1663 CE

The Treaty of Ghilajharighat is signed in India between representatives of the Mughal Empire and the independent Ahom Kingdom (in what is now the Assam state), with the Mughals ending their occupation of the Ahom capital of Garhgaon, in return for payment by Ahom in silver and gold for costs of the occupation, and King Sutamla of Ahom sending one of his daughters to be part of the harem of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. An earthquake estimated at least 7.3 magnitude strikes Canada's Quebec Province. Queen Ana Nzinga of the Kingdom of Ndongo and the Kingdom of Matamba, both located in the northern part of what is now the Republic of Angola in Africa, dies after a 39-year reign in Ndongo and 32 years after conquering Matamba. She is succeeded by her sister, Barbara Mukambu Mbandi, who rules for less than three years.

In the 1660s, the 17th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 23 – The Treaty of Ghilajharighat is signed in India between representatives of the Mughal Empire and the independent Ahom Kingdom (in what is now the Assam state), with the Mughals ending their occupation of the Ahom capital of Garhgaon, in return for payment by Ahom in silver and gold for costs of the occupation, and King Sutamla of Ahom sending one of his daughters to be part of the harem of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb.source
  • February – Parliament pressures King Charles into withdrawing a proposed Declaration of Indulgence for Catholics and nonconformists.Englandsource
  • 24 March – the colony of Province of Carolina is established in North America.Englandsource
  • July 8 – King Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter for the American colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.source
  • 8 July – King Charles grants a Royal Charter to the North American Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.Englandsource
  • July 27 – The English Parliament passes the second Navigation Act, requiring that all goods bound for the American colonies have to be sent in English ships from English ports.source
  • 27 July – Parliament passes the second Navigation Act, requiring all goods bound for the American colonies to be sent in English ships from English ports.Englandsource
  • November 19 – Alexandre de Prouville de Tracy is appointed by King Louis XIV of Frances as the new Governor General of the French West Indies as the colonies of Saint-Domingue, Saint Martin, Guadeloupe, Dominica, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Croix are put under a unified rule for the colonies in the Caribbean Sea for the first time since 1651.source
  • November 24 – The General Court of Commissioners for Rhode Island and Providence Plantations convenes for the final time, meeting in Newport to formally receive the Rhode Island Royal Charter issued on July 8 by King Charles II.source
  • December 27 – Jacob Hustaert becomes the new Governor of Dutch Ceylon.source
  • The first Maroon community arises in Suriname.source
  • The Cooper family are granted Markree Castle.Irelandsource
  • Colony of the Swedish Gold Coast seized by the Netherlands, and integrated into Dutch Gold Coast.Swedensource

Conflict & Security

  • February 10 – The army of the Kingdom of Siam (now Thailand) captures Chiang Mai from the Kingdom of Burma (now Myanmar), using it as a base for launching a larger attack on the Burmese coast in November.source
  • March 5 – Emperor Go-Sai's reign ends, and Emperor Reigen ascends to the throne of Japan.source
  • April 17 – The Ottoman Empire declares war against Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor, beginning the Austro-Turkish War.source
  • April 20 – The Danish seizure of Fort Christiansborg and Carlsborg (Cape Castle) completes the annexation of the Swedish Gold Coast settlements, the beginning of the Danish Gold Coast.Denmarksource
  • May 21 – Colonel Thomas Blood fails in an attempt to seize Dublin Castle in support of the claims of Cromwellian soldiers.Irelandsource
  • June 7 – Under the pretext of working out a treaty with Dutch settlers in the colony of New Netherland, the Esopus tribe of the Delaware people enter the fortress at Wiltwijck (now the U.S. city of Kingston, New York) and stage a surprise attack. Unbeknownst to the Wiltwijck residents, another group of Esopus warriors had destroyed the village of Nieu Dorp (now Hurley, New York) earlier in the day. The episode begins the Second Esopus War.source
  • June 8 – The Portuguese and some English auxiliaries defeat the Spanish Army in the Battle of Ameixial.source
  • July 19 – Acting as intermediaries between the Dutch and Esopus war parties, a group of three Mohawk Indians obtain the release of the first four hostages who had been taken hostage in the Esopus attack on Wildwyck, two women and two children.source
  • August 15 – Oratam, leader of the Hackensack tribe of the Lenape nation, meets in New Amsterdam (now New York City) with Weswatewchy, Memshe and Wemessamy, three chiefs of the Monsiyok tribe, to ask for the Hackensacks to supply a cannon to defend their fort, and to confirm that the Monsiyok are not allied with the other major division of the Lenape, the Esopus tribe.source
  • September 5 – Dutch Captain Martin Kregier and Lieutenant Couwenhoven lead an attack against the Esopus Indians from the right and Lieutenant Stilwil and Ensign Niessen the left wing. In the battle, near what is now Mamakating, New York, Chief Papequanaehen and 14 other Esopus warriors are killed, along with seven civilians; three Dutch soldiers are killed, but 23 Dutch prisoners are rescued.source
  • September 13 – After a siege of more than a month, the Hungarian fortress at Érsekújvár (now Nové Zámky in Slovakia) surrenders to the Ottoman Empire. In accordance with the treaty of surrender negotiated by the Hungarian commander, Count Ádám Forgách, the European residents are allowed free passage to Austria, and the Ottoman Grand Vizier, Fazil Ahmed Pasha provides a document certifying that the fort's defenders fought bravely.source
  • September 13 – The Gloucester County Conspiracy, the first slave rebellion in British North America, is foiled after one of the plotters, John Birkenhead, reveals the plan of African slaves and English indentured servants to kill their masters. Birkenhead is freed by his master as a reward for betraying the rebels.source
  • October 16 – With 2,000 men under his command, Petar Zrinski, the Viceroy of Croatia within the Holy Roman Empire, defeats a much larger force of 8,000 Ottoman soldiers in the Battle at Jurjeve Stijene, near the modern town of Otočac. The Croatians lose 10 soldiers killed; the Ottoman invasion force suffers over 1,500 deaths.source
  • October – The Farnley Wood Plot to overthrow the monarchy.Englandsource
  • Kinmen in Fujian is captured by Qing dynasty forces from Ming dynasty loyalists.Chinasource
  • Geng Jimao and Balthasar Bort lead a joint Qing-Dutch attack on Zheng family forces in Kinmen and XiamenChinasource

Exploration & Expansion

  • March 4 – The Prince Edward Islands in the sub-antarctic Indian Ocean are discovered by Barent Barentszoon Lam, of the Dutch ship Maerseveen, and named Dina (Prince Edward) and Maerseveen (Marion).source
  • July 27 – the Parliament of England passes the second Navigation Act, restricting Irish trade with colonies and the cattle trade with England.Irelandsource

Religion & Belief

  • March 24 – King Charles II of England issues the Charter of Carolina, establishing the Province of Carolina, and dividing it between eight Lords Proprietors.source
  • August 20 – James Margetson is translated from Archbishop of Dublin to Archbishop of Armagh (Church of Ireland) and Primate of All Ireland.Irelandsource
  • 31 August – Gilbert Sheldon enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.Englandsource
  • September 8 – Diego de Salcedo becomes the new Spanish Governor-General of the Philippines, replacing Sabiniano Manrique de Lara, who had served for more than 10 years. Salcedo is overthrown in 1668.source
  • Publication at Cambridge in the Massachusetts Bay Colony of the "Eliot Indian Bible" (Mamusse Wunneetupanatamwe Up-Biblum God), which becomes the first complete Bible published in the Americas, a translation by English-born Puritan missionary John Eliot of the Geneva Bible, from English into the Massachusett language (Natic or Wômpanâak) variety of the Algonquian languages.source
  • Koxinga Ancestral Shrine built by Zheng Jing in modern-day Tainan, Taiwan to worship his father KoxingaChinasource
  • Kaifeng Jews build a stele and an eight Hall of ScripturesChinasource
  • Rise of the Travancore Kingdom - The first maharaja of the Travancore Kingdom, His Highness Rama Varma I was sworned in.Indiasource

Economy & Finance

  • January 10 – The Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter by Charles II of England.source
  • 10 January – the Royal African Company is granted a Royal Charter.Englandsource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • May 7 – The King's Theatre, now called "Drury Lane", opens in London.source
  • 7 May – opening of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London.Englandsource

Science & Discovery

  • 27 March – the gold guinea coin worth one pound sterling (introduced 6 February) is proclaimed legal tender.Englandsource
  • Robert Hooke discovers that cork is made of "tiny little rooms", which he first calls "Cells".source
  • Peder Syv publishes Nogle Betenkninger om det Cimbriske Sprog .Denmarksource

Health & Medicine

  • The lifting of an especially strict haijin policy implemented by the Qing in 1661, where the entire coastal population of Fujian, and parts of Guangdong and Zhejiang provinces is moved twenty miles inland. Thousands die in the ordeal.Chinasource

Crime & Justice

  • February 8 – English pirates led by Christopher Myngs and Edward Mansvelt carry out the sack of Campeche in Mexico, looting the town during a two week occupation that ends on February 23.source
  • October 12 – The Farnley Wood Plot, a conspiracy in the English county of West Yorkshire to overthrow the recently-restored monarchy and to return to the military rule that had been established by the late Oliver Cromwell, fails when only 26 men gather at Farnley. The group is arrested and 21 of the rebels are later executed for treason.source
  • Zhuang Tinglong case — a criminal case concerning an unauthorised history of the Ming dynasty and unflattering depiction of the Qing dynasty concludes. Thousands of people who were involved or implicated in the case were rounded up at a military camp in Hangzhou, where they were sentenced. Over 70 people were condemned to deathChinasource
  • The pirate Gustav Skytte is exposed, trialed and executed.Swedensource

Disasters & Accidents

  • January 1 – the Franciscan chapel in Cook Street, Dublin, is raided by the military.Irelandsource
  • 27 February - Ellen Gundersdatter and Sigrid Jonsdatter were burned to death.Norwaysource
  • 20 March - Sølvi Nilsdatter, Margrette Jonsdatter, and two more women were burned to death.Norwaysource
  • 8 April - Barbra Olsdatter from Vadsø and four other women were burned to death, the last to be burned in the Vardø witch trials.Norwaysource
  • Dafo Temple, a Buddhist temple in Guangzhou is rebuilt and expanded by Shang Kexi. The building has been devastated by years of war and neglectChinasource

Climate & Environment

  • February 5 – An earthquake estimated at least 7.3 magnitude strikes Canada's Quebec Province.source
  • August 21 – Concerned about the wintry weather, the Parliament of England holds an intercessory fast.source
  • 21 August – concerned about the wintry weather, Parliament holds an intercessory fast.Englandsource
  • August 28 – In an unseasonably cold summer, severe frost hits England.source
  • December 12 – The Dutch Republic prohibits practice of the common law custom of jus naufragii, the doctrine that permitted people to seize property that had washed ashore on their land after a shipwreck.source

Culture & Society

  • November 6 – The Kingdom of Sweden adopts a law creating the flag in use in the nation now, a yellow Nordic cross on a blue background. The original version, used as a state flag and on ships, had three pennants.source
  • The Prix de Rome scholarship is established in France for students of the arts.source
  • Baruch Spinoza publishes Principia philosophiae cartesianae, which is the only book he would publish under his name, in his life.source
  • Undated – Roger L'Estrange is appointed Surveyor of the Imprimery and Printing Presses and licenser of the press.Englandsource
  • The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is foundedFrancesource
  • The Prix de Rome scholarship is established for students of the artsFrancesource
  • Construction of the Church of Saint-Just, Lyon is completedFrancesource
  • Katherine Philips' translation of Pierre Corneille's Pompée is successfully produced at the Theatre Royal, Dublin (Smock Alley Theatre), the first English language play written by a woman to be performed on the professional stage. It is published in Dublin and London later in the year.Irelandsource
  • The Swedish Collegium medicum is founded to supervise the medical professions.Swedensource

Births

  • January 19 – Nicholas Trott, colonial magistrate, South Carolina Chief Justice (died 1740)source
  • January 27 – George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, English Royal Navy admiral (died 1733)source
  • February 1 – Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, Filipino religious sister (died 1748)source
  • February 4 – Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield, English peer (died 1716)source
  • February 12 – Cotton Mather, American theologian (died 1728)source
  • March 6 – Francis Atterbury, British bishop (died 1732)source
  • 6 March – Francis Atterbury, bishop and man of letters (died 1732)Englandsource
  • March 22 – August Hermann Francke, German Lutheran clergyman, philanthropist, Biblical scholar (died 1727)source
  • 16 April – Maria Elizabeth of Zweibrücken, princess (died 1748)Swedensource
  • May 20 – William Bradford, English-born printer in North America (died 1752)source
  • May 28 – António Manoel de Vilhena, Portuguese Grand Master of the Order of Saint John (died 1736)source
  • August 9 – Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany (died 1713)source
  • October 18 – Prince Eugene of Savoy, Austrian field marshal (died 1736)source
  • October 24 – Stephen Delancey, major colonial New York figure (died 1741)source
  • 30 October 1663 – Johan Bertram Ernst, chief of police in Copenhagen (died 1722)Denmarksource
  • November 13 – Árni Magnússon, Icelandic scholar and manuscript collector (died 1730)source
  • December 20 – Thomas Wilson, Bishop of Sodor and Man (died 1755)source
  • Wu Shifan (1663-1681), son of Wu Sangui and ruler of ZhouChinasource

Deaths

  • January 2 – Illiam Dhone, Manx politician (born 1608)source
  • January 6 – George Goring, 1st Earl of Norwich, English soldier, politician (born 1585)source
  • March 20 — Empress Xiaokangzhang, (孝康章皇后; 1638 – 1663) a consort of the Shunzhi EmperorChinasource
  • April 7 – Francis Cooke, English Mayflower Pilgrim (born c. 1583)source
  • 20 April – Kjeld Stub, priest (born 1607).Norwaysource
  • May 3 – Johan Björnsson Printz, governor of New Sweden (born 1592)source
  • May 30 – Jean Guyon, French colonist (born 1592)source
  • June 4 – William Juxon, Archbishop of Canterbury (born 1582)source
  • June 25 – John Bramhall, Archbishop of Armagh, Anglican controversialist (born 1594)source
  • 25 June – John Bramhall, Archbishop (born 1594)Englandsource
  • July 2 – Thomas Selle, German baroque composer (born 1599)source
  • September 18 – Joseph of Cupertino, Italian saint (born 1603)source
  • September 27 – Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (born 1584)source
  • 27 September – Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (born 1584)Denmarksource
  • December 17 – Queen Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (born c. 1583)source
  • December 17 – Queen Ana Nzinga of the Kingdom of Ndongo and the Kingdom of Matamba, both located in the northern part of what is now the Republic of Angola in Africa, dies after a 39-year reign in Ndongo and 32 years after conquering Matamba. She is succeeded by her sister, Barbara Mukambu Mbandi, who rules for less than three years.source
  • December 21 – Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, Scottish nobleman (born 1599)source
  • December 27 – Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy (born 1606)source