Welcome to the 1600s! The decade was a period of significant political, scientific, and artistic advancement. European Colonies such as Virginia were established in the late 1600s. Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler made significant contributions to science and astronomy. The Polish-Swedish War saw the Battle of Kokenhausen in 1601, where Polish horsemen led by Krzysztof Radziwiłł defeated Swedish attackers under Carl Gyllenhielm. (The term "sixteen-hundreds" could also mean the entire century from 1 January 1600 to 31 December 1699.)