1700–1799 (A.D.) World History

Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790) Frederick the Great (1712–1786) Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) George Washington (1732–1799) Alexander Hamilton (1755–1804) Napoléon Bonaparte (1769–1821)

1701

War of the Spanish Succession begins—the last of Louis XIV's wars for domination of the continent. The Peace of Utrecht (1714) will end the conflict and mark the rise of the British Empire. Called Queen Anne's War in America, it ends with the British taking New Foundland, Acadia, and Hudson's Bay Territory from France, and Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain.

1704

Deerfield (Mass.) Massacre of English colonists by French and Indians. Bach's first cantata. Jonathan Swift's Tale of a Tub. Boston News Letter—first newspaper in America.

1707

United Kingdom of Great Britain formed—England, Wales, and Scotland joined by parliamentary Act of Union.

1729

Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Isaac Newton's Principia translated from Latin into English.

1732

Benjamin Franklin begins publishing Poor Richard's Almanack. James Oglethorpe and others found Georgia.

1735

John Peter Zenger, New York editor, acquitted of libel in New York, establishing press freedom.

1740

Capt. Vitus Bering, Dane employed by Russia, discovers Alaska. Frederick II “the Great” crowned king of Prussia.

1746

British defeat Scots under Stuart Pretender Prince Charles at Culloden Moor. Last battle fought on British soil.

1751

Publication of the Encyclopédie begins in France, the “bible” of the Enlightenment.

1755

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary first published. Great earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal—over 60,000 die. U.S. postal service established.

1756

Seven Years' War (French and Indian Wars in America) (to 1763), in which Britain and Prussia defeat France, Spain, Austria, and Russia. France loses North American colonies; Spain cedes Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. In India, over 100 British prisoners die in “Black Hole of Calcutta.”

1757

Beginning of British Empire in India as Robert Clive, British commander, defeats Nawab of Bengal at Plassey.

1759

British capture Quebec from French. Voltaire's Candide. Haydn's Symphony No. 1.

1762

Catherine II (“the Great”) becomes czarina of Russia. Jean Jacques Rousseau's Social Contract. Mozart tours Europe as six-year-old prodigy.

1765

James Watt invents the steam engine. Britain imposes the Stamp Act on the American colonists.

1769

Sir William Arkwright patents a spinning machine—an early step in the Industrial Revolution.

1770

The Boston Massacre.

1772

Joseph Priestley and Daniel Rutherford independently discover nitrogen. Partition of Poland—in 1772, 1793, and 1795, Austria, Prussia, and Russia divide land and people of Poland, end its independence.

1773

The Boston Tea Party.

1774

First Continental Congress drafts “Declaration of Rights and Grievances.”

1775

The American Revolution begins with battle of Lexington and Concord. Second Continental Congress. Priestley discovers hydrochloric and sulfuric acids.

1776

Declaration of Independence. Gen. George Washington crosses the Delaware Christmas night. Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Fragonard's Washerwoman. Mozart's Haffner Serenade.

1778

Capt. James Cook discovers Hawaii. Franz Mesmer uses hypnotism.

1781

Immanuel Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Herschel discovers Uranus.

1783

Revolutionary War ends with Treaty of Paris. William Blake's poems. Beethoven's first printed works.

1784

Crimea annexed by Russia. John Wesley's Deed of Declaration, the basic work of Methodism.

1785

Russians settle Aleutian Islands.

1787

The Constitution of the United States signed. Lavoisier's work on chemical nomenclature. Mozart's Don Giovanni.

1788

French Parlement presents grievances to Louis XVI who agrees to convening of Estates-General in 1789—not called since 1613. Goethe's Egmont. Laplace's Laws of the Planetary System.

1789

French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille. (For detailed chronology, see French Revolution (1789–1799).) In U.S., Washington elected president with all 69 votes of the Electoral College, takes oath of office in New York City. Vice President: John Adams. Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson. Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton.

1790

H.M.S. Bounty mutineers settle on Pitcairn Island. Aloisio Galvani experiments on electrical stimulation of the muscles. Philadelphia temporary capital of U.S. as Congress votes to establish new capital on Potomac. U.S. population about 3,929,000, including 698,000 slaves. Lavoisier formulates Table of 31 chemical elements.

1791

U.S. Bill of Rights ratified. Boswell's Life of Johnson.

1792

Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Woman.

1793

Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed. Reign of Terror begins in France. Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, spurring the growth of the cotton industry and helping to institutionalize slavery in the U.S. South.

1794

Kosciusko's uprising in Poland quelled by the Russians. In U.S., Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania as farmers object to liquor taxes. Reign of Terror ends with execution of Robespierre.

1796

Napoléon Bonaparte, French general, defeats Austrians. In the U.S., Washington's Farewell Address (Sept. 17); John Adams elected president; Thomas Jefferson, vice president. Edward Jenner introduces smallpox vaccination.

1798

Napoleon extends French conquests to Rome and Egypt. U.S. Navy Department established.

1799

Rosetta Stone discovered in Egypt. Napoleon leads coup that overthrows Directory, establishes the Consulate, becomes First Consul—one of three who rule France together.

French Revolution (1789–1799)

Revolution begins when Third Estate (Commons) delegates swear not to disband until France has a constitution. Paris mob storms Bastille, symbol of royal power (July 14, 1789). National Assembly votes for Constitution, Declaration of the Rights of Man, a limited monarchy, and other reforms (1789–1790). Legislative Assembly elected, Revolutionary Commune formed, and French Republic proclaimed (1792). War of the First Coalition—Austria, Prussia, Britain, Netherlands, and Spain fight to restore French nobility (1792–1797). Start of series of wars between France and European powers that will last, almost without interruption, for 23 years. Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed. Committee of Public Safety begins Reign of Terror as political control measure. Interfactional rivalry leads to mass killings. Danton and Robespierre executed. Third French Constitution sets up Directory government (1795). Napoleon abolishes the Directory, establishes the Consulate, becomes the First Consul of France (1799).