In 1684 CE, honestly not much happened that was worth recording here. Previously, during the 163 days I’ve been running this project to date and there was nothing much to report, I would scurry around my online and in-print sources to find something– anything!– I might expand on. But today I’m feeling very under the … Continue reading 1684: Not much happened
Two big developments in the history of Western imperialism in 1685 CE. France’s Louis XIV introduced his infamous ‘Code Noir’ to regulate treatment of the enslaved (and exclusion of Jews) from France’s colonies, in the Caribbean and elsewhere. And in England, King Charles II died; his very Catholic (and slave-trading) brother James took over, but … Continue reading 1685: France introduces its ‘Code Noir’. England has a succession crisis.
1686 CE was the year in which a confrontation against the Mughal Empire sought by the relatively new head of English East India Company (EIC), Josiah Child, was launched in earnest, with the arrival in India of a fleet of 12 well-armed English Navy ships determined to impose the EIC’s conditions on the Mughals. (It … Continue reading 1686: England’s EIC starts a war. Russia loses terrain to China, wins against Ottomans.
These are the three main story-lines of 1687 CE relevant to the continuing development of West European empires. I’ll deal with the Ottoman development first, then French, then English. Ottoman army defeated, Sultan deposed It had been a bad few years for the Ottoman Empire. In 1683 it had reached its greatest extent and since … Continue reading 1687: Ottoman Sultan deposed, French Huguenots expelled, English Anglicans threatened.
1688 CE was a huge year in the history of “the big 4 (or 4.5)” of the Western imperialisms– being in order of empire-building Portugal, Spain, England, the Dutch UPs, with France being the 0.5 at the end. These things happened: The Stadtholder of Holland, William III of Orange, invaded England (ostensibly at the invitation … Continue reading 1688: William of Orange invades England, topples King James. France bombards Algiers. Etc.
1689 was another big year in the (always violent) development of the 4.5 globe-circling empires whose home-countries lined the mid-Atlantic coast of Europe. The “0.5” there is France, whose aspirations to build a globe-circling empire have not yet been as well fulfilled as those of the “Big Four”, namely Portugal, Spain, England, and the Dutch … Continue reading 1689: War of 4 empires against France (in Europe & N. America). Mughals hire & use a fleet. The Iroquois’s take revenge.
Lots happening in 1690 CE! All the above-listed items, plus the founding of Barclays Bank (which merits a short notice here, for reasons that will become clear.) First, let’s go to India. EIC grovels to Aurangzeb, founds Calcutta In yesterday’s post, I noted that the intervention of the local Muslim navy that Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb … Continue reading 1690: EIC grovels to Aurangzeb, founds Calcutta.French Navy grabs a surprise win. Spanish Texas founded.
In 1691 CE, The Spanish and Portuguese conquistadores, adventurers, and– especially– the various Catholic religious orders continued to pursue their various genocidal settler-colonial projects in the Americas and the East Indies. English, Dutch, French, and Spanish plantation owners in the Caribbean continued to import and exploit enslaved laborers to generate their hyper-profits for investors back … Continue reading 1691: Spanish Inquisition leads pogrom in Mallorca.
So here we are, at 200 years after the fateful “contact” year of 1492 CE and all around the world there are developments that help illustrate the changes the coming of Western imperialism has made to the lives of hundreds of millions of people. So much to write about today! I’ll keep the biggest story … Continue reading 1692: Many developments worldwide on 200th anniversary of 1492!
1693 CE is a good year to look at the position of Louis XIV’s France both in Europe and in the worldwide battle the West European countries were waging as they built their global empires. Another smaller event of the year that I’ll note in passing was a schism that occurred in the world of … Continue reading 1693: Europe’s war of all against France continues. Dutch take Pondicherry from France. Etc.
