History by century · The 1600s

The 17th century

In the 1600s, 1,367 recorded states existed somewhere in the world. 386 were founded and 215 came to an end. The great powers of the age included the Mughal Empire, the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire.

ProfileState972 states with a known seat in 1650 CESee 1650 CE in the atlas →

Great powers

Profiles of the 17th century, ranked by their military, territorial, economic and historical weight in the Institute’s analysis and by how strong they were in these hundred years.

Key events

All 168 battles, wars and treaties of the 17th century →

People

Works and ideas

States founded 386

Show all 386

States that came to an end 215

Show all 215

On this day

Year by year 96

The years of the 17th century with a page of their own: their events, births and deaths, and the states founded and ended.

Test yourself

5 questions on the 17th century: its events, people and great powers.

The questions open here once the page has loaded.

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). The 17th century. In The Epoch Institute. https://the-epoch-institute.org/centuries/17th-century
MLA
“The 17th century.” The Epoch Institute, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/centuries/17th-century. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “The 17th century.” The Epoch Institute. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/centuries/17th-century.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘The 17th century’, The Epoch Institute. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/centuries/17th-century (Accessed: ).