The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 12

In Short

Gathering narrative accounts from eminent historians, this volume presents a sweeping chronicle of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, a period defined by statecraft, expansion, and catastrophic upheaval. The volume traces how absolute monarchy solidified under Louis XIV, how European rivalries spilled across the Atlantic into colonial America, and how groundbreaking intellectual and political shifts—from Isaac Newton’s law of gravitation to the founding of the Bank of England—reconfigured society. The collection enduringly resonates because it balances grand geopolitical shifts, such as the unification of England and Scotland or the rise of Prussia, with vivid eyewitness accounts of human suffering and triumph, including London’s Great Fire, plague outbreaks, and brutal colonial conflicts.

The Story

The narrative arc opens in 1661 as a young Louis XIV assumes personal rule over France, seizing upon a prostrate, post-Thirty Years' War Europe to forge an unassailable absolute monarchy surrounded by courtly adulation. Across the Atlantic, imperial rivalries immediately ignite as English commissioners seize New Amsterdam from Dutch governor Peter Stuyvesant, securing Manhattan under negotiated terms of capitulation. Meanwhile, England suffers harrowing domestic crises: London is devastated first by the horrific Great Plague of 1665 and then by the catastrophic Great Fire of 1666, which reduces two-thirds of the wooden city to ash. Simultaneously, the intellectual landscape shifts forever as Isaac Newton formulates his principle of universal gravitation, gradually dismantling the prevailing Cartesian vortex theory despite deep philosophical resistance across European universities.

Farther afield, brutal conquests and imperial ambitions shape the American frontier. Henry Morgan leads ruthless buccaneers across the Isthmus of Panama, defeating Spanish cavalry and executing captive Franciscans to sack the rich city. In the northern wilderness, René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, navigates the Great Lakes aboard the Griffin before losing his vessel and valuable peltry, while bloody conflicts like King Philip’s War leave New England settlements ruined and a tenth of the adult male population dead. In Europe, the Great Elector Frederick William welds the fragmented provinces of Brandenburg into a formidable military power by defeating Swedish forces at Fehrbellin, while William Penn receives a royal grant to establish Pennsylvania, dispatching instructions to treat native inhabitants with dignity and justice.

Religious and political tyranny soon fractures Western nations. In France, Louis XIV revokes the Edict of Nantes in 1685, launching violent persecutions that force a desperate exodus of Protestant Huguenots disguised as beggars and artisans across heavily guarded borders. In England, the Catholic monarch James II ruthlessly suppresses Monmouth’s Rebellion, sending his captured nephew to the executioner's block, only to be overthrown himself in the Glorious Revolution of 1688 when Prince William of Orange lands with Dutch forces and restores stability with minimal bloodshed. Colonial echo effects ripple outward: Governor Edmund Andros imposes tyrannical rule over New England, triggering retaliatory Iroquois raids against Canadian settlements, while in Massachusetts, Cotton Mather and local ministers fuel the fanaticism of the Salem witchcraft trials by publishing accounts of demonic possession.

As the narrative advances into the early eighteenth century, new financial and military structures reconfigure global hegemony. England establishes the Bank of England to secure public credit for its precarious new monarch, while Elector Frederick I expands his father's legacy to become the first King in Prussia after proving his military valor at Bonn and Kaiserswerth. In Eastern Europe, Peter the Great modernizes Russia through sheer force of will, constructing a navy along the Don River to capture Azov and subsequently annihilating the invading Swedish army of Charles XII at the decisive Battle of Poltava. Simultaneously, the Duke of Marlborough executes his brilliant march across Europe to curb French dominance at the Battle of Blenheim. The long historical arc culminates with the formal Union of England and Scotland in 1707 under Queen Anne, followed by the comprehensive Peace of Utrecht in 1713 and the death of Louis XIV in 1715, signaling the dawn of a newly balanced European order.

How It Unfolds

Absolute monarchy ascends in France Following the death of Cardinal Mazarin in 1661, Louis XIV takes direct personal control of the French state. Taking advantage of a weakened, bleeding Europe still recovering from the Thirty Years' War, he consolidates unassailable kingly power while domestic institutions offer uncritical adulation.

The surrender of New Amsterdam English military commanders surround Fort Amsterdam in 1664, forcing Governor Peter Stuyvesant to negotiate terms of capitulation. The signed articles grant Dutch settlers property guarantees, inheritance rights, and freedom of conscience while permanently transferring Manhattan to the English crown.

Calamity and science in London London is devastated by the horrific Great Plague in 1665, followed immediately by the Great Fire of 1666 that consumes two-thirds of the city. Amid these urban disasters, Isaac Newton publishes his breakthrough law of gravitation, gradually overturning entrenched Cartesian vortex physics across European academia.

Privateers and frontier clashes Henry Morgan's fierce buccaneers rout Spanish defenders in Panama, executing captive Franciscan priests and plundering the city. In North America, La Salle explores the Great Lakes despite losing his trading vessel Griffin, while King Philip's War leaves dozens of New England towns burned and hundreds dead.

Brandenburg and Pennsylvania expand The Great Elector Frederick William secures Brandenburg’s regional sovereignty by decisively defeating Swedish forces at Fehrbellin in 1675. Six years later, William Penn receives his royal grant for Pennsylvania, instructing his colonial commissioners to establish Philadelphia and forge fair, respectful treaties with native leaders.

Religious flight and political upheaval Louis XIV's revocation of the Edict of Nantes triggers a massive, illegal exodus of French Protestants disguised as beggars and artisans across guarded frontiers. In England, James II ruthlessly suppresses Monmouth's rebellion but is soon deposed by William of Orange in the peaceful Revolution of 1688.

The rise of Russian sea power Determined to establish Russia as an international power, Czar Peter the Great builds a naval fleet from green timber along the Don River. Despite early failures and mass laborer desertions, his relentless energy enables Russian forces to conquer the strategic fortress of Azov.

Financial innovations and imperial warfare To fund ongoing European conflicts, William Paterson drafts the framework establishing the Bank of England in 1694 despite bitter parliamentary debates over monopolies. A decade later, the Duke of Marlborough leads an audacious march across Germany to decisively curb French power at Blenheim.

The downfall of Charles XII King Charles XII of Sweden stubbornly refuses his generals' advice to retreat, marching his exhausted army deep into Ukraine. At the Battle of Poltava in 1709, Czar Peter's reorganized Russian forces crush the Swedish invaders, ending Sweden's imperial supremacy.

A new European equilibrium The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Treaty of Union in 1707, merging England and Scotland into the unified kingdom of Great Britain. The historical sequence culminates with the 1713 Peace of Utrecht and the death of Louis XIV in 1715, establishing a reshaped balance of power.

The People

Louis XIV seeks absolute sovereignty over France and military preeminence across Europe. Standing in his path are the lingering ruins of regional autonomy and foreign rivals, yet he successfully dismantles domestic feudal opposition to reign as a revered demigod, though his late revocations and endless wars ultimately provoke continental opposition.

William Penn aims to create a harmonious, virtuous sanctuary in Pennsylvania grounded in liberty of conscience. He faces the challenge of managing distant colonial operations and navigating fragile cross-cultural dynamics, yet he perseveres by sending principled commissioners and personal letters of brotherhood to local Native leaders, successfully laying the foundation for Philadelphia.

Peter the Great desires to transform Russia into a formidable modern empire with maritime power. His ambitions are hampered by inexperienced troops, a lack of naval yards, and initial military failure at Azov. Through relentless physical labor and fanatical persistence, he builds a fleet from scratch, captures the Turkish stronghold, and matures into the victorious monarch who annihilates Swedish dominance.

King Charles XII of Sweden strives for unbroken military victory and total subjugation of his enemies. Obstinate and convinced of his own destiny, he rejects the urgent counsel of his top generals and advisors. His refusal to adapt transforms him from an undefeated prodigy into a reckless commander whose army is completely destroyed at Poltava.

Cotton Mather wants to validate orthodox religious devotion and defeat rising secular skepticism. Hindered by his own vanity and suppressed doubts about faith, he eagerly accepts the claims of a clever, manipulative girl, publishing sensational accounts that fuel widespread hysteria during the Salem witchcraft trials.

In Its Own Voice

Observing the mocking behavior of irreverent Londoners during the devastating outbreak of 1665, the narrator notes the swift, tragic retribution that overtook them.

"I say, they continued this dreadful course three or four days--I think it was no more--when one of them, particularly he who asked the poor gentleman what he did out of his grave, was struck with the plague and died in a most deplorable manner; and in a word, they were every one of them carried into the great pit which I have mentioned above, before it was quite filled up, which was not above a fortnight or thereabout."

Writing directly to the native inhabitants of his new land grant in 1681, William Penn emphasizes mutual respect and common humanity over royal title.

"He does not address the Indians as heathen, but as his brethren, the children of the one Father."

Faced with the perilous siege of Poltava, King Charles XII stubbornly rejects all warnings from his closest generals and advisors.

"If God were to send down one of his angels," he said, "to induce me to follow your advice, I would not listen to him!"

What It's Really About

Underneath its sweeping chronological coverage, the volume explores the central conflict between centralizing authority and human resistance across political, religious, and scientific spheres. It investigates how modern nation-states consolidate power—whether through the absolute rule of Louis XIV, the administrative centralization of the Great Elector in Brandenburg, or the institutional innovation of the Bank of England. Yet against this drive toward monolithic control, the text consistently highlights counter-forces: French Protestants fleeing draconian persecution, English parliamentarians imposing the Test Act against royal overreach, and independent thinkers like Isaac Newton breaking away from Cartesian orthodoxy. Ultimately, the collection asks whether stability is best achieved through unyielding autocratic imposition or through institutional balance and liberty of conscience. It shows that while rulers often seek total dominion, the true drivers of historical transformation are frequently the unexpected collisions between rigid authority, religious zeal, scientific discovery, and the unyielding realities of human nature.

Why Read It Today

History enthusiasts and patient readers seeking a rich, multi-perspective immersion in the early modern era will find this collection deeply rewarding. Reading it feels like walking through a vast historical gallery where famous prose stylists—such as Thomas Carlyle, Daniel Defoe, and Leopold von Ranke—each render a pivotal historical moment with distinctive flair and authority. What stays with the reader long after finishing is the striking juxtaposition between granular human drama, such as Londoners jeering beside open plague pits or William Penn's delicate instructions regarding Native etiquette, and the immense, sweeping movements of empire-building.

However, modern readers must navigate genuine difficulties within the text. The narrative assembly relies on classic nineteenth-century historiography, which frequently carries dated period attitudes, condescending descriptions of native populations, and explicitly sectarian judgments regarding religious struggles. Furthermore, the prose can be dense and unyielding, packed with parliamentary subventions, legal clauses, and detailed troop movements that require deliberate, slow reading. Yet for those willing to engage with its broad scope and archaic cadence, the volume provides an uncommonly vivid, immersive tapestry of an era in the painful throes of becoming modern.