Texts in Context:
Timeline of the Eighteenth Century
By Gabriel Blanchard
In the eighteenth century, it is once again necessary to divide our timeline in two, as Western civilization itself splits into two halves. One remains centered in Europe. The other is the sphere of the Americas, which, by the middle of the nineteenth century, remained culturally related to Europe but have become mostly entirely politically autonomous (with exceptions, the two largest being New France [modern Québec], which changed hands from France to Great Britain in 1763, and the territory of Brazil, which remained a major part of the Portuguese Empire). For Anglophones, some exchanges between North and South will play an important role in history, but most English-speaking colonization in the Western hemisphere was and remains north of the Río Grande,* so our focus lies there.
We have denoted our two hemispheres of principal interest in green (the New World) and red (the Old). Some of the most important events on either side of the pond are in boldface, as are their years. Things which acted on both hemispheres basically as a single event despite the geographical divide are marked with yellow type. As in our Early Medieval timeline, the year-to-year lineup between the two halves is imperfect, but should suffice to convey the right information to the reader.
The Western Hemisphere:
North America
The Founding of the Thirteen Colonies ([1607]-1732)
- 1711-1715—Tuscarora War in North Carolina between European colonists (British, Dutch, Germans) and allies (Appalachee, Catawba, Cherokee, Yamasee nations), Tuscarora nation and allies (Coree, Cothechney, Machapunga, Mathamuskeet, Neusiok, Pamlico, Seneca, Weetok nations): colonial victory; Tuscarora emigrate north, join Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois).
- ca. 1730-1760—First Great Awakening (parallel to Evangelical Revival in British Isles).
- 1732—Founding of Georgia.
British America (1732-1775)
- 1739-1748—War of Jenkins’ Ear between Britain, Spain in Caribbean (American theater of War of Austrian Succession): Spanish victory.
- 1741—Russian colonization of Alaska begins; Pope Benedict XIV issues bull Immensa Pastorum Principis to King of Portugal, bishops of Brazil, imposing excommunication on any who should enslave indigenous inhabitants of Brazil; bull goes unenforced.
- ca. 1750—Peak of “Little Ice Age,” period of extreme cold following Medieval Warm Period.
- 1754—Founding of King’s College (now Columbia University) in New York City; Mutiny Act 1754 (one of many Mutiny Acts) forbids quartering of troops in private homes.
- 1755-1764—Expulsion of the Acadians (a.k.a. Great Upheaval), forcible removal of majority of French population from Acadia.†
- 1756-1763—French and Indian War (North American theater of Seven Years’ War) between British coalition (British American colonists, Haudenosaunee Confederacy [Iroquois], Cherokee nation [until 1758]), French coalition (French American colonists, Huron, Mississisauga, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Winnebago nations): British victory; North America as far west as Mississippi River ceded to Britain; significant military experience gained by George Washington.
- 1759—Jesuit Order banned in Portuguese Empire for anti-slavery activities.
- ca. 1760—Britain bans immigration of Jesuits into North American territories seized from France.
- 1761—Marine chronometer invented (crucial device for establishing longitude at sea).
- 1765—Stamp Act imposes highly unpopular tax on wide variety of paper products: colonists, British commercial interests protest Act, tax never effectively collected; Quartering Act 1765 requires colonists to house British soldiers at colonial expense: Act openly defied by Province of New York, circumvented in all colonies but Pennsylvania.
- 1766-1767—Townshend Acts indirectly tax glass, lead, paint, paper, tea, provoking controversy, resistance in Thirteen Colonies.
- 1767—Jesuit Order progressively expelled from all Spanish dominions.
- 1768—British troops stationed in Province of Massachusetts Bay to help enforce locally unpopular legislation.
- 1769—Spain begins to establish missions in California.
- 1770—Boston Massacre: British soldiers harassed by crowd open fire without orders, killing five colonists, wounding six; eight soldiers arrested, charged with murder: six acquitted, two found guilty of lesser offense of manslaughter.
- 1773—Tea Act excuses British East India Company from normal tariffs in order to allow cheaper sale of tea in Thirteen Colonies, legitimize Townshend Act taxes post facto; Boston Tea Party: colonists disguised as American Indians board BEIC vessels, throw tea into harbor to prevent sale.
The Long Nineteenth Century
(1775-[1917])
- 1775—American Revolution begins. Battles of Lexington, Concord: American victories; Washington appointed generalissimo of Continental Army; Dunmore’s Proclamation promises freedom to any slave in Colonies who fights for British crown; Battles of Bunker Hill, Québec: British victories.
- 1776—American naval expedition to Bahamas to secure store of gunpowder due to Continental Army’s shortage: mission successful; Declaration of Independence drafted by Thomas Jefferson, ratified by Continental Congress (association of Thirteen Colonies); Thomas Paine publishes influential pro-Revolutionary pamphlet “Common Sense”; Battle of Long Island: British victory; American morale at ebb, Continental Congress flees Philadelphia for Baltimore; Battle of Trenton: American victory, morale recovers. Adam Smith publishes Wealth of Nations, attacking mercantilist economic system.
- 1777—Battle of Princeton: American victory; Continental Army inoculated against smallpox; siege of Fort Ticonderoga: British victory; appointment by Americans of French Marquis de Lafayette as major general; Battles of Saratoga: American victories.
- 1778—Carlisle Peace Commission proposes terms of armistice, recognizing principle of self-government: Continental Congress rejects terms, concludes alliance with France; British forces withdraw from Philadelphia, consolidate in New York; British capture Savannah. European discovery of Hawaii.
- 1779—Sullivan Expedition by Americans against Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois), British allies: Haudenosaunee lands devastated; British begin conscripting American POWs,‡ leading to discontent, resistance in British forces.
- 1780—Benedict Arnold, dissatisfied by rejection of Carlisle terms, alliance with France, offers to betray West Point to British for £20K, military position: plot fails, Arnold flees to New York; Battle of Kings Mountain: American victory.
- 1781—General Cornwallis, leader of British forces, surrenders to Washington at Yorktown, Virginia. Founding of city of Los Angeles. Immanuel Kant publishes Critique of Pure Reason.
- 1782-1783—Legal, administrative conclusion of American Revolution: British Loyalists mostly emigrate to remaining British possessions in Canada, Caribbean; Treaty of Paris 1783 cedes most of modern US east of Mississippi River (except Florida, adjacent southern coast) to United States.
- 1787—Ongoing administrative issues prompt Continental Congress to hold Constitutional Convention: US Constitution drafted by James Madison.
- 1787-1790—Ratification of Constitution by all thirteen then-existing states: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey (1787); Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New York, Virginia (1788); North Carolina (1789); Rhode Island (1790).
- 1789—Washington elected first President of US.
- 1791—Bill of Rights (first ten Amendments to US Constitution) ratified; Haitian Revolution begins.
- 1793—Yellow fever epidemic strikes US.
- 1797—Retirement of Washington, election of John Adams sets precedent for US presidents not to exceed two terms.
The Eastern Hemisphere:
Europe
The Enlightenment ([1660]-1789)
- 1700-1721—Great Northern War between Russian, Swedish Empires.
- 1701—Founding of Kingdom of Prussia; Act of Settlement outlaws succession to English throne of any Catholic or spouse of a Catholic, designates Protestant descendants of King James VI and I through his granddaughter Sophia, Electress of Hanover.
- 1701-1714—War of the Spanish Succession between pro-Bourbons (Bavaria, France, Portugal [till 1702], Savoy [till 1703]), pro-Habsburgs (Britain, Dutch Republic, Holy Roman Empire, Portugal [from 1702], Prussia, Savoy [from 1703]): no clear victor; House of Bourbon succeeds to Spanish throne, but Spanish branch renounces French throne in perpetuity; European political system based on “maintaining balance of power” unofficially introduced.
- 1703—Petrograd, a.k.a. St. Petersburg, founded by Tsar Peter the Great as new Russian capital.
- 1707—Act of Union legally merges England, Scotland into Great Britain.
- 1713—Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI issues Pragmatic Sanction, abolishing male-only inheritance mandated by Salic Law.
- 1714—Death of Queen Anne, last Protestant monarch of the House of Stuart; accession of George I of the Electorate of Hanover in modern Germany, beginning of Hanoverian dynasty (till 1901), personal union between Britain, Hanover (till 1837).
- 1715—First Jacobite Rising in favor of Stuart claimant, James VIII and III: Jacobites defeated at Battles of Sherriffmuir, Preston; death of King Louis XIV of France.
- 1729—Beginnings of Methodism under Charles, John Wesley in England.
- ca. 1730-1750—Evangelical Revival in Britain (parallel to First Great Awakening in Thirteen Colonies).
- 1733—Voltaire publishes Letters Concerning the English Nation in English, indirectly critiquing French government.
- 1734—Letters Concerning the English Nation published in French, rapidly suppressed.
- 1740-1748—War of the Austrian Succession over accession of Empress Maria Theresa (Austrian allies: Austria, Britain, Dutch Republic, Hanover, Sardinia [from 1742], Saxony [from 1743], Russia; opponents: Bavaria, France, Genoa, Modena, Poland-Lithuania, Sardinia [till 1742], Saxony [through 1742], Spain, Sweden): Austrian victory, but Austria compelled to cede Silesia to Prussia.
- 1741—Pope Benedict XIV issues bull Immensa Pastorum Principis to King of Portugal, bishops of Brazil, imposing excommunication on any who should enslave indigenous inhabitants of Brazil; bull goes unenforced.
- 1744-1748—First Carnatic** War in India between British, French East India Companies.
- 1745-1746—Second Jacobite Rising (a.k.a. “the Forty-Five”), led by Bonnie Prince Charlie, son of James VIII and III; initial success in Scotland, northern England, followed by reversal in Hanoverian favor; Rising culminates in Battle of Culloden (1746): Hanoverian victory; Jacobite cause extinguished, Highland clan system dismantled.
- 1748-1756—“Diplomatic Revolution”: in wake of War of Austrian Succession, resentments caused by settlement, Austria, Britain become estranged, Austria aligns with France, Britain aligns with Prussia, Dutch Republic becomes more anti-British.
- 1749-1754—Second Carnatic War: British victory.
- ca. 1750—Peak of “Little Ice Age,” period of extreme cold following Medieval Warm Period.
- 1755—Lisbon earthquake (epicenter nearby in Atlantic Ocean), accompanying tsunami nearly destroy Lisbon, cause major damage, mass death in Morocco, Portugal, Spain; Dr. Samuel Johnson publishes Dictionary of the English Language.
- 1756-1763—Seven Years’ War (sometimes considered first true world war) between Anglo-Prussian coalition (Britain, Portugal, Prussia, Russia [middle of 1762]), Austro-French coalition (Austria, Bengal, France, the Holy Roman Empire, Russia [till early 1762], Spain, Sweden): Anglo-Prussian victory; France cedes Louisiana to Spain, New France (modern Québec) to Britain, forced to effectively dismantle forts in India; Spain cedes Florida to Britain; recovery of Austrian prestige under Empress Maria Theresa, increase of Prussian, Russian prestige; Continental Europe now sees Britain rather than France as most dangerous power.
- 1757-1763—Third Carnatic War: British victory.
- 1759—Jesuit Order banned in Portuguese Empire for anti-slavery activities.
- 1761—Marine chronometer invented (crucial device for establishing longitude at sea).
- 1762—Jean-Jacques Rousseau publishes Le Contrat Social (“The Social Contract”).
- 1762-1764—Enemies of Jesuit Order in France (Jansenists, faculty of Sorbonne, royal mistress Madame de Pompadour) achieve their legal dissolution.
- 1767—Jesuit Order progressively expelled from all Spanish dominions.
- 1767-1799—First, Second, Third, Fourth Anglo-Mysore Wars in India between Sultanate of Mysore, Anglo coalition (British East India Company, Kingdom of Hyderabad, Maratha Empire, Kingdom of Travancore): Anglo victory; British East India Company increasingly assumes power over India.
- 1772—First Partition of Poland-Lithuania by Austria, Prussia, Russia deprives Polish of 30% of prior territory.
- 1773—Under pressure from various branches of House of Bourbon, Pope Clement XIV entirely suppresses Jesuit Order; Tsarina Catherine the Great prevents suppression of Jesuits in Russia; British East India Company begins smuggling opium into China.
- 1773-1775—Pugachev’s Rebellion, largest peasant revolt in Russian history.
- 1775-1783—American Revolution: American victory; modest setback for British power, prestige.
- 1776—Adam Smith publishes Wealth of Nations, attacking mercantilist economic system.
- 1781—Immanuel Kant publishes Critique of Pure Reason.
- 1788—Royal treasury of France declared empty.
The Long Nineteenth Century
(1789-[1914])
- 1789—Beginning of French Revolution: bankruptcy forces crown to summon États Généraux (“Estates General,” French parliament); attempt to exclude Third Estate (commoners) triggers founding of National Assembly; storming of Bastille; Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen adopted, monarchy reformed toward constitutionalism; aristocracy begin to flee country.
- 1789-1790—Brabantine Revolution in Belgium temporarily throws off Austrian rule.
- 1790—French government demands oath of loyalty from clergy: most refuse; King Louis XVI requests military intervention from Prussia.
- 1791—Diplomatic relations between France, papacy collapse; royal family attempt to flee, are apprehended at Varennes (near modern Belgian border); people of color within France (but not colonies) freed; French Jews enfranchised. Poland-Lithuania ratifies May Constitution, enfranchising bourgeoisie, establishing separation of powers.
- 1792—French monarchy abolished, First Republic declared; Louis Capet (former King Louis XVI) tried for treason; annexation of Savoy. War in Defense of the Constitution between Poland-Lithuania, Russia: Russian victory.
- 1793—Louis Capet found guilty, executed; revolt against French Republic in Vendée; Marie-Antoinette, former queen, executed; religious instruction by clergy illegalized, institution of “cult of reason.” Second Partition of Poland-Lithuania by Prussia, Russia deprives Polish of 60% of territory.
- 1793-1794—Reign of Terror in France, dominated by Robespierre.
- 1794-1795—Thermidorian Reaction ousts Robespierre, tempers Revolutionary Republican extremism. Kościuszko Uprising against Russian rule in former Polish territories: Russian victory; Third Partition of Poland-Lithuania by Austria, Prussia, Russia entirely eliminates Polish state.
- 1795—Backed by France, Batavian Republic declared in Netherlands.
- 1798—Mediterranean campaign (attempt by Napoléon Bonaparte to conquer Egypt) fails; Irish Rebellion against crown fails.
- 1799—Bonaparte declares himself emperor of First French Empire (conventional end-date of French Revolution).
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. —That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among men ... [A]ll experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations ... evinces a design to reduce them under an absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.
*This river is conventionally referred to by its Spanish name even in English—possibly because the name “Big River” is not particularly distinctive! (It is notable that, in Spanish usage, it carries the alternate name Río Bravo del Norte.)
**This name is related to that of the modern Indian state of Karnataka, though the modern state lies to the west of the Carnatic region the name of the war alludes to.
†Acadia referred mainly to the Canadian “maritimes” (i.e. New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island), along with parts of what is now Maine. However, the ethnonym Acadien was used by French colonists in North America more generally (e.g. in the Great Lakes region and further south all the way to the mouth of the Mississippi); it is from this term and the people it referred to that we get the name and ethnicity of the Cajuns of southern Louisiana.
‡It may be, gentle reader, that you are thinking something to the effect of “But I thought that was a war crime.” The thing about this is that yes, it is very much a war crime—which is one of the things that made the colonists inclined to be miffed with the British. (The Geneva Conventions, of course, did not exist at the time, but they were a codification of ideas and sentiments far older than themselves.)
Gabriel Blanchard is a freelance author contracting with CLT. He lives in Baltimore, MD.
If you’re new to the Texts in Context series, you can find our three-part introduction to history as a discipline here, here, and here; we have timelines of earlier periods of history dotted through the series as well, beginning with the Stone and Bronze Ages, passing through the Early Iron Age on to our two-part timeline of Classical Antiquity, on through the Early Middle Ages to the High and Late Middle Ages, and finally (before this timeline) to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Published on 21st August, 2025. Page image of a set design for the appearance of the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s opera Die Zauberflöte (“The Magic Flute”); author thumbnail of same.