1648
Peace of Westphalia Signed
After four years of negotiation in two Westphalian towns, Catholic and Protestant Europe signed a treaty ending the Thirty Years' War and, by implication, the wars of religion. Sovereign states became the basic units of international relations, and rulers gained the right to determine their subjects' religion. Modernity had a birthday.
Taj Mahal Gardens Completed
The last elements of the elaborate charbagh garden complex surrounding the Taj Mahal were finished: water channels, pavilions, and the great southern gateway. Visitors approached the tomb through a deliberately staged sequence of archways, reflections, and symmetries. Mughal funerary architecture had perfected itself, achieving a synthesis of Persian, Indian, and Islamic design that has never been surpassed.
Ukrainian Cossack Uprising
Bohdan Khmelnytsky led Ukrainian Cossacks, peasants, and Crimean Tatar allies in a massive rebellion against Polish Catholic rule. The revolt convulsed eastern Europe, massacred Jewish communities, and established a semi-autonomous Cossack Hetmanate that would eventually seek Russian protection. Polish power cracked irreparably, and the struggle over Ukraine's allegiance between Russia and Poland defined the region's politics for centuries.
Fronde Begins
The Parlement of Paris defied the regent Anne of Austria and Mazarin over new taxes. Barricades went up in the streets; the royal family fled the city twice. The Fronde, a five-year aristocratic and judicial revolt against centralizing royal power, would traumatize the young Louis XIV for life and convince him that Paris must never again threaten the throne.
Pride's Purge
Colonel Thomas Pride, backed by a regiment of musketeers, stood at the door of the English House of Commons and arrested or turned away over a hundred members who opposed the trial of Charles I. The remnant, nicknamed the Rump, voted to try the king. Parliament had become a military instrument.