March 7 – King Charles I of England decrees that all Roman Catholic priests must leave England by April 7 or face being arrested and treated as traitors.
The Siege of São Filipe begins in the Azores as the Portuguese Navy fights to drive the Spanish out. After almost 11 months, the Portuguese prevail on March 4, 1642.
April 7 – The deadline for Catholic priests to leave England expires. Among those who refuse to leave, Ambrose Barlow and William Ward become martyrs. Barlow surrenders on Easter Sunday, April 25, and is hanged on September 10; he will be canonized as a saint in 1970. Ward is caught on July 15 and executed on July 26.
April 21 – England's House of Commons votes 204 to 59 in favor of the conviction for treason and the execution of the Earl of Strafford, and the House of Lords acquiesces.[2] King Charles refuses to give the necessary royal assent.
May 7 – England's House of Lords votes, 51 to 9, in favor of the execution of the Earl of Strafford for treason. In fear for his own safety, King Charles I signs Strafford's death warrant on May 10.
May 11 – The Long Parliament in England passes the "Act against Dissolving Parliament without its own Consent".
May 24 – Providence Island in the Caribbean, settled by English Puritans and a haven for English pirates off the coast of modern-day Colombia, is captured in a joint operation of the Spanish Navy in an attack led by Don Francisco Díaz Pimienta, and the Portuguese Navy led by the Count of Castel-Melhor Sousa. The expedition takes 770 prisoners, 380 slaves and a fortune in plundered gold and silver.[4]
June 1 – In Paris, representatives of Portugal and France sign a treaty of alliance.
June 2 – Bavarian and Spanish troops capture the town of Bad Kreuznach during the Thirty Years' War, 17 months after it had been taken in a French and Saxon attack.
June 29 – The Battle of Wolfenbüttel takes place between a combined Swedish and French force against the Holy Roman Empire, with the Swedish-French Army driving back an Imperial assault.
In France, the siege of Bapaume ends with the surrender of the fortress by its Spanish occupiers.
September 23 – The English ship Merchant Royal sinks off Cornwall along with its cargo of 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) of gold and 18 of its 58 crew. More than 380 years later, treasure seekers will still not have located the wreckage.[6]
October 23 – Irish Rebellion of 1641 breaks out: Irish Catholic gentry, chiefly in Ulster, revolt against the English administration and Scottish settlers in Ireland.
November 22 – By a vote of 159 to 148, the Long Parliament of England passes the Grand Remonstrance, with 204 specific objections to King Charles I's absolutist tendencies, and calling for the King to expel all Anglican bishops from the House of Lords.
December 1 – The English Parliament presents the Grand Remonstrance to King Charles, who makes no response to it until Parliament has the document published and released to the general public.
December 7 – The bill for the Militia Ordinance is introduced by Arthur Haselrig, an anti-monarchist member of the House of Commons, proposing for the first time to allow Parliament to appoint its own military commanders without royal approval. King Charles, concerned that the legislation would allow parliament to create its own army, orders Haselrig arrested for treason. Parliament passes the Militia Ordinance on March 15.
December 23 – King Charles replies to the Grand Remonstrance and refuses the demand for the removal of bishops from the House of Lords. Rioting breaks out in Westminster after the King's refusal is announced, and the 12 Anglican bishops stop attending meetings of the Lords.
December 27 – According to a journalist who witnesses the events, John Rushworth, the term "roundhead" is first used to describe supporters of the English Parliament who have challenged the authority of the monarchy. Rushworth writes later that during a riot on the 27th, one of the rioters, David Hide, draws his sword and, describing the short haircuts of the anti-monarchists, says that he would "cut the throat of those round-headed dogs that bawled against bishops."
December 30 – At the request of King Charles, John Williams, the Anglican Archbishop of York joins with 11 other bishops in disputing the legality of any legislation passed by the House of Lords during the time that the bishops were excluded. The House of Commons passes a resolution to have the 12 bishops arrested. King Charles, in turn, issues an order on January 3 to have five members of the House of Commons arrested for treason.
A massive epidemic breaks out in northern and central China, just three years before the fall of the Ming dynasty. It races south down along the Grand Canal of China and the densely populated settlements there, from the northern terminus at Beijing, to the fertile Jiangnan region. In some local areas and towns it wipes out 90% of the local populace.
