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Millennium:	2nd millennium
Centuries:	16th century – 17th century – 18th century
Decades:	1620s 1630s 1640s – 1650s – 1660s 1670s 1680s
Years:	1650 1651 1652 1653 1654 1655 1656 1657 1658 1659
Categories:	Births – Deaths – Architecture Establishments – Disestablishments

The 1650s decade ran from January 1, 1650, to December 31, 1659.

[edit] Significant events and trends

• Cape Town was founded by the Dutch East India Company in South Africa.
• The Anglo-Dutch Wars began.
• Oliver Cromwell took over England during an interregnum.
• 1655: Troops of Duke Charles Emmanuel II of Savoy massacred the Waldensians, prompting John Milton to compose the sonnet "On the Late Massacre in Piedmont".
• 1658: After his father Shah Jahan completed the Taj Mahal, his son Aurangzeb deposed him as ruler of the Mughal Empire and began a rule marked by strict reliance on Islam.
• The Quakers originated.
• The Northern Wars cemented Sweden's rise as a Great Power.

[edit] World leaders

• King Louis XIV of France (1643–1715).
• King Frederick III of Denmark (1648–1670).
• Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland (1653–1658).
• Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland (1658–1659).
• Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor (1637–1657).
• Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1658–1705).
• King John II of Poland (1649–1668).
• King John IV of Portugal (1640–1656).
• King Afonso VI of Portugal (1656–1667).
• Tsar Aleksey I of Russia (1645–1676).
• King Philip IV of Spain (1621–1665).
• Queen Christina of Sweden (1632–1654).
• King Charles X of Sweden (1654–1660).
• Mughal Empire

1. Padshah Shah Jahan(1628–1658)
2. Murad Baksh(1658)
3. Padshah Aurangazeb(1659–1707)