1621
Banda Islands Massacre
Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the VOC's ruthless governor-general, ordered the near-total depopulation of the Banda Islands to secure a Dutch monopoly on nutmeg.
Dutch West India Company Chartered
The States-General gave a group of Dutch merchants a monopoly on trade and warfare in the Atlantic, explicitly including Portuguese Brazil and the Spanish…
Samoset Greets the Pilgrims
An Abenaki sagamore named Samoset walked into Plymouth and astonished the Pilgrims by saying, in broken English learned from fishermen, welcome, Englishmen.
Philip IV Inherits Spain
At sixteen, the melancholy, art-loving Philip IV inherited Spain, Portugal, the Low Countries, most of Italy, and an empire in the Americas he would never see.
Potato Arrives in European Gardens
By the 1620s, the American potato had begun appearing in Spanish, Italian, and Irish gardens as a curiosity or famine insurance crop.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1621?
Saeculum lists 5 events from 1621. The most significant is Banda Islands Massacre: Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the VOC's ruthless governor-general, ordered the near-total depopulation of the Banda Islands to secure a Dutch monopoly on nutmeg.
What era was 1621 part of?
1621 falls within the Renaissance (1501-1650). Reformation, conquest, and the world drawn whole.
Which regions saw notable events in 1621?
The events from 1621 span Southeast Asia, Europe and North America.