1690s

The 1690s decade ran from January 1, 1690, to December 31, 1699.

Events

1690

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Date unknown

1691

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Date unknown

1692

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

1693

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

  • OctoberWilliam Congreve's comedy The Double-Dealer is first performed in London.
  • October 4Battle of Marsaglia near Turin in the Duchy of Savoy: A French force under the command of General Nicolas Catinat defeats the Savoyard forces, leaving 10,000 dead or wounded, while sustaining only 1,000 casualties.
  • October 11Charleroi falls to French forces.
  • October 29 – The Great Storm changes the course of rivers and alters the coastline from Virginia to Long Island in America.
  • November 7King Charles II of Spain issues a royal edict providing sanctuary in Spanish Florida for escaped slaves from the English colony of South Carolina.
  • November 14 – General Santaji Ghorpade of the Maratha Empire in India is defeated by General Himmat Khan of the Mughal Empire near Vikramhalli, and retreats. A week later, after regrouping his troops, Santaji defeats Himmat at their next encounter.
  • November 21 – The 46-gun Royal Navy frigate HMS Mordaunt founders off of the coast of Cuba.
  • November 29 – A fleet of 30 English and Dutch ships captures the French port of Saint-Malo
  • December 16Diego de Vargas, Spanish colonial governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México (now the area around the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico), returns to the walled city of Santa Fe and requests the Pueblo people to accept the authority of the colonial government. Negotiations fail and a siege begins on December 29. The Pueblo defenders surrender the next day and the 70 rebels are executed soon after. The 400 civilian women and children are made slaves and distributed to the Spanish colonists.
  • December 27 – The new 80-gun English Navy warship HMS Sussex departs Portsmouth on its maiden voyage, escorting a fleet of 48 warships and 166 merchant ships to the Mediterranean Sea. The fleet runs into a storm on February 27, 1694, and on March 1, Sussex and 12 other warships sink, along with a cargo of gold.

Date unknown

1694

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Date unknown

1695

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

  • October 11King William III of England dissolves Parliament in the wake of a scandal involving former Speaker of the House of Commons John Trevor and other Tory MPs.
  • October 25 – The 48-gun English Navy ship HMS Berkeley Castle is captured by the French Navy.
  • November 22 – The new Parliament, with 513 members of the House of Commons is opened by King William III. Commons is composed of 257 Whigs (who hold a majority of one), 203 Tories and 53 members of other parties or independents.
  • December 6 – A total eclipse of the sun is visible across the Middle East and western Asia.
  • December 31 – A window tax is imposed in England. Some windows are bricked up to avoid it.

Date unknown

1696

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Date unknown

1697

January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Date unknown

1698

January–March

April–June

  • April 1 – Scottish pirate William Kidd and his crew arrive at Île Sainte-Marie off of the coast of Madagascar in Kidd's Adventure Galley bringing with them the cargo of the captured ships Quedagh Merchant and Rouparelle. Upon arrival, all but 13 of Kidd's crew desert to work for another pirate, Robert Culliford. The Adventure Galley, which is leaking and falling apart, sinks and the Rouparelle is sunk by the deserters. Kidd and his 13 henchmen depart on Quedah Merchant.
  • April 10 – A total solar eclipse is visible in Central America.
  • May 1 – The Banishment Act of 1697 goes into effect for Roman Catholic church officials in Ireland, having been the deadline for all "popish archbishops, bishops, vicars general, deans, jesuits, monks, friars, and other regular popish clergy" to have reported to Irish ports for deportation. Re-entry to Ireland after May 4, 1698, is a criminal offense with a penalty of 12 months imprisonment and expulsion, while a second re-entry is punishable by death as treason.
  • May 4 – At the imperial capital at Inwa, Sanay Min of the Toungoo dynasty becomes the new King of Burma upon the death of his father, Minye Kyawhtin.
  • May 17 – The British Royal Navy ship HMS Hastings, a 32-gun fifth rate, is launched.
  • June 20An earthquake of magnitude 7.2–7.9 damages an extended region around Ambato, Ecuador, including the Tungurahua, Cotopaxi and Chimborazo provinces. Ambato and Latacunga are completely destroyed and several thousand casualties are reported.
  • June 21John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough is reinstated in the English Army, with readmission to the Privy Council by King William III. On July 26, he is selected as one of the Lords Justice.
  • June 22 – The executions of 57 leaders of the Streltsy uprising begin and continue until June 28.
  • June 24 – The Trade with Africa Act 1697 goes into effect in English overseas possessions, ending the monopoly of the Royal African Company (RAC) on the triangular trade by opening it to any English merchants who pay a 10 percent fee to the RAC.

July–September

October–December

Date unknown

1699


January–March

April–June

July–September

October–December

Births

1690

1691

1692

1693

1694

1695

1696

1697

1698

1699

Deaths

1690

1691

1692

1693

1694

1695

1696

1697

1698

1699