1658 - Political Events

Political Events

Stockholm cuts off all communications with Denmark along the coasts of Oresund and Halland (see 1657), and troops under the command of Karl X Gustav invade the Danish province of Scania from the south in February. Denmark cedes Scania to the Swedish crown under terms of the Treaty of Roskilde, which allows the Scanians to retain their own language and customs, and a provincial government (the Lantdagen) is installed at Malmö. The Swedes occupy the northern forests of Skania and Bleckinge but fail to take Copenhagen, whose garrison puts up a valiant defense. Danish naval officer Niels Juel, 29, helps repel the Swedes, having served under the late Dutch admiral Maarten Tromp and Admiral Michiel de Ruyter in the Anglo-Dutch War of 1652-1654. The bloody encounter takes a heavy toll on both side, and although the Swedes have managed to acquire Scania its people continue to consider themselves as much Danish as Swedish and will try for more than 150 years to oust the Swedes (see 1811).

Former Cavalier general Henry Wilmot, 1st earl of Rochester, dies at Sluys, Flanders, February 19 at age 44; English colonial officer and former admiral of the fleet Robert Rich, 2nd earl of Warwick, at London April 19 at age 70.

The Battle of the Dunes June 14 gives English and French troops a victory over a Spanish relief force; Dunkirk surrenders to the English after a siege.

Oliver Cromwell dies during a fierce storm at London September 3 at age 58 after nearly 5 years as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Thomas Fairfax, 3rd Baron Fairfax (of Cameron), had a bitter quarrel with Cromwell last year and helps General George Monck end the anarchy that follows the Lord Protector's death, restoring parliamentary rule despite opposition from the army. Cromwell's son Richard, 31, succeeds to power and will retain the protectorship for nearly 9 months (see 1659). Former parliamentary soldier Sir Thomas Pride dies at Worcester House, Surrey, October 23 (he was knighted by Cromwell 2 years ago).

The leading Ottoman governors-general in Anatolia and Syria rise up in the fall against the despotic rule of the grand vizier Mehmed Köprülü, who is preoccupied with keeping order in Transylvania. They have not joined the imperial army in the Balkans and march on Constantinople under the leadership of Abaza Hasan, pasha of Aleppo and head of the mercenaries (sekbans) who have created disorder in the Middle East, but the elderly vizier will have the last word (see 1659).

The Battle of Samurath (or Samugarh) south of the Yamuna River about 10 miles east of Agra May 29 gives the emperor Shah Jahan's 40-year-old son Aurangzeb and his brother Murad Bakhsh victory over their older brother, Shah Jahan's favorite son Dara Shikoh, whose 60,000-man army is less experienced than Aurangzeb's smaller force (see 1657). Shah Jahan has executed a will naming Dara as his successor, but when Dara descends from his elephant his troops misinterpret it as an indication that he has been killed. Aurangzeb imprisons his brother Murad and their father after the battle. He will make himself emperor next year, and he will reign until 1707, alienating Muslims and Hindus alike with his bigotry. His continuous campaigns in the Deccan will reduce the country's population by close to 100,000 per year (see Battle of Deorai, 1659).

France's Louis XIV resumes sovereignty over the Caribbean island of Martinique, paying an indemnity to the children of the late governor Jacques-Dyel du Parquet, whose widow governed the island for a while in her children's name but did not get along with the settlers (see 1635; 1664).