1659 CE

In the Battle of Konotop, fought near the Ukrainian city of Konotop during the Russo-Polish War, Polish Cossack hetman Ivan Vyhovsky and his allies defeat the armies of the Tsardom of Russia, led by Aleksey Trubetskoy. As Booth's Uprising spreads to Liverpool, Thomas Myddelton, Randolph Egerton and fellow royalists take control of the town of Wrexham in Wales and proclaim Charles II to be King. As Booth's Uprising spreads to Liverpool, Thomas Myddelton, Randolph Egerton and fellow royalists take control of the town of Wrexham in Wales and proclaim Charles II to be King.

In the 1650s, the 17th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 27 – The third and final session of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland is opened by Lord Protector Richard Cromwell, with Chaloner Chute as the Speaker of the House of Commons, with 567 members. "Cromwell's Other House", which replaces the House of Lords during the last years of the Protectorate, opens on the same day, with Richard Cromwell as its speaker.source
May 21 – The Kingdom of France, the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic sign the Concert of The Hague, agreeing a common stance on the Second Northern War.source
21 May – Signing of the Concert of The Hague, an outline of the common stance of England, France and the Dutch Republic regarding the Second Northern War. The powers agree that the Swedish and Denmark shall settle for a peace treaty based on the Treaty of Roskilde, including free navigation through The Sound and the Baltic Sea based on the Treaty of Elbing. The subsequent Dano-Swedish Peace of Copenhagen largely followed the terms dictated by the Concert of the Hague.Denmark source
21 May – France, the Commonwealth of England, and the Dutch Republic sign the Concert of The Hague.France source
25 May – Richard Cromwell (son of Oliver) resigns as Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.Ireland source
July 31 – Dodda Kempadevaraja (Devaraja Wodeyar I) becomes the new maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore (part of modern-day India's Karnataka state) upon the death of his cousin, Kanthirava Narasaraja I. He is crowned on August 19.source
August 27 – Portuguese Jesuits led by António Vieira sign the Treaty of the Mapuá with various indigenous peoples on the Marajó Archipelago at the mouth of the Amazon River.source
October 12 – The English Rump Parliament dismisses John Lambert, and other generals.source
October 13 – General-major John Lambert drives out the English Rump-government.source
November 7 – The Treaty of the Pyrenees is signed by representatives of Kings Louis XIV of France and Philip IV of Spain. Spain agrees to French acquisition of the counties of Roussillon and Upper Cerdanya (Principality of Catalonia) and most of Artois, formally ending the 24-year-long Franco-Spanish War.source
4 December – Sir Arthur Haselrig arrives in Portsmouth and draws up a declaration encouraging citizens to "restore Parliament to their former freedom"; the garrison comes over to him.England source
December 16 – General George Monck demands free parliamentary elections in Scotland and resolves to overthrow the military government that has ruled the British Isles since 1648.source
December 26 – The Long Parliament reforms occur in Westminster.source
At the behest of Hong Chengchou, the Qing court grants Wu Sangui own fiefdom, effectively gaining all civilian and military control in Yunnan province.China source
Bornholm, previously part of Skåneland, rebels against Sweden, leading to its return to Denmark with the Treaty of Copenhagen the following year..Denmark source
The reign of Aurungzebe begins (reigned till 1707).India source
End of the Swedish occupation of Courland.Sweden source

Conflict & Security

January 14 - Battle of the Lines of ElvasPortugal source
10 February and 11 – A Swedish siege of the city during the Second Northern War culminates in the Assault on Copenhagen results in Danish victory.Denmark source
February 11 – The Assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back, with heavy losses.source
11 February - Failed Swedish attempt to storm Copenhagen. (also known as the Battle of Copenhagen) took place. After a prolonged siege, King Charles X Gustav ordered a major assault on the Danish capital. Despite initial surprise, the Swedish forces were met with fierce resistance from the Dano-Dutch garrison and citizens. The Danish defenders, aided by ice-free sections of the moats, inflicted heavy casualties on the Swedes, who had attempted to cross the frozen waters. The assault ultimately failed, forcing the Swedes to retreat with significant losses. This marked a turning point in the siege, as it became clear that Copenhagen could not be taken by storm.Sweden source
February - The Second Battle of Frederikshald, Swedish forces fails to take the city.Norway source
March 11 – Prince Dara Shikoh, who had been the heir apparent to the throne of the Mughal Empire in India until the overthrow of his father, Shah Jahan, makes a stand near Ajmer to fight the armies sent by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb, but loses and is forced to flee.source
April 22 – Under pressure from the English Army in London, which has assembled troops outside of Westminster, Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland, dissolves the Third Protectorate Parliament, the last for the Commonwealth.source
May 6 – English Army General Hezekiah Haynes, joined by officers Charles Fleetwood, John Lambert, James Berry, Robert Lilburne, Thomas Kelsey, William Goffe and William Packer, presents the manifesto A Declaration of the Officers of the Army, advocating that Lord Protector Cromwell step down after restoring the "Rump Parliament" to administer England. Cromwell restores the parliament rule the next day and decides to step down.source
June 29 – In the Battle of Konotop, fought near the Ukrainian city of Konotop during the Russo-Polish War, Polish Cossack hetman Ivan Vyhovsky and his allies defeat the armies of the Tsardom of Russia, led by Aleksey Trubetskoy.source
August 3 – Booth's Uprising, led by George Booth, begins in the city of Chester as 3,000 royalists attempt a revolt against the military government of England. English Army troops begin marching on August 5 to suppress the rebellion.source
August 7 – As Booth's Uprising spreads to Liverpool, Thomas Myddelton, Randolph Egerton and fellow royalists take control of the town of Wrexham in Wales and proclaim Charles II to be King.source
7 August – as Booth's Uprising spreads to Liverpool, Thomas Myddelton, Randolph Egerton and fellow royalists take control of the town of Wrexham in Wales and proclaim Charles II to be King.England source
August 15 – Two English warships block the entrance to the River Dee to prevent supplies from reaching Booth's rebels in Chester, while Major General John Lambert of the English Army advances into Cheshire at Nantwich.source
15 August – two English warships block the entrance to the River Dee to prevent supplies from reaching Booth's rebels in Chester, while Lambert's Protectorate Army advances into Cheshire at Nantwich.England source
August 19 – At the Battle of Winnington Bridge, the Protectorate Army of 5,000 troops, dispatched by Parliament and under the command of Major General Lambert, routs the 4,000 anti-government rebels commanded by George Booth of England and Edward Broughton of Wales. Lambert and his forces, exhausted from their rapid march and the battle, elect not to pursue the fleeing rebels and less than 30 rebels are killed.source
August 30 – Poland's army of over 12,000 troops under the command of Jerzy Sebastian Lubomirski and Krzysztof Grodzicki, takes back the city of Grudziądz, which has been under Sweden's control since the end of 1655, after a siege of seven days. Much of the town is left in ruins after a fire and bombardment from Polish cannons.source
September 20 – War between Dutch settlers and the native Lenape Indians, of the Esopus tribe, in modern-day Ulster County, New York, in the U.S., as a group of Dutch settlers from the village of Wiltwijck, New Netherland fires their guns at a group of Esopus men who have been sitting around a campfire. For the next ten months, the Esopus warriors, commanded by Chief Papequanaehen, fight a war with the Dutch that is finally settled with a peace treaty on July 15, 1660.source
September 22 – The Ottoman-ruled island of Kizilhisar (called Castelrosso by Italy and in modern times the island of Kastellorizo in Greece) is captured from the Ottoman Empire by the navy of the Republic of Venice after nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule that had started in 1512.source
31 October – Dutch troops land at Kerteminde to assist Denmark against the Swedish invaders. Hans Schack, de Reyter and Henrik Bielke forces the Swedes out of the town.Denmark source
14 November - Battle of Nyborg took place on the island of Funen, Denmark. This decisive engagement saw an allied army of Danish, Imperial, and Brandenburgian forces defeat the Swedish army. The Polish cavalry, under Colonel Kazimierz Piaseczyński, played a crucial role in the allied victory. The Swedish forces, estimated at around 7,000, suffered heavy losses, with many either killed or surrendering after intense fighting. This defeat significantly weakened Sweden's position in Denmark.Sweden source
November 25 – Dutch forces under Michiel de Ruyter free the Danish city of Nyborg from Swedish conquest that had taken place earlier in the year.source

Exploration & Expansion

February 2 – Jan van Riebeeck produces the first South African wine, at the Cape of Good Hope.source
1 March – in exile in the Netherlands while plotting the restoration of the monarchy to Britain, Charles appoints seven royalists (including six from the "Sealed Knot" group) to a "Great Trust and Commission" to make plans for a post-restoration government. The Great Trust is led by Charles's trusted advisor, Edward Hyde.England source
5 May – first British colonists, from the East India Company, land on Saint Helena.England source
First British colonists arrive on Saint Helena.source
Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa brings cocoa to Paris.source
The Spanish Infanta Maria Theresa brings cocoa to Paris.France source
Ongoing Swedish occupations: Throughout the year, Sweden maintained occupations of various territories, including Chojnice (in Poland), Langeland, Falster, Lolland, Nakskov, Fredericia, and Møn (all in Denmark).Sweden source

Religion & Belief

February 16 – The first known cheque (400 pounds) is written.source
16 February – the first known cheque (400 pounds) is written.England source
6 April – Council of Officers petitions Parliament to oppose Royalists and make up arrears of army pay.England source
14 April – The first meeting in CopenhagenCouncil of 32 Men is held.Denmark source
18 April – Cromwell dissolves the Council of Officers and orders its members to leave London.England source
7 May – Rump Parliament reassembles at the invitation of the Council of Officers and appoints a Committee of Safety to form the executive until a new Council of State is appointed on 19 May.England source
25 May – Richard Cromwell resigns as Lord Protector after the Rump promises to pay his debts and a pension. The executive government is replaced by the restored Council of State, dominated by Generals John Lambert, Charles Fleetwood (Richard Cromwell's brother-in-law) and John Desborough.England source
13 October – the Council of State is dismissed by the Rump Parliament and Lambert excludes the Rump Parliament from the Palace of Westminster.England source
25 October – the Committee of Safety replaces the Council of State.England source
Parisian police raid a monastery, sending monks to prison for eating meat and drinking wine during Lent.source

Economy & Finance

March 28 – The Danish Africa Company (Dansk afrikanske kompagni) is chartered to Hendrik Carloff for the purpose of capturing Africa slaves from the area around Denmark's colony on the Danish Gold Coast for use in the West Indies.source
March – The Danish Africa Company is founded in Glückstadt.Denmark source

Technology & Infrastructure

Lesja Iron Works is established.Norway source

Science & Discovery

31 January – Central England temperature record begins monthly recording, retrospectively.England source
July – Christiaan Huygens's important work on astronomy, Systema Saturnium, is published.source
Thomas Hobbes publishes De Homine.source
Niels Stensen, later known as Nicolas Steno, embarks on his scientific research which will in time gain him a reputation as the father of both anatomy and geology.Denmark source

Health & Medicine

March 9 – Sir Lislebone Long is elected as the Speaker of the House of Commons by the Third Protectorate Parliament after Chaloner Chute becomes seriously ill. Long serves only six days before dying on March 16. Chute remains Speaker but dies on April 14 and is replaced by Thomas Bampfield.source
9 March – Sir Lislebone Long is elected as Speaker of the House of Commons after Chaloner Chute becomes seriously ill. Long serves only six days before dying on 16 March. Chute remains Speaker but himself dies on 14 April and is replaced by Thomas Bampfield.England source
The plague ravages Denmark, particularly Jutland, probably brought to the country by German and Polish mercenaries.Denmark source

Crime & Justice

January 31 – Giovanna De Grandis is arrested in Rome and charged with trafficking the lethal Aqua Tofana poison. On February 2, she implicates the mastermind of the poisoners, Gironima Spana, starting the case of the Spana Prosecution that eventually leads to the arrest and trial of 40 people.source
June 10 – Dara Shikoh, at one time the heir apparent for the Mughal Empire, is betrayed by an Afghan chieftain, Junaid Khan Barozai, who had initially given him refuge from pursuit from the new emperor, Aurangzeb. Turned over to Aurangzeb's men, Dara Shikoh is killed on August 30.source
June – A Danish attempt to recapture Kronborg Castle fails. Oluf van Steenwinckel, believed to be the son of the architect Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger, is one of the Danish participants in the attack and is afterwards executed by the Swedish.Denmark source

Disasters & Accidents

25 April – great fire in Southwold, Suffolk.England source

Culture & Society

January 24 – Pierre Corneille's Oedipe premieres in Paris.source
March 1 – In exile in the Netherlands while plotting the restoration of the monarchy to England, Scotland and Ireland, Charles, son of the late King Charles I appoints seven royalists (including six from the "Sealed Knot" group) to a "Great Trust and Commission" to make plans for a post-restoration government. The Great Trust is led by Charles's trusted advisor, Edward Hyde.source
July 16 – Princess Henriette Catherine of Nassau marries John George II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, in Groningen.source
September 30 – Peter Stuyvesant of New Netherland forbids tennis playing during religious services, marking the first mention of tennis in what will become the United States.source
Diego Velázquez's portrait of Infanta Maria Theresa is first exhibited.source
Peter Swink, the first known non-white settler to own land in Massachusetts, and first known African to live in Springfield, Massachusetts, arrives. He holds a seat in the town meetings.source

Births

January 18 – Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher (died 1708)source
February 1 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch Pacific Ocean explorer (died 1729)source
March 26 – William Wollaston, English philosopher (died 1724)source
26 March – William Wollaston, philosophical writer (died 1724)England source
May 4 – John Dunton, English bookseller and author (died 1733)source
5 June – Anne Clausdatter, businesswoman and owner of Borgestad Manor in Skien (died 1713)Norway source
June 11 – Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Japanese samurai (died 1719)source
July 18 – Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (died 1743)source
August 1 – Sebastiano Ricci, Italian painter (died 1734)source
August 20 – Henry Every, English pirate (died after 1696)source
September 5 – Michel Sarrazin, Canadian scientist (died 1734)source
September 10 – Henry Purcell, English composer (died 1695)source
September 13 – Claud Hamilton, 4th Earl of Abercorn, Scottish and Irish peer (k. in action 1691)source
29 September - Michael Dahl, painter (died 1743)Sweden source
19 October – Wilhelm Edinger, merchant and ship-owner (died 1733)Denmark source
October 22 – Georg Ernst Stahl, German chemist (died 1734)source
November 3 – Hui-bin Jang, Korean royal consort (died 1701)source
November 10 – Albert Borgard, Danish artillery and engineer officer (died 1751)source

Deaths

January 14 – In the Battle of the Lines of Elvas, fought near the small city of Elvas in Portugal during the Portuguese Restoration War, the Spanish Army under the command of Luis Méndez de Haro suffers heavy casualties, with over 11,000 of its nearly 16,000 soldiers killed, wounded or taken prisoner; the smaller Portuguese force of 10,500 troops, commanded by André de Albuquerque Ribafria (who is killed in the battle) suffers less than 900 casualties.source
February 15 – John Arrowsmith, English theologian and academic (born 1602)source
March 9 – Peter Bulkley, English and later American Puritan (born 1583)source
April 15 – Simon Dach, German poet (born 1605)source
June 21 – Afonso Mendes, Patriarch of Ethiopia (born 1579)source
June 23 – Hyojong of Joseon, 17th king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea (1649-1659) (born 1619)source
July 5 – Five women are executed by hanging at Rome after being convicted of murder in the Spana Prosecution by distributing the powerful Aqua Tofana poison, sold primarily to women wishing to get rid of their husbands. Put to death on the same day are Gironima Spana, Giovanna De Grandis, Maria Spinola, Graziosa Farina and Laura Crispoldi, in the public square at the Campo de' Fiori.source
August 10 – Eleonora Ramirez di Montalvo, Italian educator (born 1602)source
10 August – Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (born 1597)Denmark source
August 30 – Dara Shikoh, Indian prince (born 1615)source
20 September – Thomas Morton, deposed bishop (born 1564)England source
October 1 – Juan de Palafox y Mendoza, Spanish politician, clergyman (born 1600)source
October 10 – Abel Tasman, Dutch explorer (born 1603)source
October 31 – John Bradshaw, English judge (born 1602)source
November 6 – Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière, French nobleman, founder of Montreal and an order of nursing Sisters (born 1597)source
7 November – Jens Bjelke, nobleman, Chancellor of Norway (b.1580).Norway source
November 10 – Afzal Khan, Indian commander of the Bijapur Adilshahi forcessource
November 14: Colonel Kazimierz Piaseczyński, a Polish military commander leading a cavalry regiment allied with Denmark, was killed while leading a charge against Swedish forces during the Battle of Nyborg.Sweden source