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William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English poet, playwright, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His extant works, including collaborations, consist of approximately 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.<br/><br/> The Droeshout portrait or Droeshout engraving is a portrait of William Shakespeare engraved by Martin Droeshout as the frontispiece for the title page of the First Folio collection of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623.
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish German (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a cartographer renowned for creating a world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing as straight lines—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts used for navigation.<br/><br/> In his own day he was the world's most famous geographer but, in addition, he had interests in theology, philosophy, history, mathematics and magnetism as well as being an accomplished engraver, calligrapher and maker of globes and scientific instruments.
Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal-Duke of Richelieu and of Fronsac (September 1585 – 4 December 1642), commonly referred to as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman, noble and statesman. He was consecrated as a bishop in 1607 and was appointed Foreign Secretary in 1616.<br/><br/> Richelieu soon rose in both the Catholic Church and the French government, becoming a cardinal in 1622, and King Louis XIII's chief minister in 1624. He remained in office until his death in 1642; he was succeeded by Cardinal Mazarin, whose career he had fostered.
Tulip mania or tulipomania (Dutch names include: tulpenmanie, tulpomanie, tulpenwoede, tulpengekte and bollengekte) was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for bulbs of the recently introduced tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then suddenly collapsed.<br/><br/> At the peak of tulip mania, in February 1637, some single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman.<br/><br/> Although styled 'Still Life', the floral arrangement is approached by caterpillars and other creatures, perhaps intended by Bollongier as an allegory of the passing of 'Tulipomania'
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (1623-1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He proved to the court of Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy was more accurate than Chinese astronomy.<br/><br/> He then corrected the Chinese calendar and was later asked to rebuild and re-equip the Beijing Ancient Observatory, being given the role of Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory.<br/><br/> Verbiest was the only Westerner in Chinese history to ever receive the honour of a posthumous name by the Emperor. He is buried in Beijing.
Tokugawa Iemitsu (August 12, 1604 — June 8, 1651) was the third shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Iemitsu ruled from 1623 to 1651.
Tokugawa Hidetada (May 2, 1579—March 14, 1632) was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. His mother was Saigō-no-Tsubone, the Lady Saigo.
Tokugawa Hidetada (May 2, 1579—March 14, 1632) was the second shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty, who ruled from 1605 until his abdication in 1623. He was the third son of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate. His mother was Saigō-no-Tsubone, the Lady Saigo.
The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch, literally "United East Indian Company") was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies. It ceased to function in 1798.
Father Ferdinand Verbiest (9 October 1623 – 28 January 1688) was a Flemish Jesuit missionary in China during the Qing dynasty. He was born in Pittem near Tielt in Flanders, later part of the modern state of Belgium. He was known as Nan Huairen (南懷仁) in Chinese.<br/><br/> He was an accomplished mathematician and astronomer and proved to the court of the Kangxi Emperor that European astronomy was more accurate than Chinese astronomy. He then corrected the Chinese calendar and was later asked to rebuild and re-equip the Beijing Ancient Observatory, being given the role of Head of the Mathematical Board and Director of the Observatory.<br/><br/> He became close friends with the Kangxi Emperor, who frequently requested his teaching, in geometry, philosophy and music. Verbiest worked as a diplomat and cartographer, and also as a translator, because he spoke Latin, German, Dutch, Spanish, Hebrew, and Italian. He wrote more than thirty books.
The Dutch East India Company established itself in the East Indies [now Indonesia] in the early 1600s with a view to controlling the lucrative trade in nutmeg, mace, cloves and pepper from a tiny cluster of islands known as the Moluccas [Maluku]. English merchants associated with the British East India Company, however, were also keen to stake a claim in the spice trade, and their interests came into direct conflict with those of the Dutch.<br/><br/> Early in 1623, the Dutch local governor, Herman van Speult, believed that the English merchants, helped by Japanese mercenaries, planned to kill him and overwhelm the Dutch garrison. He ordered the arrest of the alleged plotters. Under torture they admitted their guilt, and were executed on Amboina in February 1623. The British thereafter referred to the incident as the Amboina Massacre.