1621

Updated on Sep 22, 2024

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1621 (MDCXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (dominical letter C) of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Monday (dominical letter G) of the Julian calendar, the 1621st year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 621st year of the 2nd millennium, the 21st year of the 17th century, and the 2nd year of the 1620s decade. As of the start of 1621, the Gregorian calendar was 10 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.

January–June

February 9 – Papal Conclave of 1621: Pope Gregory XV succeeds Pope Paul V as the 234th pope.

February 17 – Myles Standish is appointed as the first commander of Plymouth Colony.

March 16 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visits the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, "Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset."

March 22 – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony sign a peace treaty with Massasoit of the Wampanoags.

March 31 – King Philip IV of Spain begins his 44-year rule.

April – The Twelve Years' Truce between the Dutch Republic and the Spanish Empire expires, and both sides prepare to resume the Eighty Years' War.

April 1 – The Plymouth, Massachusetts colonists create the first treaty with native Americans.

April 5 – The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth on a return trip to England.

May 2 – The Panama earthquake affects the Isthmus of Panama with an estimated magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong).

May 24 – The Protestant Union is formally dissolved.

June 3 – The Dutch West India Company is founded.

June 21 – Thirty Years' War: Twenty-seven Czech lords are executed on the Old Town Square in Prague as a consequence of the Battle of White Mountain.

June 24 – Huguenot rebellions: Saint-Jean-d'Angély is taken after a 26-day siege by Royal forces.

July–December

July 25 – Thirty Years' War: The Battle of Neu Titschein is fought; remnants of the Bohemian army manage to hold off the Imperial advance in Silesia for the moment.

September–October – Battle of Khotyn: Polish troops hold off a large Ottoman army for over a month.

August – Huguenot rebellions: Louis XIII of France besieges the Huguenot city of Montauban in the Siege of Montauban, but is forced to abandon his siege two months later.

October – The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony and Wampanoags celebrate a harvest feast (3 days), later regarded as the "First Thanksgiving", noted for peaceful co-existence.

October 9 – The Treaty of Khotyn is signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, ending the First Polish-Ottoman War.

November 11 – The ship Fortune arrives at Plymouth Colony, with 35 more settlers.

December 31 – Thirty Years' War: The Peace of Nikolsburg is signed between Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor and Gabor Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania. Bethlen agreed to renounce his claims to Hungary. In return Bethlen received several counties and lands along the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire, and Moravia was granted religious freedom.

Date unknown

The Venezuelan city of Petare is founded by Spanish conquistadors as San Jose de Guanarito.

The Swedish city of Gothenburg is founded by King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The king also grants city rights to Luleå, Piteå and Torneå (Tornio). Riga falls under the rule of Sweden.

The Dutch mathematician and astronomer, Willebrord Snel van Royen (1580–1626), discovers the famous law of refraction, also known as "Snellius' law".

Tamblot starts the Tamblot Uprising

The Dutch East India Company sends 2000 soldiers under the command of Jan Pieterszoon Coen to the Banda Islands in order to force the local inhabitants to accept the Dutch trade monopoly on the lucrative nutmeg, grown almost exclusively on the Banda islands. The soldiers proceed to massacre most of the 15,000 indigenous inhabitants.