1691–1700 — AND ELSEWHERE WORLDWIDE

HISTORY: Massachusetts absorbs Plymouth Colony; Founding of the Bank of England; Peter the Great takes Azov from Turks; Russia conquers Kamchatka; Peter the Great, calling himself Peter Michailoff, sets out on a year-and-a-half journey to Prussia, Holland, England and Vienna to study European ways of life; China conquers western Mongolia; French attempt to colonize West Africa; Last remains of Maya civilization destroyed by Spanish in Yucatan.

ARTS: Approximate beginning of late baroque period.

SCIENCE/GROWTH: William and Mary College founded; Kingston, Jamaica, founded; University of Berlin founded; First English property insurance company founded; Sedan chair a popular means of transportation; Whitehall Palace, London, burnt down; Pierre Lemoyne founds first European settlement in Louisiana at Fort Maurepas; Population figures (approximately): France 19 million, England and Scotland 7.5 million, Hapsburg dominions 7.5 million, Spain 6 million; Andalusian, Francisco Romero, becomes first famous Spanish bull fighter.