February 14 – The reign of
Victor Amadeus over the principality of
Anhalt-Bernburg (now within the state of
Saxony-Anhalt in northeastern Germany) ends after 61 years and 7 months. He had ascended the throne on September 22, 1656. He is succeeded by his son
Karl Frederick.
February 21 –
Manuel II (Mpanzu a Nimi) becomes the new monarch of the
Kingdom of Kongo (located in western Africa at present day
Angola) when
King Pedro IV (Nusamu a Mvemba) dies after a reign of 22 years. Manuel reigns until 1743. [3]
May 22 – Sailing the Queen Anne's Revenge English
pirate Edward Teach ("
Blackbeard") leads 400 sailors in four ships, and blockades the port of
Charleston, South Carolina for an entire week, plundering all arriving ships.[7] After their departure, Queen Anne's Revenge and Adventure are both lost at Beaufort Inlet,
North Carolina; a week later. Blackbeard allows
Stede Bonnet to command the Revenge (which is renamed the Royal James) once again. Bonnet rescues 25 sailors abandoned by Blackbeard on a sandbar and continues his life of piracy.
June 3 – Pirates "Blackbeard" and Stede Bonnet accidentally run aground in the ship Queen Anne's Revenge after sailing into
Topsail Inlet in the British colony of
North Carolina. Learning of the royal pardon available to all pirates who surrender before September 5, Teach negotiates a settlement with Colonial Governor
Charles Eden for a pardon for himself, Bonnet and the rest of his crew in return for the Governor receiving some of the pirates' plunder. [8]
September 10 – In France,
Armande Félice de La Porte Mazarin and the Vicomtesse de Polignac, both mistresses of the
Duc de Richelieu, fight a duel with pistols at the
Bois de Boulogne near Paris. Lady Mazarin, who had initiated the duel, is wounded in the shoulder and both survive. Richelieu, though impressed by the willingness of the ladies to fight over his affections, comments Je ne sacrifierai pas un de mes cheveux, ni à l’une, ni à l’autre ("I will not sacrifice anything, not to one, nor to the other.") [10]
October 3 –
Stede Bonnet and his crew are captured near the mouth of the
Cape Fear River and taken to Charleston, South Carolina, where they are tried for piracy. All but four are found guilty and sentenced to death (with 22 hanged on November 8), but Bonnet escapes from prison on October 24.
October 31 – The Mughal Emperor of India,
Farrukhsiyar, restores the titles and responsibilities of his chief adviser,
Mir Jumla III, almost three years after dismissing him.
November 11 – Lightning strikes the powder magazine at the
Old Fortress, Corfu, causing an explosion that kills a large number of people on the island.
November 22 – Citing violations of the amnesty agreement with Blackbeard,
Virginia Governor
Alexander Spotswood sends a
Royal Navy contingent to North Carolina, where they battle Blackbeard and his crew in
Ocracoke Inlet. Blackbeard is killed in action, after receiving five musketball wounds and twenty sword lacerations.
December 5 – Following the death of Charles XII on
November 30, his sister
Ulrika Eleonora proclaims herself Queen regnant of
Sweden, as the news of her brother's death reaches Stockholm.
December 10 – Stede Bonnet is hanged at Charleston, after being recaptured.