References are numbered in [brackets], which are listed here. A number after the dot gives the page in the source.

Last updated: 2008 April 30.

1620 January 17 Diego Alvarez de Paz Spanish missionary/writer (Peru), dies at about 59. [1] February 4 Prince Bethlen Gábor signs peace with emperor Ferdinand II. [1] February 19 Roemer P Visscher poet, buried in Amsterdam. [1] March 9 Aegidius Albertinus German writer (Lucifer's Kingdom), dies at 59. [1] May 17 First merry-go-round seen at a fair (Philippapolis, Turkey). [1] May 31 Willem Louis earl of Nassau-Dillenburg, dies at 59. [1] August 7 Kepler's mother arrested for witchcraft. [1] August 15 Mayflower sets sail from Southampton with 102 Pilgrims. [1] September 6 Pilgrims set sail from Plymouth England to the New World. [1] September 15 Mayflower departs from Plymouth, England with 102 pilgrims. [1] November 3 Great Patent granted to Plymouth Colony. [1] November 11 41 pilgrims land in Massachusetts, sign Mayflower Compact (just and equal laws). [1] December 2 English language newspaper "Namloos" begins publishing in Amsterdam. [1] December 11 103 Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock. [1] December 21 103 Mayflower pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock. [1] December 23 French huguenots declare war on King Louis XIII. [1] December 26 Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Massachusetts. [1] 1621 January 13 Jan Pieterszoon Coen's fleet sets sail to Moluccas (from Jacarta). [1] January 28 Paulus V [Camillo Borghese], 233rd pope (1605-21), dies at 68. [1] February 9 Alexander Ludovisi is elected Pope Gregory XV. [1] February 15 Michael Praetorius German composer (In Dulce Jubilo), dies at 50. [1] February 17 Miles Standish appointed first commander of Plymouth colony. [1] March 4 Jacarta, Java renamed Batavia. [1] March 7 John Pieterszoon Coen's troops land on Lontor, East Indies. [1] March 16 Native American chief visits colony of Plymouth Massachusetts. [1] March 22 Hugo de Grote escapes in bookcase from Loevenstein castle, Netherlands. [1] Massasoit and Pilgrims agree on league of friendship (Plymouth). [1] March 31 Felipe III King of Spain (1598-1621), dies at 42. [1] April 5 Mayflower sails from Plymouth on a return trip to England. [1] April 9 Spain and Netherlands 12 Year Resistant Pact ends. [1] April 15 Hugo the Great arrives in France. [1] May 3 Francis Bacon accused of bribery. [1] May 15 Henrick de Keyser Amsterdam's master builder, dies at 56. [1] May 31 Sir Francis Bacon thrown into Tower of London for one night. [1] June 3 Dutch West India Company receives charter for "New Netherlands". [1] September 16 After a six-week siege, Riga, Livonia, surrenders to Swedish forces. [7] December 3 Galileo perfects the telescope. [1] December 13 Emperor Ferdinand II delegates first anti-Reformation decree. [1] December 15 Charles d'albert Duke of Luynes/Prime Minister of France, dies at 43. [1] December 18 English parliament accept unanimously, Protestation. [1] December 25 Governor William Bradford of Plymouth forbids game playing on Christmas day. [1] December 30 English king James I cracks Protestation of Parliament. [1] December 31 Hungarian King Bethlen Gábor/Ferdinand II sign Treaty of Mikulov. [1] 1622 January 1 Papal Chancery adopts January 1 as beginning of the year (was March 25). [1] January 6 Pope Gregory XV forms Congregatio the Propagande Fide. [1] January 7 Germany and Transylvania sign Peace of Nikolsburg. [1] January 23 William Baffin British explorer, dies at about 38. [1] February 8 King James I disbands the English parliament. [1] February 11 Alfonso Fontanelli composer, dies at 64. [1] March 12 Ignatius of Loyola declared a saint. [1] March 22 First Indian (Powhattan) massacre of whites, Jamestown VA; 347 slain. [1] May 15 Peter Plancius Flemish vicar/cartographer, dies at about 69. [1] May 20 Osman II sultan of Turkey (1618-22), dies. [1] December 13 Jan Campanus composer, dies at 50. [1] December 28 François de Sales French bishop of Genèva/writer/saint, dies at 55. [1] 1623 January 14 Paolo Sarpi Italian church historian/politician, dies at 70. [1] February 25 Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria becomes monarch of Palts. [1] March 5 First American temperance law enacted, Virginia. [1] April 29 Eleven Dutch ships depart for the conquest of Peru. [1] June 14 First breach-of-promise lawsuit: Rev Gerville Pooley, Va files against. [1] November 1 Fire at Plymouth, Massachusetts destroys several buildings. [1] December 1 Thomas Weelkes composer, dies at 47. [1] 1624 February 12 English parliament comes together. [1] February 21 Dirck van Baburen Dutch painter (Sepulture), dies at about 28. [1] February 24 Vicente Espinel Spanish adventure/chaplain (Marcos de Obrégon), dies at 72. [1] March 10 England declares war on Spain. [1] May 3 Spanish silver fleet sails to Panamá. [1] May 7 Admiral Hermites conquering fleet reaches Callao the Lima, Peru. [1] May 8 Hung king Bethlen Gábor and emperor Ferdinand II sign Treaty of Vienna. [1] May 10 Jacob Willekens and Piet Heyn conquer Salvador, Civil rights activist. [1] May 13 Admiral Hermites fleet blockade Lima Peru. [1] November 21 Jakob Bohme German philosophical mystic, dies. [1] December 26 Simon Marius astronomer, dies in Bavaria at 54. [1] 1625 January 13 Pieter Bruegel "the Older" (Bloemenbruegel), Flemish painter, dies. [1] January 17 Nicolo Rubini composer, dies at 50. [1] January 19 Erhard Buttner composer, dies at 32. [1] January 27 Adriaen Valerius notary/Netherlands Gedenck-clanck, dies at about 49. [1] March 5 James I (VI) king of England (1603-25)/poet/author, dies at 58. [1] March 27 Charles I, King Of England, Scotland and Ireland, ascends to throne. [1] James I Stuart king of Scotland (1567)/England (1603-25), dies at 58. [1] April 4 Viceroy Frederik Henry marries Amalia countess von Solms-Braunfels. [1] April 7 Albrecht von Wallenstein appointed German supreme commander. [1] April 23 Maurice of Nassau Prince of Orange, dies at 57. [1] May 1 Portuguese and Spanish expedition recaptures Salvador (Bahia). [1] Prince Frederik Henry appointed viceroy of Holland. [1] May 11 Boers besiege Frankenburg estate in Upper-Austria. [1] May 15 Sixteen rebellious farmers hanged in Vöcklamarkt Upper-Austria. [1] May 18 Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas Spanish marquis of Denia, dies. [1] June 8 Birth of Giovanni Domenico Cassini discovered four satellites of Saturn. [1] September 13 Rabbi Isiah Horowith and 15 other rabbis arrested in Jerusalem. [1] September 24 Dutch attack San Juan, Puerto Rico. [1] December 9 Netherlands and England sign military treaty. [1] Ubbo Emmius [van Embden] Frisian humanist/historian, dies at 78. [1] 1626 January 1 Cornelis Pieterse Hoft Amsterdam merchant/regent, dies at 68. [1] January 21 John Dowland English musician/lyric poet (In Darkness We Dwell), dies at about 63. [1] February 6 Huguenot rebels and the French sign Peace of La Rochelle. [1] February 20 John Dowland composer, dies. [1] February 28 Cyril Tourneur English poet/dramatist, dies at about 51. [1] April 9 Francis Bacon Viscount Saint Albans, statesman, dies. [1] April 25 Battle at the Dessauer bridge Monarch Albrecht von Wallenstein beats Earl of Mansfeld. [1] May 4 Indians sell Manhattan Island for $24 in cloth and buttons. [1] Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherlands. [1] May 6 Dutch colonist Paul Minuit buys Manhattan for $24 in trinkets. [1] May 24 Peter Minuit buys Manhattan from Indians for trinkets, valued at $24. [1] August 16 Danish forces and allies are soundly defeated at Lutter-am-Barenberg near Wolfenbüttel, by an army of the Catholic League under Czech leader Wallenstein. [7] October 30 Willebord van Roijen dutch mathematician, dies at 35. [1] December 1 Pasha Muhammad ibn Farukh tyrannical Governor of Jerusalem, driven out. [1] December 15 Adriaen de Vries Dutch sculptor/painter, dies at about 70. [1] December 20 Emperor Ferdinand II/Transylvanian monarch Gábor Betlen signs Peace of Pressburg. [1] 1627 January 31 Spanish government goes bankrupt. [1] March 3 Piet Heyn conquerors 22 ships in Bay of Salvador Brazil. [1] March 20 France and Spain signs accord for fighting protestantism. [1] March 22 Cornelis van Aerssen Flemish Clerk of the House, dies at about 81. [1] May 23 Luis de Góngora y Argote poet/writer, dies. [1] May 27 Everhardus van Bronchorst lawyer, dies at 73. [1] July 4 Thomas Middleton Elizabethan dramatist, dies (birth date unknown). [1] December 26 Gonzaga Italian monarch of Mantua/Monferrato, dies. [1] 1628 January 3 Francesco Maria Guaitoli composer, dies at 64. [1] February 20 Gregor Aichinger German composer/organist, dies at about 63. [1] March 6 Emperor Ferdinand II delegates Restitutie-edict. [1] March 12 John Bull thought to have composed British national anthem (God Save The King), dies. [1] March 19 Massachusetts colony founded by Englishmen. [1] April 28 King Kristian IV of Denmark signs a three year alliance with Sweden. Both powers agree to come to the defence of Stralsund if attacked. [7] June 9 First deportation from what is now US, Thomas Morton from Massachusetts [1] August 10 In Stockholm harbor (Sweden), the Royal warship Vasa makes its maiden voyage. The 1400-ton armed galleon carries 64 bronze cannon on two decks, and has three masts with 13,000 m2 of canvas sails. Off the island of Beckholmen, a crosswind pushes the ship to one side, allowing water to pour in the open gunports. The ship is unable to right itself, and it soon sinks in 110 feet of water. About 50 die. The ship cost about 100,000 riksdaler to build. (The ship is raised to the surface in 1961.) [7] September 6 Puritans land at Salem, from Mass Bay Colony, witches soon to settle. [1] 1629 January 19 Abbas I Shah of Persia (1588-1629), dies at 57. [1] January 27 Hieronymus Praetorius composer, dies at 68. [1] February 13 Girolamo Giacobbi composer, dies at 61. [1] March 2 English King Charles I leaces house of commons. [1] March 10 King Charles I dissolved Parliament; he called it back 11 years later. [1] March 14 England granted a royal charter to Massachusetts Bay Colony. [1] March 16 Emilia of Nassau daughter of Willem of Orange, dies at 59. [1] March 24 First game law passed in American colonies, by Virginia. [1] April 8 Willem Teellinck Dutch theologist/vicar, dies at 50. [1] April 14 England and France sign Peace of Susa. [1] April 17 First commercial fishery established. [1] May 3 French huguenot leader duke De Rohan signs accord with Spain. [1] May 27 The Peace of Lübeck is signed between Denmark and the Holy Roman Empire. [7] May 29 Arnold Baert Flemish lawyer/member of Great Council, dies at about 74. [1] June 17 Swedes battle Polish and Imperial troops at Honigfelde (Stuhm). Swedes are forced to retreat with heavy losses. King Gustav Adolf narrowly escapes capture. [7] July 10 First non-Separatist Congregational Church in America founded (Salem, Massachusetts). [1] August 26 Cambridge Agreement, Mass Bay Co stockholders agree to emigrate. [1] September 25 Sweden and Poland sign a six-year truce at Altmark, near Danzig. Sweden retains control of Livonia and the mouth of the River Vistula. Poland regains other Swedish gains since the 1625 invasion. Sweden will receive all shipping tolls at ports of Poland and Prussia for the six years. [7]