Historical Events May 17 Pirates sack Velacruz, New Spain, taking 4,000 prisoners for ransom May 21 West Indian Company sells 1/3 of Suriname Events in 1683 Famous Deaths May 2 Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (b. 1613) Apr 1683 History by Year Jun 1683 Famous People Who Were Authors Dictators Explorers Outlaws Queens Spies