| 1607–1700 | North America, UK [food and drink] | Fruits introduced to the North American colonies from England include apples, which adapt well in New England, and peaches, which grow easily in Virginia and other warmer regions. Native vegetables like pumpkins, squash, and beans are favoured over European vegetables. |
| 1640–1700 | North America [literature and language] | Literacy rates in the colonies, particularly in New England, are high relative to those in the Old World. Shipton, New England has a 95% literacy rate; males in Virginia have a literacy rate between 54% and 60%. |
| 1689–1724 | UK [horse-racing] | The Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian, and the Godolphin Arab, the horses from which all modern thoroughbreds are descended in the male line, are imported to England from the Middle East and north Africa. |
| 1690–1692 | North America, UK [law and government] | King William III and Queen Mary II of Britain slowly establish their authority over the British colonies by issuing new charters. James II's policy of centralization and unification in North America is greatly watered down. |
| 1691 | North America [crime and punishment] | A ducking stool is used in New York City to punish scolds by plunging them into water. It is not used often there although it is a common punishment in the Southern United States. |
| 1691 | Rome [religion] | The Italian churchman Antonio Pignatelli is elected Pope Innocent XII. He is pope until 1700. |
| 13 January 1691 | England [births and deaths] | George Fox, English preacher and missionary, founder of the Society of Friends (Quakers), dies in London, England (66). |
| 23 June 1691 | Ottoman Empire [administration] | Ahmad II succeeds Süleyman III as sultan of the Ottoman Empire. |
| 12 July 1691 | Papal States, Italy [Catholicism] | Pope Innocent XII is elected following the death of Pope Alexander VIII. |
| 19 August 1691 | Holy Roman Empire, Ottoman Empire, Transylvania, Habsburg Monarchy [wars] | Imperial forces under Louis, Margrave of Baden, defeat the Ottoman Turks under Imre Thököly at Zalánkemén, completing the re-conquest of Transylvania. Mustafa Köprülü, the Grand Vizier, is killed in action. |
| 4 December 1691 | Transylvania, Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Habsburg Monarchy [administration] | After the battle of Zalánkemén, the Estates of Transylvania recognize the Habsburg kings as their ruler. The principality is not reincorporated into Hungary but is controlled directly from Vienna, in Austria. It is administered by an appointed governor and council, a situation that continues until 1848. |
| 30 December 1691 | Ireland, England [births and deaths] | Robert Boyle, Anglo-Irish chemist and natural philosopher, who conducted pioneering experiments on the properties of gases, dies in London, England (64). |
