Mar 16 War party of more than 1000 Iroquois invade Huronia, capturing St-Ignace before sunrise; they will destroy all the villages and Jesuit missions in the area, and only 8 soldiers, 22 donnes and seven servants escape

Mar 16 Jesuit priests Jean de Brébeuf 1593-1649 and Gabriel Lalement 1611-1649 are tortured by Iroquois invaders at St-Louis

Mar 17 Cromwell abolishes the monarchy and declares England a Commonwealth

Mar 11 Treaty of Rueil destroys 1st Fronde-uprising

Sep 15 The birth of Titus Oats, English agitator against Roman Catholics

Sep 12 Drogheda, Ireland falls to Puritan troops; inhabitants massacred

Feb 05 Prince of Wales becomes king Charles II

Apr 21 Maryland Toleration Act passed, allowing all freedom of worship

Apr 05 The birth of Elihu Yale, Founder of American Yale University

May 19 England declared a Commonwealth

Jan 05 Francesco Cavalli's opera "Giasone," premieres in Venice

Jan 30 King Charles I of England is beheaded.

Jan 05 Francesco Cavalli's opera "Giasone," premieres in Venice