Hans Sloane Begins Voyage to Jamaica
Hans Sloane boards a Royal Navy frigate at Portsmouth to begin a voyage to Barbados and Jamaica in which he observed both the wildlife of the islands and the treatment of enslaved people. His journey was written up years later in his celebrated two-volume A Voyage to Jamaica (London, 1707, 1725).
James II Issues Declaration of Indulgence
James II issued his Declaration of Indulgence for Nonconformists and sent agents to find potential Parliament members who would vote for repeal of the Test Acts.