to Frederick Henry. As a result of the capture of this key fortress, Spain's situation along the Spanish–Dutch border worsens greatly. September 20 – 1629–1631 Italian plague: the plague arrives in the nation-state of Milan as German soldiers are granted a stay at the Forte di Fuentes. September 22 – (5 Safar 1039 AH) Ahmad ibn Abd al-Muttalib, who had become Emir of Mecca and King of the Hejaz by force 16 months earlier, is assassinated by order of Kansuh Pasha, Governor of Yemen. September 25 – Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629): Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth sign the Truce of Altmark, ending the war in highly favourable terms for Sweden. October–December October 2 – In what is now the state of Western Australia, administered at the time by the Dutch East India Company, seven members of the crew of the Batavia are hanged on the Abrolhos Islands for their massacre of 125 passengers and crew. October 24 – Portuguese Navy Captain Pedro Teixeira leads 2,000 men in the capture of Fort Taurege from England in what is now Brazil. November 30 – The St Etienne baronets British nobility title is created. December 22 – (Kan'ei 6, 8th day of the 11th month) Emperor Go-Mizunoo of Japan abdicates the throne in favor of his daughter, Princess Okiko, who becomes Empress Meishō. December 23 – Giovanni I Cornaro, Doge of the Republic of Venice since 1625, dies and is succeeded by Nicolò Contarini. Undated Fort San Domingo is built in Formosa by the Spanish settlers. Chongzhen, the Chinese emperor of the Ming dynasty, reiterates the state prohibition against female infanticide, while the empire and the Chinese economy begins to crumble. In the same year, a third of the courier stations are closed down due to lack of government funds to sustain them. The rule of Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba ends. Actresses are banned in Japan. William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling briefly establishes a Scottish colony at Port Royal, Nova Scotia. Births January–March January 2 – Christian Scriver, German hymnwriter (d. 1693) January 8 – Sir William Hickman, 2nd Baronet, Member of the House of Commons of England (d. 1682) January 13 – Lelio Colista, Italian composer and lutenist (d. 1680) January 16 – Theodorick Bland of Westover, American politician (d. 1671) January 23 – Adolph, Prince of Nassau-Schaumburg and Count of Nassau-Schaumburg (1653–1676) (d. 1676) February 5 – Henry Muddiman, English