Explore 158 historical events from 1640–1649.
The Yangzhou Massacre refers to the mass killing of people in Yangzhou, China, in May, 1645. Commanded by the Manchu prince Dodo, following the collapse of the Ming dynasty, Qing d…
Yangzhou massacre: The ten day massacre of the residents of the city of Yangzhou, part of the Transition from Ming to Qi
The transition from Ming to Qing, also known as the Manchu conquest of China or Ming-Qing transition, was a decades-long period of conflict between the Qing dynasty, established by…
Transition from Ming to Qing: The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming China, commits suicide during a peasant re
Jules Hardouin-Mansart was a French Baroque architect and builder whose major work included the Place des Victoires (1684–1690); Place Vendôme (1690); the domed chapel of Les Inval…
Jules Hardouin-Mansart, French architect (probable; (died 1708)
Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau was a French abbess. She was the fourth daughter of William the Silent and his third spouse Charlotte of Bourbon.
Countess Charlotte Flandrina of Nassau (born 1579)
Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.
King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament
Charles Plumier was a French botanist after whom the frangipani genus Plumeria is named. Plumier is considered one of the most important of the botanical explorers of his time. He …
Charles Plumier, French botanist and author (died 1704)
The Restoration War between Portugal and Spain began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a formal end to the Iberian Union.…
Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese and Spanish forces both claim victory in the Battle of Montijo
Tobias Hume was a Scottish composer, viol player and soldier.
Tobias Hume, Scottish soldier, viol player, and composer (born 1569)
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males…
First English Civil War: Charles I surrendered himself to Scottish Covenanter leader David Leslie near Newark, England
Sir William Ashhurst was a British banker, merchant and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1689 to 1710. He also served as the Lord Mayor of L…
William Ashhurst, English banker, Sheriff of London, Lord Mayor of London and politician (died 1720)
Maharaja Chhatrasal Bundela was the Bundela Maharaja of Panna or Maharaja of Bundelkhand from 1675 to 1731. He is well known for his resistance against the Mughal Empire and leadin…
Chhatrasal, Indian ruler (died 1731)
An act of parliament, as a form of primary legislation, is a text of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction. In most countries with a parliamentary system of governme…
An Act of Parliament declaring England a Commonwealth is passed by the Long Parliament
During the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines (1565–1898), dozens of revolts against the Spanish colonial government were made by Indios, Moros, Lumad, Chinese (Sangleys), …
Start of the Sumuroy Revolt: Filipinos in Northern Samar led by Agustin Sumuroy revolt against Spanish colonial authorit
Adrien Baillet was a French scholar and critic. He is now best known as a biographer of René Descartes.
Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (died 1706)
William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland was a Dutch-born British courtier and diplomat who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Ne…
William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland (died 1709)
Pope Clement XI, born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 23 November 1700 to his death in March 1721.
Pope Clement XI (died 1721)
Friedrich Spanheim the Elder was a Calvinistic theology professor at the University of Leiden.
Friedrich Spanheim, Swiss theologian and academic (born 1600)
Manuel de Faria e Sousa was a Portuguese historian and poet who frequently wrote in Spanish.
Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (born 1590)
Injo, personal name Yi Jong, was the 16th monarch of Joseon. He was the eldest son of Prince Jeongwon and a grandson of King Seonjo, and ascended to the throne after leading a coup…
Injo of Joseon, Korean king (born 1595)
Simon Vouet was a French painter who studied and rose to prominence in Italy before being summoned by Louis XIII to serve as Premier peintre du Roi in France. He and his studio of …
Simon Vouet, French painter (born 1590)
The Peace of Münster, signed on 30 January 1648, was a treaty between Philip IV of Spain and the Lords States General of the Dutch Republic. Negotiated in parallel to, but not part…
The Peace of Münster is ratified, by which Spain acknowledges Dutch sovereignty
The Battle of Zusmarshausen was fought on 17 May 1648 between Bavarian-Imperial forces under von Holzappel and an allied Franco-Swedish army under the command of Carl Gustaf Wrange…
An allied French and Swedish army defeats Imperial and Bavarian forces in the Battle of Zusmarshausen
The Parliamentarians, commonly called Roundheads by their enemies and in modern historiography, were the supporters of the Parliament of England during the English Civil War (1642–…
The Roundheads defeat the Cavaliers at the Battle of Maidstone in the Second English Civil War
Mehmed IV, nicknamed as Mehmed the Hunter, was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687. He came to the throne at the age of six after his father was overthrown in a coup…
Mehmed IV (1648–1687) succeeds Ibrahim I (1640–1648) as Ottoman sultan.
The Battle of Lens was the last major battle of the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648). A French force commanded by Louis, Grand Condé defeated a Spanish army under Archduke Leopold Wi…
The Battle of Lens is the last major military confrontation of the Thirty Years' War, contributing to the signing of…
The Fronde was a civil war fought in France between 1648 and 1653. The term comes from the French noun for slingshot, and was originally a derogatory term for the rebels.
The Fronde: First Fronde: In the wake of the successful Battle of Lens, Cardinal Mazarin, Chief Minister of France,…
Dom Pedro II, nicknamed the Pacific was King of Portugal from 1683 until his death, previously serving as regent for his brother Afonso VI from 1668 until his own accession. He was…
Peter II of Portugal (died 1706)
The battle of Preston was fought on 17 August 1648 during the Second English Civil War. A Parliamentarian army commanded by Lieutenant General Oliver Cromwell attacked a considerab…
The Parliamentarians defeat a English Royalist and Scottish army in the battle of Preston.
The Second English Civil War took place between February and August 1648 in England and Wales. It forms part of the series of conflicts known collectively as the 1639–1653 Wars of …
Second English Civil War: The Siege of Colchester ends when Royalist Forces surrender to the Parliamentary Forces…
Arp Schnitger was an influential Northern German organ builder. Considered the paramount manufacturer of his time, Schnitger built or rebuilt over 150 organs. He was primarily acti…
Arp Schnitger, German organ builder (died 1719)
Major-General John Graham of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee was a Scottish army officer. A Tory and Episcopalian, he was responsible for policing southwest Scotland to suppress r…
John Graham, 1st Viscount Dundee, Scottish general (died 1689)
Johann Michael Bach was a German composer of the Baroque period. He was the brother of Johann Christoph Bach, as well as first cousin, once removed and father-in-law of Johann Seba…
Johann Michael Bach, German composer (died 1694)
Władysław IV Vasa or Ladislaus IV was King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and claimant of the thrones of Sweden and Russia. Born into the House of Vasa as a prince of Poland an…
Władysław IV Vasa, Polish son of Sigismund III Vasa (born 1595)
Vincent Voiture, French Mannerist and Baroque Précieuses poet and writer of prose, was the son of a rich wine merchant of Amiens. He was introduced by a schoolfellow, the count Cla…
Vincent Voiture, French poet and author (born 1597)