The 80's and 90's.
These decades are leading up to a brand new century, and there's plenty going on. We have a 10 year-old tsar, a war between Spain and France, the Glorious Revolution in England, the first mention of the pub where C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien will meet to discuss their stories, and that's just the tip of it. You better get going if you want to catch history in the making!
Ready to immerse yourself in the late 17th century? Click here for a YouTube playlist that will sweep you away.
(Photo: Peter I "The Great," tsar of Russia, inspects ships in Amsterdam during his Grand Embassy to Western Europe 1697-1698; Painted in 1700 by Abraham Storck; Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
1680
RULERS & ROYALTY: Charles II is king of England and Scotland – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Feodor III (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is emperor of the Holy Roman Empire – Innocent XI is the 240th pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 29 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary (they will not have any kids, and Mary's sister, Anne, will become queen after they both die)
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 37
June 9, Peter I, future tsar of Russia, turns 8
1681
RULERS & ROYALTY: Charles II is king of England and Scotland – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Feodor III (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 30 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 38
June 9, Peter I, future tsar of Russia, turns 9
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James Thinks Ahead
In July, James, the brother of King Charles II of England and Scotland, forces two bills through the Scottish Parliament: The Act of Succession, which makes it clear that religious differences were not to bar the succession to the Scottish throne (James is Catholic, and Scotland does not want Catholic reform), and the Test Act, which forces all those holding official posts to sign a document pledging their adherence to Presbyterianism, Episcopalianism and Catholicism; Since few will comply, this helps James purge the government of any opposition (British King & Queens, Pg. 327)
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1682
RULERS & ROYALTY: Charles II is king of England – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) and his brother Ivan V become co-tsars of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 31 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 39
May 7, Feodor III, tsar of Russia, of the House of Romanov, dies
June 9, Peter I, now the tsar of Russia, turns 10
June 25, 10-year old Peter I "The Great" is crowned as tsar of Russia along with co-tsar, Ivan V his older half-brother
1683
RULERS & ROYALTY: Charles II is king of England and Scotland – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) and Ivan V are co-tsars of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is on the throne as Holy Roman/German Emperor – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 32 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 40
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 11
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Spain and France Go to War
October 26, Spain declares war on France, and the war becomes known as "The War of Reunions"
November 2, France enters the Spanish Netherlands (The Hapsburgs rulers of Spain had territory in the Netherlands, it was part of the Spanish/Hapsburg Empire) and surrounds the city of Courtrai
November 6, The city of Courtrai surrenders to the French (Photo: 17th century painting of one of the castles in the city of Courtrai in the Spanish Netherlands)
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December 7, John Evelyn (b. 1620), the famous English diarist, writes in his journal, mentioning that a severe frost is hitting England...
"I went to visit Sir John Chardin, a French gentleman who had travelled three times by land into Persia [present-day Iran], and had made many curious researches in his travels, of which he was now setting forth a relation. It being in England this year one of the severest frosts that had happened of many years, he told me the cold in Persia was much greater, the ice of incredible thickness..."
(London the Autobiography, Pg. 194)
1684
RULERS & ROYALTY: Charles II is king of England and Scotland – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) and Ivan V are co-tsars of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 33 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
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The Thames River Freezes Over
Before the Victorians built their embankment along the Thames river in London, the river would every so often completely freeze over, making it so that people could ride carriages across it--and even set up shops! Here is the famous English diarist, John Evelyn (b. 1620), writing about it...
January 1:
"The weather continuing intolerably severe, streets of booths were set upon the Thames. The air was so very cold and thick, as of many years there had not been the like..."
January 6:
"The River quite frozen."
January 9:
"I went across the Thames on the ice, now become so this as to bear not only streets of booths, in which they roasted meat, and had divers shops of wares quite across as in town, but coaches, carts, and horses passed over. So I went from Westminster stairs to Lambeth, ad dined with the archbishop...After dinner and discourse with his grace till evening prayers Sir George Wheeler and I walked over the ice from Lambeth stairs to the horse ferry..."
The river had frozen over many times; In 1537, when King Henry VIII crossed over the river on horseback, and in 1564, a football game was played on the ice; In 1679, the freezing of the river prevented a fire in the city from being put out in the Middle and Inner Temples (London the Autobiography, Pg. 194)
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 41
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia (Romanov line) turns 12
First written record of The Eagle and Child pub in Oxford, England (This is the pub where J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis meet with their friends every week to discuss their latest stories and writings)
1685
RULERS & ROYALTY: James II and VII (of Scotland) ascends to the English and Scottish throne – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 34 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 42
February 6, King Charles II of England and Scotland dies of a stroke, aged 54, as Whitehall Palace (where the present-day Houses of Parliament stand in London) and his brother James succeeds him as king
March 31, Johann Sebastian Bach is born in Eisenach, Thuringia, Ernestine Saxon Duchies (Germany)
April 23, James II is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey, London
“With the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, large numbers of Huguenots had fled to London from France. In the houses and garrets of the newly-completed terraces of Spitafields and Benthal Green, they set up a silk-weaving industry which continued well into the 20th century. Soho became known as “Little France” for the sheer number of craft workshops set up by the émigré Huguenots.” (Lost London, Pg. 17)
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 13
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300 Years Later
November 9, Princess Diana and Prince Charles attend a private dinner at the White House in America hosted by President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan; Princess Diana and Prince Charles live at Kensington Palace, which be under construction in a few years, in 1689 (Photo: From left to right, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, First Lady Nancy Reagan, and President Ronald Reagan; Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
1686
RULERS & ROYALTY: James II and VII (of Scotland) is king of England and Scotland – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 35 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 43
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 14
1687
RULERS & ROYALTY: James II and VII (of Scotland) is king of England and Scotland – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 36 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 44
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 15
The 4th Earl and 1st Duke Devonshire (though he wasn’t given the Dukedom quite yet by William and Mary), William Cavendish, begins to build the Protestant Chapel inside his home at Chatsworth (it has hardly changed since then to the present day), the figures of Faith and Justice on either side of the altarpiece were carved by Caius Gabriel Cibber (1630-1700), and they represent the balance between church and state, which the Duke believed to be under threat from the Roman Catholic King James II
Parthenon partially destroyed
July 5, Isaac Newton's famous book Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica is published with encouragement and financial support from Edmond Halley, who will become the second Astronomer Royal in Britain in 1720
1688
RULERS & ROYALTY: James II and VII (of Scotland) is king of England and Scotland – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange (and later king of England); He turns 37 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
The "Glorious Revolution" takes place in England, overthrowing the Roman Catholic King James II and replacing him with William (of Orange) and Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 45
March 12, The Williamite War in Ireland begins; There are many in Ireland who do not want William as their king, and are trying to put James II back on the throne; Since the start of the Christian period, most of the pedigrees and family histories have been scrupulously kept, but during this war the native intelligentsia of Ireland and the ruling families are either destroyed or driven into exile in Europe; Most of the written records will be destroyed, although some have survived (The Druids, pg. 201)
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 16
1689
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) ascends to the English throne, with his wife Queen Mary II, daughter of Charles I, this is the reign of “William and Mary” or the “Elephant and Castle” – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XI is pope/bishop of Rome until August when he dies and Alexander VIII succeeds him
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and now King of England; He turns 38 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 46
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 17
August 12, Pope Innocent XI dies, aged 78
October 8, Alexander VIII becomes pope/bishop of Rome
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The Grand Alliance
December 20, The Grand Alliance is formed between the Dutch Republic, England, and the Holy Roman/German Empire against the French; The French are secretly supporting the Ottoman Empire against the Austrian Habsburgs in the Great Turkish War, which started in '83, and are expanding their own empire; Spain will eventually join this Alliance and the main area of conflict will be fought in the Spanish Netherlands, with the Dutch doing most of the fighting
Meanwhile...
While her husband King William III of England is signing coalitions, Queen Mary hires the famous English architect Christopher Wren (who is building the new St. Paul's Cathedral in London) to draw up plans to turn Nottingham House into Kensington Palace; It's going to be a full remodel (Kensington Palace website)
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Since the 1300's the English have creating laws that forbid the Irish from attending school in Ireland; Because of this, along with William III's Penal Laws, there arises the new educational phenomenon--the Irish Hedge School; Teachers are compelled to teach out of doors in some secluded spot, often sheltered by a hedge--hence the name; Not until the 1800's are the restrictions eased and the Irish could openly enjoy education again (The Druids, pg. 160)
1690
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne, with his wife Queen Mary II – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Alexander VIII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 39 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 47
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 18
In December, John Flamsteed, the first Astronomer Royal of Britain, sights the planet Uranus, which he mistakes for a star and calls it "34 Tauri" (this is the earliest known sighting of Uranus) (Wikipedia)
1691
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne, with his wife Queen Mary II – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Alexander VIII is pope/bishop of Rome, but he dies in February and Innocent XII succeeds him
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 40 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 48
February 1, Pope Alexander VIII dies, aged 80
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 19
July 12, Innocent XII becomes pope/bishop of Rome
In November, a fire breaks out at Kensington Palace, which is in the process of being rebuilt for William & Mary as their official royal residence; The fire destroys an entire wing before being brought under control (Kensington Palace Guidebook)
1692
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne, with his wife Queen Mary II, daughter of Charles I, this is the reign of “William and Mary” – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 41 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 49
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 20
Kensington Palace nears completion, with a new gallery and staircase for the Queen, as well as rooms for her maids of honor (Kensington Palace Guidebook)
1693
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne, with his wife Queen Mary II – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 42 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 50
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, of the House of Romanov, turns 21
The Bank of England is founded which begins the modern banking system
Carlos II of Spain issues a Royal Decree providing sanctuary to escaped slaves from the colony of South Carolina, despite Spanish Florida’s poverty, it provides protection from storms in the Gulf of Mexico for Spanish merchant shipping, the decree was intended to bolster its population while undermining the neighboring colony (Wikipedia, under Charles (Carlos in Spanish) II of Spain)
1694
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne, with his wife Queen Mary II – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 43 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 51
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 22
François-Marie Arouet (pen name is Voltaire) is born on November 21 in Paris, Kingdom of France, he goes on to be a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity—especially the Roman Catholic Church—as well as his advocacy of freedom of speech, freedom of religion and the separation of church and state (Wikipedia)
King William and Queen Mary award William Cavendish, 4th Earl of Devonshire, a Dukedom for helping them to come to the throne, so he becomes the 1st Duke of Devonshire (as well as the 4th Earl of Devonshire), he lives at Chatsworth, a home that has been in the family since 1549, the 4th Earl rebuilt Chatsworth as a Baroque palace, a statement of his power and ambition (Chatsworth Guidebook)
Queen Mary II of England dies of smallpox in her bedchamber at Kensington Palace, William is beside himself with grief
Johann Sebastian Bach’s mother dies, and his father dies eight months later, leaving him orphaned
1695
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is king of England – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 44 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 52
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 23
Johann Sebastian Bach turns 10 years old in March and is now living with his eldest brother, Johann Christoph Bach who is an organist at St. Michael’s Church in Ohrdruf, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
Construction begins on Charlottenburg Palace in Germany (the inauguration of the palace will be in 1699, but it will be completed in 1713), the palace is commissioned by Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich I, Elector of Brandenburg, in what is now the village of Lietzow
1696
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 45 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 53; He is currently living in London as warden and master of the Royal Mint which is housed in the Tower of London
February 8, Ivan V of Russia, who has been co-ruling Russia with his younger half-brother Peter, dies, aged 29, and Peter becomes the sole tsar of Russia
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 24
1697
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Hapsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 46 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 54; He is currently living in London as warden and master of the Royal Mint which is housed in the Tower of London
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Peter Looks for Help...and Finds None
March 9, 24 year-old Peter I, tsar of Russia, embarks on what is known as his "Grand Embassy;" a Russian Diplomatic Mission to Western Europe to find allies in his fight against the Ottoman Empire, which is threatening Russia in the east
He finds no help, however, as France is a traditional ally of the Ottoman Empire, Austria wants to maintain peace in the east while fighting wars in the west, and most of Europe is about to be more preoccupied with who will replace the childless Carlos II, ruler of the Spanish Empire (Carlos II dies in 1700)
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June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, of the House of Romanov, turns 25;
1698
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 47 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 55; He is currently living in London as warden and master of the Royal Mint, which is housed in the Tower of London
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 26; He is still on his Grand Embassy in Western Europe and looking for allies to help him against the Ottoman Empire; At present, he is in England with King William III as his host; William entertains him at Kensington Palace, and finds that Peter is far more interested in the King’s wind-dial (which survives to this day above the fireplace) rather than the art in the rest of the palace (Kensington Palace Guidebook) While in England, Peter sits for a portrait by Godfrey Kneller (Photo: Peter the Great by Godfrey Kneller Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
1699
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is on the English throne – Carlos II "The Bewitched" (Habsburg line) emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV "The Sun King" (Bourbon line) is king of France – Peter I "The Great" (Romanov line) is tsar of Russia – Leopold I (Habsburg line) is the emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire – Innocent XII is pope/bishop of Rome
Fredrick William "The Great Elector" of the House of Hohenzollern, is the 5th Duke of Prussia, which is in Poland; Hohenzollern Castle, in the Swabian Alps of Germany, is fully built and habitable, and is under Habsburg control
William III is Prince of Orange and king of England; He turns 48 in November and is married to his first cousin, Mary
January 4, Isaac Newton, the English mathematician, theologian, physicist, astronomer and alchemist, turns 56; He is currently living in London as warden and master of the Royal Mint; Which is housed in the Tower of London
June 9, Peter I, tsar of Russia, turns 27
July 11, Charlottenburg Palace in what is now Berlin, has its inauguration