What happened in 1640–1649

World5

• 1642First English Civil War: After routing Edward Ford's royalist troops at the Battle of Muster Green, William Waller follows Ford's retreating force to Chichester as the Parliamentarians besiege the city, which falls on December 29 after eight days. The inhabitants of Chichester agree to pay the Parliamentarians an additional month's pay to prevent the town from being plundered.
• 1645The Solar cycle enters the 70-year Maunder Minimum, during which sunspots will be rare.
• 1648The Peace of Münster is ratified by both the United Netherlands and the Spanish Empire.
• 1649In England, the Rump Parliament passes an ordinance to set up a High Court of Justice, to try Charles I for high treason.
• 1649"An act declaring England to be a Commonwealth" is passed by the Rump Parliament.

Japan2

• 1640The eruption of the Hokkaido Koma-ga-take (Mount Komagatake) volcano takes place in Japan. Although the eruption causes few direct injuries, the heavy ashfall poisons local crops and causes the Kan'ei Great Famine that causes more than 50,000 deaths from starvation.
• 1643Miyamoto Musashi begins to dictate The Book of Five Rings (Go Rin No Sho) to his student; he will complete it in 1645, just before his death.

Europe84

• 1640The Short Parliament assembles, as King Charles I of England attempts to fund the second of the Bishops' Wars.
• 1640Second Bishops' War: A Scottish Covenanter army invades Northumberland in England.
• 1640The end of the Iberian Union of Spain and Portugal begins, as a revolution organized by the nobility and bourgeoisie causes John IV of Portugal to be acclaimed as king, thus ending 60 years of personal union of the crowns of Portugal and Spain, and the rule of the House of Habsburg (also called the Philippine Dynasty). The Spanish Habsburgs do not recognize Portugal's new dynasty, the House of Braganza, until the end of the Portuguese Restoration War in 1668.
• 1642Rembrandt finishes his painting The Night Watch (Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq) in Amsterdam.
• 1643Thirty Years' War: Battle of Rocroi: The French defeat the Spanish at Rocroi in France.
• 1643Swedish Field Marshal Lennart Torstensson's forces enter Danish territory in Holstein, beginning the Torstenson War.
• 1644Torstenson War: Battle of Colberger Heide – The Dano-Norwegian and Swedish fleets fight a naval battle off the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The battle is indecisive but represents a minor success for the Dano-Norwegian fleet.
• 1644English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor – The Parliamentarians crush the Royalists in Yorkshire, ending Charles I's hold on the north of England.
• 1645English Civil War – Battle of Naseby: 12,000 Royalist forces are beaten by 15,000 Parliamentarian soldiers.
• 1648The Dutch and the Spanish sign the Peace of Münster, ending the Eighty Years' War. The Spanish Empire recognizes the Dutch Republic of United Netherlands as a sovereign state (governed by the House of Orange-Nassau and the States General), which was previously a province of the Spanish Empire. The treaty is ratified by the Netherlands on May 15.
• 1648The French Army, under the command of the Prince of Condé, defeats the Spaniards at the Battle of Lens. Upon learning of the victory, Cardinal Mazarin orders the arrest of the members of the Fronde Parlementaire, leading to an insurrection in Paris.
• 1648Signing of the Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück concludes the Peace of Westphalia, ending the Thirty Years' War. Rulers of the Imperial States can personally convert to Protestant, Catholic or Calvinist. Ecclesiastical property is restored to the status of 1624, with the minorities of each of the three recognized faiths granted toleration of worship, and there is general recognition of exclusive sovereignty, including that of the Dutch Republic and Switzerland. France and Sweden gain territory, and the latter is granted an indemnity. However, France remains at war with Spain until 1659. Prisoners of war should be released and allowed to return to their homelands without ransom after hostilities end.
• 1649Charles I of England goes on trial, for treason and other "high crimes".
• 1649King Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland is found guilty of high treason in a public session.
• 1649The rebel Frondeurs and the French government sign the Peace of Rueil.

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USSR / Russia1

• 1649Serfdom in Russia begins legally as the Sobornoye Ulozheniye (Соборное уложение, "Code of Law") is signed by members of the Zemsky Sobor, the parliament of the estates of the realm in the Tsardom of Russia. Slaves and free peasants are consolidated by law into the new hereditary class of "serfs", and the Russian nobility are given the exclusive privilege of owning the serfs.

Asia5

• 1641In India, in the modern-day Rajasthan state, the Mughal Grand Vizier Abu'l-Hasan Asaf Khan is killed in a battle in Bundi against the armies of Nurpur, commanded by the Raja Jagat Singh. The elaborate Tomb of Asif Khan is constructed at Lahore (modern Pakistan) on orders of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir.
• 1644A popular Chinese rebellion led by Li Zicheng sacks Beijing, prompting Chongzhen, the last emperor of the Ming dynasty, to commit suicide.
• 1644Battle of Shanhai Pass: The Manchu Qing dynasty and Wu Sangui gain a decisive victory over Li Zicheng's Shun dynasty.
• 1647The Battle of Puerto de Cavite begins in the Spanish Philippines when an armada of 12 large warships from the Dutch Republic sails into Manila Bay, with cannon fire hitting many of the roofs of the city. The Spanish defending fleet drives off the Dutch after a two day battle.
• 1648In India, building of the Red Fort in Shahjahanabad is completed.

Middle East3

• 1640Ibrahim I succeeds his brother Murad IV (r. 1623–1640) as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire; he will rule until his death in 1648.
• 1648Mehmed IV (1648–1687) succeeds Ibrahim I (1640–1648), as Ottoman Emperor.
• 1649The Mughal–Safavid War begins when Shah Abbas II of the Safavid Empire in Persia captures the Afghan city of Kandahar from the Mughal Empire of India after a six-week siege. The Mughals, led by Shah Jahan, fail to recapture Kandahar after three sieges in four years.