Editing 1659 (section)

=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 14]] &ndash; In the [[Battle of the Lines of Elvas]], fought near the small city of [[Elvas]] in [[Portugal]] during the [[Portuguese Restoration War]], the Spanish Army under the command of [[Luis Méndez de Haro]] suffers heavy casualties, with over 11,000 of its nearly 16,000 soldiers killed, wounded or taken prisoner; the smaller Portuguese force of 10,500 troops, commanded by [[André de Albuquerque Ribafria]] (who is killed in the battle) suffers less than 900 casualties.<ref>Luis de Menezes, ''Historia de Portugal Restaurado'', Volume III (Joseph Filippe Publishing, 1759) p. 229</ref>
* [[January 24]] &ndash; [[Pierre Corneille]]'s ''Oedipe'' premieres in Paris.
* [[January 27]] &ndash; The third and final session of the [[Third Protectorate Parliament|Parliament]] of the [[Commonwealth of England|Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland]] is opened by Lord Protector [[Richard Cromwell]], with [[Chaloner Chute]] as the Speaker of the House of Commons, with 567 members. "[[Cromwell's Other House]]", which replaces the House of Lords during the last years of the Protectorate, opens on the same day, with Richard Cromwell as its speaker.  
* [[January 31]] &ndash; [[Giovanna De Grandis]] is arrested in [[Rome]] and charged with trafficking the lethal [[Aqua Tofana]] poison. On February 2, she implicates the mastermind of the poisoners, [[Gironima Spana]], starting the case of the [[Spana Prosecution]] that eventually leads to the arrest and trial of 40 people.<ref name=Monson>Craig A. Monson, ''The Black Widows of the Eternal City: The True Story of Rome’s Most Infamous Poisoners'' (University of Michigan Press, 2020)</ref>
* [[February 2]] &ndash; [[Jan van Riebeeck]] produces the first South African wine, at the Cape of Good Hope.
* [[February 11]] &ndash; The [[Assault on Copenhagen (1659)|Assault on Copenhagen]] by [[Sweden|Swedish]] forces is beaten back, with heavy losses.
* [[February 16]] &ndash; The first known [[cheque]] (400 pounds) is written.<ref>On display at [[Westminster Abbey]].</ref>
* [[March 1]] &ndash; In exile in the Netherlands while plotting the restoration of the monarchy to England, Scotland and Ireland, [[Charles II of England|Charles, son of the late King Charles I]] appoints seven royalists (including six from the "[[Sealed Knot]]" group) to a "Great Trust and Commission" to make plans for a post-restoration government. The Great Trust is led by Charles's trusted advisor, [[Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon|Edward Hyde]]. 
* [[March 9]] &ndash; Sir [[Lislebone Long]] is elected as the Speaker of the House of Commons by the [[Third Protectorate Parliament]] after [[Chaloner Chute]] becomes seriously ill. Long serves only six days before dying on March 16. Chute remains Speaker but dies on April 14 and is replaced by [[Thomas Bampfield]].
* [[March 11]] &ndash; Prince [[Dara Shikoh]], who had been the heir apparent to the throne of the [[Mughal Empire]] in [[India]] until the overthrow of his father, [[Shah Jahan]], makes a stand near [[Ajmer]] to fight the armies sent by Mughal Emperor [[Aurangzeb]], but loses and is forced to flee.
* [[March 28]] &ndash; The [[Danish Africa Company]] (''Dansk afrikanske kompagni'') is chartered to [[Hendrik Carloff]] for the purpose of capturing Africa slaves from the area around Denmark's colony on the [[Danish Gold Coast]] for use in the West Indies.