Browse Historical Events by Month: What Happened in May?

Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present-day Manhattan) and establishes the colony of New Amsterdam.

The Fundamental Orders, often considered the first written constitution in North America, are adopted by the Connecticut Colony.

The city of Montreal is founded by French colonists under the direction of Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve.

The Battle of Dover (also known as the Battle of Goodwin Sands) takes place during the First Anglo-Dutch War between the navies of the Commonwealth of England and the United Provinces of the Netherlands. It proved to be an indecisive battle although opinions about the outcome of that battle vary among historians of that period. The flagships were commanded by Admirals Robert Blake and Maarten Tromp.

The Treaty of Copenhagen is signed, ending the Second Northern War between Denmark and Sweden and establishing the modern borders between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. More

King Charles II of England is restored to the throne after the period of Commonwealth following the English Civil War. More

King Charles II of England grants a permanent royal charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company, made up of a group of French explorers, giving it the right of "sole trade and commerce" control of today's Canada entire Hudson Bay drainage basin and naming the territory Rupert's Land, after his cousin Prince Rupert of the Rhine, the company's first governor. The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), is the oldest continually operating company in the world. More

The Hudson's Bay Company is chartered by King Charles II, granting it a monopoly over the fur trade in the region of Hudson Bay in North America.

The Habeas Corpus Act was passed in England, during the reign of King Charles II. The Act, significantly strengthening a person's right to challenge unlawful arrest and imprisonment. This landmark legislation ensured that individuals detained could be brought before a judge to determine the legality of their detention. It's considered one of the four pillars of English liberty, alongside Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, and the Bill of Rights. The act is often wrongly described as the origin of the writ of habeas corpus in England although the writ of habeas corpus had existed before in various forms for at least five centuries before and has been amended several times since then, it remains on the statute book to this day. 

The English Parliament passes the Act of Toleration, granting freedom of worship to Protestant nonconformists.

The witchcraft trials in Salem, Massachusetts begin with the arrest of Sarah Osborne, Sarah Good, and Tituba.

The Russian city of St. Petersburg, named after the apostle Saint Peter is founded by Tsar Peter the Great on the site of a captured Swedish fortress. St. Petersburg is a Russian port city on the Baltic Sea and it was the imperial capital for 2 centuries. It remains Russia's cultural center. Among its many beautiful sites, architecture and art is the Bronze Horseman, an equestrian statue of Peter the Great in the Senate Square opened to the public in 1782. The statue influenced an 1833 poem of the same name by Alexander Pushkin.

The Battle of Ramillies is fought ending in victory for the Allied (Anglo-Dutch) forces led by the Duke of Marlborough against the French. This battle significantly impacted the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), a major European conflict stemming from the death of the Spanish King Charles II, the last Spanish Habsburg without an heir. The war had a significant impact on the balance of power in Europe and the rise of Great Britain as a major global power. More

The Union between England and Scotland is proclaimed. Whales had already been part of England since the 1500's.

The ship "Le Grand St Antoine" arrives in Marseille, France, carrying the last major plague outbreak to affect Europe. The bubonic plague is estimated to have killed around 100,000 people. This event is often referred to as the Great Plague of Marseille.

Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital, is founded by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond. 

Catherine the Great overthrew Peter III and began her reign as empress of Russia, leading her country into full participation in the political and cultural life of Europe and extending Russian territory.

The British Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which required American colonies to provide lodging and supplies to British troops.

The British parliament passes the unpopular Tea Act. More

Louis XVI accedes to the throne of France, and his wife, Marie-Antoinette, becomes the queen consort; later they both were beheaded during the French Revolution. Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793. Marie Antoinette's trial began on 14 October 1793; two days later, she was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by guillotine on 16 October 1793 at the Place de la Révolution.