Well, here’s a quick sitrep for 1597 CE. As we know, various multi-year stories are playing out this year, including the Ottoman battles in Hungary, the Safavid battles in Khorasan, the Dutch expeditions in the Spice Islands, Spanish conquistadores in the Americas, the Dutch uprising against Spanish remnants in Netherlands, etc etc. But we’ll just … Continue reading 1597: Japanese in Korea, Anglo-Spanish sea battles, etc →

1598 CE was a year of numerous developments in world affairs. Some empires saw setbacks, some saw steps forward– and two, the Spanish and the English, saw both happening in different parts of their operations. Here were the main developments, in mainly chronological order: Russia’s Tsar Feodor died To no-one’s surprise he was replaced by … Continue reading 1598: Empires stalling, expanding– or doing both →

Some interesting events, eddies, and side-eddies in world history in 1599 CE. I think we have to start in Ireland: Elizabeth’s protege the Earl of Essex fails badly in Ireland Robert Devereux, the 2nd Earl of Essex, born in 1565, had at one stage been quite a favorite of the queen, who was a distant … Continue reading 1599: English rout in Ireland (again); Persia; Kerala →

I have long held that under the system of counting the years from the imagined year of Jesus’s birth, the year the “17th century” should be considered as starting only on January 1, 1601. But I know that is counter-intuitive to many. So I hereby declare that in this project, we are now entering the … Continue reading 1600: England’s East India Company launched →

In 1601 CE, the big stories covered earlier continued to unfold: the Earl of Essex’s ill-planned little (possible) revolt in February; the East India Company’s launching of its first fleet in April. The new big stories of the year were as noted above. Ireland first, then Matteo Ricci. Big defeat for the Irish in Kinsale … Continue reading 1601: Defeat for Irish, Ricci in Beijing →

At the very beginning of 1602 CE, the English were, according to the new Gregorian calendar used by Irish and Spanish at the time, completing their defeat of the rebellion in Ireland (though the English were still using the old Julian calendar and pegged the events to the end of 1601.) Anyway, it all lasted … Continue reading 1602: Dutch East India Company (VOC) launched →

This short explainer was written by guest contributor David Watson. Around the turn of the 17th century CE two chartered companies were created, that while they seemed relatively unimportant at the time, would over the following decades become world changers. They were the English East India Company (1600) and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) … Continue reading Humble beginnings … →

Whoa, what a year, 1603 CE! Also, fwiw, two of the biggest events that year happened on… March 24. Serendipity or what? So here’s the Table of Contents. The two March 24 events come first, why not? Queen Elizabeth dies, leaving interesting succession… Japanese emperor names Tokugawa as shōgun; Edo period begins Dutch VOC profitably … Continue reading 1603: Big events in London, Istanbul, Tokyo, Singapore, Philippines, Persia… →

I noted yesterday that one of the early moves made by England’s new monarch, James I, after his accession to the throne was to pursue a peace policy toward Spain. In Madrid, James’s counterpart Philip III was more than ready for this. Both kings were relatively young and had followed predecessors with lengthy reigns who … Continue reading 1604: Anglo-Spanish treaty shifts inter-empire pattern →

Another busy year, 1605 CE. Here’s the Table of Contents: Guy Fawkes’ plot nearly topples King James; English repression of Ireland continues Mughal Empire’s Akbar dies, leaves big political legacy Cardinals come to blows when choosing 2nd new pope this year Upheaval in Moscow; Polish nobles mount a coup Spain plants yet more colonial settlements … Continue reading 1605: Upheavals in London, Moscow, Holy See. Akbar dies. →