1620s1640s

The 1620s and 1640s denote a period that spans roughly two decades and a half, marked by religious, political, and colonial upheavals, along with notable advances in science and thought. The era encompassed the continuing conflict of the Thirty Years' War, the growth of transoceanic empires, and rapid social change in various regions.

In Europe, the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) reshaped sovereignty, territory, and religious alignments. In the British Isles, Charles I pursued a policy of personal rule from 1629 to 1640, provoking constitutional crisis, and the English Civil War began in 1642. The Dutch Republic expanded its commercial and naval power, while the 1637 Tulip Mania highlighted the volatility of early modern economies.

Across the Atlantic and in the Caribbean, European colonization intensified. The Mayflower's voyage occurred in 1620, and the Massachusetts Bay Colony expanded after 1629, accompanied by frontier conflicts such as the Pequot War (1636–1637). Indigenous-European interactions, missionary activity, and plantation economies developed in varying forms.

In Asia and Africa, dynastic change and global commerce shaped the period. The Ming dynasty fell in 1644, giving way to the Qing in China after turmoil. Japan pursued restrictive isolation policies from the 1630s under sakoku policies. The Mughal Empire continued to consolidate power in the Indian subcontinent, enabling significant cultural and architectural projects.

In science and culture, the period saw continued advances of the scientific revolution: Galileo's trial (1633), Harvey's demonstration of circulation (1628), and Descartes' philosophical method (1637). The late 1640s and the 1648 Peace of Westphalia helped entrench notions of state sovereignty and ended large-scale European religious warfare.

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