In April 1644 the rebel leader Li Zicheng captured Beijing, and the last Ming emperor, Chongzhen, hanged himself on a hill behind the Forbidden City. The Ming general Wu Sangui, defending the Great Wall at Shanhai Pass, chose to ally with the Manchus rather than the rebels and let their army through. On 6 June the regent Dorgon entered Beijing, defeated Li and proclaimed the Qing dynasty, and the young Shunzhi Emperor was enthroned in October. The Manchus conquered the rest of China by 1683 and ruled until 1912, forcing Chinese men to wear the queue braid. The Qing expanded the empire to its largest extent.
Before and after
- 25 December 1642Birth of Isaac Newton
- 1643Barometer
- from 23 February 1643 to 30 August 1645Kieft's War
- 1644Birth of Matsuo Bashō
- June 1644The Manchus take Beijing and found Qing rule
- from September 1644 to July 1645Sieges of Taunton
- from 23 June 1645 to 1 January 1669Cretan War of 1645-1669
- 21 June 1646Birth of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
- from 1648 to 1657Khmelnytsky Uprising
More in Civilizations & archaeology
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- from 1543 to 1687Scientific Revolution
- from 1613 to 1762House of Romanov
- 1748Excavations begin at Pompeii
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.