Tsar Peter I lays the foundations of Saint Petersburg at the mouth of the Neva; the city becomes Russia's capital in 1712.
European powers fight over the succession to the Spanish throne after the death of Charles II; the war ends with the treaties of Utrecht and Rastatt.
The Kingdoms of England and Scotland unite as the Kingdom of Great Britain with a single parliament.
Peter the Great's Russian army crushes the Swedish army of Charles XII, ending Sweden's great-power status and raising Russia's standing in Eastern Europe.
The first treaty between Qing China and Tsarist Russia sets their border along the Amur River region.
James II is deposed and William III and Mary II take the throne; the Bill of Rights of 1689 limits royal power and strengthens Parliament.
Isaac Newton publishes "Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica", setting out the laws of motion and universal gravitation.