1692 CE
4 June – War of the Grand Alliance: The threat of a French invasion of England is diminished by victory at the Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue. The siege of the Belgian city of Namur in the Spanish Netherlands ends as Dutch General Menno van Coehoorn capitulates to King Louis XIV of France after five weeks. The siege, a battle in the ongoing Nine Years War, had begun on May 24. Henri de Massue, 2nd Marquis de Ruvigny, a French Huguenot soldier in English service and commander in chief in Ireland for a time this year, is created Viscount Galway and Baron Portarlington in the Peerage of Ireland and receives a large grant of seized estates in Ireland.
In the 1690s, the 17th century.
Geopolitics & Diplomacy
- 24 February – the Treaty of Limerick is ratified.Irelandsource
- August 12 – The city of Ponce is founded in Puerto Rico.source
- 5 October – the first meeting of the Parliament of Ireland under William III is held. This is the first time it has met for 26 years (apart from the Patriot Parliament of 1689). It passes An Act of Recognition of their Majesties undoubted Right to the Crown of Ireland.Irelandsource
- November – Henri de Massue, 2nd Marquis de Ruvigny, a French Huguenot soldier in English service and commander in chief in Ireland for a time this year, is created Viscount Galway and Baron Portarlington in the Peerage of Ireland and receives a large grant of seized estates in Ireland.Irelandsource
Conflict & Security
- January 30 – English Army General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, a close adviser to King William III of England, is fired from all of his jobs by the English Secretary of State, the Earl of Nottingham, on orders of Queen Mary II.source
- February 13 – Massacre of Glencoe: The forces of Robert Campbell slaughter around 30 members of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe in Scotland (from whom they have previously accepted hospitality), for delaying to sign an oath of allegiance to King William III of England.source
- 19 February – Princess Anne leaves the court after quarrelling with her sister, Queen Mary.Englandsource
- 5 May – Queen Mary orders the imprisonment of John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough for alleged treasonous support of the Jacobites.Englandsource
- May 29 (May 19 O.S.) – Nine Years' War: Battle of Barfleur – The Anglo-Dutch fleet breaks the French line off the Cotentin Peninsula, foiling the French plan to invade England.source
- 29 May–4 June – War of the Grand Alliance: The threat of a French invasion of England is diminished by victory at the Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue.Englandsource
- June 13–14 (June 3–4 O.S.) – Nine Years' War: Battle of La Hogue – The action begun at Barfleur ends with further destruction of the French fleet.source
- July 1 – The siege of the Belgian city of Namur in the Spanish Netherlands ends as Dutch General Menno van Coehoorn capitulates to King Louis XIV of France after five weeks. The siege, a battle in the ongoing Nine Years War, had begun on May 24.source
- 3 August – War of the Grand Alliance: the allied forces of England and the Dutch Republic led by King William III of England are defeated at the Battle of Steenkerque.Englandsource
- October 21 – In Barbados, a slave revolt is crushed.source
- November 5 – Mohamed bin Hajj Ali Thukkala becomes the new Sultan of the Maldives as Muhammad Ali IV.source
- December 14 – Maratha Empire General Santaji Ghorpade defeats Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb's General Alimardan Khan, captures him and brings him back to fort Jinjee near Madras.source
- Battle of Barfleur (29 May) was a decisive battle in the British Nine Years' WarFrancesource
Exploration & Expansion
- September 14 – Diego de Vargas leads Spanish colonists in retaking the city of Santa Fe, after a 12-year exile, following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.source
- December 5 – John Goldsborough arrives in Madras as the new administrator of the British East India Company.source
Religion & Belief
- March 22 – The Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty issues the Edict of Toleration, recognizing all the members of the Roman Catholic Church, not just the Jesuits, and legalizing missions and their conversion of Chinese people to the Christian Faith.source
- 23 April – A royal order for the establishment of Sankt Annæ Plads is issued.Denmarksource
- June 10 – The Salem witch trials' first victim, Bridget Bishop, is hanged for witchcraft.source
- June 22 – Pope Innocent XII issues the papal bull Romanum decet Pontificem, intended to prohibit the office of cardinal-nephew and restrict related sinecures within the Roman Catholic church.source
- October 30 – The King of Spain donates the lands that become the municipalities of San Francisco and Mapulaca in Honduras.source
- December 23 – Nahum Tate is named as the new Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom and serves for 22 years until his death.source
- Kangxi Emperor recognized Roman Catholic Church.Chinasource
- First publication of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, as Chronicon Saxonicum, edited with a Latin translation by Edmund Gibson.Englandsource
- The exiled mystic Eva Margareta Frölich return to Stockholm to preach.Swedensource
Economy & Finance
Technology & Infrastructure
- 13 June - The first known recipe for Bløtkake is written down.Norwaysource
- 10 December – Ole Judichær becomes the first factory director of the new Royal Danish Naval Dockyard at Nyholm in Copenhagen. (died 1729)Denmarksource
- The Bolvik ironwork is established.Norwaysource
- Old Gimmestad Church is built.Norwaysource
Science & Discovery
- February 17 – An annular solar eclipse is visible across Russia, western Mongolia, Xinjiang, Iran, Afghanistan and Iran.source
- August 12 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the South Atlantic Ocean.source
- December 24 – The French ship Soleil Royal, a three-decker First Rank ship with 104 guns, is launched at Brest Dockyard.source
- Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth serves as British ambassador to Denmark, a stay which will eventually result in his publication of An Account of Denmark, as it was in the Year 1692 (1694).Denmarksource
Crime & Justice
- February – The last of the Finmark witch trials takes place, Anders Poulsen, an old Sámi shaman is put on trial.Norwaysource
- March 1 – The Salem witch trials begin in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony, with the charging of 3 women with witchcraft. Tituba, a slave owned by Samuel Parris, is the first to be arrested, and she implicates Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne, who are arrested later in the day.source
- April 18 – Giles Corey, Mary Warren, Abigail Hobbs and Bridget Bishop, all residents of Salem, Massachusetts, are arrested and charged with the practice of witchcraft.source
- September 19 – Giles Corey is pressed to death in an attempt to coerce a confession from him of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials.source
- September 22 – The last of those convicted of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials are hanged. By the end of September, 14 women and 5 men have been executed by hanging. The remainder of those convicted are all eventually released.source
- September 27 – The trial for sorcery of Anne Palles of Denmark begins, and she gives a long confession of giving her body and soul to Satan. The court finds her guilty on November 2 and sentences her to death.source
- 2 November – Anne Palles is convicted of witchcraft and sentenced to death. The execution of her takes place on 4 April 1693. She becomes the last person executed for witchcraft in Denmark.Denmarksource
- An Act for encourageing the apprehending of Highway Men offers rewards for the apprehension of highwaymen.Englandsource
- The first Chief of police is hired in Bergen.Norwaysource
- Livonian nobleman Johann Patkul protests to the king about the reduction of land to the Crown, then flees to escape arrest, and is later condemned to death.Swedensource
Disasters & Accidents
Climate & Environment
- June 7 – Jamaica earthquake: An earthquake and related tsunami destroy Port Royal, capital of Jamaica, and submerge a major part of it; an estimated 2,000 are immediately killed, 2,300 injured, and a probable additional 2,000 die from the diseases which ravage the island in the following months.source
- June 8 – During a famine in Mexico City, an angry mob torches the Viceroy's palace and ignites the archives; most of the documents and some paintings are saved by royal geographer Carlos de Sigüenza y Góngora.source
- September 8 – An earthquake in Brabant of scale 5.8 is felt across the Low Countries, Germany and England.source
- 8 September – an earthquake in Brabant of scale 5.8 is felt across the Low Countries, Germany and England.Englandsource
Culture & Society
- May 2 – The first performance of the semi-opera The Fairy-Queen by Henry Purcell, based on William Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, takes place at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden in London.source
- 2 May – first performance of Henry Purcell's semi-opera The Fairy-Queen at the Queen's Theatre, Dorset Garden, in London.Englandsource
- 4 September – The Royal Knight Academy in Copenhagen is established as a replacement for the closed Sorø Academy.Denmarksource
- November 8 – William Mountfort's play Henry The Second, King Of England; With The Death Of Rosamond is given its first performance, premiering at the Drury Lane Theatre.source
- 22 November – first performance of Henry Purcell's Ode to St. Cecilia.Englandsource
Births
- February 29 – John Byrom, poet, inventor of a shorthand system (died 1763)source
- March 14 – Pieter van Musschenbroek, Dutch naturalist (died 1761)source
- March 26 – Jean II Restout, French painter (died 1768)source
- April 5 – Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (died 1730)source
- April 8 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer and violinist (died 1770)source
- May 16 – Dolly Pentreath, last known native speaker of the Cornish language prior to its revival in 1904 (died 1777)source
- May 18 – (O.S) Joseph Butler, English bishop and philosopher (died 1752)source
- 18 May – Joseph Butler, bishop and philosopher (died 1752)Englandsource
- June 28 – Louisa Maria Stuart, British princess (died 1712)source
- August 18 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon, French politician and prince (died 1740)source
- 11 September - Ingela Gathenhielm, privateer in service of King Charles XII of Sweden during the Great Northern War.Swedensource
- October 15 – Alessandro Albani, collector of antiquities, Roman Catholic cardinal (died 1779)source
- October 25 – Elisabeth Farnese, queen of Philip V of Spain (died 1766)source
- October 28 – Joseph Ferdinand of Bavaria, Electoral Prince of Bavaria (died 1699)source
- October 31 – Anne Claude de Caylus, French antiquarian (died 1765)source
- November 30 – Livio Retti, Italian artist (died 1751)source
- 29 December – Thomas Angell, merchant, philanthropist (died 1767).Norwaysource
- Marie Madeleine de Montaigu, actress (died 1736)Denmarksource
Deaths
- January 23 – John Page, Virginian planter, merchant and politician (born 1627)source
- January 24 –King William's War – Candlemas Massacre: At least 75 residents of what is now York, Maine are killed by French soldiers, led by missionary Louis-Pierre Thury, along with a larger force of Abenaki and Penobscot Indians, under the command of Penobscot Chief Madockawando.source
- January 25 – Shubael Dummer, American Congregational church minister (born 1636)source
- 11 February – Anders Paulsen, Sami noaidi (born c. 1600).Norwaysource
- 25 April – Gysbert Wigand Michelbecker, merchant and shipowner (born 1636 in Germany)Denmarksource
- May 14 – Robert Kirk, Scottish folklorist, Bible translator, Gaelic scholar (born 1644)source
- 17 May - Countess Palatine Eleonora Catherine of Zweibrücken, cousin and foster sister of Queen Christina of Sweden and sister of King Charles X Gustav of SwedenSwedensource
- May 18 – Elias Ashmole, English antiquarian (born 1617)source
- 18 May – Elias Ashmole, antiquarian (born 1617)Englandsource
- July 19 – Rebecca Nurse, convicted of witchcraft during the Salem witch trials (born 1621)source
- July 19 – Elizabeth Howe, one of the accused in the Salem witch trials (born 1635)source
- July 19 – Sarah Wildes, Salem "witch" (born 1627)source
- August 19 – John Proctor, convicted of witchcraft during the Salem Witch Trials (born 1632)source
- September 19 – Giles Corey, Massachusetts farmer and accused wizard (born 1611)source
- October 12 – Giovanni Battista Vitali, Italian composer (born 1632)source
- November 18 – Robert Holmes, British Royal Navy Admiral (born 1622)source
- November 26 – Edmund Ludlow, English politician, soldier and regicide (1617–92) (born 1617)source
- December 15 – Georg Adam Struve, German judge (born 1619)source