1691

1691 1692 1693 1694 1695 1696 1697 1698 1699 1700

political events

The Battle of Aughrim July 12 gives William and Mary's Dutch-born general Godert de Ginkel, 47, a victory over Ireland's earl of Lucan Patrick Sarsfield and his French allies. Richard Talbot, earl of Tyrconnell, has continued to rule as lord deputy of Ireland but dies in County Limerick August 14 at age 61. General de Ginkel lays siege once again to Limerick, which surrenders October 3. The Treaty of Limerick that ends the Irish rebellion grants free transportation to France for all Irish officers and men who wish it (the Irish Brigade will play a prominent role in French military history) and promises religious freedom to Irish Catholics, a pledge that will be broken in 1695.

The Ottoman sultan Suleiman II dies in May at age 50 after a 3½-year reign in which he has entrusted the government to the grand vizier Fazl Mustapha Köprülü, now 54. Suleiman's 49-year-old brother will reign until 1695 as Ahmed II.

The Battle of Szcelankemen in Serbia August 19 gives Louis of Baden a great victory over the Ottoman Turks. Louis has continued the fight abandoned by the Austrians, who have been sidetracked by their war with France as members of the League of Augsburg. The grand vizier Fazl Mustapha Köprülü sustains a mortal gunshot wound in the battle that will lead to the expulsion of the Turks from Hungary (see 1699).

Three English ships arrive at New York with a force of regular troops under the command of former mayor Richard Ingoldsby, who has been named lieutenant governor of the province, but his papers are aboard the frigate Archangel, carrying Governor Sloughter (see 1690). Jacob Leisler refuses to surrender Fort James. Ingoldsby quarters his men in City Hall, Leisler gives him 2 hours to disband his forces, Ingoldsby does not comply, Leisler has his own troops open fire, and a brief but bloody clash ensues. The new royal governor, Henry Sloughter, arrives 2 days later and gains control of the city March 17 with help from Scots-born sea captain and privateer William Kidd, 45, who settled at New York last year. Governor Sloughter issues writs for the election of a representative assembly, which meets in a Pearl Street tavern April 9, and appoints Nieuw Amsterdam-born merchant's son Abraham De Peyster, 34, mayor (he will serve until 1693). The governor releases political prisoners who include former mayor Nicholas Bayard, and, at the urging of Bayard and others, orders that Leisler be tried for treason. Found guilty after 1-week trial, Leisler is hanged May 16 along with his son-in-law, Jacob Milborne (his opponents have persuaded Governor Sloughter to sign the death warrants by plying him with liquor). Governor Sloughter dies suddenly in June (an autopsy reveals that he suffered from delirium tremens before his death and he is judged to have died after a drunken spree). Sloughter is succeeded on an interim basis by Richard Ingoldsby pending arrival of a new royal governor.

The Massachusetts Bay colony receives a new charter that gives it all North American territories north to the St. Lawrence River, including the Plymouth colony, Maine, and Nova Scotia. The new governor Sir William Phips, now 40, is vested with power to summon and dissolve the general court, appoint military and judicial officers, and veto acts of the legislature.

commerce

Japanese prospectors discover a copper deposit on the island of Shikoku (see 1630). The family will establish close ties to the Tokugawa shōgunate, enabling it to export large amounts of copper despite the ban on commerce with outside countries (see 1921; bank, 1895).

science

Physicist-chemist Robert Boyle dies at London December 30 at age 64.

medicine

Blood transfusion pioneer Richard Lower dies at London January 17 at age 59.

religion

Pope Alexander VIII dies at Rome February 1 at age 81 after an 18-month reign and is succeeded July 12 by Antonio Cardinal Pignatelli, 76, who will reign until 1700 as Innocent XII.

The Massachusetts Bay colony extends religious liberty to all except Catholics.

literature

Nonfiction: "Epistola ad Joannem Millium" by English clergyman Richard Bentley, 29, whose short treatise illustrates his gift for textual emendation. Oxford scholar John Mill has asked him to examine proof sheets of works by the chronicler John Malalas; The Wisdom of God Manifested in the Works of the Creation by naturalist John Ray.

art

Dutch painter Aelbert Jacobsz Cuyp dies at his native Dordrecht in November at age 71.

theater, film

Theater: Athaliah (Athalié) by Jean Racine in February at Mme. de Maintenon's School for Young Ladies at Saint-Cyr, with students playing the roles.

music

Opera: King Arthur, or The British Worthy in March at London's Dorset Garden Theatre, with a libretto by John Dryden (who writes in Act I, scene i, "All heiresses are beautiful"), music by Henry Purcell.

agriculture

German immigrant farmers in the Pennsylvania colony choose heavily wooded lands with clay loams in preference to the light, sandy uplands favored by the English (see 1683). While the English girdle trees to kill them and then farm among the stumps, the Germans clear their land completely and plow deeply. Instead of planting tobacco, the Germans will stick to wheat, and instead of letting their stock roam freely they will build barns before building houses as they populate Maryland, Virginia, and other colonies (see 1707; 1729; 1734).

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