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1602
The Dutch government grants the Dutch East India Company a monopoly to pursue trade in Asia. -
1609
The Dutch have ended Potugal's domination of the Indian Ocean, and they establish a trading outpost on the western coast of India. -
1613
Dutch arrive at the island of Timur, previously claimed by Portugal and now claimed by the Dutch. -
1619
To work their tobacco fields, colonists in Virginia buy 20 blacks from a Dutch ship that arrives for supplies. -
1624
The Dutch establish a fur trading post, Fort Orange, at what today is Albany, New York. -
1631
The English build a fort on the northern "Gold Coast" in Western Africa. -
1632
The town of Boston is founded. -
1636
France, a largely Catholic country but allied with the Dutch and the Swedes, enters the Thirty Years' War against Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. -
1641
A fort is founded at what today is Montreal. -
1645
The French establish an outpost at the mouth of Africa's Senegal River, where they trade for gum and for slaves. -
1648
With the peace of Westphalia, the 80 years' war between Spain's Habsburg monarchy and the Dutch ends, Spain recognizing Dutch independence. -
1652
The Dutch East India Company establishes a toe hold in southern Africa, near the Cape of Good Hope, to serve Dutch ships passing to and from the East. -
1659
Near Cape Town, Dutch farmers are taking over Khoikhio (Hottentot) grazing land. The Khoikhoi attack the Dutch, who successfully defend themselves. -
1665
Another war between the English and Dutch has begun. English soldiers seize the town of New Amsterdam and rename it New York after the King's brother, the Duke of York. -
1668
The French establish their first factory in India, at Surat. -
1674
The French establish a trading post in India. -
1675
The economic burdens of the war and rising opposition to the war by Protestants and Parliament results in Charles II agreeing to a negotiated settlement with the Dutch. -
1683
Tenant farming continues to dominate Korea's agriculture, with slaves laboring for some landowners. Except for small peddlers and rural crafts, commerce is government controlled. Law keeps people bound to their place of work. Confucianism inhibits economic growth, the Confucianists believing that exchange should be that of gift-giving rather inspired by gain. -
1695
In Africa, the French blow up the English fort on the Gambia River. -
1700
The world is populated by between 600 and 680 million people, up from between 540 to 580 in 1600 - roughly calculated.