Events from 1600

English East India Company chartered - monopoly on Asian trade with joint-stock structure and governor-and-company organization

Giordano Bruno burned in Rome - Dominican friar turned hermetic magus - Vision of reformed universal religion combining all faiths - Creates martyrdom narrative for hermetic tradition

St. Joseph Calasanz founds Piarists - free education for poor - 'If from childhood a child is instructed in religion and letters, one can hope for a happy life'

Japanese soroban abacus refined - 1 bead above, 4 below bar, still used today in Japanese schools

Maize cultivation spreads across Europe - grown in Spain, Portugal, France, Italy as animal feed and peasant food

Tobacco mixed with betel nut chewing in Southeast Asia - creates new intoxicant combination, becomes cultural tradition

Kashmiri chilies developed through selective breeding - prized for deep red color with mild heat, transforms regional cuisine

Hookah (water pipe) tobacco smoking reaches Mughal India from Persia - becomes elite social ritual in courts

Cairo spice trade collapses - from 490 tons of pepper annually in 1500 to under 20 tons, Cape route destroys ancient system

Marie de' Medici marries Henry IV of France - second Medici queen of France, mother of Louis XIII

Battle of Sekigahara - Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats rivals, becomes de facto ruler of Japan