The 18th century lasted from January 1,
1701 (
MDCCI) to December 31,
1800 (
MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of
Enlightenment thinking culminated in the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
,
French, and
Haitian Revolutions. During the century,
slave trading
The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and Slavery and religion, religions from Ancient history, ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The socia ...
and
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
expanded across the shores of the
Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
, while declining in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, and
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures, including the structures and beliefs that
supported slavery. The
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
began during mid-century, leading to radical changes in
human society
A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Societ ...
and the
environment
Environment most often refers to:
__NOTOC__
* Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally
* Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...
.
Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th century may be defined as 1715–1789, denoting the period of time between the death of
Louis XIV of France
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Versa ...
and the start of the French Revolution, with an emphasis on directly interconnected events. To historians who expand the century to include larger historical movements, the "long" 18th century
may run from the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...
of 1688 to the
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...
in
1815
Events
January
* January 2 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England.
* January 3 – Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussi ...
or even later.
The period is also known as the "century of lights" or the "century of reason". In continental Europe, philosophers dreamed of a brighter age. For some, this dream turned into a reality with the French Revolution of 1789, though this was later compromised by the excesses of the
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...
. At first, many monarchies of Europe embraced Enlightenment ideals, but in the wake of the French Revolution they feared loss of power and formed broad coalitions to oppose the
French Republic
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
in the
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
.
The 18th century also marked the end of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
as an independent state. Its semi-democratic government system was not robust enough to rival the neighboring states of the
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, which
partitioned the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth between themselves, changing the landscape of
Central Europe
Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the area' ...
and politics for the next hundred years.
The
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
experienced an unprecedented period of peace and economic expansion, taking part in no European wars from 1740 to 1768. As a consequence, the empire was not exposed to Europe's military improvements of the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
. The Ottoman Empire military may have fallen behind and suffered several defeats against Russia in the second half of the century. In
Southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
and
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
,
Nader Shah led successful military campaigns and major invasions, which indirectly led to the founding of the
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
.
The
European colonization of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short ter ...
and other parts of the world intensified and associated mass migrations of people grew in size as part of the
Age of Sail
The Age of Sail is a period that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid- 15th) to the mid- 19th centuries, in which the dominance of sailing ships in global trade and warfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction of naval ...
. European colonization intensified in present-day
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
, where the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
established increasing levels of control over the
Mataram Sultanate. Mainland Southeast Asia would be embroiled in the
Konbaung–Ayutthaya Wars and the
Tây Sơn rebellion, while in East Asia, the century marked the
High Qing era and the continual
seclusion policies of the
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate (, Japanese 徳川幕府 ''Tokugawa bakufu''), also known as the , was the military government of Japan during the Edo period from 1603 to 1868. Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Tokugawa-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia ...
.
Various conflicts throughout the century, including the
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
and the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
saw
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
triumphing over its European rivals to become the preeminent colonial power in Europe. However, Britain lost its
colonies in North America after the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, which went on to form the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, initiating the
decolonization of the Americas. The European colonization of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
began during the late half of the century.
In the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
, the death of
Mughal emperor
The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
marked the end of
medieval India
Medieval India refers to a long period of Post-classical history of the Indian subcontinent between the "ancient period" and "modern period". It is usually regarded as running approximately from the breakup of the Gupta Empire in the 6th cent ...
and the beginning of an increasing level of European
influence and control in the region, which coincided with a period of rapid
Maratha expansion. By the middle of the century, the
British East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
began to conquer the eastern parts of India, a process which accelerated after their victory over the
Nawab of Bengal
The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...
and their
French allies at the
Battle of Plassey. By the end of the century,
Company rule in India
Company rule in India (sometimes, Company ''Raj'', from hi, rāj, lit=rule) refers to the rule of the British East India Company on the Indian subcontinent. This is variously taken to have commenced in 1757, after the Battle of Plassey, when ...
had come to cover more regions within
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
, the British would also expand to the south, participating in the
Anglo-Mysore Wars
The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of four wars fought during the last three decades of the 18th century between the Kingdom of Mysore#Under Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan, Sultanate of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company (r ...
against the
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a realm in South India, southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. From 1799 until 1950, it was a princely state, until 1947 in a subsidiary allia ...
, governed by
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...
and his father
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali ( حیدر علی, ''Haidarālī''; 1720 – 7 December 1782) was the Sultan and ''de facto'' ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born as Hyder Ali, he distinguished himself as a soldier, eventually drawing the att ...
.
Events
1701–1750
*
1700–
1721:
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
between the
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
and
Swedish Empire
The Swedish Empire was a European great power that exercised territorial control over much of the Baltic region during the 17th and early 18th centuries ( sv, Stormaktstiden, "the Era of Great Power"). The beginning of the empire is usually ta ...
s.
*
1701:
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Re ...
declared under King
Frederick I Frederick I may refer to:
* Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht.
* Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978)
* Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105)
* Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...
.
*
1701–
1714: The
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
is fought, involving most of continental
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
.
*
1702–
1715:
Camisard rebellion in France.
*
1703:
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
is founded by
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
; it is the Russian
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
until
1918.
*
1703–
1711
In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...
: The
Rákóczi uprising
The House of Rákóczi (older spelling Rákóczy) was a Hungarian noble family in the Kingdom of Hungary between the 13th century and 18th century. Their name is also spelled ''Rákoci'' (in Slovakia), ''Rakoczi'' and ''Rakoczy'' in some forei ...
against the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
.
*
1704
In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Friday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 7 – Partial solar eclipse, Solar Saros 146, is visible in ...
: End of Japan's
Genroku
was a after Jōkyō and before Hōei. The Genroku period spanned the years from the ninth month of 1688 to the third month of 1704. The reigning emperor was .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834). ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 415.
The period was ...
period.
*
1704
In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Friday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 7 – Partial solar eclipse, Solar Saros 146, is visible in ...
:
First Javanese War of Succession
The First Javanese War of Succession was a struggle between Sultan Amangkurat III of Mataram and the Dutch East India Company who supported the claim of the Sultan's uncle, Pangeran Puger to the throne.
Amangkurat II died in 1703 and was brie ...
.
[Ricklefs (1991), page 82]
*
1706–
1713: The
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
: French troops defeated at the battles of
Ramillies and
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
.
*
1707: Death of Mughal Emperor
Aurangzeb
Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...
leads to the fragmentation of the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
.
*
1707: The
Act of Union is passed, merging the Scottish and English Parliaments, thus establishing the
Kingdom of Great Britain
The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...
.
*
1708: The
Company of Merchants of London Trading into the East Indies and English Company Trading to the East Indies merge to form the United Company of Merchants of England Trading to the East Indies.
*
1708–
1709: Famine kills one-third of
East Prussia
East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
's population.
*
1709: Foundation of the
Hotak Afghan Empire.
*
1709: The
Great Frost of 1709
The Great Frost, as it was known in England, or ' ("The Great Winter"), as it was known in France, was an extraordinarily cold winter in Europe in 1708–1709,. and was the coldest European winter during the past 500 years.
Notability
William ...
marks the coldest winter in 500 years, contributing to the defeat of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
at
Poltava
Poltava (, ; uk, Полтава ) is a city located on the Vorskla River in central Ukraine. It is the capital city of the Poltava Oblast (province) and of the surrounding Poltava Raion (district) of the oblast. Poltava is administratively ...
.
*
1710: The world's first
copyright legislation
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
,
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
's
Statute of Anne
The Statute of Anne, also known as the Copyright Act 1710 (cited either as 8 Ann. c. 21 or as 8 Ann. c. 19), was an act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed in 1710, which was the first statute to provide for copyright regulated by the g ...
, takes effect.
*
1710–
1711
In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...
:
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
fights Russia in the
Russo-Turkish War
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
and regains
Azov
Azov (russian: Азов), previously known as Azak,
is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. Population:
History
Early settlements in the vicinity
The mo ...
.
*
1711
In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...
:
Bukhara Khanate dissolves as local begs seize power.
*
1711
In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...
–
1715:
Tuscarora War
The Tuscarora War was fought in North Carolina from September 10, 1711 until February 11, 1715 between the Tuscarora people and their allies on one side and European American settlers, the Yamassee, and other allies on the other. This was con ...
between British, Dutch, and German settlers and the
Tuscarora people
The Tuscarora (in Tuscarora ''Skarù:ręˀ'', "hemp gatherers" or "Shirt-Wearing People") are a Native American tribe and First Nations band government of the Iroquoian family, with members today in New York, USA, and Ontario, Canada. They c ...
of
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
.
*
1713: The
Kangxi Emperor
The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...
acknowledges the full recovery of the Chinese economy since its apex during the
Ming
The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...
.
*
1714: In Amsterdam,
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit FRS (; ; 24 May 1686 – 16 September 1736) was a physicist, inventor, and scientific instrument maker. Born in Poland to a family of German extraction, he later moved to the Dutch Republic at age 15, where he spen ...
invents the
mercury-in-glass thermometer
The mercury-in-glass or mercury thermometer was invented by physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in Amsterdam (1714). It consists of a bulb containing mercury attached to a glass tube of narrow diameter; the volume of mercury in the tube is much ...
, which remains the most reliable and accurate thermometer until the electronic era.
*
1715: The
first Jacobite rising breaks out; the British halt the Jacobite advance at the
Battle of Sheriffmuir;
Battle of Preston.
*
1716: Establishment of the
Sikh Confederacy
The Misls (derived from an Arabic word مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent and is cit ...
along the present-day India-
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
border.
*
1716–
1718:
Austro-Venetian-Turkish War.
*
1718: The city of
is founded by the French in North America.
*
1718–
1720:
War of the Quadruple Alliance
The War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) was caused by Spanish attempts to recover territories in Italy (geographical region), Italy ceded in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Largely focused on Sicily, it included minor engagements in North Amer ...
between Spain, France, Britain, Austria, and the Netherlands.
*
1718–
1730:
Tulip period
The Tulip Period, or Tulip Era (Ottoman Turkish: لاله دورى, tr, Lâle Devri), is a period in Ottoman history from the Treaty of Passarowitz on 21 July 1718 to the Patrona Halil Revolt on 28 September 1730. This was a relatively peacef ...
of the Ottoman Empire.
*
1719
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Carolean Death March begins: A catastrophic retreat by a largely-Finnish Swedish- Carolean army under the command of Carl Gustaf Armfeldt across the Tydal mountains in a blizzard kills around 3,7 ...
:
Second Javanese War of Succession
The Second Javanese War of Succession was a struggle between Sultan Amangkurat IV of Mataram supported by the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: ''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie'', VOC) against the rebellion of rival Princes who contested his ...
.
[Ricklefs (1991), page 84]
*
1720: The
South Sea Bubble
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
.
*
1720–
1721: The
Great Plague of Marseille.
*
1720: Qing forces oust
Dzungar
Dzungar may refer to:
*Dzungar people, Oirat tribes in the Dzungar Khanate
*Dzungar Khanate, a historical empire
* Jungar Banner, an administrative division of China
*Junggar Basin
The Junggar Basin () is one of the largest sedimentary basins in ...
invaders from
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
.
*
1721: The
Treaty of Nystad
The Treaty of Nystad (russian: Ништадтский мир; fi, Uudenkaupungin rauha; sv, Freden i Nystad; et, Uusikaupunki rahu) was the last peace treaty of the Great Northern War of 1700–1721. It was concluded between the Tsardom of ...
is signed, ending the
Great Northern War
The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was a conflict in which a coalition led by the Tsardom of Russia successfully contested the supremacy of the Swedish Empire in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. The initial leaders of the anti-Swedi ...
.
*
1721:
Sack of Shamakhi
The Sack of Shamakhi took place on 18 August 1721, when rebellious Sunni Lezgins, within the declining Safavid Empire, attacked the capital of Shirvan province, Shamakhi (in present-day Azerbaijan Republic). The initially successful counter-cam ...
, massacre of its Shia population by
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
Lezgins
Lezgins or Leks ( lez, Лезгияр, Лекьер. lezgijar) are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group native predominantly to southern Dagestan, a republic of Russia, and northeastern Azerbaijan. The Lezgin are predominantly Sunni Muslims and s ...
.
*
1722:
Siege of Isfahan
The siege of Isfahan was a six-month-long siege of Isfahan, the capital of the Safavid dynasty of Iran, by the Hotaki-led Afghan army. It lasted from March to October 1722 and resulted in the city's fall and the beginning of the end of the Safavid ...
results in the handover of Iran to the
Hotaki Afghans.
*
1722–
1723
Events
January–March
* January 25 – British pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Signiora de Victoria''. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than s ...
:
Russo-Persian War.
*
1722–
1725: Controversy over
William Wood William Wood may refer to:
Politicians
* William Wood (MP for Berkshire), Member of Parliament (MP) for Berkshire, 1395
* William Wood (15th century MP), MP for Winchester, 1413
* William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley (1801–1881), British state ...
's halfpence leads to the ''
Drapier's Letters
''Drapier's Letters'' is the collective name for a series of seven pamphlets written between 1724 and 1725 by the Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin, Jonathan Swift, to arouse public opinion in Ireland against the imposition of a priv ...
'' and begins the Irish economic independence from England movement.
*
1723
Events
January–March
* January 25 – British pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Signiora de Victoria''. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than s ...
:
Slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
is abolished in Russia;
Peter the Great
Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...
converts household
slaves into house
serfs.
*
1723
Events
January–March
* January 25 – British pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Signiora de Victoria''. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than s ...
–
1730: The "Great Disaster", an invasion of
Kazakh territories by the
Dzungars
The Dzungar people (also written as Zunghar; from the Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') were the many Mongol Oirat tribes who formed and maintained the Dzungar Khanate in the 17th and 18th centuries. Historically they were one of major tr ...
.
*
1723
Events
January–March
* January 25 – British pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Signiora de Victoria''. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than s ...
–
1732
Events
January–March
* January 21 – Russia and Persia sign the Treaty of Riascha at Resht. Based on the terms of the agreement, Russia will no longer establish claims over Persian territories.
* February 9 – The Swedish ...
: The Qing and the Dzungars fight a series of wars across
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
,
Dzungaria
Dzungaria (; from the Mongolian language, Mongolian words , meaning 'left hand') is a geographical subregion in Northwest China that corresponds to the northern half of Xinjiang. It is thus also known as Beijiang, which means "Northern Xinjiang" ...
, and
Outer Mongolia, with inconclusive results.
*
1724:
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit FRS (; ; 24 May 1686 – 16 September 1736) was a physicist, inventor, and scientific instrument maker. Born in Poland to a family of German extraction, he later moved to the Dutch Republic at age 15, where he spen ...
proposes the
Fahrenheit
The Fahrenheit scale () is a temperature scale based on one proposed in 1724 by the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736). It uses the degree Fahrenheit (symbol: °F) as the unit. Several accounts of how he originally defined his ...
temperature scale.
*
1725:
Austro-Spanish alliance revived. Russia joins in 1726.
*
1727–
1729:
Anglo-Spanish War ends inconclusively.
*
1730:
Mahmud I takes over Ottoman Empire after the
Patrona Halil
Patrona Halil ( sq, Halil Patrona, tr, Patrona Halil; c. 1690 in Hrupishta – November 25, 1730 in Constantinople) was the instigator of a mob uprising in 1730 which replaced Sultan Ahmed III with Mahmud I and ended the Tulip period.Altına ...
revolt, ending the
Tulip period
The Tulip Period, or Tulip Era (Ottoman Turkish: لاله دورى, tr, Lâle Devri), is a period in Ottoman history from the Treaty of Passarowitz on 21 July 1718 to the Patrona Halil Revolt on 28 September 1730. This was a relatively peacef ...
.
*
1730–
1760: The
First Great Awakening
The First Great Awakening (sometimes Great Awakening) or the Evangelical Revival was a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affecte ...
takes place in Great Britain and North America.
*
1732
Events
January–March
* January 21 – Russia and Persia sign the Treaty of Riascha at Resht. Based on the terms of the agreement, Russia will no longer establish claims over Persian territories.
* February 9 – The Swedish ...
–
1734:
Crimean Tatar raids into Russia.
*
1733
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Borommarachathirat V becomes King of Siam (now Thailand) upon the death of King Sanphet IX.
* January 27 – George Frideric Handel's classic opera, ''Orlando'' is performed for ...
–
1738:
War of the Polish Succession
The War of the Polish Succession ( pl, Wojna o sukcesję polską; 1733–35) was a major European conflict sparked by a Polish civil war over the succession to Augustus II of Poland, which the other European powers widened in pursuit of thei ...
.
*
1735–
1739:
Austro-Russo-Turkish War.
*
1735–
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* January ...
: The
Qianlong Emperor
The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 t ...
of China oversees a huge expansion in territory.
*
1738–
1756:
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...
across the
Sahel
The Sahel (; ar, ساحل ' , "coast, shore") is a region in North Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid c ...
; half the population of
Timbuktu
Timbuktu ( ; french: Tombouctou;
Koyra Chiini: ); tmh, label=Tuareg, script=Tfng, ⵜⵏⴱⴾⵜ, Tin Buqt a city in Mali, situated north of the Niger River. The town is the capital of the Tombouctou Region, one of the eight administrativ ...
dies.
*
1737
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Spain and the Holy Roman Empire sign instruments of cession at Pontremoli in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in Italy, with the Empire receiving control of Tuscany and the Grand Duchy of Parma a ...
–
1738: Hotaki Afghan Empire ends after the
Siege of Kandahar
The siege of Kandahar began when Nader Shah's Afsharid army invaded southern Afghanistan to topple the last Hotaki stronghold of Loy Kandahar, which was held by Hussain Hotaki. It took place in the Old Kandahar area of the modern city of Kanda ...
by
Nader Shah.
*
1739: Great Britain and Spain fight the
War of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear, or , was a conflict lasting from 1739 to 1748 between Britain and the Spanish Empire. The majority of the fighting took place in New Granada and the Caribbean Sea, with major operations largely ended by 1742. It is con ...
in the Caribbean.
*
1739: Nader Shah defeats a pan-Indian army of 300,000 at the
Battle of Karnal
The Battle of Karnal (24 February 1739), was a decisive victory for Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran, during his invasion of India. Nader's forces defeated the army of Muhammad Shah within three hours, paving the way fo ...
. Taxation is stopped in Iran for three years.
*
1739–
1740:
Nader Shah's Sindh expedition.
*
1740:
Great Awakening,
George Whitefield
George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an Anglican cleric and evangelist who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement.
Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke College at th ...
*
1740–
1741
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township.
* February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...
:
Famine in Ireland kills 20 percent of the population.
*
1741
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township.
* February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...
–
1743: Iran invades
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...
,
Khwarazm
Khwarazm (; Old Persian: ''Hwârazmiya''; fa, خوارزم, ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the ea ...
,
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
, and
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
.
*
1741
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township.
* February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...
–
1751:
Maratha invasions of Bengal
The Maratha invasions of Bengal (1741-1751), also known as the Maratha expeditions in Bengal, refers to the frequent invasions by the Maratha forces in the Bengal Subah (Bengal, Bihar, parts of modern Orissa), after their successful campaign i ...
.
*
1740–
1748:
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession () was a European conflict that took place between 1740 and 1748. Fought primarily in Central Europe, the Austrian Netherlands, Italy, the Atlantic and Mediterranean, related conflicts included King George's W ...
.
*
1742:
**
Marvel's Mill
Marvel's Mill (or Marvell's Mill) on the River Nene in Northampton, England, was the world's second factory for spinning cotton, the first to be operated as a water mill, and the first to be driven by an inanimate power-source. Opened by Edward ...
, the first water-powered
cotton mill
A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning (textiles), spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system.
Althou ...
, begins operation in England.
**
Anders Celsius
Anders Celsius (; 27 November 170125 April 1744) was a Swedish astronomer, physicist and mathematician. He was professor of astronomy at Uppsala University from 1730 to 1744, but traveled from 1732 to 1735 visiting notable observatories in Germ ...
proposes an inverted form of the centigrade temperature, which is later renamed
Celsius
The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius scale (originally known as the centigrade scale outside Sweden), one of two temperature scales used in the International System of Units (SI), the other being the Kelvin scale. The ...
in his honor.
*
1742: Premiere of
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's
''Messiah''
*
1743–
1746: Another
Ottoman-Persian War involves 375,000 men but ultimately ends in a stalemate.
*
1744
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Royal Navy ship ''Bacchus'' engages the Spanish Navy privateer ''Begona'', and sinks it; 90 of the 120 Spanish sailors die, but 30 of the crew are rescued.
* January 24 – The Dag ...
: The
First Saudi State
The Emirate of Diriyah (), also known as the First Saudi State, was established in February 1727 (1139 AH). In 1744, the emir of Najdi town called Diriyah Muhammad bin Saud and the religious leader Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab formed an alliance ...
is founded by
Mohammed Ibn Saud
Muhammad bin Saud Al Muqrin ( ''Muḥammad bin Suʿūd Āl Muqrin''; 1687–1765), also known as Ibn Saud, was the emir of Diriyah and is considered the founder of the First Saudi State and the Saud dynasty, which are named for his father, Saud ...
.
*
1744
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Royal Navy ship ''Bacchus'' engages the Spanish Navy privateer ''Begona'', and sinks it; 90 of the 120 Spanish sailors die, but 30 of the crew are rescued.
* January 24 – The Dag ...
:
Battle of Toulon is fought off the coast of France.
*
1744
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Royal Navy ship ''Bacchus'' engages the Spanish Navy privateer ''Begona'', and sinks it; 90 of the 120 Spanish sailors die, but 30 of the crew are rescued.
* January 24 – The Dag ...
–
1748: The
First Carnatic War
The First Carnatic War (1740–1748) was the Indian theatre of the War of the Austrian Succession and the first of a series of Carnatic Wars that established early British dominance on the east coast of the Indian subcontinent. In this conflict ...
is fought between the British, the French, the
Marathas
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
, and
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
in India.
*
1745
Events
January–March
* January 7 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Austrian Army, under the command of Field Marshal Károly József Batthyány, makes a surprise attack at Amberg and the winter quarters of the Bavaria ...
:
Second Jacobite rising
The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took p ...
is begun by
Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...
in Scotland.
*
1747: The
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
is founded by
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
.
*
1748: The
Treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle ends the War of the Austrian Succession and First Carnatic War.
*
1748–
1754: The
Second Carnatic War
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India's coastal Carnatic region, a dependency of Hyderabad State, India. Three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1744 and 1763.
The conflicts involved ...
is fought between the British, the French, the
Marathas
The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...
, and
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
in India.
*
1750: Peak of the
Little Ice Age.
1751–1800
*
1754: The Treaty of Pondicherry ends the Second Carnatic War and recognizes
Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah
Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah, or Muhammed Ali, Wallajah (7 July 1717 – 13 October 1795), was the Nawab of the Carnatic from 1749 until his death in 1795.
He declared himself Nawab in 1749. This position was disputed between Wallajah and Ch ...
as
Nawab of the Carnatic
The Carnatic Sultanate was a kingdom in South India between about 1690 and 1855, and was under the legal purview of the Nizam of Hyderabad, until their demise. They initially had their capital at Arcot in the present-day Indian state of Tamil N ...
.
*
1754:
King's College is founded by a royal charter of
George II of Great Britain
, house = Hanover
, religion = Protestant
, father = George I of Great Britain
, mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle
, birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683
, birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...
.
*
1754–
1763: The
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, the North American chapter of the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
, is fought in colonial North America, mostly by the French and their allies against the English and their allies.
*
1755: The
great Lisbon earthquake destroys most of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
's capital and kills up to 100,000.
*
1755: The
Dzungar genocide
The Dzungar genocide () was the mass extermination of the Mongol Dzungar people by the Qing dynasty. The Qianlong Emperor ordered the genocide due to the rebellion in 1755 by Dzungar leader Amursana against Qing rule, after the dynasty first co ...
depopulates much of northern Xinjiang, allowing for Han, Uyghur, Khalkha Mongol, and Manchu colonization.
*
1755–
1763: The
Great Upheaval
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian pe ...
forces transfer of the French Acadian population from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
*
1756–
1763: The
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
is fought among European powers in various theaters around the world.
*
1756–
1763: The
Third Carnatic War
The Carnatic Wars were a series of military conflicts in the middle of the 18th century in India's coastal Carnatic region, a dependency of Hyderabad State, India. Three Carnatic Wars were fought between 1744 and 1763.
The conflicts involved ...
is fought between the British, the French, and
Mysore
Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...
in India.
*
1757:
British conquest of Bengal.
*
1760:
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
becomes King of Britain.
*
1761: Maratha Empire defeated at
Battle of Panipat.
*
1762–
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
: Reign of
Catherine the Great
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
of Russia.
*
1763: The
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
ends the Seven Years' War and Third Carnatic War.
*
1764: The Mughals are defeated at the
Battle of Buxar.
*
1765: The
Stamp Act is introduced into the
American colonies by the British Parliament.
*
1765–1767: The
Burmese invade Thailand and utterly destroy
Attuthaya.
*
1765–
1769:
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
under
Hsinbyushin
Hsinbyushin ( my, ဆင်ဖြူရှင်, , ; th, พระเจ้ามังระ; 12 September 1736 – 10 June 1776) was king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1763 to 1776. The second son of the dynasty founder Al ...
repels
four invasions from Qing China, securing hegemony over the
Shan states
The Shan States (1885–1948) were a collection of minor Shan kingdoms called ''muang'' whose rulers bore the title ''saopha'' in British Burma. They were analogous to the princely states of British India.
The term "Shan States" was firs ...
.
*
1766:
Christian VII
Christian VII (29 January 1749 – 13 March 1808) was a monarch of the House of Oldenburg who was King of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Duchy of Schleswig, Schleswig and Duchy of Holstein, Holstein from 1766 until his death in 1808. For his motto ...
becomes king of Denmark. He was
king of Denmark
The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...
to
1808.
*
1766–
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* January ...
:
Anglo-Mysore Wars
The Anglo-Mysore Wars were a series of four wars fought during the last three decades of the 18th century between the Kingdom of Mysore#Under Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan, Sultanate of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company (r ...
.
*
1767:
Taksin
King Taksin the Great ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้าตากสินมหาราช, , ) or the King of Thonburi ( th, สมเด็จพระเจ้ากรุงธนบุรี, ; ; Teochew dialect, Teochew: Dên ...
expels Burmese invaders and reunites Thailand under an authoritarian regime.
*
1768
Events
January–March
* January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London.
* February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...
–
1772:
War of the Bar Confederation.
*
1768
Events
January–March
* January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London.
* February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...
–
1774:
Russo-Turkish War
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
.
*
1769: Spanish
missionaries
A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...
establish the first of 21
missions in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
*
1769–
1770:
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
explores and maps New Zealand and Australia.
*
1769–
1773: The
Bengal famine of 1770
The Bengal Famine of 1770 was a famine that struck Bengal and Bihar between 1769 and 1770 and affected some 30 million people. It occurred during a period of dual governance in Bengal. This existed after the East India Company had been granted ...
kills one-third of the
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
population.
*
1769: The
French East India Company
The French East India Company (french: Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) was a colonial commercial enterprise, founded on 1 September 1664 to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch trading companies in th ...
dissolves, only to be revived in 1785.
*
1769: French expeditions capture
clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands (or Moluccas) in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring or fragrance in consumer products, ...
plants in
Ambon
Ambon may refer to:
Places
* Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia
** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province
** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796
* Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...
, ending the VOC monopoly of the plant.
[Ricklefs (1991), page 102] (to 1772)
*
1770–
1771:
Famine in Czech lands kills hundreds of thousands.
*
1771: The
Plague Riot in Moscow.
*
1771: The
Kalmyk Khanate
The Kalmyk Khanate ( xal-RU, Хальмг хана улс, ''Xal'mg xana uls'') was an Oirat khanate on the Eurasian steppe. It extended over modern Kalmykia and surrounding areas in the North Caucasus, including Stavropol and Astrakhan. Duri ...
dissolves as the territory becomes colonized by Russians. More than a hundred thousand
Kalmyks
The Kalmyks ( Kalmyk: Хальмгуд, ''Xaľmgud'', Mongolian: Халимагууд, ''Halimaguud''; russian: Калмыки, translit=Kalmyki, archaically anglicised as ''Calmucks'') are a Mongolic ethnic group living mainly in Russia, w ...
migrate back to
Qing Dzungaria.
*
1772:
Gustav III of Sweden
Gustav III (29 March 1792), also called ''Gustavus III'', was King of Sweden from 1771 until his assassination in 1792. He was the eldest son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden and Queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia.
Gustav was a vocal opponent of what ...
stages a coup d'état, becoming almost an absolute monarch.
*
1772–
1779: Maratha Empire fights Britain and
Raghunathrao
Raghunathrao Bhat (a.k.a. Ragho Ballal or Ragho Bharari) (18 August 1734 – 11 December 1783) was the 11th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire for a brief period from 1773 to 1774. He was known among the Hindus for his extremely successful North-west ...
's forces during the
First Anglo-Maratha War
The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) was the first of three Anglo-Maratha Wars fought between the British East India Company and Maratha Empire in India. The war began with the Treaty of Surat and ended with the Treaty of Salbai. The w ...
.
*
1772–
1795: The
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
end the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and, after 1791, as the Commonwealth of Poland, was a bi-confederal state, sometimes called a federation, of Crown of the Kingdom of ...
and erase Poland from the map for 123 years.
*
1773–
1775
Events
Summary
The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...
:
Pugachev's Rebellion
Pugachev's Rebellion (, ''Vosstaniye Pugachyova''; also called the Peasants' War 1773–1775 or Cossack Rebellion) of 1773–1775 was the principal revolt in a series of popular rebellions that took place in the Russian Empire after Catherine ...
, the largest peasant revolt in Russian history.
*
1773: East India Company starts operations in
Bengal
Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...
to smuggle
opium into China.
*
1775
Events
Summary
The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...
: Russia imposes a reduction in autonomy on the
Zaporizhian Cossacks
The Zaporozhian Cossacks, Zaporozhian Cossack Army, Zaporozhian Host, (, or uk, Військо Запорізьке, translit=Viisko Zaporizke, translit-std=ungegn, label=none) or simply Zaporozhians ( uk, Запорожці, translit=Zaporoz ...
of Ukraine.
*
1775
Events
Summary
The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...
–
1782:
First Anglo-Maratha War
The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) was the first of three Anglo-Maratha Wars fought between the British East India Company and Maratha Empire in India. The war began with the Treaty of Surat and ended with the Treaty of Salbai. The w ...
.
*
1775
Events
Summary
The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...
–
1783:
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
*
1776: Several
Kongsi Republics
The kongsi republics (), also known as kongsi democracies () or kongsi federations (), were self-governing political entities in Borneo that formed as federations of Chinese mining communities known as kongsis. By the mid-nineteenth century, the ...
are founded by Chinese settlers in the island of
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
. They are some of the first democracies in Asia.
*
1776–
1777:
A Spanish-Portuguese War occurs over land in the South American frontiers.
*
1776:
Illuminati
The Illuminati (; plural of Latin ''illuminatus'', 'enlightened') is a name given to several groups, both real and fictitious. Historically, the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati, an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on ...
founded by
Adam Weishaupt
Johann Adam Weishaupt (; 6 February 1748 – 18 November 1830)''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'Vol. 41, p. 539Engel, Leopold. ''Geschichte des Illuminaten-ordens''. Berlin: H. Bermühler Verlag, 1906.van Dülmen, Richard. ''Der Geheimbund der Ill ...
.
*
1776: The
United States Declaration of Independence
The United States Declaration of Independence, formally The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen States of America, is the pronouncement and founding document adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Pennsylvania State House ...
is adopted by the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
*
1776:
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
publishes ''
The Wealth of Nations
''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', generally referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is the ''magnum opus'' of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1 ...
''.
*
1778:
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
becomes the first European to land on the
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
.
*
1778:
Franco-American alliance signed.
*
1778: Spain acquires its
first permanent holding in Africa from the Portuguese, which is administrated by the newly-established
La Plata Viceroyalty.
*
1778:
Vietnam
Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
is reunified for the first time in 200 years by the
Tay Son brothers. The
Tây Sơn dynasty
The Tây Sơn dynasty (, vi, Nhà Tây Sơn (Chữ Nôm: 茹西山); vi, Tây Sơn triều ( Hán tự: 西山朝) was a ruling dynasty of Vietnam, founded in the wake of a rebellion against both the Nguyễn lords and the Trịnh lords befor ...
has been established, terminated the
Lê dynasty
*
1779–
1879:
Xhosa Wars
The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars) were a series of nine wars (from 1779 to 1879) between the Xhosa people, Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers in what is now the Eastern Cape in Sout ...
between British and
Boer
Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape Colony, Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controll ...
settlers and the
Xhosas in the
South African Republic
The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...
.
*
1779–
1783:
Britain loses several islands and colonial outposts all over the world to the combined Franco-Spanish navy.
*
1779: Iran enters yet another period of conflict and civil war after the prosperous reign of
Karim Khan Zand
Mohammad Karim Khan Zand ( fa, محمدکریم خان زند, Mohammad Karīm Khân-e Zand; ) was the founder of the Zand Dynasty, ruling from 1751 to 1779. He ruled all of Iran (Persia) except for Khorasan. He also ruled over some of the Ca ...
.
*
1780: Outbreak of the
indigenous rebellion against Spanish colonization led by
Túpac Amaru II
José Gabriel Condorcanqui ( – May 18, 1781)known as Túpac Amaru II was an indigenous Cacique who led a large Andean rebellion against the Spanish in Peru. He later became a mythical figure in the Peruvian struggle for independence and in ...
in
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
.
*
1781: The city of Los Angeles is founded by
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
settlers.
*
1781–
1785:
Serfdom
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
is abolished in the
Austrian monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
(first step; second step in
1848).
*
1782: The
Thonburi Kingdom
The Thonburi Kingdom ( th, ธนบุรี) was a major Thai people, Siamese kingdom which existed in Southeast Asia from 1767 to 1782, centered around the city of Thonburi, in Siam or present-day Thailand. The kingdom was founded by Taksin ...
of Thailand is dissolved after a palace coup.
*
1783: The
Treaty of Paris Treaty of Paris may refer to one of many treaties signed in Paris, France:
Treaties
1200s and 1300s
* Treaty of Paris (1229), which ended the Albigensian Crusade
* Treaty of Paris (1259), between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France
* Trea ...
formally ends the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
.
*
1783: Russian annexation of
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
.
*
1785–
1791: Imam
Sheikh Mansur
Sheikh Mansur ("The-Victorious"; born Mansur Ushurma, Mansur Ucherman; 2 June 1762 – 13 April 1794) was a Chechen military commander and Islamic leader who fought for Chechnya and Circassia. He was influential in the resistance against Cather ...
, a
Chechen warrior and Muslim mystic, leads a coalition of Muslim
Caucasian tribes from throughout the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
in a
holy war
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...
against Russian settlers and military bases in the Caucasus, as well as against local traditionalists, who followed the traditional customs and common law (Adat) rather than the theocratic Sharia.
*
1785–
1795: The
Northwest Indian War
The Northwest Indian War (1786–1795), also known by other names, was an armed conflict for control of the Northwest Territory fought between the United States and a united group of Native American nations known today as the Northwestern ...
is fought between the United States and
Native Americans.
*
1785–
1787:
The Maratha-Mysore War concludes with an exchange of territories in the
Deccan
The large Deccan Plateau in southern India is located between the Western Ghats and the Eastern Ghats, and is loosely defined as the peninsular region between these ranges that is south of the Narmada river. To the north, it is bounded by the ...
.
*
1786
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The third Treaty of Hopewell is signed, between the United States and the Choctaw.
* January 6 – The outward bound East Indiaman '' Halsewell'' is wrecked on the south coast of Englan ...
–
1787:
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
premieres
The Marriage of Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
and
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
*
1787: The
Tuareg
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...
occupies Timbuktu until the 19th century.
*
1787–
1792:
Russo-Turkish War
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
.
*
1788:
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
arrives in Australia
*
1788–
1790:
Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790)
The Russo-Swedish War of 1788–1790 was fought between Sweden and Russia from June 1788 to August 1790. The war was ended by the Treaty of Värälä on 14 August 1790 and took place concomitantly with both the Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791 ...
.
*
1788–
1789: A Qing attempt to reinstall an exiled
Vietnamese king in northern Vietnam
ends in disaster.
*
1789:
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
is elected the first President of the United States; he serves until 1797.
*
1789 : Quang Trung defeated the Qing dynasty, Qing army
*
1789–
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* January ...
: French Revolution.
*
1789: The Liège Revolution.
*
1789: The Brabant Revolution.
*
1789: The Inconfidência Mineira, an unsuccessful separatist movement in central Brazil led by Tiradentes
*
1791: Suppression of the Liège Revolution by Holy Roman Empire, Austrian forces and re-establishment of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège.
*
1791–
1795: George Vancouver explores the world during the Vancouver Expedition.
*
1791–1804: The Haitian Revolution.
*
1791:
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
premieres The Magic Flute
*
1792–1802: The
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars (french: Guerres de la Révolution française) were a series of sweeping military conflicts lasting from 1792 until 1802 and resulting from the French Revolution. They pitted French First Republic, France against Ki ...
lead into the Napoleonic Wars, which last from 1803–
1815
Events
January
* January 2 – Lord Byron marries Anna Isabella Milbanke in Seaham, county of Durham, England.
* January 3 – Austria, Britain, and Bourbon-restored France form a secret defensive alliance treaty against Prussi ...
.
*
1792: The New York Stock Exchange, New York Stock & Exchange Board is founded.
*
1792: Polish–Russian War of 1792.
* 1793: Upper Canada Act Against Slavery, bans slavery.
* 1793: The largest 1793 Philadelphia yellow fever epidemic, yellow fever epidemic in American history kills as many as 5,000 people in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, roughly 10% of the population.
* 1793–
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
: Revolt in the Vendée against the French Republic at the time of the French Revolution, Revolution.
* 1794–1816: The Hawkesbury and Nepean Wars, which were a series of incidents between settlers and New South Wales Corps and the Aboriginal Australian clans of the Hawkesbury River, Hawkesbury river in Sydney, Australia.
*
1795: The Marseillaise is officially adopted as the French national anthem.
*
1795: The Battle of Nuʻuanu in the final days of Kamehameha I, King Kamehameha I's wars to Unification of Hawaii, unify the
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kur ...
.
*
1795–
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
: Battle of Krtsanisi, Iran invades and devastates Georgia, prompting Persian expedition of 1796, Russia to intervene and march on Tehran.
*
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
: Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox vaccination; smallpox killed an estimated 400,000 Europeans each year during the 18th century, including five reigning monarchs.
*
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
: War of the First Coalition: The Battle of Montenotte marks Napoleon Bonaparte's first victory as an army commander.
*
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
: The British eject the Dutch from Ceylon and Dutch Cape Colony, South Africa.
*
1796
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.)
* February 1 – The capital ...
–1804: The White Lotus Rebellion against the Manchu dynasty in China.
* 1798: The Irish Rebellion of 1798, Irish Rebellion fails to overthrow British rule in Ireland.
* 1798–
1800: The Quasi-War is fought between the United States and France.
*
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* January ...
:
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
is dissolved.
*
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* January ...
: Austro-Russian Alliance (1781), Austro-Russian forces under Alexander Suvorov Italian and Swiss expedition, liberates much of Italy and Switzerland from French occupation.
*
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* January ...
: Coup of 18 Brumaire - Napoleon's coup d'etat brings the end of the French Revolution.
*
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* January ...
: Death of the Qianlong Emperor after High Qing era, 60 years of rule over China. His favorite official, Heshen, is ordered to commit suicide.
*
1800: On 1 January, the bankrupt
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
(VOC) is formally dissolved and the nationalised Dutch East Indies are established.
[Ricklefs (1991), page 106]
Inventions, discoveries, introductions
*
1709: The first piano was built by Bartolomeo Cristofori
*
1711
In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...
: Tuning fork was invented by John Shore
* 1712: Steam engine invented by Thomas Newcomen
*
1714: Mercury thermometer by
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit FRS (; ; 24 May 1686 – 16 September 1736) was a physicist, inventor, and scientific instrument maker. Born in Poland to a family of German extraction, he later moved to the Dutch Republic at age 15, where he spen ...
* 1717: Diving bell was successfully tested by Edmond Halley, sustainable to a depth of 55 ft
* c.
1730: Octant (instrument), Octant navigational tool was developed by John Hadley in England, and Thomas Godfrey (inventor), Thomas Godfrey in America
*
1733
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Borommarachathirat V becomes King of Siam (now Thailand) upon the death of King Sanphet IX.
* January 27 – George Frideric Handel's classic opera, ''Orlando'' is performed for ...
: Flying shuttle invented by John Kay (flying shuttle), John Kay
* 1736: Europeans encountered rubber – the discovery was made by Charles Marie de La Condamine while on expedition in South America. It was named in
1770 by Joseph Priestley
* c.
1740: Modern steel was developed by Benjamin Huntsman
*
1741
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township.
* February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...
: Vitus Bering discovers Alaska
*
1745
Events
January–March
* January 7 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Austrian Army, under the command of Field Marshal Károly József Batthyány, makes a surprise attack at Amberg and the winter quarters of the Bavaria ...
: Leyden jar invented by Ewald Georg von Kleist was the first electrical capacitor
*
1751: Jacques de Vaucanson perfects the first precision lathe
* 1752: Lightning rod invented by Benjamin Franklin
* 1753: The first clock to be built in the New World (North America) was invented by Benjamin Banneker.
*
1755: The tallest ''wooden'' Bodhisattva statue in the world is erected at Puning Temple (Hebei), Puning Temple, Chengde, China.
*
1764: Spinning jenny created by James Hargreaves brought on the
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
*
1765: James Watt enhances Newcomen's steam engine, allowing new steel technologies
*
1761: The problem of longitude was finally resolved by the fourth marine chronometer, chronometer of John Harrison
*
1763: Thomas Bayes publishes first version of Bayes' theorem, paving the way for Bayesian probability
*
1768
Events
January–March
* January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London.
* February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...
–
1779:
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
mapped the boundaries of the Pacific Ocean and discovered many Pacific Islands
*
1774: Joseph Priestley discovers "dephlogisticated air", oxygen
*
1775
Events
Summary
The American Revolutionary War began this year, with the first military engagement being the April 19 Battles of Lexington and Concord on the day after Paul Revere's now-legendary ride. The Second Continental Congress t ...
: Joseph Priestley first synthesis of "phlogisticated nitrous air", nitrous oxide, "laughing gas"
*
1776: First improved steam engines installed by James Watt
*
1776: Steamboat invented by Claude de Jouffroy
*
1777: Circular saw invented by Samuel Miller
*
1779: Photosynthesis was first discovered by Jan Ingenhousz
*
1781: William Herschel announces discovery of Uranus
* 1784: Bifocals invented by Benjamin Franklin
* 1784: Argand lamp invented by Aimé Argand
*
1785: Power loom invented by Edmund Cartwright
*
1785: Production line, Automatic flour mill invented by Oliver Evans
*
1786
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The third Treaty of Hopewell is signed, between the United States and the Choctaw.
* January 6 – The outward bound East Indiaman '' Halsewell'' is wrecked on the south coast of Englan ...
: Threshing machine invented by Andrew Meikle
*
1787: Jacques Charles discovers Charles's law
*
1789: Antoine Lavoisier discovers the law of conservation of mass, the basis for chemistry, and begins modern chemistry
* 1798: Edward Jenner publishes a treatise about smallpox vaccination
* 1798: The Lithography, Lithographic printing process invented by Alois Senefelder
[Meggs, Philip B. A History of Graphic Design. (1998) John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p 146 ]
*
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* January ...
: Rosetta Stone discovered by Napoleon's troops
Literary and philosophical achievements
*
1703: ''The Love Suicides at Sonezaki'' by Chikamatsu first performed
*
1704
In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Friday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 7 – Partial solar eclipse, Solar Saros 146, is visible in ...
–1717: ''One Thousand and One Nights'' translated into French by Antoine Galland. The work becomes immensely popular throughout Europe.
*
1704
In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Friday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 7 – Partial solar eclipse, Solar Saros 146, is visible in ...
: ''A Tale of a Tub'' by Jonathan Swift first published
* 1712: ''The Rape of the Lock'' by Alexander Pope (publication of first version)
*
1719
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Carolean Death March begins: A catastrophic retreat by a largely-Finnish Swedish- Carolean army under the command of Carl Gustaf Armfeldt across the Tydal mountains in a blizzard kills around 3,7 ...
: ''Robinson Crusoe'' by Daniel Defoe
*
1725: ''The New Science'' by Giambattista Vico
* 1726: ''Gulliver's Travels'' by Jonathan Swift
* 1728: ''The Dunciad'' by Alexander Pope (publication of first version)
*
1744
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Royal Navy ship ''Bacchus'' engages the Spanish Navy privateer ''Begona'', and sinks it; 90 of the 120 Spanish sailors die, but 30 of the crew are rescued.
* January 24 – The Dag ...
: ''A Little Pretty Pocket-Book'' becomes one of the first Children's literature#History, books marketed for children
*
1748: ''Chushingura'' (''The Treasury of Loyal Retainers''), popular Japanese bunraku, puppet play, composed
*
1748: ''Clarissa'' by Samuel Richardson
* 1749: ''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'' by Henry Fielding
*
1751: ''Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'' by Thomas Gray published
*
1751–
1785: The French Encyclopédie
*
1755: ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' by Samuel Johnson
* 1759: ''Candide'' by Voltaire
* 1759: ''The Theory of Moral Sentiments'' by
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
* 1759–
1767: ''Tristram Shandy'' by Laurence Sterne
*
1762: ''Emile: or, On Education'' by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
*
1762: ''Social Contract (Rousseau), The Social Contract, Or Principles of Political Right'' by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
*
1774: ''The Sorrows of Young Werther'' by Goethe first published
*
1776: ''Ugetsu Monogatari'' (''Tales of Moonlight and Rain'') by Ueda Akinari
*
1776: ''
The Wealth of Nations
''An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations'', generally referred to by its shortened title ''The Wealth of Nations'', is the ''magnum opus'' of the Scottish economist and moral philosopher Adam Smith. First published in 1 ...
'', foundation of the modern theory of economy, was published by
Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
*
1776–
1789: ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'' was published by Edward Gibbon
*
1779: ''Amazing Grace'' published by John Newton
*
1779–
1782: ''Lives of the Most Eminent English Poets'' by Samuel Johnson
*
1781: ''Critique of Pure Reason'' by Immanuel Kant (publication of first edition)
*
1781: ''The Robbers'' by Friedrich Schiller first published
*
1782: ''Les Liaisons dangereuses'' by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
*
1786
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The third Treaty of Hopewell is signed, between the United States and the Choctaw.
* January 6 – The outward bound East Indiaman '' Halsewell'' is wrecked on the south coast of Englan ...
: ''Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect'' by Robert Burns
*
1787–
1788: ''The Federalist Papers'' by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay
*
1788: ''Critique of Practical Reason'' by Immanuel Kant
*
1789: ''Songs of Innocence'' by William Blake
*
1789: ''The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano'' by Olaudah Equiano
*
1790: ''Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow'' by Alexander Radishchev
*
1790: ''Reflections on the Revolution in France'' by Edmund Burke
*
1791: ''Rights of Man'' by Thomas Paine
*
1792: ''A Vindication of the Rights of Woman'' by Mary Wollstonecraft
* 1794: ''Songs of Experience'' by William Blake
* 1798: ''Lyrical Ballads'' by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge
* 1798: ''An Essay on the Principle of Population'' published by Thomas Malthus
* (mid-18th century): ''The Dream of the Red Chamber'' (authorship attributed to Cao Xueqin), one of the most famous Chinese novels
Musical works
*
1711
In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...
: ''Rinaldo (opera), Rinaldo'',
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
's first opera for the London stage, premiered
*
1721: ''Brandenburg Concertos'' by Johann Sebastian Bach, J.S. Bach
*
1723
Events
January–March
* January 25 – British pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Signiora de Victoria''. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than s ...
: ''The Four Seasons (Vivaldi), The Four Seasons'', violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi, composed
*
1724: ''St John Passion'' by Johann Sebastian Bach, J.S. Bach
*
1727: ''St Matthew Passion'' composed by Johann Sebastian Bach, J.S. Bach
*
1733
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Borommarachathirat V becomes King of Siam (now Thailand) upon the death of King Sanphet IX.
* January 27 – George Frideric Handel's classic opera, ''Orlando'' is performed for ...
: ''Hippolyte et Aricie'', first opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau
*
1741
Events
January–March
* January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township.
* February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...
: ''Goldberg Variations'' for harpsichord published by Johann Sebastian Bach, Bach
*
1742: ''Messiah (Handel), Messiah'', oratorio by
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...
premiered in Dublin
* 1749: ''Mass in B minor'' by Johann Sebastian Bach, J.S. Bach assembled in current form
*
1751: ''The Art of Fugue'' by Johann Sebastian Bach, J.S. Bach
*
1762: ''Orfeo ed Euridice'', first "reform opera" by Christoph Willibald von Gluck, Gluck, performed in Vienna
*
1786
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The third Treaty of Hopewell is signed, between the United States and the Choctaw.
* January 6 – The outward bound East Indiaman '' Halsewell'' is wrecked on the south coast of Englan ...
: ''
The Marriage of Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'', opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart
*
1787: ''
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'', opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart
*
1788: ''Symphony No. 41 (Mozart), Jupiter Symphony (Symphony No.41)'' composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart
*
1791: ''The Magic Flute'', opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart
*
1791–
1795: London symphonies by Joseph Haydn, Haydn
* 1798: The Piano Sonata No. 8 (Beethoven), Pathétique, piano sonata by Ludwig van Beethoven, Beethoven
* 1798: ''The Creation (Haydn), The Creation'', oratorio by Joseph Haydn, Haydn first performed
References
Further reading
* Black, Jeremy and Roy Porter, eds. ''A Dictionary of Eighteenth-Century World History'' (1994) 890pp
* Klekar, Cynthia. “Fictions of the Gift: Generosity and Obligation in Eighteenth-Century English Literature.” Innovative Course Design Winner. ''American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies'': Wake Forest University, 2004.
Home , American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS). Refereed.
* Langer, William. ''An Encyclopedia of World History'' (5th ed. 1973); highly detailed outline of event
online free* Morris, Richard B. and Graham W. Irwin, eds. ''Harper Encyclopedia of the Modern World: A Concise Reference History from 1760 to the Present'' (1970
online* Milward, Alan S, and S. B. Saul, eds. ''The economic development of continental Europe: 1780–1870 '' (1973)
online note there are two different books with identical authors and slightly different titles. Their coverfage does not overlap.
** Milward, Alan S, and S. B. Saul, eds. ''The development of the economies of continental Europe, 1850–1914'' (1977
online* Wallace Collection, The Wallace Collection, London, houses one of the finest collections of 18th-century decorative arts from France, England and Italy, including paintings, furniture, porcelain and gold boxes.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:18th Century
18th century,
2nd millennium
Centuries
Early Modern period