slug: duchy-of-schleswig

label: Duchy of Schleswig

description: a Danisch duchy, existing until 1864/1866 now divided between Germany and Denmark

text: King Harald Bluetooth rebels against the overlordship of Otto II. A Danish Viking army under his son Sweyn Forkbeard invades the March of Schleswig – along the northern border of modern Denmark. The Sorb Slavs in northern Germany overrun and conquer the March of Zeitz (Marca Geronis) from Saxon control.

title: 983

date: March 12

text: March 12 – Canute Lavard, duke of Schleswig (d. 1131)

title: 1096

date: January 7

text: January 7 – Canute Lavard, duke of Schleswig (b. 1096)

title: 1131

date: August 9

text: August 9 – In the town of Horsens in Denmark, Eric of Jutland reaches a settlement with King Eric VI Menved and receives the Duchy of Schleswig in return for renouncing all claims to Langeland.

title: 1313

section: Events › July – September

text: March 12 – At the age of 11, Valdemar III becomes the new ruler of the Duchy of Schleswig upon the death of his father, Eric II, Duke of Schleswig.

title: 1325

section: Events › January – March

section: Climate & Environment

date: January 16

text: January 16 – The "Grote Mandrenke" storm tide strikes the Netherlands, England, Germany and Denmark, destroying the Danish settlement of Rungholt in the Duchy of Schleswig, and the Humber estuary port of Ravenser Odd in England. The East Frisian island of Buise is broken into two by North Sea floods.

title: 1362

section: Events › January–December

date: August 28

text: August 28 – As part of a division of the state of Holstein, the northernmost member of the Holy Roman Empire, between Count Albert II and his brother Count Gerhard VI (following the death of their uncle, Nicholas), Gerhard receives the Duchy of Schleswig and nearly all of Rendsburg, while Albert receives HOlstein-Segeberg.

title: 1397

section: Events › July–December

date: March 5

text: March 5 – King Christian I of Denmark, the various nobles of the Duchy of Schleswig and the County of Holstein agree to the Treaty of Ribe, electing King Christian as the new Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein, and placing both political entities under Denmark's control.

title: 1460

date: July 1

text: July 1 – Torstenson War: Battle of Colberger Heide – The Dano-Norwegian and Swedish fleets fight a naval battle off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The battle is indecisive but represents a minor success for the Dano-Norwegian fleet.

title: 1644


slug: duchy-of-spoleto

label: Duchy of Spoleto

description: Mediaeval duchy in central Italy, circa 575–1201

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: Spoleto becomes the capital of an independent duchy, under the Lombard chieftain Faroald (approximate date).

title: 570

section: Events › By place › Europe

section: Deaths

text: Faroald I, duke of Spoleto (or 592)

title: 591

text: Faroald II, duke of Spoleto, attacks the Exarchate of Ravenna in Italy, after the death of his father Thrasimund I. King Aripert II of the Lombards, desiring good relations with the Byzantine Empire and papacy, refuses to assist him.

title: 703

text: Thrasimund I, duke (dux) of Spoleto

title: 703

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Liutprand contracts an alliance with Eutychius, exarch of Ravenna, and agrees to support him in his attack on Rome, while subjugating the independent southern Lombard duchies of Benevento and Spoleto.

title: 730

section: Religion & Belief

text: King Liutprand of the Lombards meets Pope Zachary at Terni (Central Italy), who appeals to the king's religious faith. Liutprand is a pious Catholic and signs a 20-year peace treaty, restoring the cities of the Duchy of Rome which he has captured. The independent Lombard duchies of Spoleto and Benevento absorb into the Lombard Kingdom.

title: 742

date: February

text: February – King Liutprand of the Lombards dies of natural causes after a 32-year reign, in which he has defeated the dukes of Spoleto and Benevento, bringing the Lombard Kingdom to the height of her power. He is succeeded by Hildeprand, called "the Useless" (nephew or grandson of Liutprand), as ruler of the Lombards.

title: 744

text: Thrasimund II, duke of Spoleto

title: 745

text: Lupus, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 752

text: Desiderius deposes Alboin, duke of Spoleto (Central Italy), and exercises ducal authority himself, tying the duchy more closely to the Lombard capital of Pavia.

title: 758

text: King Pepin III ("the Short") restores the papal privileges (see Donation of Pepin) in Benevento and Tuscany territory (and partially in Spoleto).

title: 765

text: King Charlemagne spends Easter in Treviso (northern Italy), after putting down a rebellion in Friuli and Spoleto. He removes Hrodgaud of Friuli from power, and reforms the duchy as the March of Friuli (military frontier district). Co-conspirators who support the revolt are Arechis II, duke of Benevento, and Adalgis, son of former Lombard king Desiderius. Frankish counts are placed in the cities of Friuli.

title: 776

text: Byzantine troops led by Adalgis, son of former Lombard king Desiderius, invade southern Italy. His attempts are thwarted by the Franks, who attack territories in Benevento, obtaining notably the annexion of Chieti (Spoleto).

title: 788

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Winiges, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 822

text: Adelard, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 824

text: Adelchis I, duke of Spoleto (Italy)

title: 834

text: Guy I, duke of Spoleto (approximate date)

title: 860

text: Lambert I, duke of Spoleto (approximate date)

title: 880

text: Lambert I, duke of Spoleto, dies while besieging the city of Capua. He is succeeded by his son Guy II.

title: 880

section: Health & Medicine

text: Guy II of Spoleto begins a revolt, and assembles an army supported with Arab auxiliaries. King Charles the Fat sends Berengar of Friuli with an expeditionary force to deprive him of Spoleto. An epidemic ravages Berengar's army, and forces them to retire.

title: 883

text: Guy III, duke of Spoleto, defeats the Lombard king Berengar I at the Trebbia River, and is acclaimed as king of Italy at an assembly in Pavia. After confirming some privileges to the Catholic Church, he is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy, by Pope Stephen V. Berengar is forced to retreat to Verona; Guy does not pursue him into Friuli, because of the (possible) wrath of King Arnulf of Carinthia.

title: 889

date: February 21

text: February 21 – Guy III, duke of Spoleto, is crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Stephen V. His son Lambert is proclaimed king of Italy, at the capital of Pavia in Lombardy.

title: 891

text: Guy IV, duke of Spoleto, conquers Benevento (after the Byzantines have moved the capital of Byzantine Italy from Benevento to Bari). Guy makes himself prince, thereby uniting the two Italian states. The Byzantines attempt to retake Benevento, but are defeated by Lombard troops.

title: 895

section: Crime & Justice

text: Spring – King Lambert II travels to Rome with his mother, Queen Ageltrude and brother Guy IV, Lombard duke of Spoleto, to meet Pope Stephen VI to receive reconfirmation of his imperial title. Guy is murdered on the Tiber by agents of Alberic I, a Frankish nobleman with political interests. He seizes Spoleto (possibly at the instigation of King Berengar I) and sets himself up as duke.

title: 897

section: Births

text: Alberic II, princeps and duke of Spoleto (d. 954)

title: 912

text: Alberic I, duke of Spoleto, attempts to seize Rome on his own account. Pope John X organizes an uprising and expels him. Alberic flees to Orte, where he sends out messengers calling on the Magyars for assistance. But a mob in Orte, informed by papal agents, rises up and murders Alberic (approximate date).

title: 925

text: Alberic II, princeps and duke of Spoleto (b. 912)

title: 954

text: King Berengar II invades the March of Verona, which is under control of the dukes of Bavaria, and lay siege to Count Adalbert Atto at Canossa Castle (northern Italy). Berengar sends a Lombard expeditionary force under his son Guy of Ivrea against Theobald II, duke of Spoleto. He captures Spoleto and Camerino.

title: 958

text: Pietro III Candiano, doge of Venice, dies after a 17-year reign. He is succeeded by his son Pietro IV Candiano, who breaks off his campaign in Spoleto on behalf of King Berengar II of Italy and returns to Venice.

title: 959

date: February 13

text: February 13 – Otto I and John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, confirming John XII as the spiritual head of the Catholic Church. Otto recognizes John XII's secular control over the Papal States – by expanding the domain over the Exarchate of Ravenna, the Duchy of Spoleto, and the Duchy of Benevento.

title: 962

text: Spring – King Adalbert II returns to the mainland of Italy, and occupies the environs of Spoleto. Emperor Otto I ('the Great') leaves Rome with his army, and lays siege to the fortress city of Spoleto.

title: 964

section: Events › Europe

text: Otto I goes on a tour of the Lombard duchies of southern Italy. In Capua he grants Pandulf I (Ironhead) the vacant Duchy of Spoleto and Camerino and charges him with prosecuting the war against the Byzantine Empire. In Benevento, Otto receives the homage of Pandulf's brother and co-ruler Landulf III. In Salerno he receives also the support of Gisulf I.

title: 967

text: Otto I 'the Great', Holy Roman Emperor, assembles a large expeditionary force at Pavia, joined by Spoletan troops. He counter-attacks, relieves the siege of Capua and devastates the area around Naples. Otto enters Benevento, where he is received as 'liberator' by Landulf IV and in the cities of Apulia (Southern Italy).

title: 969

text: Pandulf I (Ironhead), a Lombard prince, annexes the Principality of Salerno into his domains. For the first time, the Lombard duchies of Benevento, Capua, Salerno and Spoleto-Camerino are united under one ruler.

title: 978


slug: duchy-of-styria

label: Duchy of Styria

description: former state of the Holy Roman Empire and one-time crown land of Austria-Hungary

date: November 28

text: November 28 – Ottokar II, margrave of Styria

title: 1122

text: Leopold V of Austria, Duke of Austria from 1177 and Duke of Styria from 1192 until his death (d. 1194)

title: 1157

date: December 31

text: December 31 – Ottokar III, margrave of Styria (b. 1124)

title: 1164

date: April 25

text: April 25 – Frederick II, duke of Austria and Styria (d. 1246)

title: 1211

date: June 15

text: June 15 – Battle of the Leitha River: Hungarian forces, under King Béla IV, defeat Duke Frederick II (the Quarrelsome) at the banks of the Leitha River. Frederick is killed (leaving no male heirs); the House of Babenberg is dissolved. Emperor Frederick II places the fiefs of Austria and Styria under his rule. This ends the Austrian claims to the western counties of Hungary.

title: 1246

text: June 15 – Frederick II, duke of Austria and Styria (b. 1211)

title: 1246

date: July 12

text: July 12 – Battle of Kressenbrunn: King Ottokar II of Bohemia captures Styria from King Béla IV of Hungary.

title: 1260

date: June

text: June – King Rudolf I of Germany declares war on his rival Ottokar II of Bohemia. After 6 months of campaigning, Ottokar surrenders all his lands (including Austria and Styria) except Bohemia and Moravia. Rudolf makes Vienna his capital, marking the beginning of the House of Habsburg, which will last until 1918.

title: 1276

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Treaty of Rheinfelden: The 11-year-old Rudolf II is forced to relinquish his claim on the Duchies of Austria and Styria to his elder brother, Albert I. According to the terms of the agreement, concluded at the Imperial City of Rheinfelden (modern Switzerland), Rudolf receives some territories in Further Austria in return.

title: 1283

section: Culture & Society

date: July 15

text: July 15 – Ernst der Eiserne of the Habsburg line becomes the new Duke of Austria, specifically for Inner Austria comprising the duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola, succeeding his father, the late Wilhelm the Courteous.

title: 1406

section: Events › July–September


slug: duchy-of-swabia

label: Duchy of Swabia

description: duchy of Holy Roman Empire (909-1268)

text: Burchard II, duke of Swabia (or 884)

title: 883

text: Burchard II, duke of Swabia (or 883)

title: 884

text: The Hungarians cross Bavaria, and invade Swabia and Franconia. They plunder the territories from Minfeld to Aargau. After that, they cross the Rhine, and attack Burgundy for the first time.

title: AD 911

text: German dukes Henry the Fowler of Saxony and Arnulf I (the Bad) of Bavaria claim themselves to be sovereign princes, not recognizing the authority of their overlord, King Conrad I of the East Frankish Kingdom, as he is not a Carolingian. Duke Erchanger II of Swabia and Conrad's brother, Duke Eberhard III of Franconia, support the Conradines.

title: 912

text: Battle of the Inn: The Hungarians invade Bavaria, Swabia and Northern Burgundy. At their return they face the combined armies of Arnulf (duke of Bavaria), Erchanger and Burchard II (dukes of Swabia), who defeat them at Aschbach near the Inn River (modern Germany).

title: 913

text: The Hungarians, after attacking Swabia, sack and burn Basel (modern Switzerland). They invade Lorraine in Lotharingia, destroying Verdun and Moyenmoutier, and many monasteries in Alsace. Duke Arnulf I (the Bad) with Hungarian military aid, reconquers his land from King Conrad I of the East Frankish Kingdom. After this event, Bavaria and Swabia agree to pay tribute to the Hungarians.

title: 917

date: May 24

text: May 24 – The nobles of Franconia and Saxony elect Henry the Fowler at the Imperial Diet in Fritzlar as ruler of the East Frankish Kingdom. He recognizes the stem duchies (uniting them in a German confederation) and all their sovereign privileges. Two of the four most influential duchies, Bavaria and Swabia, do not accept his rule. Henry fortifies Magdeburg against the Magyars.

title: 919

section: Events › By Place › Europe

text: King Rudolph II of Burgundy (who also rules Italy) and his father-in-law, Burchard II of Swabia, lead a Burgundian expeditionary force over the Great St. Bernard Pass to confront Hugh of Provence. They head to the city of Ivrea where Rudolph's forces begin a civil war against Lombard partisans.

title: 925

text: Spring – The Italian nobles turn against King Rudolph II of Burgundy and request that Hugh of Provence, the effective ruler of Lower Burgundy, be elected as king of Italy. Rudolph's father-in-law Duke Burchard II of Swabia is ambushed and killed near Novara, by the henchmen of Archbishop Lambert of Milan. Rudolph, disillusioned by the news, returns to Burgundy to protect himself. Hugh has himself crowned King of Italy. and appoints Giselbert I as count palatine of Bergamo (Northern Italy).

title: 926

date: April 29

text: April 29 – Burchard II, duke of Swabia

title: 926

text: Liudolf, Swabia (approximate date) (d. 957)

title: 930

text: Fall – Hugh of Provence makes a truce with the Moors of Fraxinet, after hearing the news that a Swabian army is about to descend on Italy. He allows the Moors to attack the Alpine passes for his own political ends in his struggle with Berengar of Ivrea. The Byzantines cry foul and end their alliance with Hugh.

title: 942

text: King Otto I appoints his son Liudolf as duke of Swabia, consolidating Ottonian dominance in Southern Germany.

title: 948

date: December 10

text: December 10 – Herman I, duke of Swabia

title: 949

text: Summer – Liudolf, duke of Swabia, and his brother-in-law Conrad the Red rebel against King Otto I. Otto and his army fail to capture the cities of Mainz and Augsburg. He declares Liudolf and Conrad as outlaws in absentia. His brother Bruno I, archbishop of Cologne, restores royal authority in Lorraine, but some of the rebellious dukes receive support from the Hungarians. They seize the opportunity to invade Bavaria.

title: 953

text: Winter – At the Reichstag in Auerstedt assembled by Otto I, his son Liudolf (duke of Swabia) and Conrad the Red submit to Otto's rule. They are stripped of their duchies, but several rebel nobles continue to resist.

title: 954

text: Otto I, duke of Swabia and Bavaria (d. 982)

title: 954

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: Liudolf, the eldest son of King Otto I (the Great), reconciles with his father and asks again for installation as duke of Swabia. Otto refuses, but at the instigation of his uncle Bruno I (duke of Lotharingia) allows Liudolf to lead an expedition to Italy to bring the vassal Berengar of Ivrea to heel.

title: 956

date: September 6

text: September 6 – Liudolf, duke of Swabia

title: 957

text: September 6 – Liudolf, the eldest son of King Otto I, dies of a violent fever near Pombia (it is rumored from a latent poison administered somehow by Berengar II's agents). The German armies return home, leaving Berengar of Ivrea in control of Italy. Liudolf is succeeded by his 3-year-old son Otto, who will be adopted and raised by his grandfather Otto, as the later duke of Swabia and Bavaria.

title: 957

text: Gerberga of Burgundy, duchess consort of Swabia (or 966)

title: 965

text: Gerberga of Burgundy, duchess of Swabia (or 965)

title: 966

date: July

text: July – Emperor Otto II (the Red) occupies Regensburg, forcing his rebellious cousin Henry II (the Wrangler) (who claims rulership over the Holy Roman Empire) to flee to Bohemia. Henry is deposed and Bavaria is handed over to Otto I of Swabia (a grandson of the late Emperor Otto I). He sets up the new "Grand Duchy of Carinthia" covering modern-day Austria.

title: 976

date: August 20

text: August 20 – Conrad I, duke of Swabia

title: 997

date: May 4

text: May 4 – Herman II, duke of Swabia (Germany)

title: 1003

date: April 1

text: April 1 – Herman III, duke of Swabia

title: 1012

text: Herman IV, duke of Swabia (approximate date)

title: 1015

date: July 7

text: July 7 – Gerberga of Burgundy, duchess of Swabia

title: 1018

text: Rudolf of Rheinfelden, duke of Swabia (d. 1080)

title: 1025

text: July – Herman IV, duke of Swabia (House of Babenberg)

title: 1038

date: September 7

text: September 7 – Otto II, duke of Swabia

title: 1047

date: October

text: October – Matilda of Germany, duchess of Swabia (d. 1060)

title: 1048

text: Berthold II, duke of Swabia (approximate date)

title: 1050

text: Frederick I, duke of Swabia (approximate date)

title: 1050

date: September 28

text: September 28 – Otto III, duke of Swabia

title: 1057

date: May 12

text: May 12 – Matilda, duchess of Swabia (d. 1048)

title: 1060

text: Agnes of Rheinfelden, duchess of Swabia (d. 1111)

title: 1065

date: August 7

text: August 7 – Battle of Mellrichstadt: Emperor Henry IV defeats the German anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden, duke of Swabia, near Mellrichstadt (modern Germany).

title: 1078

text: Emperor Henry IV appoints Frederick I as duke of Swabia at Hohenstaufen Castle. Henry's 7-year-old daughter Agnes of Waiblingen is betrothed to Frederick who founds the Hohenstaufen Dynasty.

title: 1079

text: Adelaide of Savoy, duchess of Swabia (approximate date)

title: 1079

date: January 27

text: January 27 – Battle of Flarchheim: Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, defeats the forces led by the German anti-king Rudolf of Rheinfelden, duke of Swabia, near the town of Flarchheim (modern Germany).

title: 1080

text: October 15 – Rudolf of Rheinfelden, duke of Swabia

title: 1080

text: May 19 – Judith of Bavaria, duchess of Swabia (d. 1130)

title: 1100

text: May 23 – Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor, dies of cancer in Utrecht after leading an expedition against King Louis VI ("the Fat") of France and then against the citizens of Worms. Having no legitimate children, Henry leaves his possessions to his nephew, Frederick II ("the One-Eyed"), duke of Swabia. At the Hoftag diet in Regensburg, Lothair, duke of Saxony, is elected King of Germany and crowned at Aachen on September 13.

title: 1125

text: December 18 – Conrad III (with support of the imperial cities, Swabia and Austria) is elected and crowned as anti-king of Germany at Nuremberg.

title: 1127

text: May – July – A German expeditionary force (some 20,000 men) under King Conrad III leaves Regensburg and passes into Hungary. The German nobility is headed by Conrad's nephew and heir, Frederick I, duke of Swabia. On July 20, Conrad crosses into the Byzantine Empire, and reaches Sofia – where Michael Palaiologos (a nephew of Emperor Manuel I) gives Conrad an official welcome and provides the Crusaders with food.

title: 1147

text: February 15 – King Conrad III dies after a 14-year reign at Bamberg. He is succeeded by his 29-year-old nephew Frederick I (Barbarossa), duke of Swabia, who is crowned as King of the Germans at Aachen several days later, on March 9. Frederick becomes sole ruler of Germany and receives the royal insignia, despite the fact that Conrad has a 6-year-old son, Frederick IV, who becomes duke of Swabia.

title: 1152

text: August – Frederick I claims imperial authority over Bohemia, Greater Poland and Hungary. He installs his 3-year-old son Frederick V as duke of Swabia, after Frederick's cousin, Frederick IV, dies of disease at Rome.

title: 1167

text: February – Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (d. 1191)

title: 1167

text: Conrad II, duke of Swabia and Rothenburg (d. 1196)

title: 1172

text: September 11 – At Appenzell in what is now Switzerland, a group of nobles create the "Order of St. George's Shield" at Hegau in the Duchy of Swabia.

title: 1406


slug: duke-of-burgundy

label: Duke of Burgundy

description: Title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy

date: January 15

text: January 15 – Battle of St. Quentin: Frankish forces, led by Humfrid, defeat King Louis the German at Saint-Quentin (Northern France). Humfrid is enfeoffed with the County of Autun, and appointed Margrave of Burgundy, by King Charles the Bald.

title: 859

date: March 21

text: March 21 – In France, Hugh V, at the age of 11, becomes the new Duke of Burgundy upon the death of his father, Robert II.

title: 1306

section: Events › January – March

date: May 9

text: May 9 – In France, Odo IV becomes the new Duke of Burgundy upon the death of his older brother, Hugh V.

title: 1315

section: Events › April – June

date: June 19

text: June 19 – At Ghent, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy and ruler of a realm that includes much of present-day Netherlands and Belgium, marries Margaret, daughter of Louis II of Flanders.

title: 1369

section: Events › April–June

date: September 2

text: September 2 – Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, is forced to disband the army that he had assembled to capture Normandy from the control of England, after being ordered by King Charles V of France.

title: 1369

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Margaret III becomes the Countess of Flanders upon the death of her 53-year-old father, Count Louis II. Margaret and her husband Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, become co-rulers of both Flanders and Burgundy.

title: 1384

section: Events › January–March

date: April 27

text: April 27 – At Dijon, in France's Burgundian State, John the Fearless (Jean sans Peur), nephew of Charles VI of France, becomes the new Duke of Burgundy upon the death of his father, Philip the Bold.

title: 1404

date: November 20

text: November 20 – A solemn truce is agreed upon between John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy and Louis I, Duke of Orléans under the auspices of John, Duke of Berry.

title: 1407

date: October 7

text: October 7 – Jean de Montagu, Grand Master of France and a leading advisor to the mentally unstable King Charles VI of France, is arrested on orders of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. Montagu is publicly beheaded 10 days later at the Gibbet of Montfaucon in Paris.

title: 1409

section: Events › October–December

date: April 15

text: April 15 – At the wedding in Gien of Charles, Duke of Orléans to Bonne of Armagnac, the most powerful nobles of France form the League of Gien, joining forces to fight the Duke of Burgundy, John the Fearless, beginning a civil war that will last for 30 years.

title: 1410

date: October 3

text: October 3 – At the Abbey of St Vaast in Arras in France, John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy hosts English Bishop Henry Chichele and several envoys who are ready to negotiate terms for English support of Burgundy in the ongoing French civil war with the Armagnacs. The negotiations fail to attract much support other than to hire some of the English soldiers as mercentaries.

title: 1411

date: May 29

text: May 29 – Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, captures Paris, forcing King Charles VI to flee from the violence of John's partisans.

title: 1418

date: September 10

text: September 10 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy is assassinated by adherents of the Dauphin.

title: 1419

text: September 10 – John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy (assassinated) (b. 1371)

title: 1419

section: Economy & Finance

text: John III of Dampierre, Marquis of Namur, sells his estates to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

title: 1421

section: Events › Date unknown

date: October 19

text: October 19 – Princess Isabella of Portugal, daughter of King João I, departs her homeland, accompanied by a flotilla of 20 ships and 2,000 Portuguese troops and royal officials, to make the voyage to the Duchy of Burgundy, where she is to formally marry Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Because of storms, the voyage takes more than two months.

title: 1429

date: May 23

text: May 23 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundian troops, led by John II, Count of Ligny, while leading an army to relieve Compiègne. After her surrender to Lyonnel de Wandomme, she is turned over to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and incarcerated at the castle of Beaulieu-les-Fontaines.

title: 1430

date: November 10

text: November 10 – Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1477)

title: 1433

date: October 28

text: October 28 – Revolt of Ghent: Ghent takes up arms against Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

title: 1451

date: June 15

text: June 15 – Philip the Good is succeeded as Duke of Burgundy, by Charles the Bold.

title: 1467

date: April 23

text: April 23 – Cardinal Jean Balue, a close adviser of King Louis XI, is arrested for conspiring with Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, and is charged with treason. Since there is a dispute over whether a Roman Catholic cleric can be tried by the royal court rather than an eccleastical court, Balue is spared the death penalty but spends the next 11 years in prison.

title: 1469

date: January 4

text: January 4 – Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy agrees to help Edward IV regain the English throne from King Henry VI.

title: 1471

date: January 5

text: January 5 – Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy (in battle) (b. 1433)

title: 1477


slug: dumnonia

label: Dumnonia

description: kingdom in southwestern Britain

section: Deaths

text: Geraint, king of Dumnonia (approximate date)

title: 508

text: Cador, king of Dumnonia (England)

title: 530

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: King Custennin ap Cado is deposed, and returns to Dumnonia in the south-west of Great Britain.

title: 540

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Custennin ap Cado abdicates as king of Dumnonia (South West England).

title: 560

section: Events › By place › Britain

text: Clemen ap Bledric, king of Dumnonia (approximate date)

title: 580

section: Religion & Belief

text: King Custennin of Dumnonia is converted to Christianity.

title: 586

section: Events › By topic › Religion

section: Conflict & Security

text: Battle of Chester: King Æthelfrith of Northumbria invades Gwynedd (northwest Wales), in order to route out his old enemy, Edwin of Deira. A united Brythonic force (Gwynedd, Powys, Pengwern and Dumnonian warriors) is defeated near Chester.

title: 613

text: Bledric ap Custennin, king of Dumnonia (England)

title: 613

text: Battle of Bampton: King Cynegils of Wessex defeats the invading Britons in Dumnonia (modern Devon). They use the Roman road eastward from Exeter to Dorchester, and are intercepted by the West Saxons marching south.

title: 614

text: Battle of Peonnum: King Cenwalh and the Wessex Saxons make a push against Dumnonia (South West England). They are victorious at Penselwood in Somerset, and the Dumnonia-Wessex border is set at the River Parrett (approximate date).

title: 658

text: Battle of Posbury: King Cenwalh of Wessex invades Dumnonia (south-west England). He is victorious over the native Briton tribes near Crediton in Devon, and drives them to the coast.

title: 661

text: The West Saxons, led by King Centwine, drive the Britons of Dumnonia (West Country) to the sea (possibly around Bideford).

title: 682

text: Geraint, king of Dumnonia (England)

title: 710

text: King Ine of Wessex attempts a takeover of Dumnonia, but his armies are crushed, and he is forced to withdraw. Queen Æthelburg, wife of Ine, destroys the royal castle of Taunton, to prevent its seizure by rebels under Ealdbert.

title: 722

text: King Egbert of Wessex ravages the territories of the remaining British kingdom Dumnonia, known as the West Welsh (Cornwall).

title: 815

text: Battle of Gafulford: The men of Cornish Dumnonia clash with the West Saxons at modern-day Camelford (approximate date).

title: 825


slug: dunstan

label: Dunstan

description: Archbishop of Canterbury and saint

section: Births

text: Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury (d. 988)

title: 909

text: Dunstan becomes abbot of Glastonbury Abbey in England. He re-creates monastic life by establishing Benedictine monasticism in the monastery.

title: 945

text: Dunstan, an abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, is sent into exile by King Eadwig. He takes refuge in Flanders (modern Belgium), where Count Arnulf I gives him shelter in the Abbey of Mont Blandin, near Ghent.

title: 956

text: Mercia and Northumbria rebel against King Eadwig and switch their allegiance to his brother Edgar. The English nobles (in support of the church) agree to divide the kingdom along the Thames River, with Eadwig keeping Wessex and Kent in the south and Edgar ruling in the north. Edgar's advisers recall Dunstan from Flanders (see 956).

title: 957

section: Events › By place › England

text: Dunstan, bishop of Worcester and London, is appointed by Edgar I as archbishop of Canterbury and becomes his chief adviser.

title: 959

text: Dunstan receives the pallium as archbishop of Canterbury from Pope John XII. He reforms monasteries and enforces the rule of Saint Benedict: poverty, chastity and obedience for monks.

title: 960

text: The monastery at the site of Peterborough Cathedral is rebuilt by Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury.

title: 972

text: Edgar I (the Peaceful) is crowned king during a royal ceremony at Bath by Archbishop Dunstan. In a council at Chester, Lothian (a region of the Lowlands) is ceded to Scotland, in return for fealty from King Kenneth II.

title: 973

date: May 19

text: May 19 – Dunstan, archbishop of Canterbury (b. 909)

title: 988


slug: durres

label: Durrës

description: city in Albania

year_label: 627 BCE

text: Traditional date for the foundation of Epidamnus by Corinth, today Durrës in Albania.

title: 627 BC

section: Events

year_label: 48 BCE

text: January 4 – Julius Caesar lands at Dyrrhachium (Durazzo).

title: 48 BC

section: Events › By place › Roman Republic

text: Summer – Byzantine–Bulgarian War: Simeon I, with the Bulgarian army, invades the themes of Thrace and Macedonia. Simultaneously, the Bulgarian troops penetrate into the regions of Dyrrhachium and Thessalonica to the west. Thrace's largest and most important city, Adrianople (modern Turkey), is besieged and captured. However, the Byzantines promptly regain the city in exchange for a huge ransom.

title: 914

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

text: Croatian–Bulgarian War: Emperor Samuel launches a military campaign against the Kingdom of Croatia to prevent an alliance between the Serbian principality and the Byzantines. He seizes Dyrrachium (modern-day Durrës in Albania) and advances along the Dalmatian coast. The Bulgarian army is forced to withdraw into Croatian hinterlands (now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina), after the Siege of Zadar.

title: 998

section: Culture & Society

text: Peter Krešimir IV is crowned king of Croatia and Dalmatia. His coronation is recognised by the Byzantine Empire who confirm him as the supreme ruler of the Dalmatian cities, i.e. over the Theme of Dalmatia – excluding the theme of Ragusa and the Duchy of Durazzo.

title: 1059

date: October 18

text: October 18 – Battle of Dyrrhachium: After taking the island of Corfu, Robert Guiscard advances to Dyrrhachium (modern-day Durrës), and lays siege to the city. Alexios I Komnenos attempts to defend Illyria from the Normans (the first recorded mention of Albania), but is defeated by Guiscard, outside Dyrrhachium, the Byzantine capital city of Illyria.

title: 1081

text: Spring – The Normans under Duke Robert Guiscard take Dyrrhachium (modern-day Durrës) in Illyria and advance inland, capturing most of Macedonia and Thessaly. Robert is forced to leave Greece to deal with an uprising in Italy. He leaves his son Bohemond in charge of the army, who lays siege to the city of Larissa. Emperor Alexios I Komnenos mobilizes a new army, and with the support of 7,000 Seljuk Turks he clears Thessaly from the Normans.

title: 1082

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: August

text: August – Hugh ("the Great"), count of Vermandois (a brother of King Philip I), departs to join the First Crusade. He travels with a small army via the Alps to Rome. While sailing the Adriatic Sea from Bari to Dyrrachium his fleet is reduced by shipwreck. Hugh's own ship is stranded on the shore near Epirus.

title: 1096

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

text: Spring – The Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon attack the Byzantine imperial palace at Blachernae. Norman forces led by Bohemond I join the Crusaders – he is not welcome in Constantinople because his father, Robert Guiscard, has invaded Illyria (territory belonging to the Byzantine Empire), and captured the cities of Dyrrhachium and Corfu (see 1084).

title: 1097

date: October 9

text: October 9 – Bohemond I, prince of Antioch, lands with his army (some 34,000 men) in Epirus near Avlona. He plunders the countryside and marches to Dyrrhachium (modern Albania).

title: 1107

date: April 20

text: April 20 – The Crusader army evacuates Zara (modern Zadar) and sets sail to Corfu; Boniface of Montferrat and Doge Enrico Dandolo stay behind to await Prince Alexios Angelos. After a brief pause at Durrës (modern Albania), the fleet reaches Corfu. Meanwhile, news of its approach (through spies) has reached Emperor Alexios III Angelos at Constantinople. He gives order to strengthen the city walls and the fortifications.

title: 1203

section: Events › By place › Fourth Crusade

date: April 9

text: April 9 – Peter II of Courtenay is crowned emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople at Rome, by Pope Honorius III. Shortly after his coronation, Peter borrows some ships from the Venetians, promising in return to conquer Durazzo for them. He fails in this enterprise and seeks to make his way to Constantinople by land. On the journey, he is seized by troops of Theodore Komnenos Doukas, despot of Epirus, and is put in prison.

title: 1217

section: Events › Other events by place › Europe

text: Spring – The Epirote–Nicaean conflict (1257–59) begins between the Despotate of Epirus and the Empire of Nicaea. Despot Michael II Komnenos Doukas revolts and defeats the Nicaean army under George Akropolites. The Epirote and Serbian forces join their attacks against Michael, who sends his forces into Macedonia and marches on to Thessalonica. In response, Michael is attacked – on the west coast of Epirus – by Manfred of Sicily. Manfred first occupies the major Ionian Islands, including Corfu. Then he lands on the Albanian coast and takes Durazzo, Berat, Valona and their environs.

title: 1257

date: February

text: February – Charles I of Anjou, king of Sicily, occupies the city of Durrës, and establishes the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. A delegation of Albanian nobles and citizens from Durrës make their way to Charles' court.

title: 1272

text: Durrës, the second-largest city in modern-day Albania (at this time known as Dyrrhachium), is captured from the Angevins by Karl Thopia, a powerful feudal prince and warlord.

title: 1368


slug: dutch-east-india-company

label: Dutch East India Company

description: 1602–1799 Dutch trading company

section: Economy & Finance

date: March 20

text: March 20 – The United East India Company is established by the United Provinces States-General in Amsterdam, with the stated intention of capturing the spice trade from the Portuguese.

title: 1602

section: Events › January–March

date: February 25

text: February 25 – Dutch–Portuguese War: the Portuguese ship Santa Catarina is seized by Dutch East India Company ships off Singapore.

title: 1603

text: February 25 – Admiral Steven van der Hagen leads a fleet of ships for the Dutch East India Company and makes the first capture of land for the Netherlands in what will become the Dutch East Indies, and later Indonesia. Hagen's men capture the Portuguese citadel of Forte Amboino and the rest of Ambon Island, and make it the capital of the Dutch possessions in Asia.

title: 1605

text: The Dutch East India Company imports tea to Europe.

title: 1609

section: Events › Date unknown

date: April 4

text: April 4 – English explorer Henry Hudson, in the service of the Dutch East India Company, sets out from Amsterdam in the Halve Maen.

title: 1609

section: Events › April–June

text: April 9 – The Netherlands and Spain agree to the Twelve Years' Truce (which lasts until 1621) in the Eighty Years' War, with the signing of the Treaty of Antwerp, allowing the Dutch East India Company to trade within the Spanish Empire.

title: 1609

date: December 25

text: December 25 – Captain Nathaniel Courthope reaches the nutmeg-rich island of Run in the Moluccas, to defend it against the Dutch East India Company. A contract with the inhabitants, accepting James I of England as their sovereign, makes it part of the English colonial empire.

title: 1616

section: Events › November-December

date: July 31

text: July 31 – Lenaert Jacobszoon and the crew of the Dutch East India Company ship Mauritius become the first Europeans to sight what is now the Australian state of Western Australia, landing at the North Cape.

title: 1618

section: Events › July–September

text: The Dutch East India Company sends 2,000 soldiers, under the command of Jan Pieterszoon Coen, to the Banda Islands, in order to force the local inhabitants to accept the Dutch trade monopoly on the lucrative nutmeg, grown almost exclusively on those islands. The soldiers proceed to massacre most of the 15,000 indigenous inhabitants.

title: 1621

date: May 13

text: May 13 – The Eendracht, a VOC ship and the second recorded European ship to make landfall on Australian soil, is wrecked off the western coast of Ambon Island, Dutch East Indies.

title: 1622

date: January 21

text: January 21 – Voyage of the Pera and Arnhem to Australia: Captains Jan Carstenszoon of the Arnhem and Willem Joosten van Coolsteerdt of the Pera depart on an expedition for the Dutch East India Company from Ambon, Maluku (Amboyna) to explore the Australian coast.

title: 1623

date: March 9

text: March 9 – Amboyna massacre: Ten English merchants in the service of the British East India Company, together with nine Japanese and one Portuguese, are executed by agents of the Dutch East India Company in Ambon, Maluku (Amboyna).

title: 1623

date: August 4

text: August 4 – The Dutch East India Company agrees to Chinese demands to withdraw its operations from the Penghu islands, and relocates its trading post to Fort Zeelandia and the Dutch-controlled island of Formosa, now Tainan on Taiwan.

title: 1624

date: February 11

text: February 11 – Dutch–Portuguese War: The Battle of Hormuz, one of the largest naval battles ever fought in the Persian Gulf takes place in the Straits of Hormuz as fleets of the Dutch East India Company and the English East India Company defend Persia against an attack by ships from the colony of Portuguese India.

title: 1625

date: June 4

text: June 4 – The Dutch East India Company ship Batavia is wrecked on a reef near Beacon Island, off Western Australia, on her maiden voyage to the Indies. Following mutiny among the survivors, two exiled murderers become the first Europeans to settle in Australia. Their subsequent fate is unknown.

title: 1629

date: October 2

text: October 2 – In what is now the state of Western Australia, administered at the time by the Dutch East India Company, seven members of the crew of the Batavia are hanged on the Abrolhos Islands for their massacre of 125 passengers and crew.

title: 1629

section: Events › October–December

date: July 7

text: July 7 – the Dutch East India Company fleet, led by Hans Putmans, attacks its ally Zheng Zhilong's base by surprise, near Xiamen.

title: 1633

date: October 22

text: October 22 – Battle of Liaoluo Bay: A large Ming dynasty fleet under Zheng Zhilong defeats a Dutch East India Company fleet at the island of Quemoy.

title: 1633

date: March 28

text: March 28 – Dutch merchant Willem Kieft is appointed Director of New Netherland by the Dutch East India Company to succeed Wouter van Twiller.

title: 1638

date: May 2

text: May 2 – After a 40-day siege, the Dutch East India Company Army captures the Trincomalee Fort on the island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from the Portuguese Empire.

title: 1639

date: January 14

text: January 14 – The Battle of Malacca concludes with the Dutch East India Company ending Portuguese control of Malacca.

title: 1641

date: January 30

text: January 30 – Dutch explorer Abel Tasman departs from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia) on his second major expedition for the Dutch East India Company, to map the north coast of Australia. Tasman commands three ships, Limmen, Zeemeeuw and Braek, and returns to Batavia at the beginning of August with no major discoveries.

title: 1644

date: April 6

text: April 6 – Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company at the Cape of Good Hope in modern-day South Africa, thus founding Cape Town.

title: 1652

section: Disasters & Accidents

date: April 28

text: April 28 – The Dutch East India Company ship Vergulde Draeck, with 193 crew aboard and a valuable cargo is wrecked off Ledge Point, Western Australia, with the loss of 118 members. Another 75 make it to shore, with limited provisions. The ship had been bound from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta in Indonesia).

title: 1656

date: April 7

text: April 7 – The siege of Fort Zeelandia, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) headquarters on the Chinese island of Taiwan (near modern Taoyuan City) is started by Koxinga and his invading force from China.

title: 1661

date: March 23

text: March 23 – General Zheng Chenggong of China, known as "Koxinga" leads an invasion of the island of Taiwan, at the time under the control of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), bringing 25,000 soldiers and sailors on hundreds of boats to claim the territory.

title: 1661

date: February 1

text: February 1 – Chinese general Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong) captures the Dutch East India Company's settlement at Fort Zeelandia (now Tainan) on the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege, ending the company's rule on the island, then establishes the Kingdom of Tungning. In response, the Kangxi Emperor of the mainland Qing dynasty relocates all residents along the southern coast, by 50 miles.

title: 1662

section: Climate & Environment

text: February 11 – A violent storm in the Indian Ocean strikes a fleet of seven ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as they are traveling back to the Dutch Republic from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia). Three of the freighters— Wapen van Holland, Gekroonde Leeuw and Prins Willem — are lost with all hands. The ships Vogel Phoenix, Maarsseveen and Prinses Royal make their way back to the Netherlands. The other ship, the freighter Arnhem remains afloat and its roughly 80 survivors are able to evacuate in boats to search for land.

title: 1662

date: March 14

text: March 14 – Third Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of Ronas Voe – The English Royal Navy captures the Dutch East India Company ship Wapen van Rotterdam in Shetland.

title: 1674

date: February 26

text: February 26 – On the Indonesian island of Java, Amangkurat II of the Mataram Sultanate agrees to bring his kingdom under the protection of the Dutch East India Company to drive out rebels.

title: 1677

date: August 21

text: August 21 – On the island of Java in modern-day Indonesia, the Kediri campaign begins as Mataram Sultanate and Dutch East India Company (VOC) forces under the command of VOC Captain François Tack begin marching from Jepara toward Kediri to suppress the Trunajaya rebellion that had driven out the Mataram Sultan. They are joined by two other columns of troops over the next fortnight.

title: 1678

date: December 26

text: December 26 – In modern-day Indonesia, the Trunajaya rebellion comes to an end with the surrender of Prince Panembahan Maduretno to the Sultan Amangkurat II of Mataram, ruler of the entire island of Java. While treated with respect as a prisoner of the occupying forces of the Dutch East India Company (Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC), Panembahan is killed seven days later by Amangkurat after the VOC allows him to attend a ceremonial visit to the sultan's palace.

title: 1679

text: March 14 – Ageng Tirtayasa, Sultan of Banten on the island of Java (part of modern-day Indonesia), is captured by soldiers hired by the Dutch East India Company.

title: 1683

text: April 3 – The Dutch East India Company ship Merestein strikes rocks and sinks in Saldanha Bay off Jutten Island, Africa with the loss of 101 of the 200 people on board.

title: 1702

text: November 22 – The Dutch East India Company ship Amsterdam (1691) founders en route from Bombay to Basra during a storm with the loss of all hands.

title: 1702

text: August 1 – The Dutch East India Company trading ship Zuytdorp leaves the Netherlands on an ill-fated voyage to Indonesia bearing a load of freshly minted silver coins. The wreck site remains unknown until the mid-20th century, on a remote part of the Western Australian coast between Kalbarri and Shark Bay.

title: 1711

text: November 7 – The Dutch East India Company ship Liefde runs aground and sinks off Out Skerries, Shetland, with the loss of all but one of her 300 crew.

title: 1711

text: November 20 – The Dutch East India Company cargo ship Schoonenberg runs aground in South Africa's Struis Bay and is looted by most of its 110 crew, beginning a legend and questions of whether the wreck was part of a conspiracy or simply an accident. Almost 300 years later, the event is reconstructed in detail by investigators.

title: 1722

text: January 18 – The Dutch East India Company cargo ship Fortuyn, on its maiden voyage, departs from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa after a layover of 16 days following its arrival from the Netherlands. With a crew of 225 commanded by Pieter Westrik, the ship departs for Batavia in the Dutch East Indies and is never seen again.

title: 1724

text: November 19 – The Dutch East India Company frigate Slot ter Hooge strikes rocks and sinks off Porto Santo Island, Madeira, with the loss of 221 of the 254 people on board.

title: 1724

text: October 19 – Joan Paul Schaghen is appointed by the Dutch East India Company to serve as the Governor of Ceylon after the death of Johannes Hertenberg.

title: 1725

text: January 27 – On its maiden voyage, the Dutch East India Company frigate Aagtekerke departs from the Dutch Cape Colony on the second leg of its journey to the Dutch East Indies across the Indian Ocean and is never seen again. Aagtekerke carried a crew of 200 men.

title: 1726

text: December 27 – The Dutch East India Company ends an almost 11-year effort of trying to maintain a colony around Delagoa Bay in southern Africa in modern-day Mozambique. The entire population of the settlement, Fort Lydzammheid (near modern-day Maputo) is evacuated by the ships Snuffelaar, Zeepost and Feyenoord and the group returns to Cape Town.

title: 1730

text: February 3 – All 256 people on board the Dutch East India Company ships Vliegenthart and Anna Catherina die when the two ships sink in a gale off of the Netherlands coast. The wreckage of Vliegenthart remains undiscovered until 1981.

title: 1735

text: January 8 – All 237 crewmen on the Dutch East India Company ship Rooswijk are drowned when the vessel strikes the shoals of Goodwin Sands, off of the coast of England, as it is beginning its second voyage to the Indies. The wreckage is discovered more than 250 years later, in 2004.

title: 1740

text: October 9–22 – Batavia Massacre: Troops of the Dutch East India Company massacre at least 10,000 Chinese Indonesians in Batavia.

title: 1740

text: August 10 – Raja Marthanda Varma of Travancore defeats the Dutch East India Company in the Battle of Colachel, ending the Dutch colonial rule in India and marking the first "major" defeat of a European colonial military power in India.

title: 1741

text: November 9 – Battle of Penfui on Timor: A large Topass army is defeated by a numerically inferior Dutch East India Company.

title: 1749

text: February 18 – Meermin Slave Mutiny: Captive Malagasy people seize a Dutch East India Company slave ship in the Indian Ocean.

title: 1766

text: December 31 – The Dutch East India Company's charter is allowed to expire by the Batavian Republic.

title: 1799

text: January 1 – The Dutch East India Company dissolves.

title: 1800


slug: dutch-east-indies

label: Dutch East Indies

description: Dutch colony in Southeast Asia and Oceania (1800–1949)

date: May 13

text: May 13 – The Eendracht, a VOC ship and the second recorded European ship to make landfall on Australian soil, is wrecked off the western coast of Ambon Island, Dutch East Indies.

title: 1622

section: Deaths

date: September 21

text: September 21 – Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1587)

title: 1629

text: January 30 – Dutch explorer Abel Tasman departs from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Jakarta in Indonesia) on his second major expedition for the Dutch East India Company, to map the north coast of Australia. Tasman commands three ships, Limmen, Zeemeeuw and Braek, and returns to Batavia at the beginning of August with no major discoveries.

title: 1644

text: April 28 – The Dutch East India Company ship Vergulde Draeck, with 193 crew aboard and a valuable cargo is wrecked off Ledge Point, Western Australia, with the loss of 118 members. Another 75 make it to shore, with limited provisions. The ship had been bound from the Cape of Good Hope to Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta in Indonesia).

title: 1656

date: February 11

text: February 11 – A violent storm in the Indian Ocean strikes a fleet of seven ships of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as they are traveling back to the Dutch Republic from Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia). Three of the freighters— Wapen van Holland, Gekroonde Leeuw and Prins Willem — are lost with all hands. The ships Vogel Phoenix, Maarsseveen and Prinses Royal make their way back to the Netherlands. The other ship, the freighter Arnhem remains afloat and its roughly 80 survivors are able to evacuate in boats to search for land.

title: 1662

date: April 27

text: April 27 – Sultan Toloko ibn-Sibori becomes the new Sultan of Ternate, located on the Maluku Islands in the Dutch East Indies after the death of his father, Sultan Sibori Amsterdam.

title: 1690

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

date: September 17

text: September 17 – First Javanese War of Succession: On the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), Pakubuwono I becomes the new Sultan of Martaram, capturing Kartosuro and deposing Sultan Amangkurat III.

title: 1705

date: January 18

title: 1724

date: July 8

text: July 8 – Mattheus de Haan becomes the new Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia), governing until his death on June 1, 1729 in Batavia (modern Jakarta).

title: 1725

date: January 27

title: 1726

date: April 30

text: April 30 – The 82 survivors of the wreckage of the Dutch East India Company frigate Zeewijk arrive in the new ship that they had built, Sloepie, at their original destination of Batavia in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta in Indonesia).

title: 1728

date: June 1

text: June 1 – Diederik Durven becomes the new Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) upon the death of Mattheus de Haan.

title: 1729

section: Conflict & Security

date: December 5

text: December 5–11 – Napoleonic Wars: Raid on Griessie – A British Royal Navy squadron attacks the Dutch port of Griessie on Java in the Dutch East Indies, eliminating the last Dutch naval force in the Pacific and concluding the Java campaign of 1806–1807.

title: 1807

date: April 10

text: April 10– Mount Tambora in the Dutch East Indies blows its top explosively during its peak eruption, killing more than 92,000 people during week of activity from April 5 to April 12. The blast propels thousands of tons of aerosols (Sulfide gas compounds) into the stratosphere, and the high level gases reflect sunlight, causing widespread cooling from a volcanic winter. During 1816, heavy rains fall arounde the world, snow falls in June and July in the Northern Hemisphere, crops fail and widespread famine occurs. In later years, 1816 will become known as the Year Without a Summer.

title: 1815

section: Events › April

date: January 1

text: January 1 – The Philippines began reckoning Asian dates by hopping the International Date Line through skipping Tuesday, December 31, 1844. That time zone shift was a reform made by Governor–General Narciso Claveria on August 16, 1844, in order to align the local calendars in the country with the rest of Asia as trade interests with Imperial China, Dutch East Indies and neighboring countries increased, after Mexico became independent in 1821. The reform also applied to Caroline Islands, Guam, Marianas Islands, Marshall Islands, and Palau as part of the Captaincy General of the Philippines.

title: 1845

text: Nillmij, a predecessor of Aegon, Dutch-based worldwide insurance company, is founded in the Dutch East Indies (modern Indonesia).

title: 1859

date: January 10

text: January 10 – The Aceh Sultanate was fully annexed by Dutch forces, deposing the last sultan, and marking the end of the Aceh War that had lasted almost 30 years.

title: 1903

section: Events › January

date: October 28

text: October 28 – The Second Youth Congress is held in Batavia, Dutch East Indies by young Indonesian nationalists, resulting in the Youth Pledge. The Indonesian national anthem, "Indonesia Raya", is introduced at the congress.

title: 1928

section: Events › October

date: February 5

text: February 5 – A mutiny starts on the Royal Netherlands Navy coastal defence ship De Zeven Provinciën in the Dutch East Indies. After 6 days, it is bombed by a Dutch aircraft, killing 23 men, and the remaining mutineers surrender.

title: 1933

section: Events › February

date: January

text: Dutch East Indies campaign: Japan declares war on the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies. Japanese forces invade Borneo and Celebes.

title: 1942

date: December 27

text: December 27 – The Treaty of The Hague ends the Indonesian National Revolution by recognizing transfer of the sovereignty of the Dutch East Indies from Queen Juliana of the Netherlands to the United States of Indonesia; the Susanto Cabinet takes office in the Republic of Indonesia.

title: 1949

section: Events › December


slug: dutch-republic

label: Dutch Republic

description: predecessor state of the Netherlands (1581–1795)

date: January 23

text: January 23 – The Union of Utrecht unites the northern Netherlands in a confederation called the United Provinces. William the Silent becomes Stadtholder, and the Duc d'Anjou, younger brother of Henry III of France, is invited to become hereditary sovereign.

title: 1579

date: July 26

text: July 26 – Battle of Ponta Delgada (War of the Portuguese Succession): Spanish admiral Santa Cruz decisively defeats a larger mercenary fleet from France, England, supporters of the Portuguese claimant António, Prior of Crato, and the Dutch Republic, under Filippo di Piero Strozzi (who is killed) off the Azores, the first engagement between large fleets of galleons, operating at any great distance from the mainland.

title: 1582

date: April 23

text: April 23 – After a siege of 75 days, Dutch Republic commander Hendrik van Bonnivet surrenders Eindhoven to the Spanish Netherlands.

title: 1583

section: Crime & Justice

date: November 5

text: November 5 – Willem IV van den Bergh, the Stadtholder of Guelders for the Dutch Republic is arrested along with his family and charged with treason on suspicion of having allowed the Spanish Army to seize Zutphen. Imprisoned for five months, he is released in March after promising to retire from public service.

title: 1583

date: July 10

text: July 10 – Willem van Oranje, the leader of the Dutch Republic as Stadtholder of Holland, is assassinated in Delft. Balthasar Gérard, who bought two wheel-lock pistols and then made an appointment with at the Prinsenhof, shoots William in the chest at close range and fatally wounds him, making William the first head of state to be assassinated with a handgun.

title: 1584

date: March 6

text: March 6 – The Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier is set up as the third of the five admiralties in the Dutch Republic.

title: 1589

date: June 26

text: June 26 – The siege of the Spanish Netherlands city of Delfzijl is started by Maurice, Prince of Orange, stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, who leads a Dutch and English Army against the Spanish defenders. Delfzijl falls after six days, and is surrendered on July 2.

title: 1591

date: July 22

text: July 22 – After a two-month siege, the city of Groningen submits to Dutch troops, bringing the whole northern Netherlands under the Dutch Republic.

title: 1594

date: May 19

text: May 19 – The Siege of Groningen by the Dutch Republic begins with an attack of 10,000 soldiers against the Spanish-held city. The Spanish commander surrenders after two months on July 22.

title: 1594

date: September 2

text: September 2 – Battle of the Lippe (Eighty Years' War): Spanish cavalry, led by Cristóbal de Mondragón (aged over 80), defeat combined forces of the Dutch Republic and England led by Philip of Nassau (who dies of wounds received), on the banks of the river Lippe in Germany.

title: 1595

section: Culture & Society

date: June 13

text: June 13 – The Staten-Generaal of the Dutch Republic approves a proposal for the Generaliteitscollege, a common board for the Republic's five separate navies, the Admiralty of Amsterdam, the Admiralty of Rotterdam, the Admiralty of Zeeland, the Admiralty of the Noorderkwartier and the Admiralty of Friesland.

title: 1597

section: Exploration & Expansion

text: September 17 – Second Dutch Expedition to Indonesia: Jacob Corneliszoon van Neck and three ships commanded by him are separated from the Dutch Republic fleet of Admiral Wybrand van Warwyck, and land on a Portuguese-charted island, Ilha do Cisne. Van Neck names the island Mauritius, after Maurice, Prince of Orange. Although Diogo Fernandes Pereira and sailors from Portugal had, in 1507, become the first Europeans to find Mauritius, van Neck's men apparently are the first to sight the dodo, a now extinct bird.

title: 1598

date: July 2

text: July 2 – Eighty Years' War (Dutch War of Independence) – Battle of Nieuwpoort: The Dutch Republic gains a tactical victory over the Spanish Empire.

title: 1600

text: Dutch troops attack the Portuguese in Malacca.

title: 1601

date: August 16

text: August 16 – Battle of Cape Rachado: A Dutch fleet is defeated by the Portuguese.

title: 1606

date: April 25

text: April 25 – Battle of Gibraltar: A Dutch fleet of 26 warships, led by Admiral Jacob van Heemskerck, stages a surprise attack on a Spanish fleet anchored in the Bay of Gibraltar. In the battle that ensues, Spain loses as many as 10 galleons and 12 smaller ships, and at least 300 men are killed. The disaster causes Spain to go into bankruptcy by October.

title: 1607

date: September

text: September – The Scrooby Congregation of Protestant English Separatists attempt to flee to the Dutch Republic from Boston, Lincolnshire, but are betrayed, arrested and imprisoned for a time.

title: 1607

text: Spring – The Scrooby Congregation of Protestant English Separatists successfully flees to the Dutch Republic from the Humber, origin of the Pilgrim Fathers who in 1620 move on to North America.

title: 1608

date: February 7

text: February 7 – A peace conference opens at the Binnenhof at The Hague, in the Netherlands, to end a war between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium).

title: 1608

section: Science & Discovery

date: October 2

text: October 2 – Dutch lens maker Hans Lippershey demonstrates the first telescope in the Dutch Parliament.

title: 1608

date: April 9

text: April 9 – The Netherlands and Spain agree to the Twelve Years' Truce (which lasts until 1621) in the Eighty Years' War, with the signing of the Treaty of Antwerp, allowing the Dutch East India Company to trade within the Spanish Empire.

title: 1609

date: July 28

text: July 28 – War of the Jülich Succession: The Siege of Jülich, a walled city within the Holy Roman Empire (now in Germany), is started by a combined force of troops from the Dutch Republic, the Kingdom of France and the Margraviate of Brandenburg.

title: 1610

text: September 2 – The Siege of Jülich ends as the Holy Roman Imperial city surrenders to Maurice of Nassau, commander of the Dutch Republic troops.

title: 1610

date: August 23

text: August 23 – The University of Groningen is established in the Dutch Republic.

title: 1614

section: Technology & Infrastructure

date: March 17

text: March 17 – The States General of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands authorizes an exclusive monopoly for trade in the New World, providing for the winning company to be able to make four voyages to the eastern coast of North America between 40° N and 45° N, encompassing the area that becomes the U.S. state of New Jersey. The New Netherland Company receives the exclusive patent, effective January 1, 1615.

title: 1614

section: Economy & Finance

text: The Grolsch Brewery is founded in Groenlo, Netherlands.

title: 1615

text: April 9 – The Twelve Years' Truce between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire expires, and both sides prepare to resume the Eighty Years' War.

title: 1621

date: August 29

text: August 29 – Thirty Years' War: While on their way to relieve the Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom in the Netherlands, the army of Mansfeld and Christian of Brunswick is blocked by a Spanish army, led by Gonzalo de Córdoba. In the Battle of Fleurus, Cordoba manages to fight off the Protestant assault. The next day, Cordoba surprises the retreating Protestant army with his cavalry, resulting in the destruction of most of the Protestant army.

title: 1622

date: July 13

text: July 13 – Thirty Years' War: After Mansfeld fails to relieve the siege of Heidelberg, Frederick V of the Palatinate cancels Mansfeld's contract and disbands his army. The unemployed army of Mansfeld and Christian the Younger of Brunswick is subsequently hired by the Dutch.

title: 1622

date: August 6

text: August 6 – Thirty Years' War: Pursued by the army of the Catholic League (German) led by Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, the army of the Protestant Electoral Palatinate led by Christian the Younger of Brunswick attempts to flee to the Dutch Republic. Tilly's army catches Brunswick five miles from the border. In the resulting Battle of Stadtlohn, Christian's army is destroyed. This brings the Palatinate campaign to an end.

title: 1623

date: June 10

text: June 10 – Treaty of Compiègne is signed between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1624

date: October 25

text: October 25 – A Dutch fleet attacks the Portuguese garrison at Elmina castle at modern-day Elmina, Ghana, but is defeated with heavy casualties. This defeat, along with the defeats at Bahia and Puerto Rico, causes a five-year-long lull in Dutch attacks on Spanish and Portuguese colonies.

title: 1625

date: September 7

text: September 7 – The Treaty of Southampton makes an alliance between England and the Dutch Republic, against Spain.

title: 1625

text: September 7–8 – Eighty Years' War – Battle in the Bay of Matanzas: Dutch admiral Piet Hein captures 16 ships of the Spanish treasure fleet. The immense booty taken brings in over 11 million guilders, part of which is used to fund the entire army of the Dutch Republic for eight months.

title: 1628

text: August 19 – Eighty Years' War: The Spanish garrison of Wesel is surprised by a small Dutch army, and the city is taken by the Dutch Republic. As Wesel functioned as the principal supply base of Hendrik van den Bergh's army, the loss of supply forces him to retreat to the Spanish Netherlands, leaving him unable to intervene in the ongoing siege of 's-Hertogenbosch.

title: 1629

text: July 29 – Curaçao is captured by the Dutch.

title: 1634

text: March 26 – Utrecht University is founded in the Dutch Republic.

title: 1636

text: February 3 – Tulip mania collapses in the Dutch Republic.

title: 1637

text: January 17 – Action of 12–17 January 1640: A naval battle, part of the Dutch invasions of Brazil, between ships of the Dutch Republic and those of the Kingdom of Portugal, ends after five days of fighting with the Dutch driving the Portuguese away from the port of Recife.

title: 1640

text: July 12 – Portugal and the Dutch Republic sign a Treaty of Offensive and Defensive Alliance at The Hague. The treaty is not respected by both parties, and as a consequence has no effect in the Portuguese colonies (Brazil and Angola) that are under Dutch rule.

title: 1641

text: June 12 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed between representatives of the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Portugal as a 10-year truce and alliance.

title: 1641

text: 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.

title: 1646

text: May 30 – Eighty Years' War: Habsburg Spain and the Dutch Republic sign a temporary cease-fire.

title: 1646

text: September 16 – The new Orange College of Breda opens at Breda in the Dutch Republic.

title: 1646

text: January 30 – The Dutch and the Spanish sign the Peace of Münster, ending the Eighty Years' War. The Spanish Empire recognizes the Dutch Republic of United Netherlands as a sovereign state (governed by the House of Orange-Nassau and the States General), which was previously a province of the Spanish Empire. The treaty is ratified by the Netherlands on May 15.

title: 1648

text: November 4 – William III of Orange becomes Prince of the House of Orange at the moment of his birth, succeeding his father, who had died a few days earlier. He does not become stadtholder, so the United Provinces becomes a true republic.

title: 1650

text: September 19 – Treaty of Hartford: the English Commonwealth's Connecticut Colony and the Dutch Republic's colony of New Netherland establish their frontiers in North America.

title: 1650

text: October – An English diplomatic team, headed by Oliver St John, goes to The Hague to negotiate an alliance between the Commonwealth of England and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1651

text: August 26 – First Anglo-Dutch War: Battle of Plymouth – A fleet from the Commonwealth of England attacks an outward-bound convoy of the Dutch Republic, escorted by 23 men-of-war and six fire ships, commanded by Vice-Commodore Michiel de Ruyter; the Dutch escape.

title: 1652

text: July 10 – The First Anglo-Dutch War begins formally as the English Commonwealth declares war against the Dutch Republic.

title: 1652

text: 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.

title: 1659

text: 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.

title: 1659

text: August 6 – Portugal and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of The Hague, whereby the Dutch Republic's South American colony of Nieuw-Holland is sold to Portugal for the equivalent of roughly 63000 kg of gold, and incorporated into Brazil. The territory includes much of what will later become the Brazilian states of Ceará, Maranhão, Paraíba, Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte. Among the major Dutch settlements lost are Mauritsstad (Recife), Fort Schoonenborch (Fortaleza), Nieuw-Amsterdam (Natal), and Frederikstadt (João Pessoa).

title: 1661

title: 1662

text: 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.

title: 1663

text: September 8 (August 29 O.S.) – Peter Stuyvesant, Director-General of the Dutch Republic colony of New Netherland, surrenders New Amsterdam to an English naval squadron, commanded by Colonel Richard Nicolls, without bloodshed.

title: 1664

text: August 5 – The province of Holland in the Dutch Republic passes the "Perpetual Edict" declaring that it will no longer acknowledge the authority of the republic's Stadtholder, and other provinces soon follow suit.

title: 1667

text: July 31 – Second Anglo-Dutch War – The Treaty of Breda ends the war by England against the Dutch Republic, France and Denmark and Norway. In the Americas, the Dutch retain control of Surinam, the English retain New Netherland and the French Acadia.

title: 1667

text: June 19–24 – The raid on the Medway in England is carried out when a fleet from the Dutch Republic under Admiral Michiel de Ruyter takes Sheerness fort, sails up the River Medway, raids Chatham Dockyard, and tows away the royal flagship The Royal Charles.

title: 1667

text: January 23 – The Triple Alliance of 1668 is formed between England, Sweden and the United Provinces of the Netherlands.

title: 1668

text: March 17 – The Third Anglo-Dutch War begins as the Kingdom of England declares war on the Dutch Republic.

title: 1672

text: June 7 – First Battle of Schooneveld: In a sea battle of the Third Anglo-Dutch War, fought off the Netherlands coast, the Dutch Republic fleet (commanded by Michiel de Ruyter) defeats the allied Anglo-French fleet, commanded by Prince Rupert of the Rhine.

title: 1673

text: April 26 – In the Netherlands, the jurisdiction of Willem, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of Holland (on the west coast, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam) and Zeeland (southwest coast, including Middelburg, Zeeland), increases in the Dutch Republic as his followers in the inland States of Utrecht (Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel) designate him as the hereditary stadtholder. In 1689, he becomes the King of England in addition to his role as the Stadtholder of the Netherlands.

title: 1674

text: February 19 – England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. Its provisions come into effect gradually (see November 10).

title: 1674

text: June 1 – Scanian War: Battle of Öland – A combined fleet of the Dutch Republic and Denmark–Norway decisively defeats the Swedish Navy, which loses its flagship Kronan.

title: 1676

text: August 14 – William of Orange, the leader of the Dutch Republic, is forced to end the siege of the Spanish Netherlands (modern-day Belgium) city of Charleroi after six days.

title: 1677

text: September 17 – The Franco-Dutch War between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic (and its allies) comes to an end after more than six years as the Treaties of Nijmegen bring about a ceasefire.

title: 1678

text: October 12 – Representatives of the Dutch Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden sign the last of the nine Treaties of Nijmegen, ending the last of the conflicts that began during the Franco-Dutch War.

title: 1679

text: November 26 – Hearing that William of Orange has landed in England, Louis XIV declares war on the Netherlands.

title: 1688

text: June 27 – Nine Years' War – Battle of Lagos off Portugal: The French fleet defeats the joint Dutch and English fleet.

title: 1693

text: June 29 – The Battle of Texel is fought near the Dutch island of Texel, one of the West Frisian Islands. The French Navy force of 8 ships, commanded by Jean Bart, locates and rescues three French ships that had been captured by the Dutch Republic in late May. Bart fights a larger force commanded by Hidde Sjoerds de Vries, who dies of his wounds after being captured.

title: 1694

text: In Amsterdam, the bank Wed. Jean Deutz & Sn. floats the first sovereign bonds on the local market. The scheme is designed to fund a 1.5 million guilder loan to the Holy Roman Emperor. From this date on, European leaders commonly take advantage of the low interest rates available in the Dutch Republic, and borrow several hundred millions on the Dutch capital market.

title: 1695

text: January 7 (December 28, 1694 O.S.) – The United Kingdom's last joint monarchy, the reign of husband-and-wife King William III and Queen Mary II comes to an end with the death of Queen Mary, at the age of 32. Princess Mary had been installed as the monarch along with her husband and cousin, Willem Hendrik von Oranje, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, in 1689 after King James II was deposed by Willem during the "Glorious Revolution".

title: 1695

text: October 11 – The Treaty of the Hague is signed between the Dutch Republic, England and France.

title: 1698

text: June 11 – England, France and the Dutch Republic agree on the terms of the Treaty of London (1700) (Second Partition Treaty) for Spain.

title: 1699

text: March 24 – The Treaty of London is signed between France, England and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1700

text: May 14 (N.S.) – War of the Spanish Succession: War is declared on France by the Grand Alliance (Kingdom of England, Dutch Republic and Holy Roman Empire).

title: 1702

text: April 25 (April 14 Old Style) – War of the Spanish Succession – Battle of Almansa: The Bourbon army of Spain and France (with Irish mercenaries) under the French-born Englishman James FitzJames, 1st Duke of Berwick, soundly defeats the allied forces of Portugal, England, and the Dutch Republic led by the French-born Huguenot (in English service) Henri de Massue, Earl of Galway. Following this, Philip V of Spain promulgates the first Nueva Planta decrees, bringing the Kingdoms of Valencia and Aragon under the laws of the Crown of Castile.

title: 1707

text: September 11 (August 31 Old Style) – War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Malplaquet – Troops of the Dutch Republic, Habsburg monarchy, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Prussia, led by the Duke of Marlborough, drive the French from the field, but suffer twice as many casualties.

title: 1709

text: November 15 – The Third Barrier Treaty is signed by Britain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1715

text: January 4 (December 24, 1716 Old Style) – The kingdoms of Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic sign the Triple Alliance, in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with France on November 28 (November 17) 1716.

title: 1717

text: December 17 – The Holy Roman Empire, Kingdom of Great Britain and Dutch Republic join the Kingdom of France in formally declaring war on Spain, launching the War of the Quadruple Alliance.

title: 1718

text: February 17 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed between Spain, Britain, France, Austria and the Dutch Republic, ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance with effect from May 20.

title: 1720

text: November 9 – The Treaty of Seville is signed between Great Britain, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic.

title: 1729

text: March 16 – The Treaty of Vienna is signed between the Holy Roman Empire, Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and Spain.

title: 1731

text: October 11 – War of the Austrian Succession – Battle of Rocoux: The French army defeats the allied Austrian, British, Hanoveran and Dutch army in Rocourt.

title: 1746

text: August 15 – Great Britain, Russia and the Dutch Republic sign the Convention of Saint Petersburg (1747).

title: 1747

text: November 22 – End of Second Stadtholderless period: Prince William IV of Orange becomes stadtholder of all the United Provinces.

title: 1747

text: July 9 – Traveller Jonas Hanway leaves St. Petersburg to return home, via Germany and the Netherlands. Later the same year, Hanway reputedly becomes the first Englishman to use an umbrella (a French fashion).

title: 1750

text: October 22 – William V, Prince of Orange, the three-year-old son of the late William IV, becomes the last Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic. During his minority, his mother, Princess Anne, acts as regent until her death in 1759. Upon becoming of age in 1766, he will have a corrupt reign as the Republic's head of state until the office is abolished on February 23, 1785.

title: 1751

text: February 23 – The Berbice Slave Uprising starts in the former Dutch colony of Berbice.

title: 1763

text: October 9 – The Dutch merchant ship Vrouw Maria sinks off the coast of Finland; Captain Raymund Lourens and his crew escape unharmed.

title: 1771

text: April 19 – John Adams secures recognition of the United States as an independent government by the Dutch Republic. During this visit, he also negotiates a loan of five million guilders, financed by Nicolaas van Staphorst and Wilhelm Willink.

title: 1782

text: May 20 – A treaty is signed in Paris between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Dutch Republic, formally ending the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War.

title: 1784

text: October 8 – "Kettle War", a 1-day action on the Scheldt in which a ship of the Dutch Republic repels forces of the Holy Roman Empire.

title: 1784

text: June 28 – Princess Wilhelmina of Orange, sister of King Frederick William II of Prussia, is captured by Dutch Republican patriots, taken to Goejanverwellesluis and not allowed to travel to The Hague.

title: 1787

text: May – Orangist troops attack Vreeswijk, Harmelen and Maarssen; civil war starts in the Dutch Republic.

title: 1787

text: September 13 – Prussian troops invade the Dutch Republic; two days later the Rhinegrave Salm gives up Utrecht. Within a few weeks 40,000 Patriots (out of a population of 2,000,000) go into exile in Northern France.

title: 1787

text: July 13 – A hailstorm sweeps across France and the Dutch Republic, with hailstones 'as big as quart bottles' that take 'three days to melt'; immense damage is done.

title: 1788

text: October 24 – Brabant Revolution: Brabant revolutionaries cross the border from the Dutch Republic into the Austrian Netherlands; the first public reading of the Manifesto of the People of Brabant declares the independence of the Austrian Netherlands.

title: 1789

text: February 1 – French Revolutionary Wars: The French First Republic declares war on Great Britain, the Dutch Republic and (on March 7) Spain. During the year, the War of the First Coalition is joined by Portugal, the Holy Roman Empire, Naples and Tuscany in opposition to France.

title: 1793

text: March 18 – Second Battle of Neerwinden: A coalition army of Habsburg monarchy and Dutch Republic troops repulses attacks from French Republican forces, near Neerwinden, Flemish Brabant.

title: 1793

text: April 19 – Britain, Prussia and the Netherlands sign a treaty of alliance against France.

title: 1794

text: June 26 – Battle of Fleurus: French forces defeat the Austrians and their allies, leading to permanent loss of the Austrian Netherlands and destruction of the Dutch Republic. French use of an observation balloon marks the first participation of an aircraft in battle.

title: 1794

text: January 16 – War of the First Coalition: Flanders campaign: The French occupy Utrecht, Netherlands.

title: 1795

text: January 18 – Batavian Revolution in Amsterdam: William V, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic (Republic of the Seven United Netherlands), flees the country.

title: 1795

text: January 19 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in Amsterdam, ending the Dutch Republic (Republic of the Seven United Netherlands).

title: 1795


slug: dutch-west-india-company

label: Dutch West India Company

description: Dutch chartered company responsible for trade and colonization in the New World (1621–1792)

date: June 3

text: June 3 – The Dutch West India Company is founded.

title: 1621

section: Events › April–June

date: May 8

text: May 8 – Capture of Bahia: A Dutch West India Company fleet captures the Brazilian city of Salvador, Bahia from the Portuguese Empire (at this time in the Iberian Union).

title: 1624

date: May 4

text: May 4 – Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherland, for the Dutch West India Company.

title: 1626

date: June 7

text: June 7 – The Dutch States-General ratifies the Dutch West India Company's Charter of Freedoms and Exemptions, making it more attractive to invest in the colony of New Netherland in North America.

title: 1629

date: March 3

text: March 3 – A fleet sent by the Dutch West India Company captures Recife from the Portuguese, establishing Dutch Brazil.

title: 1630

section: Events › January–March

date: August 17

text: August 17 – Peter Stuyvesant is appointed Director of New Netherlands, the Dutch colony in what is later the U.S. state of New York, by the Dutch West India Company to replace Willem Kieft, who departs New Amsterdam on the ship Princess Amelia.

title: 1647

section: Events › July–September

date: January 26

text: January 26 – Portugal recaptures the South American city of Recife from the Netherlands after a siege of more than two years during the Dutch-Portuguese War, bringing an end to Dutch rule of what is now Brazil. The Dutch West India Company has held the city (which they call Mauritsstad) for more than 23 years.

title: 1654

date: April 26

text: April 26 – The Dutch West India Company denies Peter Stuyvesant's request to exclude Jews from New Amsterdam (Manhattan).

title: 1655

date: August 27

text: August 27 – The Treaty of Butre is signed in West Africa by representatives of the Dutch West India Company and of the Ahanta Kingdom and allows the Netherlands to have a protectorate over the Dutch Gold Coast. The area is now part of the Republic of Ghana.

title: 1656

text: The first Dutch West India Company is dissolved.

title: 1674

section: Events › Date unknown

date: September 15

text: September 15 – "Maria", an African slave of the Dutch West India Company on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, murders the plantation overseer, Christiaan Muller, then leads a rebellion, killing Muller's family and much of the white staff on the company's plantation. The uprising is suppressed after 10 days, and Maria is executed by burning at the stake on November 9.

title: 1716

date: January 1

text: January 1 – At least 664 African slaves drown when the Dutch West Indies Company slave ship Leusden capsizes and sinks in the Maroni River during its arrival in Surinam. The Dutch crew escapes, and leaves the slaves locked below decks to die.

title: 1738

date: October 11

text: October 11 – In west Africa, officials of the Dutch West India Company sign a peace agreement with officials of the Ashanti Empire at Elmina. In return for an annual tribute in gold, the Ashanti maintain peaceful relations with the Europeans in the Dutch Gold Coast colony and the Dutch maintain their settlement at Fort Coenraadsburg. The area is now part of the Central Region of Ghana.

title: 1755

section: Events › October–December


slug: dux

label: Dux

description: Roman title

section: Conflict & Security

text: The Lombards re-establish a unified monarchy after a 10-year interregnum (Rule of the Dukes). Threatened by a Frankish invasion that the dukes have provoked, they elect Authari (son of Cleph) as their king and give him the capital of Pavia (Northern Italy).

title: 584

section: Events › By place › Europe

text: Spring – The Venetian dukes change sides again, submitting to King Pepin, under the authority of his father Charlemagne, who then proceeds to take Venice. Emperor Nikephoros I sends a Byzantine fleet to Dalmatia, prompting Pepin to withdraw to the mainland. A legate is dispatched to Venice, where he deposes the turncoat dukes, before continuing on to Aachen, to negotiate a peace with Charlemagne. Charlemagne recognises Byzantine dominance over Venice and Dalmatia in the Adriatic Sea.

title: 810

section: Events › By place › Byzantine Empire

date: July 19

text: July 19 – Battle of Apamea: Byzantine forces under governor (doux) Damian Dalassenos besiege the fortress city of Apamea for control over northern Syria. The Fatimids send a relief army from Damascus – and defeat the Byzantines, Dalassenos is killed by a Kurdish officer in battle.

title: 998

section: Events › By place › Arabian Empire

section: Deaths

text: July 19 – Damian Dalassenos, Byzantine governor (doux)

title: 998

text: Fall – Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder, governor (doux) of the Theme of Dyrrhachium in the western Balkans, and Nikephoros Botaneiates, a general (strategos) of the Theme of Anatolics (modern Turkey), are proclaimed emperors by their troops. Emperor Michael VII Doukas offers Bryennios the title of caesar (co-emperor) if he submits to his rule, but Bryennios refuses. He sets out from Dyrrhachium, and marches towards Constantinople.

title: 1077

text: Battle of Kalavrye: The imperial forces of General Alexios Komnenos are victorious over the rebellious army (12,000 men) under Nikephoros Bryennios the Elder, governor (doux) of the Theme of Dyrrhachium. Bryennios is captured and later blinded.

title: 1078

date: June 19

text: June 19 – The Seljuk Turks surrender Nicaea to the Crusaders after a month siege. The Byzantines occupy the city; their commander Manuel Boutoumites is named by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos as doux of Nicaea. In the consternation the Crusaders are not allowed to plunder the city and are forced (again) to pledge their allegiance to Alexios.

title: 1097

section: Events › By place › First Crusade

date: March 10

text: March 10 – Baldwin of Boulogne enters Edessa, and is welcomed as liberator by the Armenian clergy. The local population massacres the Seljuk garrison and officials – or forces them to flee. Baldwin is acknowledged as their ruler (or doux). He assumes the title of count and establishes the first crusader state. Baldwin marries Arda of Armenia, daughter of Lord Thoros of Marash, and consolidates his conquered territory.

title: 1098

date: November

text: November – Siege of Dyrrhachium: Bohemond I begins the siege of the Adriatic port city of Dyrrhachium held by its doux Alexios Komnenos.

title: 1107

section: Geopolitics & Diplomacy

text: March 10 – King Amalric I of Jerusalem departs with a large staff for Constantinople. At Callipolis he is met by his father-in-law, John Doukas Komnenos, military governor (doux) of Cyprus. Amalric enters the Byzantine capital and is welcomed by Manuel I. In June, a treaty is signed, Amalric recognizes Manuel's suzerainty over Jerusalem.

title: 1171

section: Events › By place › Levant


slug: dwight-d-eisenhower

label: Dwight D. Eisenhower

description: president of the United States from 1953 to 1961 (1890–1969)

text: Operation Torch: Elements of the Allied expeditionary force (some 105,000 men) under Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower lands simultaneously along the coastline of Morocco and Algeria in French North Africa.

title: 1942

section: Events › November

date: December 20

text: December 20 – General Dwight D. Eisenhower is promoted to the rank of U.S. Five-Star General.

title: 1944

section: Events › December

date: May 15

text: May 15 – WWII: Allied military and political leaders, including Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Bernard Montgomery and more, meet for the final D-Day joint briefing at St. Paul's School in London.

title: 1944

section: Events › May

section: Culture & Society

date: December

text: c. December – The Institute of War and Peace Studies is established by Dwight D. Eisenhower at Columbia University in New York (of which he is President) with William T. R. Fox as first director.

title: 1951

date: November 29

text: November 29 – Korean War: U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfills a political campaign promise, by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the conflict.

title: 1952

section: Events › November–December

date: November 4

text: November 4 – 1952 United States presidential election: Republican General Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Democratic Governor of Illinois Adlai Stevenson (correctly predicted by the UNIVAC computer).

title: 1952

date: December 8

text: December 8 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his Atoms for Peace address, to the United Nations General Assembly.

title: 1953

date: February 11

text: February 11 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower refuses a clemency appeal for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg.

title: 1953

section: Events › February

date: October 5

text: October 5 – Earl Warren is appointed Chief Justice of the United States, by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

title: 1953

section: Events › October

date: April 1

text: April 1 – The U.S. Congress and President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorize the founding of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.

title: 1954

section: Events › April

date: April 7

text: April 7 – Dwight D. Eisenhower gives his "domino theory" speech, during a news conference.

title: 1954

date: November 10

text: November 10 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower dedicates the USMC War Memorial (Iwo Jima Memorial), at the Arlington National Cemetery.

title: 1954

date: September 24

text: September 24 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, president of the United States, suffers a coronary thrombosis while on vacation in Denver, Colorado. Vice President Nixon assumed administrative duties and presided over Cabinet and National Security Council meetings while Eisenhower recovers.

title: 1955

section: Events › September

date: July 30

text: July 30 – A joint resolution of Congress is signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizing "In God we trust" as the U.S. national motto.

title: 1956

section: Events › July

section: Exploration & Expansion

date: June 29

text: June 29 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, creating the Interstate Highway System in the United States.

title: 1956

section: Events › June

date: November 6

text: November 6 – 1956 United States presidential election: Republican incumbent Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Democratic challenger Adlai Stevenson, in a rematch of their contest 4 years earlier.

title: 1956

date: June 26

text: June 26 – Elizabeth II (as monarch of Canada) and United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower open the Saint Lawrence Seaway.

title: 1959

date: March 18

text: March 18 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Hawaii Admission Act, granting statehood to Hawaii.

title: 1959

section: Events › March

text: September 15–28 – USSR Premier Nikita Khrushchev and his wife tour the United States, at the invitation of U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

title: 1959

date: December 2

text: December 2 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the use of $1.0 million for the relief and resettlement of Cuban refugees, who have been arriving in Florida at the rate of about 1,000 per week.

title: 1960

date: January 19

text: January 19 – A revised version of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan ("U.S.-Japan Security Treaty" or "Anpo (jōyaku)"), which allows U.S. troops to be based on Japanese soil, is signed in Washington, D.C. by Prime Minister Nobusuke Kishi and President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The new treaty is opposed by the massive Anpo protests in Japan.

title: 1960

section: Events › January

date: June 10

text: June 10 – The "Hagerty Incident": As part of the ongoing Anpo protests in Japan against the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty, a car carrying Dwight D. Eisenhower's press secretary James Hagerty and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II is mobbed by protesters outside of Tokyo's Haneda Airport, requiring the occupants to be rescued by a U.S. Marine helicopter.

title: 1960

date: March 17

text: March 17 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower approves a covert Central Intelligence Agency plan to train a paramilitary force against Cuba, which will result in the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion.

title: 1960

date: May 16

text: May 16 – Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev demands an apology from President Dwight D. Eisenhower for the U-2 reconnaissance plane flights over the Soviet Union, thus aborting their summit meeting scheduled for Paris this year.

title: 1960

date: May 6

text: May 6 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960 into law.

title: 1960

date: September 8

text: September 8 – In Huntsville, Alabama, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Center (which had been activated by NASA on July 1).

title: 1960

date: January 3

text: January 3 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).

title: 1961


slug: eardwulf-of-northumbria

label: Eardwulf of Northumbria

description: King of Northumbria

section: Conflict & Security

text: King Æthelred I returns to Northumbria, and is restored to the throne after living in exile for 11 years. His rival Osred II is deposed, forcibly tonsured, and exiled to the Isle of Man. Æthelred then faces a rebellion by another rival, named Eardwulf. The latter is captured, and hanged outside the gates to Ripon Abbey. The body is taken into the abbey, where Eardwulf recovers and escapes to exile.

title: 790

section: Events › By place › Britain

section: Crime & Justice

date: April 18

text: April 18 – King Æthelred I of Northumbria is murdered, probably at Corbridge, by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. Another rival, Torhtmund, slays Ealdred in revenge. Northumbria is plunged into chaos. The patrician Osbald is placed on the throne, but is deserted by his supporters after only 27 days. He flees from Lindisfarne to Pictland. Another faction brings back Æthelred I's old back-from-the-dead rival, Eardwulf, as the new king. He dismisses his wife and publicly takes a concubine. Eardwulf is alienated from Archbishop Eanbald of York.

title: 796

text: Battle of Billington: King Eardwulf of Northumbria defeats the nobleman Wada in battle, who has killed former King Æthelred I (see 796).

title: 798

section: Deaths

text: King Eardwulf of Northumbria, worried about further rivals, has ealdorman Moll killed. Former king Osbald dies as an abbot in exile. He is buried in an unmarked grave in York Minster.

title: 799

text: King Eardwulf of Northumbria has his men seize Prince Ealhmund, son of the late King Alhred, and put him to death. He is buried at Derby in St. Alkmund's Church, and later revered as a saint (approximate date).

title: 800

section: Events › Europe

text: King Eardwulf of Northumbria leads an army into Mercia against his rival, Coenwulf, in order to flush out other claimants to the Northumbrian throne.

title: 801

section: Religion & Belief

text: King Eardwulf of Northumbria is expelled from his kingdom by his rival Ælfwald II, who takes the throne. Eardwulf flees to the Frankish court of Charlemagne, and later visits Pope Leo III in Rome.

title: 806

text: Exiled king Eardwulf of Northumbria is able to return to his kingdom, with the support of Charlemagne and Pope Leo III. He ousts the usurper, King Ælfwald II.

title: AD 808

text: Eardwulf, king of Northumbria (approximate date)

title: 810

title: 830