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The 1650s: 1650–1659
1650–1659 · worldwide, all places
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Cromwell ruled England as Lord Protector without a crown, banning theatres and Christmas while his generals seized Jamaica. Hobbes published Leviathan in 1651, arguing that only absolute power prevents civil war, and the Taj Mahal was completed around 1653.
Leviathan in 1651 is the decade's own philosophy of fear. Defoe's Robinson Crusoe sends its hero to sea in the same year, and Oliver Pötzsch's The Hangman's Daughter investigates a witch panic in 1659 Bavaria. Open the 1650s on the StoryTerra map and explore its stories by place.
10 famous stories set in the 1650s
Live snapshot of the top 10 most popular catalogue items (2026-09-05). Click any card to open this entry on the live map.
Browse 19 books and 2 movies set in the 1650s (1650–1659).
Leviathan
'The life of man, solitary, poore, nasty, brutish, and short'Written during the chaos of the English Civil War, Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan asks how, in a world of violence and horror, can we stop ourselves from descending…
Robinson Crusoe
Daniel Defoe relates the tale of an English sailor marooned on a desert island for nearly three decades. An ordinary man struggling to survive in extraordinary circumstances, Robinson Crusoe wrestles with fate and the…
D’Artagnan’s Daughter
It is 1654 in the South of France. When horsemen follow a runaway slave into the convent where he's taken sanctuary and kill both the fugitive and the Mother Superior they little realise that one of the novices is the…
Fanny Lye Deliver'd
On an isolated English farm in 1657 Fanny lives a quiet life with her oppressive husband John and their young son. One day their life is rocked with the arrival of young couple Thomas and Rebecca who claim to have been…
The Hangman's Daughter
Magdalena, the clever and headstrong daughter of Bavarian hangman Jakob Kuisl, lives with her father outside the village walls and is destined to be married off to another hangman’s son—except that the town physician’s…
The Spinoza Problem
When sixteen-year-old Alfred Rosenberg is called into his headmaster’s office for anti-Semitic remarks he made during a school speech, he is forced, as punishment, to memorize passages about Spinoza from the…
Duncan's War
Young Duncan M'Kethe finds himself caught in the web of Sir James Turner, the former Covenanter turned military leader of the persecutors. Duncan is torn by his hatred of Turner's Dragoons, who have treated his friends…
The Preacher's Bride
In 1650s England, a young Puritan maiden is on a mission to save the baby of her newly widowed preacher—whether her assistance is wanted or not. Always ready to help those in need, Elizabeth ignores John's protests of…
The Coffee Trader
The Edgar Award–winning novel A Conspiracy of Paper was one of the most acclaimed debuts of 2000. In his richly suspenseful second novel, author David Liss once again travels back in time to a crucial moment in cultural…
Radical Enlightenment: Philosophy and the Making of Modernity 1650-1750
In the wake of the Scientific Revolution, the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw the complete demolition of traditional structures of authority, scientific thought, and belief by the new philosophy and the…
The 10 stories above are just a sample of the 21 in the catalogue for this entry. For the live 1650–1659 catalogue, use the button above — or browse the whole 17th century. On the live map you can also filter by the exact time the stories take place — any year, decade or century, from BCE to the future.
Relevant picks from this decade
Dutch Golden Age Amsterdam: 1600–1700 — A booming 17th-century trade hub full of artists, merchants, and explorers — inspiring many stories and paintings, from Vermeer's studios to tulip… Explore Dutch Golden Age Amsterdam: 1600–1700
Spanish Golden Age: 1500–1700 — A flourishing era of art, literature, and maritime expansion that made Spain a global power — Quixote's windmills, Lope's Madrid stages, Velázquez's… Explore Spanish Golden Age: 1500–1700
Edo Japan: 1603–1868 — Step back to Edo Japan, where samurai culture, ukiyo-e art, and strict social orders shaped a unique society rich in stories of honor and conflict.… Explore Edo Japan: 1603–1868
Colonial Canada: 1600–1867 — Early French and British colonial struggles, indigenous relations, and the birth of a nation rich in multicultural stories — coureurs des bois,… Explore Colonial Canada: 1600–1867
Historic Edinburgh: 1600–1900 — From medieval Old Town and the imposing castle to the intellectual vibrancy of the Scottish Enlightenment and beyond — a center of politics,… Explore Historic Edinburgh: 1600–1900
Mughal India: 1526–1857 — Step into the opulent world of the Mughal Empire, which ruled the Indian subcontinent for centuries — a golden age of art, architecture, and culture… Explore Mughal India: 1526–1857
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1640s · 17th century · Time hub · All places · 1660s