1622

1622 was a year in the early modern period marked by ongoing colonial expansion, religious and dynastic conflicts, and significant violence that shaped regional histories. The year is often remembered for major incidents in North America and the Ottoman Empire, as well as the broader context of the Thirty Years’ War in Europe.

In the Virginia Colony, March 22, 1622, brought a devastating attack on English settlements by members of the Powhatan Confederacy led by Opechancanough. A coordinated assault killed about 347 of the roughly 1,200 settlers in the region, with many more wounded. The Jamestown settlement and surrounding English outposts faced a crisis of survival and security, prompting a shift in colonial policy, increased military discipline, and long-lasting tension between European colonists and Indigenous peoples in the Powhatan territory.

In the Ottoman Empire, Sultan Osman II was killed by his own Janissaries in May 1622 after attempting to curb their power and reform the state apparatus. His death at a young age precipitated a brief period of dynastic instability and contributed to the collapse of Osman’s autocratic project, ultimately paving the way for a new royal line under Murad IV in the following years.

Across Europe, the Thirty Years’ War continued to grind on, with sporadic battles and shifting alliances among Protestant and Catholic states within the Holy Roman Empire and its neighbors. The year thus reflects a global pattern of conflict and expansion characteristic of the early 17th century, illustrating how local clashes and imperial politics intersected in multiple regions.