the Grand Alliance. October 20 – The Imperial Russian Navy is founded on the recommendation of Tsar Peter the Great and approval by the Russian Duma. November 9 – A total lunar eclipse is visible in North and South America. November 12 – Hand in Hand Fire & Life Insurance Society, as predecessor to Aviva, is founded in England. November 21 – John Vanbrugh's play The Relapse is first performed in London. November 25 – In England, the House of Commons approves the bill of attainder to convict Sir John Fenwick of high treason for plotting to lead the assassination of and coup d'état against King William III, on its third and final reading, voting 187 to 161 in favor of conviction. The measure then moves to the House of Lords. November 30 – Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville captures and destroys St. John's, Newfoundland after a three-day siege. December 7 – Connecticut Route 108, one of Connecticut's oldest highways is laid-out to Trumbull. December 19 – Jean-François Regnard's verse comedy Le Joueur ("The Gamester") premieres in Paris. December 23 – By a vote of 66 to 60, the English House of Lords approves the bill of attainder for the conviction of Sir John Fenwick for high treason. Fenwick is beheaded on January 28, 1697. December 24 – The Inquisition in Portugal carries out the sentence of burning at the stake against several Marrano Jews in Évora. Date unknown The Great Famine of 1695–1697 wipes out almost a third of the population of Finland, while the Great Famine of Estonia (1695–97) takes out a fifth of the population of Estonia; and the "seven ill years" of famine in Scotland are ongoing. Polish replaces Ruthenian as an official language of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Abington, Pennsylvania, is settled. William Penn offers an elaborate plan for intercolonial cooperation largely in trade, defense, and criminal matters. Edward Lloyd (coffeehouse owner) probably begins publication of Lloyd's News, a predecessor of Lloyd's List, in London. Window tax was introduced in England and Wales and remained in force until 1851. A New Theory of the Earth, a book by William Whiston, is published and is well received by intellectuals of the day. The Bank of Scotland becomes the first bank in Europe to successfully issue paper currency. Births January–March January 5 – Giuseppe Galli Bibiena, Italian artist (d. 1757) January 8 – Étienne Parrocel, French painter