TIMELINE — from Commonwealth to the Act of Union (1649 — 1800)

1649 - Charles I is tried and executed; The Commonwealth, in which England is governed as a republic, is established and lasts until 1660; Oliver Cromwell harshly suppresses Catholic rebellions in Ireland

1650 - Charles II (Charles I’s son) lands in Scotland; is proclaimed king.

1651 - Charles II invades England and is defeated at Battle of Worcester; Charles escapes to France. First Navigation Act, England gains virtual monopoly of foreign trade

1653 - Cromwell dissolves the "Rump" Parliament and becomes Lord Protector

1654 - Treaty of Westminster between England and Dutch Republic

1655 - England divided into 12 military districts by Cromwell; seizes Jamaica from Spain as part of his colonizing scheme (the ‘Western Design’ . . . Barbados had already been colonized, in 1627, and was proving profitable).

1656 - War with Spain

1658 - Oliver Cromwell dies; succeeded as Lord Protector by incompetent son Richard; England and France defeat Spain

1659 - Richard Cromwell forced to resign by the army; "Rump" Parliament restored

1660 - Convention Parliament restores Charles II to throne (but no longer as ‘divine right king’); the ‘Invisible College for the promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning’ was founded . . . it changed its name to the ‘Royal Society for the Improvement of Natural Knowledge’ 3 years later, when Charles II sealed its charter.

1661 - Clarendon Code; "Cavalier" Parliament of Charles II passes series of repressive laws against Nonconformists; English acquire Bombay

1662 - Act of [Religious] Uniformity passed in England

1663 — First English guineas produced, a coin initially worth a pound, using gold from West Africa (hence the name)

1664 - England seizes New Amsterdam from the Dutch, change name to New York

1665 - Great Plague in London; the boys at Eton college were told to smoke a pipe every morning to ward off plague

1666 - Great Fire of London

1667 - Dutch fleet defeats the English in Medway river; treaties of Breda among Netherlands, England, France, and Denmark (but England gives up Surinam — see Oroonoko)

1668 - Triple Alliance of England, Netherlands, and Sweden against France

1670 - Secret Treaty of Dover between Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France to restore Roman Catholicism to England; Hudson's Bay Company founded

1672 - Third Anglo-Dutch war (until 1674); William III (of Orange) becomes ruler of Netherlands. Establishment of The Royal African Company to control the British slave trade.

1673 - Test Act aims to deprive English Roman Catholics and Nonconformists of public office

1674 - Treaty of Westminster between England and the Netherlands

1677 - William III, ruler of the Netherlands, marries Mary, daughter of James, Duke of York, heir to the English throne

1678 - 'Popish Plot' in England; Titus Oates falsely alleges a Catholic plot to murder Charles II

1679 - Act of Habeas Corpus passed, forbidding imprisonment without trial; Parliament's Bill of Exclusion against the Roman Catholic Duke of York blocked by Charles II; Parliament dismissed; Charles II rejects petitions calling for a new Parliament; petitioners become known as Whigs; their opponents (royalists) known as Tories

1681 - Whigs reintroduce Exclusion Bill; Charles II dissolves Parliament

1682 — Founding of the Advocates’ Library, later to become the National Library of Scotland.

1685 — Death of Charles II; his brother becomes James II of England and VII of Scotland (to 1688); rebellion by Charles II's illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, against James II is put down

1686 - James II disregards Test Act; Roman Catholics appointed to public office. Newton publishes the Principia Mathematica.

1687 - James II issues Declaration of Liberty of Conscience, extends toleration to all religions

1688 - England's 'Glorious Revolution'; William III of Orange and wife Mary (James II’s protestant daughter) are ‘invited’ to save England from Roman Catholicism, lands in England, James II flees to France. Aphra Behn publishes Oroonoko.

1689 - Convention Parliament issues Bill of Rights; establishes a constitutional monarchy in Britain; bars Roman Catholics from the throne; William III and Mary II become joint monarchs of England and Scotland (to1694), Toleration Act grants freedom of worship to dissenters in England; Grand Alliance of the League of Augsburg, England, and the Netherlands. Catholic forces loyal to James II land in Ireland from France and lay siege to Londonderry; first Jacobite revolt (aka ‘Bonnie Dundee’s Revolt’) in Scotland.

1690 - King William defeats the Irish and French armies of his father-in-law James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland

1691 - The Treaty of Limerick allows Cathlcscs in Ireland to exercise their religion freely, but severe penal laws soon follow. The French War begins

1694 - Death of Queen Mary; King William now rules alone. Foundation of the Bank of England. Triennial Act sets the maximum duration of a parliament to three years

1695 - Lapse of the Licensing Act; corresponding growth of booksellers, newspapers, and magazines

1698 — Private traders, on payment of 10 percent duty to English goods exported to Africa, given approval to participate in the slave trade.

1697 - Peace of Ryswick between the allied powers of the League of Augsburg and France ends the French War. Civil List Act votes funds for the maintenance of the Royal Household

1701 - The Act of Settlement settles the Royal Succession on the Protestant descendants of Sophia of Hanover (granddaughter of James I). Death of the former King James II in exile in France. The French king recognizes James II's son as "King James III". King William forms a grand alliance between England, Holland and Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and French crowns. The War of the Spanish Succession breaks out in Europe over the vacant throne

1702 - Death of King William III in a riding accident. He is succeeded by his sister-in-law, Queen Anne (another Protestant daughter of James II; Queen Mary’s sister). England declares war on France as part of the War of the Spanish Succession. The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper, established.

1704 - British, Dutch, German and Austrian troops, under the Duke of Marlborough, defeat the French and Bavarians at the Battle of Blenheim. British, Bavarian and Austrian troops under Marlborough defeat the French at the Battle of Ramillies, and expel the French from the Netherlands. The British capture Gibraltar from Spain. Penal Code deprives Irish Catholics of voting and educational rights.

1707 - The Act of Union unites the kingdoms of England and Scotland and transfers the seat of Scottish Government to London; the ‘Royal Society of Antiquaries of London’ founded.

1708 - The Duke of Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Oudenarede.. Queen Anne vetoes a parliamentary bill to recognise the Scottish militia. This is the last time a bill is vetoed by the sovereign

1709 - Marlborough defeats the French at the Battle of Malplaquet First Copyright Act.

1710 - A Tory ministry is formed, under Robert Harley, with the impeachment of Dr. Sacheverell and the fall of the Whig government

1711 - The South Sea Company was given a monopoly of all trade in the Spanish South America, predicated on the successful outcome of theWar of Spanish Succession. In return for this monopoly, the South Sea Company would assume a portion of the national debt that England had incurred during the war. The scheme was originally promoted by Robert Harley who wanted to set up a financial establishment that could compete with the Whig Bank of England, which had been created in 1694. Hence, the South Sea Company was really a financial institution that used its monopoly primarily as a means of attracting stock investors. Some slave-trade voyages were made but these produced little profits. Addison and Steel began The Spectator.

1712 - Handel settles in London; last witch convicted in England.

1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht is signed by Britain and France, thus concluding the War of the Spanish Succession; the treaty also gave England the monopoly on supplying slaves to the Spanish Colonial Empire

1714 - Death of Queen Anne at Kensington Palace. She is succeeded by her distant cousin, the Elector George of Hanover, as King George I (he is the son of Sophia of Hanover and thus a greatgrandson of James I; he does not, however, speak English). A new parliament is elected with a strong Whig majority, led by Charles Townshend and Robert Walpole

1715 - The Jacobite Rebellion begins in Scotland with the aim of overthrowing the Hanovarian succession and placing the "Old Pretender" - James II's son - on the throne. The rebellion is easily defeated

1716 - The Septennial Act sets General Elections to be held every seven years

1717 - Townshend is dismissed from government by George I, causing Walpole to resign. The Whig party is split. Convocation is suspended. The East India Company (established in 1600 -- peripatetically active and occasionally profitable during the 17th century) achieved its hitherto most notable success when it received a firman or royal dictat from the Mughal Emperor exempting the Company from the payment of custom duties in Bengal. The Company’s fortunes took off.

1719 — Defoe publishes Robinson Crusoe

1720 - South Sea Bubble bursts, leaving many investors ruined after speculating with stock of the 'South Sea Company'

1721 - Sir Robert Walpole returns to government as First Lord of the Treasury. He remains in office until 1742 and effectively becomes Britain's first Prime Minister

1722 - Death of the Duke of Marlborough. The Jacobite 'Atterbury Plot' is hatched

1726 - First circulating library in Britain opens in Edinburgh. Jonathan Swift publishes his 'Gulliver's Travels'

1727 - Death of great British scientist, Sir Isaac Newton and of King George I (in Hanover). The latter is succeeded by his son as King George II

1729 - Alexander Pope publishes his ' Dunciad'

1730 - A split occurs between Walpole and Townshend offices of government. Methodist society formed in Oxford.

1732 - A royal charter is granted for the founding of Georgia in America.

1733 - The 'Excise Crisis' occurs and Walpole is forced to abandon his plans to reorganise the customs and excise offices of government.

1735 - Abraham Darby smelts iron from coke.

1737 - Death of King George II's wife, Queen Caroline

1738 - John and Charles Wesley start the Methodist movement in Britain

1739 - Britain goes to war with Spain in the 'War of Jenkins' Ear'. The cause: Captain Jenkins' ear was claimed to have been cut off during a Naval Skirmish

1740 - Commencement of the War of Austrian Succession in Europe; Richardson publishes Pamela.

1742 - Walpole resigns as Prime Minister. Fielding publishes Joseph Andrews (Shamela had been published the year before).

1743 - George II leads British troops into battle at Dettingen in Bavaria

1744 - Ministry of Pelham

1745 - Jacobite Rebellion in Scotland led by 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'. There is a Scottish victory at Prestonpans

1746 - The Duke of Cumberland crushes the Scottish Jacobites at the Battle of Culloden

1748 - The Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle brings the War of Austrian Succession to a close. Walpole begins construction on Strawberry Hill. Ruins of Pompei discovered.

1751 - Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales. His son, Prince George, becomes heir to the throne

1752 - Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in Britain. Franklin demonstrates that lightning is electricity.

1753 - Parliament passes the Jewish Naturalization Bill (Jews had been officially expelled from England for about 500 years)

1754 - The ministry of Newcastle; ‘the ‘Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce’ founded in London

1755 — Johnson publishes the Dictionary of the English Language (begun in 1747)

1756 - Britain, allied with Prussia, declares war against France and her allies, Austria and Russia. The Seven Years' War begins

1757 - The Pitt-Newcastle ministry. Robert Clive wins the Battle of Plassey and secures the Indian province of Bengal for Britain. William Pitt becomes Prime Minister

1759 - Wolfe captures Quebec and expels the French from Canada; Johnson publishes Rasselas Sterne publishes first two volumes of Tristram Shandy. British Museum opens.

1760 - Death of King George II. He is succeeded by his grandson as George III

1761 - Laurence Sterne publishes his 'Tristram Shandy'

1762 - The Earl of Bute is appointed Prime Minister. He becomes very unpopular and employs a bodyguard

1763 - Peace of Paris ends the Seven Years' War. Grenville ministry.

1764 — Horace Walpole publishes The Castle of Otranto

1765 - Rockingham ministry. The American Stamp Act raises taxes in the colonies in an attempt to make their defence self-financing. Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England, in easy-to-read English, made British law accessible to the common man.

1766 - Chatham ministry. Repeal of the American Stamp Act

1768 - Grafton ministry. Capt. James Cook begins his Pacific discovery voyages (is killed in Hawaii, 1779); Royal Academy of Arts, with first president Sir Joshua Reynolds, established in london

1769 - James Watt patents the Steam Engine

1770 - Lord North begins service as Prime Minister. The Falkland Island Crisis occurs. Edmund Burke publishes his 'Thoughts on the Present Discontents'; Cook documents existence of Australia.

1771 - The Encyclopedia Britannica is first published; the Society of Civil Engineers founded in London. Mackenzie publishes The Man of Feeling.

1772 - The Lord Mansfield decision: no person can be forcibly removed from England (primarily, this means slaves)

1773 - American colonists protest at the East India Company's monopoly over tea exports to the colonies, at the so-called 'Boston Tea Party'. The world's first cast-iron bridge is constructed over the River Severn at Coalbrookdale

1774 - Parliament passes the Coercive Acts in retaliation for the 'Boston Tea Party'. Priestly discovers oxygen.

1775 - American War of Independence begins when colonists fight British troops at Lexington. James Watt further develops his steam engine

1776 - On 4th July, the American Congress passes their Declaration of Independence from Britain. Edward Gibbons' publishes his 'Decline and Fall' and Adam Smith, his 'Wealth if Nations'

1778 — Fanny Burney publishes Evelina (anonymously)

1780 - The Gordon Riots develop from a procession to petition Parliament against the Catholic Relief Act

1781 - The Americans obtain a great victory of British troops at the surrender of Yorktown. Uranus discovered (first planet to by found since antiquity); Watt patents the rotar steam engine.

1782 - End of Lord North's time as Prime Minister. He is succeeded by Rockingham in his second ministry. Ireland obtains short-lived parliament

1783 - Shelburne's ministry, followed by that of William Pitt the Younger. Britain recognises American independence at the Peace of Versailles. Fox-North coalition established

1784 - Parliament passes the East India Act; ‘Asiatick Society’ founded (by British) in Calcutta. William Wilberforce underwent a religious conversion and, with the help of Quakers and Methodists, began his mission to abolish slavery.

1785 - Pitt's motion for Parliamentary Reform is defeated. Cartwright patents the power-loom.

1786 - The Eden commercial treaty with France is drawn up. Beckford publishes Vathek.

1788 - George III suffers his first attack of 'madness' (caused by porphyria); Australia founded as a British penal colony.

1789 - Outbreak of the French Revolution; fall of the Bastille. Mutiny on the Bounty.

1790 - Edmund Burke publishes his 'Reflections on the Revolution in France'

1791 - James Boswell publishes his 'Life of Johnson' an Thomas Paine, his 'Rights of Man'. Haitian Revolution begins (ends in 1804 with establishment of the ‘first Black Republic’)

1792 - Coal gas is used for lighting for the first time. Mary Wollstonecraft publishes her 'Vindication of the Rights of Women'

1793 - Outbreak of War between Britain and France. The voluntary Board of Agriculture is set up. Commercial depression throughout Britain

1795 - The 'Speenhamland' system of outdoor relief is adopted, making wages up to equal the cost of subsistence

1796 - Vaccination against smallpox is introduced

1798 - Introduction of a tax of ten percent on incomes over £200. T.R. Malthus publishes his 'Essay on Population' Jane Austen publishes Northanger Abbey.

1799 - Trade Unions are suppressed. Napoleon is appointed First Consul in France

1799-1801 - Commercial boom in Britain

1800 - Act of Union with Ireland unites Parliaments of England and Ireland

 

 

Monarchs During Our Period:

House of Stuart

James I (1603-25)

Charles I (1625-49)

The Commonwealth

Oliver Cromwell (1649-58)

Richard Cromwell (1658-59)

House of Stuart, Restored

Charles II (1660-85)

James II (1685-88)

House of Orange and Stuart

William III, Mary II (1689-1702)

House of Stuart

Anne (1702-14)

House of Brunswick, Hanover Line

George I (1714-27)

George II (1727-60)

George III (1760-1820)

George IV (1820-30)

William IV (1830-37)

Victoria (1837-1901)