1678
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Events
January–March
- January 10 – England and the Dutch Republic sign a mutual defense treaty in order to fight against France.
- January 27 – The first fire engine company in North America goes into service in Boston.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- February 18 – The first part of English nonconformist preacher John Bunyan's Christian allegory The Pilgrim's Progress is published in London.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March 21 – Thomas Shadwell's comedy A True Widow is given its first performance, at The Duke's Theatre in London, staged by the Duke's Company.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March 23 – Revolt of the Three Feudatories in southern China: rebel general Wu Sangui, lord of the Yunnan fief, takes the imperial crown, names himself monarch of "The Great Zhou", based in the Hunan province, with Hengyang as his capital. He contracts dysentery over the summer and dies on October 2, ending the rebellion against the Kangxi Emperor.<ref>Template:Cite journal Repr. in Telling Chinese History: A Selection of Essays. University of California Press, 2009. p. 123.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March 25 – The Spanish Netherlands city of Ypres falls after a seven-day siege by the French Army. It is later returned to the Netherlands and eventually becomes part of Belgium.
- March 28 – The nova V529 Orionis is discovered by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius (Jan Heweliusz).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
April–June
- April 2 – Ignatius Gregory Peter VI Shahbaddin is enthroned as the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church in Aleppo, after receiving recognition by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV and by Pope Innocent XI.
- April 12 – The Treaty of Casco Bay is signed between officials of the Province of New York and the Penobscot tribe and the Wabanaki Confederacy, bringing an end to further fighting that has happened in the two years since the end of King Philip's War in the modern-day U.S. state of Maine. Under the terms of the treaty, English settlers pay rent to the Penobscots and are given back farm land that had been confiscated in the war, while the English settlers agree to respect the Penobscot land rights.<ref>"Casco, Treaty of", by Jaime Ramon Olivares, in The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Wars, 1607–1890: A Political, Social, and Military History, ed. by Spencer Tucker (ABC-CLIO, 2011) p. 134</ref>
- May 11 – French admiral Jean d'Estrees runs his whole fleet aground in either the Las Aves Archipelago or Isla de Aves, intending to reach Curaçao.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- June 10 – French buccaneer Michel de Grammont arrives at Spanish-held Venezuela with six pirate ships, 13 smaller craft, and 2,000 men in a daring raid on the South American territory, then leads half of his force inward toward Maracaibo, which he takes on June 14. During the rest of the month, he and his soldiers march inland as far as Trujillo. Grammont and his pirates finally depart on December 3.<ref>David Marley, Wars of the Americas: A Chronology of Armed Conflict in the Western Hemisphere (ABC-CLIO, 2008) p. 289</ref>
- June 25 – Elena Lucrezia Cornaro Piscopia becomes the first woman to be awarded a university degree, a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Padua.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
July–September
- July 23 – The Battle of Ortenbach, one of the last major engagements of the Franco-Dutch War, takes place near Offenburg at the Rhine river in southwestern Germany, as French forces under the command of François de Créquy overwhelm a larger force of Holy Roman Empire troops commanded by the Duke of Lorraine, Karl V Leopold.
- July 29 – Muhammad Azam Shah is appointed as the Mughal Governor of Bengal by his father, the Emperor Aurangzeb, but serves for a little more than a year before being recalled from Dhaka.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 10 – The Treaties of Nijmegen end the Franco-Dutch War.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The County of Burgundy is ceded to the Kingdom of France.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 14–15 – The Battle of Saint-Denis is fought after the signing of peace in the Franco-Dutch War.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 21 – On the island of Java in modern-day Indonesia, the Kediri campaign begins as Mataram Sultanate and Dutch East India Company (VOC) forces under the command of VOC Captain François Tack begin marching from Jepara toward Kediri to suppress the Trunajaya rebellion that had driven out the Mataram Sultan. They are joined by two other columns of troops over the next fortnight.
- September 5 – Sultan Amangkurat II of Mataram sets off from Jepara with the main force in the Kediri campaign, leading native troops, along with VOC forces under the command of Anthonio Hurdt, leader of the campaign.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- September 6 – Titus Oates begins to present allegations of the "Popish Plot", a supposed Roman Catholic conspiracy to assassinate king Charles II of England.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Oates applies the term Tory to those who disbelieve his allegations.
- September 17 – The Franco-Dutch War between the Kingdom of France and the Dutch Republic (and its allies) comes to an end after more than six years as the Treaties of Nijmegen bring about a ceasefire.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
October–December
- October 17 – English magistrate Sir Edmund Berry Godfrey is found murdered in Primrose Hill, London.<ref name="GF">Template:Cite book</ref> His death is seen as proof of the "Popish Plot" to the public.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 11 (November 1 O.S.) – England's House of Commons votes to begin impeachment proceedings against five Roman Catholic members of the House of Lords, Viscount Stafford, the Marquess of Powis, Baron Arundell, Baron Petre and Baron Belasyse accused by Protestant members as participating in a "Popish Plot". Viscount Stafford is convicted and executed, while the other four are imprisoned in the Tower of London for more than five years.
- November 25 – The Kediri campaign is successfully concluded in Indonesia as Anthonio Hurdt and Sultan Amangkurat II capture Kediri and force the rebel Prince Trunajaya to flee.
- November 26 – William Staley, an English banker and a Roman Catholic, becomes the first person to be executed in connection with the "Popish Plot" arrests.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 1 – The Test Act provides that members of both the House of Lords and House of Commons of England must swear an anti-Catholic oath, before taking office.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Date unknown
- About 1,200 Irish families sail from Barbados to Virginia and the Carolinas.
- In Ireland, the vacant Bishopric of Leighlin is given to the Bishop of Kildare in commendam; it will later be formed into the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Births
- March 4 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian composer (d. 1741)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March 7 – Filippo Juvarra, Italian architect (d. 1736)
- April 14 – Abraham Darby I, one of the English fathers of the Industrial Revolution (d. 1717)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 3 – Amaro Pargo, Spanish corsair (d. 1747)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 16 – Andreas Silbermann, German organ builder (d. 1734)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- July 26 – Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1711)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- September 16 – Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English statesman and philosopher (d. 1751)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- September 29 – Adrien-Maurice, 3rd duc de Noailles, French soldier (d. 1766)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 10 – John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (d. 1743)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 16 – Anna Waser, Swiss painter (d. 1714)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- November 26 – Jean Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist (d. 1771)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 8 – Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton, English diplomat (d. 1757)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 13 – Yongzheng Emperor of China (d. 1735)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 14 – Daniel Neal, English historian (d. 1743)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 30 – William Croft, English composer (d. 1727)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- date unknown
- George Farquhar, Irish dramatist (d. 1707)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Joachim Ludwig Schultheiss von Unfriedt, German architect (d. 1753)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- John Senex, British geographer (d. 1740)<ref name="WDL">Template:Cite web</ref>
- Maria Faxell, Swedish vicar's wife and war heroine (d. 1738),<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Pierre Fauchard, French physician and author, considered The father of modern dentistry (d. 1761)<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
- Thomas Micklethwaite, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury (d. 1718)<ref name="histparl">Template:Cite web</ref>
Deaths
- January 4 – Joan Maetsuycker, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1606)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- January 11 – Ferrante III Gonzaga, Duke of Guastalla, Italian noble (b. 1618)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- January 12 – Robert Ellison, English politician (b. 1614)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- January 23 – Sir William Curtius FRS, German magistrate and English baronet (b. 1599)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- January 27 – Maria Overlander van Purmerland, Dutch noble (b. 1603)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- January 29 – Jeronimo Lobo, Portuguese Jesuit missionary (b. 1593)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- February 7 – Sir Philip Musgrave, 2nd Baronet, English politician (b. 1607)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
- November 20 – Daniel Clasen, German academic (b. 1622)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March 3 – Philip Bell, British colonial governor (b. 1590)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March 10 – Jean de Launoy, French historian (b. 1603)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- March 27 – Juan de Leyva de la Cerda, conde de Baños, Spanish noble (b. 1604)
- April 12 – Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick, 7th daughter of Richard Boyle (b. 1625)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- April 23 – Walter Aston, 2nd Lord Aston of Forfar, second and eldest surviving son of Walter Aston (b. 1609)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- April 24 – Louis VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (1661–1678) (b. 1630)
- April 27 – Nicolas Roland, French priest and founder (b. 1642)
- May 2 – Willem Nieupoort, Dutch politician, and diplomat (b. 1607)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- May 3 – Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Jena, German noble (b. 1638)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 4 or May 14 – Anna Maria van Schurman, Dutch poet and scholar (b. 1607)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- May 16 – Tamura Muneyoshi, Japanese daimyō of the Iwanuma Domain (b. 1637)
- May 18 – Miyamoto Iori, Japanese samurai (b. 1612)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- June 2 – Pieter de Groot, Dutch diplomat (b. 1615)
- June 17 – Giacomo Torelli, Italian stage designer, engineer, and architect (b. 1608)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- June 19 – Benedict Arnold, Rhode Island colonial governor (b. 1615)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- June 24 – Charles de Lorme, French physician (b. 1584)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 5 – Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican musician and composer (b. 1619)
- August 16 – Andrew Marvell, English writer (b. 1621)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 17 – Guillaume Herincx, Flemish theologian, Bishop of Ypres (b. 1621)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 28 – John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton, English soldier (b. 1602)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- August 31 – Louis VII, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1658)
- September 1 – Jan Brueghel the Younger, Flemish painter (b. 1601)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- September 8 – Pietro della Vecchia, Italian painter (b. 1603)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- September 19 – Christoph Bernhard von Galen, Westphalian Catholic prince-bishop of Münster and military leader (b. 1606)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- September 18 – Maurizio Cazzati, Italian composer (b. 1616)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- October 5 – Hedevig Ulfeldt, daughter of King Christian IV of Denmark and Kirsten Munk (b. 1626)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 11 – Sir Peter Leycester, 1st Baronet, British historian (b. 1614)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
- October 12
- Pieter Codde, Dutch painter (b. 1599)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- Edmund Berry Godfrey, English magistrate (b. 1621)<ref name="GF"/>
- October 14 – Sir Richard Newdigate, 1st Baronet, English politician (b. 1602)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- October 16 – Cornelis HrR Ridder de Graeff, Dutch nobleman and chief landholder of the Zijpe and Haze Polder (b. 1650)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 18 – Jacob Jordaens, Flemish painter (b. 1593)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- October 19 – Samuel Dirksz van Hoogstraten, Dutch painter (b. c. 1627)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
- November 1 – William Coddington, first Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1601)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 4 – Solomon Swale, English politician (b. 1610)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 5 – Giovan Battista Nani, Italian historian and diplomat (b. 1616)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 10 – Daniel Zwicker, German physician (b. 1612)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- November 30 – Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician (b. 1611)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 3 – Edward Colman, English Catholic courtier under Charles II (b. 1636)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
- December 20 – Matthew Marvin, Sr., Connecticut settler (b. 1600)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>