1646 CE
It is one of eight years (CE) to contain each Roman numeral once (1000(M)+500(D)+100(C)+(-10(X)+50(L))+5(V)+1(I) = 1646).
In the 1640s, the 17th century.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- January 5 – The English House of Commons approves a bill to provide for Ireland to be governed by a single Englishman.source
- May 6 – American colonial poet Anne Bradstreet becomes a founding mother of Andover Parish (modern-day North Andover), Massachusetts.source
- May 30 – Eighty Years' War: Habsburg Spain and the Dutch Republic sign a temporary cease-fire.source
- 4 July – Pierre Teuleron, sieur de Repentigny, granted Jules Trottier II land in La Rochelle to build and develop New France, under the authorization of Jacques Le Neuf de la Poterie.Francesource
- July 30 – Commissioners of the Parliament of England and Scottish Covenanters meeting in Newcastle upon Tyne set out the Heads of Proposals ("Newcastle Propositions") demanding that King Charles I gives up control of the army and place restrictions on Catholics, as the basis for a constitutional settlement.source
- 30 July – Commissioners of Parliament and Scottish Covenanters meeting in Newcastle upon Tyne set out the Heads of Proposals ("Newcastle Propositions") demanding that the King gives up control of the army and place restrictions on Catholics, as the basis for a constitutional settlement.Englandsource
- 23 September – Le Cardinal arrives in Quebec (New France) with Jules Trottier II and his familyFrancesource
- October 10 – France takes Dunkirk from the Spanish Netherlands for the first time.source
- 10 October – France takes Dunkirk from the Spanish Netherlands for the first time.Francesource
- November 4 – Massachusetts Bay Colony enacts the death penalty as punishment for denying Biblical inspiration.source
- December 23 – The Covenanters hand over King Charles I of England to the Parliamentarians.source
- 23 December – the Covenanters hand over the King to the Parliamentarians.Englandsource
- The Treaty of Brömsebro (August 13): This treaty concluded the Torstenson WarSwedensource
Conflict & Security
- January 9 – Battle of Bovey Heath in Devonshire: Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army surprises and routs the Royalist camp of Lord Wentworth.source
- January 19 – Sir Richard Grenville, 1st Baronet, a Royalist fighting for Prince Charles against Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth, is imprisoned for insubordination after proposing to make Cornwall self-governing in order to win Cornish support for the Royalists. After being incarcerated at the tidal island of St Michael's Mount off of the coast of Cornwall, he is allowed to escape in March to avoid capture by Cromwell's troops.source
- February 16 – First English Civil War – Battle of Torrington: A decisive Parliamentary victory is gained over the Royalists.source
- February 1646 — Qing armies seized land west of the Qiantang River from the Lu regime and defeated a ragtag force representing the Longwu Emperor in northeastern Jiangxi.Chinasource
- March 15 – Start of the Battles of La Naval de Manila, a series of five naval battles fought between the Dutch Republic and Spain in the waters of the Philippines.source
- April 27 – King Charles I of England flees from Oxford (where he has been overwintering) in disguise and begins his journey to the Scottish army camp near Newark.source
- May 5 – King Charles I of England surrenders his forces to a Scottish army at Southwell, Nottinghamshire.source
- 5 May – King Charles I surrenders his forces to a Scottish army at Southwell, Nottinghamshire.Englandsource
- 5 June – the Battle of Benburb, part of the Irish Confederate Wars, takes place in County Tyrone. The forces of Catholic Confederate Ireland under Owen Roe O'Neill secure a decisive victory over a Scottish Covenanter and Anglo-Irish army led by Robert Monro.Irelandsource
- June 20 – Third Siege of Oxford concludes with signing of the surrender of the Royalist garrison at Oxford to General Thomas Fairfax's Parliamentary New Model Army; on the 24th of June the main force marches out, ending the First English Civil War.source
- July – John Lilburne is imprisoned for a second time, this time in the Tower of London, for denouncing his former commander as a traitor and Royalist sympathiser; the campaign to free Lilburne gives rise to the populist political movement called the Levellers.Englandsource
- 10 August – The French and Swedish armies unite in Wetzlar for the Bavarian campaignFrancesource
- August 19 – First English Civil War: Raglan Castle in Wales surrenders to General Fairfax after a 2-month siege; it is later destroyed.source
- 17 October — Fuzhou falls to the Qing, Zheng Zhilong surrendered to the Qing and his son Koxinga fled to the island of Taiwan with his fleet.Chinasource
- The Battle of Jankau (March 6): This battle took place between the forces of SwedenSwedensource
- Continued involvement in the Thirty Years' WarSwedensource
Exploration & Expansion
- March 2 – The future Charles II of England escapes from Cornwall into exile across the English Channel.source
- Amsterdam artists Lambert Doomer (1624–1700) and Willem Schellinks (1627–1678) journey from Nantes to Paris. Doomer extensively documented what they saw in his publication, Tour de France 1646.Francesource
Religion & Belief
- January 20 – Francesco Molin is elected as the 99th Doge of Venice after 23 ballots, and governs the Venetian Republic for nine years until his death in 1655.source
- 28 March – the first "Ormonde Peace": the Supreme Council of the Irish Catholic Confederation signs an agreement with James Butler, Marquess of Ormonde, as lieutenant of Charles I of England which would procure some rights for Catholics in return for their military support of the royalists in England, but this is renounced by the Confederation's General Assembly.Irelandsource
- April 24 – The Union of Uzhorod brings the Ruthenian Greek Orthodox Church into the fold of the Catholic Church while allowing it to retain its Eastern and Rusyn character.source
- August 19 – The Westminster Assembly of Divines, meeting in London, approves a resolution to begin the drawing up of the Westminster Confession of Faith, declaring that "These heads of Faith, Repentance, and Good Works shall be referred to the three Committees in their order to prepare something upon them for the Confession of Faith."; the draft is printed and sent to the Parliament of England in December.source
- August – The Westminster Assembly of Divines begins to draw up the Westminster Confession of Faith; the draft is printed and sent to Parliament in December.Englandsource
- October 9 – The Anglican episcopacy is formally abolished by an act of England's Parliament.source
- October 28 – The first Protestant church assembly for Native Americans (specifically, the Waban people) is held in Massachusetts.source
- October – Anglican episcopacy formally abolished.Englandsource
- November 16 – Following up on the abolition of the episcopacy, Parliament passes an act to sell the bishops' lands across the Commonwealth.source
- Un miracle du frère Francisco by Bartolomé Esteban MurilloFrancesource
- Question celebre. S'il est nécessaire, ou non, que les filles soient sçavantes by Anna Maria van SchurmanFrancesource
- Construction begins on the Church of Saint-Sulpice, founded by parish priest Jean-Jacques OlierFrancesource
- The transept stained glass windows of Saint-Étienne Cathedral in Sens are installedFrancesource
- Carl Gustaf Wrangel appointed the new leader of the Swedish army.Swedensource
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
- March 6 – Joseph Jenkes obtains the first colonial machine patent, in Massachusetts.source
- Møntergården is constructed by Falk Gøye in Odense.Denmarksource
- Chapelle Sainte-Anne de La Grasserie is built in Ille-et-VilaineFrancesource
- Église Saint-Martin de Vern-sur-Seiche is built in Ille-et-VilaineFrancesource
- Chapelle Sainte-Marguerite is built in Locoal-Mendon, canton of BelzFrancesource
- The Quiberet fountain is built in AnnecyFrancesource
- The Hôtel Thuriot de la Rosière is built in ParisFrancesource
- The Église Notre-Dame is built in ChambéryFrancesource
- The Hôtel de Sourdéac is built in ParisFrancesource
Health & Medicine
Crime & Justice
- February 28 – Roger Scott is tried in Massachusetts for sleeping in church.source
- 18 July - The Norwegian nobility is bestowed the neck and hand privilege. The privilege allowed nobels to catch, prosecute and pass judgment on criminals.Norwaysource
- Anne of Austria with her children by the workshop of Philippe de ChampaigneFrancesource
- L’Art de régner ou le Sage gouverneur by Gillet de La TessonerieFrancesource
- Saint Bruno révèle en songe au comte Roger une conspiration contre ui by Eustache Le SueurFrancesource
- Port de mer, effet de brume by Claude LorrainFrancesource
Disasters & Accidents
- July 12 – Lightning strikes the gunpowder tower of the castle of Bredevoort in the Netherlands, causing an explosion that destroys parts of the castle and the town, killing Lord Haersolte of Bredevoort and his family, as well as others. Only one son, Anthonie, who is not home that day, survives.source
Culture & Society
- January 21 – Philip Sidney, 3rd Earl of Leicester is approved by England's House of Commons as the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.source
- 3 March – the title of Earl of Leinster in the Peerage of Ireland is created for Robert Cholmondeley.Irelandsource
- March – Nicolas de Neufville is made governor of the young Louis XIV by the queen-motherFrancesource
- July 7 – The populist political movement called the Levellers appears in England with the publication of the Levellers manifesto, A Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens by Richard Overton and William Walwyn.source
- 7 July – Levellers William Walwyn and Richard Overton publish Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens calling for the abolition of the monarchy.Englandsource
- August Philipp, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck becomes Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck.Denmarksource
- September 16 – The new Orange College of Breda opens at Breda in the Dutch Republic.source
- 20 October – Nicolas de Neufville is promoted to marshal of FranceFrancesource
- December 7 – Countess Louise Henriette of Nassau marries Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg, on her 19th birthday at The Hague.source
- 24 December — Prince of Gui Zhu Youlang established the Yongli (永曆) regime in the same vicinity.Chinasource
- 25 December – scuffles in Bury St Edmunds over the celebration of Christmas.Englandsource
- Coustumes generales du Pays by Bertrand d'Argentré (1519–1590) is published by Nicolas BuonFrancesource
Births
- February 23 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (died 1709)source
- April 4 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (died 1715)source
- April 15 – King Christian V of Denmark (died 1699)source
- April 16 – Jules Hardouin-Mansart, French Baroque architect (died 1708)source
- 16 April – Christian V of Denmark (died 1699)Denmarksource
- June 5 – Elena Cornaro Piscopia, Venetian philosopher of noble descent (died 1684)source
- June 6 – Hortense Mancini, favourite Italian niece of Cardinal Mazarin (died 1699)source
- June 21 – Maria Francisca of Savoy (died 1683)source
- July 1 – Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, German philosopher, scientist, and mathematician (died 1716)source
- August 2 – Jean-Baptiste du Casse, French admiral and buccaneer (died 1715)source
- August 8 – Godfrey Kneller, German-born painter (died 1723)source
- August 19 – John Flamsteed, British astronomer (died 1719)source
- 19 August – John Flamsteed, astronomer (died 1719)Englandsource
- October 7 – Charles Honoré d'Albert, duc de Luynes, French noble (died 1712)source
- 10 October – Françoise-Marguerite de Sévigné, aristocrat (died 1705)Francesource
- December 26 – Élisabeth Marguerite d'Orléans, French noble (died 1696)source
- December 26 – Robert Bolling, wealthy early American settler, planter and merchant (died 1709)source
- Charles XI of Sweden (died April 5, 1697)Swedensource
Deaths
- January 18 – Hosokawa Tadaoki, Japanese daimyō (born 1563)source
- March 11 – Stanisław Koniecpolski, Polish soldier and statesman (born c. 1592)source
- May 13 – Maria Anna of Spain (born 1606)source
- 25 May – Just Høg, statesman and landowner (born 1584)Denmarksource
- August 9 – Margherita Aldobrandini, Parmesan regent (born 1588)source
- August 19 – Alexander Henderson, Scottish theologian (born c. 1583)source
- September 1 – Francis Windebank, English statesman (born 1582)source
- September 11 – Antonio Marcello Barberini, Italian cardinal and the younger brother of Maffeo Barberini (born 1569)source
- September 14 – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English Civil War general (born 1591)source
- 14 September – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English Civil War general (born 1591)Englandsource
- October 4 – Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English statesman (born 1586)source
- October 9 – Balthasar Charles, Prince of Asturias (born 1629)source
- October 18 – Isaac Jogues, French Jesuit missionary (born 1607)source
- October 28 – William Dobson, English painter (born 1610)source
- November 29 - Laurentius Paulinus Gothus, theologian, astronomer and Archbishop of Uppsala (born 1565)Swedensource
- December 22 – Peter Mohyla, Moldavian Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia (born 1596)source
- December 26 – Henri, Prince of Condé (born 1588)source
- Longwu Emperor of the Southern MingChinasource