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.
Tsar Peter I lays the foundations of Saint Petersburg at the mouth of the Neva; the city becomes Russia's capital in 1712.
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.
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.
A coalition army led by King John III Sobieski of Poland relieves the siege of Vienna, defeating the Ottomans and halting their advance into Central Europe.