1694

January 16 – Francesco Morosini, the Doge of Venice since 1688, dies after ruling the Republic for more than five years and a few months after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the island of Negropont from the Ottoman Empire during the Morean War. January 18 – Sir James Montgomery of Scotland, who had been arrested on January 11 for conspiracy to restore King James to the throne, escapes and flees to France. January 21 (January 11 O.S.) – The Kiev Academy, now the national university of Ukraine, receives official recognition by Tsar Ivan V of Russia. January 28 – Pirro e Demetrio, an opera by Alessandro Scarlatti, is given its first performance, debuting at the Teatro San Bartolomeo in Naples. The opera is adapted in 1708 in London as Pyrrhus and Demetrius and becomes the second most popular opera in 18th century London. January 29 – French missionary Jean-Baptiste Labat arrives in the "New World", landing at the Caribbean island of Martinique. February 5 – The ship Ridderschap van Holland is lost at sea, having departed the Cape of Good Hope with a crew of 300, with a destination of Batavia (now Jakarta in Indonesia), normally a voyage of two months. It never arrives and is never seen again. February 6 – The colony of Quilombo dos Palmares, created by rebel African slaves in Brazil, is destroyed by the bandeirantes, colonial troops under the command of Domingos Jorge Velho. After a successful attack on its capital, Cerca do Macaco, the last King of Dos Palmares, Zumbi, flees after a reign of more than 13 years, but is later captured and executed. February 26 – Silvestro Valier is elected as the new Doge of Venice to replace the late Francesco Morosini March 1 – The HMS Sussex treasure fleet of thirteen ships is wrecked in the Mediterranean off Gibraltar, with the loss of approximately 1,200 lives. March 8 - The Casa da Moeda do Brasil is formed by Peter II of Portugal. April – The largest volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius since 1631 takes place, with explosive activity in the crater from 5 April and lava flows on 13 April towards both San Giorgio a Cremano and Torre del Greco.