A Year In History: 1690

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This Year in History:

1690

Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 10

First paper currency is issued in the Colonies

On December 10, 1690, a failed attack on Quebec and subsequent near-mutiny force the Massachusetts Bay Colony to issue the first paper currency in the history of the Western Hemisphere. France and Britain periodically attacked each other’s North American colonies throughout the 17th and 18th Centuries. In 1690, during one such war, Governor William Phips […]