Skip to main content

Exploring the 17th Century: Key Events and Figures

This quiz tests your knowledge of significant events and figures from the 17th century, covering various empires, wars, and cultural developments.

#17th century #history #empires #Mughal Empire #Ottoman Empire #Persian Empire #Taiwan #Hudson's Bay Company #Kara Mustafa #French history

1 ________, Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer (1629 – 1695)

2 1658: After his father Shah Jahan completes the Taj Mahal, his son ________ deposes him as ruler of the Mughal Empire.

3 ________ defeats the Ottomans at the second battle of Khotyn (1673).

4 In the east, the 17th century saw the flowering of the Ottoman, Persian and Mughal empires, the beginning of the ________ in feudal Japan, and the violent transition from the Ming to the Qing Dynasty in China.

5 The Ottomans invade Crete and capture ________.

6 1648–1653: ________ civil war in France.

7 1662: ________ captures Taiwan from the Dutch and founds the Kingdom of Tungning which rules until 1683.

8 1670: The Hudson's Bay Company is founded in ________.

9 ________: Kara Mustafa becomes Grand Vizier.

10 1688–1697: The Grand Alliance sought to stop French expansion during the ________.

💡 Interesting Facts

  • the 17th century Puritan physician Alexander Leighton incurred the wrath of King Charles I for publishing a pamphlet denouncing bishops, and was sentenced by his Star Chamber to public whipping, branding, and having his ears cut off.
  • in the late 17th century, the staveless runes (rune stone pictured) of Scandinavia were purported to be the origin of stenography.
  • in the 17th century Jean Gery, a French deserter, later served as a guide and translator for the Spanish in North America.
  • before the 17th century, penetrating trauma was treated by pouring hot oil into wounds to cauterize damaged blood vessels.
  • the 17th century Biaroza monastery in Biaroza, Belarus, has in its time been adapted into military barracks and a prison, and currently its ruins are an important baroque relic in the town.
  • the 17th century Field Cathedral of the Polish Army was one of many buildings destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the Warsaw Uprising, and was restored to its former glory between 1946 and 1960.
  • when William Williams died collecting the fern Alpine Woodsia (pictured) in 1861, his body was found at the foot of the cliff where the species was first found in the 17th century.
  • the astronomer Tycho Brahe calculated products quickly using Prosthaphaeresis, a 17th century algorithm exploiting trigonometric identities.
  • the Cotswold Games were organized by Robert Dover as a protest against Puritanism in the early 17th century.
  • all of the publications of 17th century Milanese historian Gregorio Leti were listed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum.
  • a 17th century Polish politician Mikołaj Sienicki held the office of marshal of the Sejm nine times and was called a 'Polish Demosthenes' for his oratory skills.
  • Anglo-Turkish piracy in the 17th century led to the enslavement of Catholic captives in North Africa, who could sometimes be liberated through a ransom.
  • aiguillettes (pictured) are decorative tags or tips for cord or ribbon, usually of gold and sometimes set with gemstones or enameled, used to decorate 16th and 17th century clothing and hats.
  • 17th century Russian diplomat Pyotr Ivanovich Potemkin (pictured) is reputed to have insisted on lying in bed during an audience with the King of Denmark, who was himself confined to his bed, to demonstrate equality between Russia and Denmark.
  • Bhima Devi Temple Complex (pictured) in Haryana, India, includes the restored ruins of a Hindu temple dated from the 8th to 11th century AD and Pinjore Gardens from the 17th century.
  • Joost van Dyk, a 17th century Dutch privateer and occasional pirate and slaver, established the first permanent European settlements in the British Virgin Islands.
  • Yamada Nagamasa was a Japanese adventurer who played a key military role in 17th century Thailand.
  • Sigismondo d'India, a 17th century Italian composer, produced music in nearly all the forms of the day, including monody, madrigal and motet.
  • Joseph Haines was a well-known London song-and-dance man, comedian, and eccentric in the 17th century.
  • 17th century London printer Nicholas Okes printed the first quartos of Shakespeare's King Lear and Othello.
    • Previous Quiz Next Quiz

    Related Quizzes

    Key Events and Figures of the 13th Century: A Quiz

    #13th century #history #Mongol Empire #Crusades #European culture #Franciscan order #Cambridge #Boyana Church

    Discovering the 14th Century: A Historical Quiz

    #14th Century #History #Renaissance #Ming Dynasty #Hundred Years' War #Petrarch #Military History

    Exploring the 16th Century: Events, Figures, and Discoveries

    #history #16th century #exploration #Renaissance #Conquistadores #art #politics #religion

    Exploring the 18th Century: A Historical Quiz

    #18th century #history #quiz #education #literature #philosophy #politics

    Significant Events of 1904

    #1904 #history #events #quiz #education

    Significant Events and Figures of 1906

    #1906 #history #chess #astronomy #civil rights #swimming #biochemistry

    Significant Events and Figures of 1911

    #1911 #history #events #figures #Nobel Prize #aviation #fire incidents #education #composers

    Significant Events and Figures of 1912

    #1912 #history #politics #economics #sports #China #Nobel Prize #Titanic