By 1669 CE it was already clear that the big profits and big power in world affairs were accruing to nations that could create and sustain capable transoceanic empires, the prerequisites for which were: large, capable fleets of trans-oceanic ships that had the dual capabilities of carrying cargo and being able to fight defensively and … Continue reading 1669: News from India, Baltic, Eastern Med, China
In 1668 CE, relations in Europe among the four world-imperial powers– or now, about to be five, with the addition of France– continued to be complex with alliances and hostilities among them continually shifting. Spain was still in a long-term decline, which left several of its colonies in the Caribbean fairly vulnerable. Today I’ll look … Continue reading 1668: A Welsh pirate in the Caribbean; news from Morocco, Bombay
Here I am, wanting to put together a history of how exactly the “West”, that is, essentially a handful of West-European nations, came to dominate the world via their domination of numerous trans-oceanic shipping routes, and to make this determinedly not a West-centered narrative… But time and again I find I have to come back … Continue reading 1667: An Anglo-Dutch peace, a Dutch-French war, & conflict in the Lesser Antilles
In 1666 CE, I think the main new development in world history was the Mughal empire’s taking of the Bengali hub of Chittagong from their Arakanese foes. Chittagong had been a long-time outpost for the Portuguese empire in the Indian Ocean and the Mughal’s capture of it brought Portugal’s position there to an end. In … Continue reading 1666: Mughals take Chittagong. Anglo-Dutch war & Spanish empire-building continue. London has a fire.
In doing this project so far, I have sought always to keep in mind the balance among Western Europe’s big world-imperial states as each continued to build its global influence while they often (and increasingly) contended for power among themselves both in their European home-continent and home-seas and in the far-flung reaches of their respective … Continue reading 1665: Balance among W. Europe’s 4 big global empires continues to shift. News from Kongo.
I haven’t paid much attention yet to France, where the “Sun King” Louis XIV is now 21 years into what would become a 72-year reign. (But he was a child for the first years and had gained his control of the kingdom only in 1661.) In 1664 CE, he and his able First Minister Jean-Baptiste … Continue reading 1664: France’s Louis XIV goes global. English seize two Dutch colonies. Hindu warlord sacks Surat.
In 1663 CE, just three years after Charles II was “restored” to the English throne, he, his advisors, and his parliament took several significant steps to consolidate the growth and reach of the country’s trans-oceanic empire. Specifically: Parliament passed a new Navigation Act that yet further tightened the restrictions on free trade that Cromwell’s Navigation … Continue reading 1663: English empire in Africa, Carolinas, Caribbean, etc
1662 saw the tail end of many of the stories I covered last year. (King Charles actually got married to Catherine of Braganza in 1662, etc.) There was not much that was new-new in the development of Western imperialism in 1662. Except this, which is certainly worth noting: Settler councils in Barbados and Virginia implement … Continue reading 1662: ‘Slave codes’ in Barbados and Virginia
1661 CE saw two developments of great world-historical impact. In Europe, the Regent to Portugal’s teenage king (Afonso VI) concluded an engagement of Afonso’s older sister Catherine of Braganza to the latest “hot catch” among Europe’s monarchy: England’s recently restored King Charles II. The dowry that Charles won with Catherine significantly expanded England’s imperial reach … Continue reading 1661: Portuguese princess brings fab colonial dowry to England. Koxinga beats Dutch in Taiwan.
Alert readers will recall that the anti-monarchist movement in England had fallen into chaos when Cromwell died in 1658 CE. So below, I will tell you more about what this led to in 1660– Restoration of the monarchy, punishment of the regicides, establishment of the Royal African Company, etc. But first, let’s go to Martinique, … Continue reading 1660: Restoration of English monarchy sparks royal slavetrading venture. France does genocide.
