1717January 1 – Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador to the Kingdom of Great Britain, is arrested in London over a plot to assist the Pretender to the British throne, James Francis Edward Stuart. January 4 (December 24, 1716 Old Style) – Great Britain, France and the Dutch Republic sign the Triple Alliance, in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with France on November 28 (November 17) 1716.
1656January 5 – The First War of Villmergen, a civil war in the Confederation of Switzerland pitting its Protestant and Roman Catholic cantons against each other, breaks out but is resolved by March 7. The Lutheran cantons of the larger cities of Zurich, Bern and Schaffhausen battle against seven Catholic cantons of Lucerne, Schwyz, Uri, Zug, Baden Unterwalden (now Obwalden and Nidwalden) and St. Gallen. January 17 – The Treaty of Königsberg is signed, establishing an alliance between Charles X Gustav of Sweden and Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg.
1606January 9 – The Black Nazarene arrives in Manila from Mexico. January 24 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators, for plotting against Parliament and James I of England, begins. January 29 – Explorer Pedro Fernandes de Queirós of Portugal, accompanied by a party of 160 men on the ships San Pedro, San Pablo and Los Tres Reyes, leads the first Europeans to discover the Pitcairn Islands. February 9 – Queirós and his crew discover Mehetia, followed three days later by the Tauere atoll.
1604January 1 – The earliest recorded performance of William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place at Hampton Court prior to the main presentation, The Masque of Indian and China Knights, which is performed by courtiers of King James. January 14 – The Hampton Court Conference is held between James I of England, the Anglican bishops and representatives of the Puritans. Work begins on the Authorized King James Version of the Bible and revision of the Book of Common Prayer.
1610Some have suggested that 1610 may mark the beginning of the Anthropocene, or the 'Age of Man', marking a fundamental change in the relationship between humans and the Earth system, but earlier starting dates (ca. 1000 C.E.) have received broader consensus, based on high resolution pollution records that show the massive impact of human activity on the atmosphere. January 6 – Nossa Senhora da Graça incident: A Portuguese carrack sinks near Nagasaki, after fighting Japanese samurai for four nights.
1602January 3 – Battle of Kinsale: The English defeat Irish rebels and their Spanish allies. (The battle happens on this date according to the Gregorian calendar used by the Irish and Spanish but on Thursday, 24 December, 1601 according to the old Julian calendar used by the English.) February 2 (Candlemas night) – In London, the first known production of William Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night takes place. March 20 – The United East India Company is established by the United Provinces States-General in Amsterdam, with the stated intention of capturing the spice trade from the Portuguese.
1616January 1 – King James I of England attends the masque The Golden Age Restored, a satire by Ben Jonson on fallen court favorite the Earl of Somerset. The king asks for a repeat performance on January 6. January 3 – In the court of James I of England, the king's favorite George Villiers becomes Master of the Horse (encouraging development of the thoroughbred horse); on April 24 he receives the Order of the Garter; and on August 27 is created Viscount Villiers and Baron Waddon, receiving a grant of land valued at £80,000.
1593January 25 – Siamese King Naresuan, in combat on elephant back, kills Burmese Crown Prince Mingyi Swa on Monday, Moon 2 Waning day 2, Year of the Dragon, Chulasakarat 954, reckoned as corresponding to January 25, 1593, of the Gregorian calendar, and commemorated as Royal Thai Armed Forces Day. January 27 – The Roman Inquisition opens the seven-year trial of scholar Giordano Bruno. February 2 – Battle of Piątek: Polish forces led by Janusz Ostrogski are victorious.
1743January 1 – The Verendrye brothers, probably Louis-Joseph and François de La Vérendrye, become the first white people to see the Rocky Mountains from the eastern side (the Spanish conquistadors had seen the Rockies from the west side). January 8 – King Augustus III of Poland, acting in his capacity as Elector of Saxony, signs an agreement with Austria, pledging help in war in return for part of Silesia to be conveyed to Saxony. January 12 The Verendryes, and two members of the Mandan Indian tribe, reach the foot of the mountains, near the site of what is now Helena, Montana.
1600NOTOC In the Gregorian calendar, it was the last century leap year until the year 2000. January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25. January 20 — Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, renews the Nine Years' War (Ireland) against England with an invasion of Munster. January 24 —Sebald de Weert makes the first recorded sighting of the Falkland Islands. February 17 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy in Rome, Giordano Bruno has his tongue "imprisoned" after he refuses to stop talking.
