1600

English East India Company founded.

1605

Gunpowder Plot.

1605

Birth of William Barnard.

1610

Galileo discovers moons around Jupiter, ending belief that Earth is the centre of the Universe.

1632

Work begins on building the Taj Mahal, in India.

1642

English Civil War.

1649

Charles I of England is executed.

1655

A missionary in China invents the first steam-driven vehicle.

1660

The English monarch is restored, Charles II crowned king.

1661

England acquires Bombay from Portugal.

1665

The Great Plague in London kills 70,000 people.

1666

The Great Fire of London.

1679

An English ship enters the River Ganges for the first time.

1685

Aurangzeb's Mughals at war with East India Company.

1688

William Dampier reaches Australia.

1690

Calcutta founded by the English.