Timeline
of the 18th Century
http://www.digitalhistory.org/timeline.htm
1700 -The Great Northern
War (1700-1721), paralleled the War of the Spanish Succession.
1701 -The Settlement Act of 1701 establishing the supremacy of Parliament in
England. - William III of England heads the second Grand Alliance, which became
involved in the War of the Spanish Succession. - Britain obtains an Iroquois
"deed" to western lands purportedly conquered by the Iroquois though
later abandoned by them under pressure from enemies.
1702 - William III (William of Orange), died on 19 March, 1702 from complications
after being thrown from his horse - Queen Anne succeeds to throne of England
- Start of the War of the Spanish Succession in Europe - Beginning of Queen
Annes War (1702-1713), second of the four North American wars waged by
the British and French
1704 - Capture of Gibraltar by British forces 24, July - August 12, Battle of
Blenheim, Bavaria
1706 - 23 May, French are defeated at the Battle of Ramillies near the Belgian
village of Ramillies-Offus, forcing them to withdraw from the Netherlands.
1707 - April 25, British defeat at Almanza in Spain - Act of Union, which created
Great Britain by finally fully uniting England and Scotland.
1708 - July 11, British victory over French at Battle of Oudenarde - September,
British capture of Minorca
1709 - September 11, Battle of Malplaquet, French defeated in the bloodiest
battle of the war at the French village of Malplaquet
1711 - August 5, Marlborough forces the "Non Plus Lines."
1712 - New York Slave Rebellion, in which Native and African slaves united.
1713 - April 11, Peace of Utrecht, treaty of which recognizes Iroquois as British
subjects.
1714 - King George I arrives in England as the reigning monarch.
1715 - Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland - November 13, defeat of the Jacobites
at the Battle of Sheriffmuir.
1724 - Most Tulpehocken Delawares migrate to Ohio Valley. - Thomas Pelham-Holles,
duke of Newcastle is appointed secretary of state for the British ministrys
southern department, with responsibility to supervise the American colonies.
His policy is known as "solitary neglect."
1727 - June 11, George II succeeds his father George I - Death of Sir Issac
Newton. - A Shawnee band migrates from the upper Delaware Valley to the Ohio
country.
1730 - French instigate a massacre of the Fox nation which reduced them as an
independent force.
1732 - Colony of Georgia founded by Royal Charter.
1736 - Alliance between colony of Pennsylvania and the Iroquois grand council.
1737 - William Penns sons dispossess the Delawares of the forks
of Delaware by the Walking Purchase.
1738 - William Johnson arrives in New York from Ireland in order to take charge
of uncle Sir Peter Warrens New York estates.
1739 -The "War of Jenkinss Ear," a trade war between
Great Britain and Spain, developing due to British attempts to circumvent the
Peace of Utrecht.
1740s - Many Senecas and Cayugas migrate from New England to the southern shores
of Lake Erie and become known as Mingos.
1742 - Start of the War of Austrian Succession
1743 - June 27, Battle of Dettingen in Bavaria, the last engagement in which
a British monarch ( King George II )participated in person.
1744 - King Georges War (1744 - 1748 ), 15 March, third of four North
American wars waged by the British and French - Iroquois give the British
permission to build a blockhouse at the Forks of the Ohio. - 16 June- 7July
- Treaty at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, between Iroquois nations of Oneida, Onondaga,
Cayuga and Seneca, on the one side, and British colonies of Virginia, Maryland,
and Pennsylvania on the other. - George Crogan establishes trading post at Mingo
town of Cuyahoga. His soon becomes a political power among the Ohio Indians.
1745 - May 11, "Battle of Fontenoy" in Flanders, French defeat combined
army of British, Dutch and Austrian troops - Prince Charles Edward Stuart raises
the Highlanders in what is called the "Jacobite Rebellion" - 30 September,
Royalist John Campbell, looses his army to Jacobite victory at the "Battle
of Prestonpans" - George Montagu Dunk, second earl of Halifax, is appointed
president of the lords commissioners for trade and plantations (board of trade)
- Massachusetts governor William Shirley directs campaign that captures Louisbourg,
but the fort is returned to the French by the peace treaty.
1746 - 28 January, Jacobite victory at the Battle of Falkirk - Earl Loudoun
flees the rout of Moy to the safety of Skye, and sits out the rest
of the Jacobite rising - 27 April, William Augustus, duke of Cumberland, defeats
Scots rebels at the "Battle of Culloden", braking the Jacobite Rebellion
- He is made captain general of the British army.
1747 - July 2, Battle of Lauffeld, British and Allied defeat - October
24th, Formation of the Ohio Company of Virginia - June, William Johnson instigates
a Mohawk raid against Montreal in defiance of Iroquois grand councils
neutrality policy. The raiders are ambushed with great losses. Benjamin Franklin
organizes a military association for Pennsylvanias defense.
1748 - October 18, Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle ends War of Austrian Succession
(known in British colonies as King Georges War) - 11 August,
Conrad Weiser journeys to the Ohio country to treat with regions Indians
- Shawnees and Iroquois grand council appoints Tanaghrisson as Half
King over the Ohio Indians and gives Scarouady supervision over the Shawnees
- Benjamin Franklin retires from management of his printing business - Louisbourg
returns to France.
1749 - 11 January, Ohio Companys petitions King George for a grant of
lands, and proposes to build a fort there - 16 March, King George II orders
grant to the Ohio Company - June 1, François Piquet founds La Présentation,
a Sulpician mission Oswegatchie (Ogdensburg), N.Y.), it draws many Iroquois
to the French - 15 June 9 November, Captain Céleron de Blainville
leads an expedition to the Ohio country to restore New Frances authority,
but fails in efforts. - Halifax is established and constructed in Acadia [Nova
Scotia] as a counter measure to Fortress Louisbourg.
1750 - 11 September, 1750 - 29 March 1752, Christopher Gist arranges for a treaty
at Logstown - William Johnson attempts to prevent Conrad Wiser from treating
with the Iroquois - French raid against rebellious Shawnees fails to subdue
them - Virginians treat with Ohio Indians at Logstown, get confirmation
from Mingos of land at Lancaster in 1744 - Commissioners appointed to negotiate
disputed by Britain and France - British build Fort Lawrence, French counter
with Fort Beauséjour at disputed border between Nova Scotia and Acadia.
1750-51 - La Galissonière, governor-general of New France, repeatedly
warns the French ministry of two necessities: (1) to preserve the loyalty of
the India tribes; (2) to preserve the lifeline between Canada and Louisiana
from British interception
1751 - July, Johnson resigns post as New Yorks agent in charge of Indian
affairs, is later elected a member of Pennsylvania assembly. Thomas Penn and
brother refuse the assemblys unanimous request to contribute to expense
of Indian affairs or any other public expense.
1752- Britain adopts the Georgian calendar. - William Law publishes, "The
Way to Divine Knowledge." - Benjamin Franklin invents the lightening conductor.
- 21 June, A party of Chippewas, Potawatomies, and Ottawas, led by Charles Langlade,
attack the Indian village of Picawillany, destroy Croghan's trading post, killing
one British trader, and taking others prisoner. - Marquis Duquesne arrives at
Quebec to be governor-general of New France. - Commissioner William Shirley
recalled from futile negotiations in Paris
1753 - 1 February, French troops dispatched from Canada take the Ohio
Valley, and begin construction of three forts. - Virginia Governor Hamilton
receives a letter stating that French and Mohawks attacked a trading post of
John Findly at a place called 'Kentucky'. - George Washington is sent to the
French commander in the Ohio country to protest their occupation of disputed
lands. - In England land tax is instituted. - Halifax Revives Britains
claim to the Ohio country through right of conquest by subject
Iroquois. - Benjamin Franklin is awarded the Coply gold medal of the Royal Society
for his experiments with electricity, he is appointed by the crown as deputy
postmaster general of the British colonies in North America.
1754 - St. Andrews Golf Club, is founded in Scotland. - In England, the Society
for the Encouragement of Arts and Manufacturers is created. -Newcastle becomes
head of the ministry as first lord of the Treasury - Britain and France are
at war in North America; the issue is boundaries. - Captain Trent starts to
build Virginias fort at the point where the Monongahela and Allegheny
rivers join to make the Ohio. - Ensign Ward is left in charge. - April, Ensign
Ward surrenders to Captain Contrecoeur, who completes building Fort Duquesne.
28 May, Lieutenant Colonel George Washington leads a party of Virginians and
Mingos to attack a French party under Ensign Coulon de Jumonville, who is killed
under circumstances called assassination by the French. - 26 June,
Newcastles inner cabinet resolves to defend Britains northern colonies
from French invasion. - 4 July, Washington surrenders encampment
called Fort Necessity at Great Meadows after Tanaghrissons Mingos desert
in contempt of Washingtons leadership. Captain Robert Stobo is given as
hostage. - 28-29 July, Captain Stobo smuggles plans of Fort Duquesne to
Philadelphia through Delaware chiefs Shingas and Delaware George. - September,
Board of trade and ministry discuss need for unified action by colonies. - Ministry
decides upon a military commander in chief to be financed by colonies. Cumberland
nominates Edward Braddock. - 8 September, News of Washingtons surrender
reaches London and stimulates Newcastle to appeal for help from Cumberland.
- December, British authorizes Massachusetts governor Shirley to raise
troops. .
1755 - January, Britain sends two regiments of troops to Virginia. - February,
France sends seventy-eight companies to Canada. - French ministry authorizes
instigation of Indians against British colonies. - General Braddock arrives
in Williamsburg, Virginia. - British troops defeated by the French near Fort
Duquesne in the colonies. - English colonial troops capture French commander
Dieskau. - French Fort Beauséjour is taken by the English forces. - British
build their first navel vessel on Lake Ontario. - Lisbon, Spain, 30,000 people
die in earthquake. - Samuel Johnson publishes "Dictionary of the English
Language. "
1756 - May 28, French capture Minorca. - Britain declares war on France, fighting
on two fronts in India and North America. - "The Seven Years' War"
(1756-63) officially began on August 29, when Frederick of Prussia invades the
German State of Saxony. - This war, which was a widening of the conflict between
Britain and France in North America, became a world conflict. The combatants
included Prussia and Hanover on the British side against Austria, Russia, Saxony,
Spain and Sweden with France.
1757 - Fort William Henry captured and destroyed by French August 9, 1757.
1758 - In July 1758, the first British troops dispatched to Germany under Prince
Ferdinand of Brunswick. - August 1, Battle of Minden in Germany
- In America, - July 27, British capture French fortress of Louisbourg in Canada
- Fort Duquesne is abandoned and burned by the French, the English begin construction
of Fort Pitt near the site. - The Easton treaty is signed between the Pennsylvania
colonial government and the Delawares, thus settling boundary questions - Appearance
of Haley's comet.
1759 - September 13, Battle of Quebec, where both generals Montcalm and Wolfe
lost their lives. Battle of Quiberon Bay, a decisive naval engagement.
1760 - Battle of Warburg in Germany July 31 - September 8, Amherst captures
Montreal and ends French resistance in Canada. October 25, death of King
George II , he is succeeded by his grandson, George III.
1761 - Agricultural machines are displayed in London in an exhibition by the
Society of Arts. - A Russian poet scientist, Mikhail Lomonosov, discovers the
atmosphere of Venus. - General Amherst forbids presents of food and arms to
Indians. - Senecas present a war belt to Detroit Indians, but it is rejected
and disclosed to the fort commander.
1762 - Battle of Wilhelmstahl in Germany - War with Spain breaks out. Sweden
and Prussia sign a Treaty of Hamburg, Prussia and Austria sign alliance - Martinique,
Grenada, Havana and Manila captured by the British - British expedition captures
Buenos Aries from Spain - The Sorbonne Library first opens in Paris - In Scotland,
cast iron is converted into malleable iron for the first time at the ironworks
in Stirlingshire - June of 1762, with the allied forces surrounding Prussia's
army, theRussian empress Elizabeth dies.- Peter III takes over Russia and immediately
pulls out of the war.- This turn of fate saved Britain and Prussia and allowed
them to sign a peace treaty. - War belts are circulated among western Indians,
encouraged by Senecas and Frenchmen. - August 23, Major Henry Gladwin
takes command of Detroit.
1763 - Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Seven years War in Europe with
the Peace of Paris - In the American theatre, the French and Indian War ends.
- May 9, Pontiac lays siege to Fort Detroit with a force composed of Ottawas,
Chippawa, Potawatomi, Huron, Shawnee, and Delaware warriors. Indians near Detroit
move east in force Tribal allies destroy forts at Venango, LeBoeuf, and Presque
Isle. Senecas wipe out a convoy near Niagara. - Forts at Detroit, Pittsburgh,
and Niagara hold out against besiegers. - July, On their own initiative,
but with sanction from Amherst and Bouquet, the garrison at Fort Pitt start
an epidemic among the Indians by infecting besieging chiefs with blankets from
the smallpox hospital. - August 1, Indians withdraw from siege of Fort
Pitt. - August 5, Colonel Bouquet fights off an attack at Bushy Run and forces
attackers to withdraw. - British government is provided for Quebec, Florida
and Grenada by act of law -The "St. James Chronicles" are published
in London - Voltaire publishes "Treatise on Tolerance."- New York
and New Jersey Chambers of Commerce are formed. - November 17, Amherst embarks
for England, he is succeeded as commander in chief by General Thomas Gage.
1764 - The Sugar Act, taxing the colonies, is amended. - London houses are numbered
for the first time. - The London Literary Club is founded. - James Watt invents
the condenser. - St. Louis' first permanent settlement is established. - Czar
Ivan VI is murdered in prison.
1765 - The Stamp Act is passed, taxing the colonies. - Virginia Assembly questions
the British governments right to tax. - Delegates from nine colonies meet in
New York to draft a declaration of rights and liberties.
1766 - Repeal of the Stamp Act. - Britain's right to tax the colonies is restated
in the Declaratory Act. - Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, two English surveyors
lay down Mason-Dixon Line. - Pontiac treats with William Johnson for peace.
- Theatre Royal in Bristol opens. - Czarina Catherine the Great
of Russia declares freedom of worship. - The first paved sidewalk is finished
in Westminster, London. - Henry Cavendish discovers hydrogen is lighter than
air.
1769 - Scottish inventor James Watt patents a practical steam engine.
1771- First Steam powered vehicle.
1775 - April, affair at Lexington, and start of the American War of Independence
- June 17, Battle of Bunker Hill
1776 - Battle of Long Island August 27.- San Francisco is founded by Spanish
officer Juan Bautista de Anza.
1777 - September 11, Battle of Brandywine - October 17, surrender f Burgoyne
at Saratoga.
1779 - Start of the siege of Gibraltar.
1780 - Battle of Camden August 16.
1781 - Articles of Confederation a loose union is created by the American states
- March 15, Battle of Guildford - October 19, Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown
1783 - End of the siege of Gibraltar - Peace of Versailles; end of the War of
American Independence.- General George Washington resigned from the Continental
Army
1784 - Treaty of Paris ratified, ending the American Revolution
1789 - American Constitution is ratified, creating a stronger central government
1793 - France declares war on Great Britain February 1. -Campaign in the Netherlands
(1793 -1794)
1799 - Expedition to North Holland under the Duke of York.