Oh really?
Yes, really.
They were making solar observations back then?
Yes they were.
There is a disconnect in this statement.
The only disconnect is the one between your lack of knowledge on this topic and the amount of scorn you direct at those who actually do know something about the topic.
Galileo was making detailed records of sunspots starting in 1610. That's still in the 17th century the last time I checked. Here's one of his many documents on his observations:
That's the pattern of sunspots on July 6, 1613. Here's a movie made from Galileo's detailed drawings of the sunspots from each day over the course of one month (June 2 through July 8, 1613): http://galileo.rice.edu/sci/observations/ssm_fast.mov
And Galileo wasn't the only one recording sunspots. Thomas Harriot also made records of sunspot activity. For example, here are his notes for the sunspots of December 1610:
Christoph Scheiner was also recording sunspots in the 1600's. Here are some of his notes from October 1611:
Here's a page from Scheiner's massive volume of solar observations, "Rosa Ursina", published in 1630:
Johannes Hevelius made his own records of sunspot activity, such as this one from 1644:
Also recording sunspots in the 1600's were Pierre Gassendi, Giovanni Battista Riccioli, Benedetto Castelli, and Johannes and David Fabricius, among others.
Many of these men used a device such as the helioscope, which allowed for extremely accurate observations and the direct recording of sunspot locations onto paper:
For a Java apple that lets you view the monthly sunspot data for any date between 1750 and 2000, see this webpage.
So yes, Virginia, there really is detailed sunspot data available for as far back as the 17th century, despite your uninformed incredulity and sarcasm.