28 November (baptism) – Abraham Brueghel, painter (died c. 1690)Belgiumsource
  • December 14 – Anne Conway, English philosopher (died 1679)source
  • December 24 – Gabrielle Suchon, French Catholic moral philosopher, feminist (died 1703)source
  • 24 December – Bernhard Gustav von Baden-Durlach, general and abbot.Swedensource

Deaths

  • January 1 – Thomas Hobson, English carrier and origin of the phrase "Hobson's choice" (born 1544)source
  • January 14 – Charlotte of the Palatinate, German noble (born 1628)source
  • 28 February – Regina Basilier, merchant and moneylender.Swedensource
  • March 7 – Ambrósio I Nimi a Nkanga, the ruler of the Kingdom of Kongo (in what is now Angola) dies after a reign of five years.source
  • March 28 – Juan van der Hamen, Spanish artist (born 1596)source
  • March 31 – John Donne, English writer and prelate (born 1572)source
  • May 6 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English politician (born 1570)source
  • 14 May – Mervyn Tuchet, 2nd Earl of Castlehaven, is beheaded on Tower Hill, London, and attainted for sodomy and for assisting in the rape of his wife following a leading case which admits the right of a spouse claiming to be injured to testify against her husband.Englandsource
  • June 17 – Mumtaz Mahal, favorite wife of Shah Jahan (born 1593)source
  • June 21 – John Smith (explorer), English soldier and colonist (born 1580)source
  • July 19 – Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher (born 1550)source
  • September 21 – Federico Borromeo, Cardinal Archbishop of Milan (born 1564)source
  • 11 October – Marten Ryckaert (born 1587), painterBelgiumsource
  • October 14 – Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, queen and regent of Denmark (born 1557)source
  • 14 October – Sophie of Mecklenburg-Güstrow, Queen of Denmark and Norway, and mother of King Christian IV (born 1557 in Wismar)Denmarksource
  • October 20 – Michael Maestlin, German astronomer and mathematician (born 1550)source
  • October 26 – Catherine de Parthenay, French noblewoman and mathematician (born 1554)source
  • December 23 – Michael Drayton, English poet (born 1563)source