1685 CE

American-born British citizen Elihu Yale, for whom Yale University in the U.S. is named, completes his term as the first leader of the Madras Presidency in India, administering the colony on behalf of the East India Company, and is succeeded by William Gyfford. March – Morean War (part of the Great Turkish War): The Ottoman serasker Halil Pasha invades the Mani Peninsula, and forces it to surrender hostages. Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland, lands at Lyme Regis with an invasion force brought from the Dutch Republic to challenge his uncle, James II, for the Crown of England.

In the 1680s, the 17th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

March – Louis XIV passes the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies.source
19 May – beginning of the first session of the Loyal Parliament.England source
28 September – Jeffreys is appointed Lord Chancellor by the king.England source
1 October – Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.Ireland source
3 October – The County of Reventlow is established by Conrad von Reventlow from the manors of Sandbjerg and Ballegård as well as the farm Bøgskov.Denmark source
22 October – Louis XIV of France issues the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revokes the Edict of Nantes and declares Protestantism illegal in his country, causing Huguenot refugees to flee to England and elsewhere; among them is the Toyé family, who establish the jewellery and clothing business which, as Toye, Kenning and Spencer, will still be operating in the hands of the original family in the 21st century.England source
November 8 (October 29 O.S.) – The Edict of Potsdam is issued by Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg in response to France's Edict of Fontainebleau, welcoming the Protestant Huguenots of France to resettle in eastern Germany in Brandenburg. The French Colony of Magdeburg is established on December 1 in Saxony as a community separate from Magdeburg.source
20 November – the Loyal Parliament is prorogued and never meets again.England source
December 10 – In what is now Thailand, King Narai of Ayutthaya signs a treaty with representatives of France at Lopburi, allowing Roman Catholic missionaries to preach the Gospel and exempting Thai Catholics from work on Sunday, as well as appointing a special court to settle disputes between Thai Christians and non-Christians.source
The Chinese army of the Qing dynasty attacks a Russian post at Albazin, during the reigns of the Kangxi Emperor and the dual Russian rulers Ivan V and Peter I. The event leads to the Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689.source
The decree Code Noir, passed by King Louis XIV, defines the conditions of slavery in the French colonial empire.France source

Conflict & Security

February–March – Morean War (part of the Great Turkish War): The Ottoman serasker Halil Pasha invades the Mani Peninsula, and forces it to surrender hostages.source
March 28 – An attack on a Mughal Empire envoy, Khwajah Abdur Rahim, outside of the Maratha fortress at the Bijapur Fort in India leads to a siege of the city by the forces of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The siege lasts for 15 months before Bijapur surrenders.source
16 April – Fort Frederiksborg is sold to the English.Denmark source
May 7 – Morean War – Battle on Vrtijeljka: Advancing Ottoman forces prevail over defending Venetian irregulars, on a hill in the Montenegro Vilayet.source
June 11 – Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland, lands at Lyme Regis with an invasion force brought from the Netherlands, to challenge his uncle, James II, for the Crown of England.source
11 June – Monmouth Rebellion: James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland, lands at Lyme Regis with an invasion force brought from the Dutch Republic to challenge his uncle, James II, for the Crown of England.England source
June 20 – Monmouth Rebellion: James, Duke of Monmouth declares himself at Taunton to be King, and heir to his father's Kingdoms as James II of England and Ireland, and James VII of Scotland.source
20 June – Monmouth Rebellion: James, Duke of Monmouth, declares himself at Taunton to be King and heir to his father's Kingdoms as James II of England and Ireland and James VII of Scotland.England source
July 6 – Monmouth Rebellion: In the Battle of Sedgemoor, the last pitched battle fought on English soil, the armies of King James II of England defeat rebel forces under James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, and capture the Duke himself shortly after the battle.source
6 July – Monmouth Rebellion: the Battle of Sedgemoor between the armies of King James II and rebel forces under Monmouth, the last pitched battle fought on English soil. Monmouth's army is defeated and the Duke himself is captured shortly after the battle.England source
August 11 – Morean War: The 49-day Siege of Coron ends with the surrender and massacre of its garrison by the Venetians.source
August 25 – The Bloody Assizes begin in Winchester: Lord Chief Justice of England George Jeffreys tries over 1000 of Monmouth's rebels and condemns them to death or transportation.source
September 14 – Morean War: The Republic of Venice defeats an Ottoman army at Kalamata.source
23 October – Elizabeth Gaunt, humanitarian, burned at the stake at Tyburn for alleged complicity in the Rye House Plot, becomes the last woman executed for political treason in England. She is not granted the customary mercy of strangulation before burning.England source
November 11 – Morean War: The Republic of Venice captures the fortress town of Igoumenitsa from the Ottoman Empire, and razes it to the ground.source
The siege of Albazino in Jaxa began on June 23, 1685. On the 26th there was an indecisive day-long battle. The Manchus thereupon piled dry wood along the fort's wooden walls and when they began to light it, Tolbuzin surrendered (exact date uncertain). The 600 or so defenders were allowed to withdraw to Nerchinsk. About 45 opted to go with the Manchus where they joined the Russian colony in Peking. The Manchus burned the fort and withdrew, but did not destroy the crops. When news of the defeat reached Moscow in November it was decided to abandon the Amur and send an ambassador to Peking. The Qing troops constituted of former Southern Ming marines from Taiwan, renowned for their knowledge of nautical warfare.China source
The 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards is raised as a cavalry regiment of the British Army, the Earl of Arran's Regiment of Cuirassiers, by the regimenting of various independent troops, and ranked as the 6th Regiment of Horse.Ireland source

Exploration & Expansion

February 4 – A treaty is signed between Brandenburg-Prussia and the indigenous chiefs at Takoradi in what is now Ghana to permit the German colonists to build a third fort on the Brandenburger Gold Coast.source
February 20 – René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, intending to establish a colony near the mouth of the Mississippi River, lands with 200 surviving colonists at Matagorda Bay on the Texas coast, believing the Mississippi to be near. He establishes Fort St. Louis.source
April 16 – Wara Dhammaraza becomes the new King of Arakan on the western coast of Burma upon the death of his brother, Thiri Thuriya.source
Adam Baldridge founds a pirate base at Île Sainte-Marie, Madagascar.source
In 1685, four customs were set up in Guangzhou (Guangdong Province), Xiamen (Fujian Province), Ningbo (Zhejiang Province), and Songjiang (Jiangsu Province) to deal with trade with foreign countriesChina source
The Brandenburg Colony is established on St. Thomas in the Danish West Indies.Denmark source

Religion & Belief

February 6 – Catholic James Stuart, Duke of York, becomes King James II of England and Ireland, and King James VII of Scotland, in succession to his brother Charles II (1660–1685), King of England, Scotland, and Ireland since 1660. James II and VII reigns until deposed, in 1688.source
April 23 – The coronation of King James II of England (and his Queen Consort, Mary of Modena) takes place at Westminster Abbey.source
23 April – coronation of King James II at Westminster Abbey, including anthems by Henry Purcell.England source
22 October – Louis XIV issues the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revokes the Edict of Nantes and declares Protestantism illegal, thereby depriving Huguenots of civil rights. Their Temple de Charenton-le-Pont is immediately demolished.France source
November – at the king's request, Ferdinando d'Adda is sent as the first Papal Nuncio to England since 1558.England source
December 3 – King Charles XI of Sweden issues an order banning Jews from settling in Sweden, particularly in the capital at Stockholm "on account of the danger of the eventual influence of the Jewish religion on the pure evangelical faith."source
Encouraged by his queen, Christian V licensed the formation of a reformed congregation among German, Dutch and French immigrants.Denmark source
Guds Werk och Hwila by Haquin SpegelSweden source

Technology & Infrastructure

September 29 – The first organised street lighting is introduced by the city of London in England, as Edward Hemming begins carrying out his contract to be paid for lighting an oil lamp "at every tenth house on main streets between 6 PM and midnight between September 29 and March 25" on nights in the autumn and winter without adequate moonlight.source
29 September – the first organised street lighting, using oil lamps, is established in London by Edward Hemming.England source
The construction of Kristiansten Fortress was finished.Norway source
The construction of the Old Town Bridge in Trondheim was finished.Norway source
The postal service are now finally, in practice, available in all the nation.Sweden source

Science & Discovery

June 16 – A lunar eclipse is observed in the evening by François-Timoléon de Choisy, amongst others, onboard his ship in the vicinity of Madagascar. The ship was at a latitude of 37 degrees 40 minutes, and the eclipse was not visible from Europe.source
According to Daqing Huidian, Anhui province had 35.43 million mu (2.362 ×10 6 hectares) of privately cultivated land. Agricultural Development in Qing China: A Quantitative Study, 1661-1911China source

Health & Medicine

The Sami religion, which is still openly practiced, is officially outlawed and all evidence of such practice is liable to an arrest, which results in the final forced official conversion of the Sami people to Christianity.Sweden source
Jews are formally banned from residing in Sweden. As there is no Jewish minority in Sweden, the ban is in effect a ban against Jewish immigration.Sweden source

Crime & Justice

January 8 – Almost 200 people are arrested in Coventry by English authorities for gathering to hear readings of the sermons of the non-conformist Protestant minister Obadiah Grew .source
19 May – Leonora Christina Ulfeldt is released after twenty-two years in confinement in Blåtårn.Denmark source
May – Titus Oates, found guilty of perjury for his part in the alleged "Popish Plot", is sentenced by Judge Jeffreys to be imprisoned, pilloried (at Temple Bar, London) and whipped.England source
25 August to 23 September – Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys holds the Bloody Assizes to try Monmouth's supporters, beginning at Winchester and ending at Wells. Over a thousand receive sentences of hanging or transportation.England source
September – a woman named Mette is put on trial for witchcraft in Ebeltoft, beginning the Rugård witch trials.Denmark source
Alice Molland becomes the last known person in England to be sentenced to death for witchcraft, in Exeter.source

Disasters & Accidents

October 22 – Louis XIV of France issues the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revokes the Edict of Nantes and declares Protestantism illegal, thereby depriving Huguenots of civil rights. Their Temple de Charenton-le-Pont is immediately demolished and many flee to England, Prussia and elsewhere.source

Culture & Society

January 6 – American-born British citizen Elihu Yale, for whom Yale University in the U.S. is named, completes his term as the first leader of the Madras Presidency in India, administering the colony on behalf of the East India Company, and is succeeded by William Gyfford.source
6 February – James II becomes King of England, Scotland and Ireland upon the death of Charles II.Ireland source
The Old Dutch Church of Sleepy Hollow in the State of New York is constructed by the original Dutch settlers (later to become famous as the site of the rampage of the "Headless Horseman" spirit in the novel The Legend of Sleepy Hollow).source
Dorothe Engelbretsdatter hymn and poetry book, Taare-Offer is published for the first time.Norway source

Births

February 23 – George Frideric Handel, German composer (died 1759)source
March 12 – George Berkeley, Irish philosopher (died 1753)source
12 March – George Berkeley, philosopher (died 1753)England source
March 27 – Simon Hatley, English sailor (died 1723)source
March 31 – Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (died 1750)source
June 11 – Thomas Wedgwood III, English potter, father of Josiah Wedgwood (died 1739)source
June 30 – John Gay, English writer (died 1732)source
22 July – Henrik Magnus von Buddenbrock, baron (died 1743)Sweden source
August 15 – Jacob Theodor Klein, German scholar (died 1759)source
October 1 – Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1740)source
October 21 – George Forbes, 3rd Earl of Granard, English Royal Navy admiral (died 1765)source
October 26 – Domenico Scarlatti, Italian composer (died 1757)source
28 October – Hans Gram, historian (died 1748)Denmark source
November 7 – Jared Eliot, Connecticut farmer, author on horticulture (died 1763)source
November 10 – Duncan Forbes, Lord Culloden, Scottish politician, judge (died 1747)source
November 17 – Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, French Canadian military officer (died 1749)source
25 November – Eiler Hagerup d.e., bishop (died 1743).Norway source
December 6 – Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, wife of Louis, Duke of Burgundy (died 1712)source

Deaths

January 13 – Daniello Bartoli, Italian Jesuit priest (born 1608)source
February 6 – King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland (born 1630)source
February 20 – Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, Danish queen (born 1628)source
20 February – Queen Sophie Amalie, Queen of Denmark (born 1628)Denmark source
February 24 – Archduchess Isabella Clara of Austria, Austrian archduchess (born 1629)source
March 22 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (born 1638)source
March 22 - Emperor Go-Sai (born 1638)Japan source
March 30 – Friedrich Casimir, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1641–1680) and Hanau-Münzenberg (1642–1680) (born 1623)source
April – Adriaen van Ostade, Dutch painter and engraver (born 1610)source
May 11 – The Killing Time: Five Covenanters in Wigtown, Scotland, notably Margaret Wilson, are executed for refusing to swear an oath declaring King James of England, Scotland and Ireland as head of the church, becoming the Wigtown martyrs.source
June 16 – Anne Killigrew, English poet and painter (born 1660)source
June 30 – Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, Scottish peer (born 1629)source
July 1 – Nalan Xingde (born 1655), Chinese Qing Dynasty poet most famous for his ci poetryChina source
July 15 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, is executed at Tower Hill, London, England.source
July 15 – James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, illegitimate son of Charles II of England (beheaded) (born 1649)source
July 28 – Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, English statesman (born 1618)source
23 August – Ludvig Rosenkrantz, nobleman and civil servant, the first baron in Norway (born 1628).Norway source
December 12 – John Pell, English mathematician (born 1610)source