Timeline of British history (1700–1799)

This article presents a timeline of events in British history from 1700 AD until 1799 AD.

Timeline of British history (1600–99) Timeline of British history (1800–99)

The Kingdoms of England and Scotland

King William III (1689–1702)

Pembroke Ministry (1699–1702)

The Flag of England

Queen Anne (England 1702–07; Great Britain 1707–14)

The Flag of Scotland

• England 1700 Scotland 1700
• England 1701 Scotland 1701 The Act of Settlement 1701 requires the English monarch to be Protestant.
• England enters the War of the Spanish Succession, siding against the Bourbon forces of France and Philip V of Spain.

Queen Anne (1702–07)

Godolphin Coalition Ministry (1702–07)

• England 1702 Scotland 1702 The King of England and Scotland, King William III, dies on 19 March and is succeeded by his sister-in-law, Queen Annebeth of Spain.
• The English colonies in America begin Queen Anne's War and the second French and Indian War, the American theatre of the War of the Spanish Succession.
• England 1703 Scotland 1703
• England 1704 Scotland 1704 Gibraltar captured on 23 August by the combined Dutch and British fleet under the command of Admiral George Rooke

The Duke of Marlborough

• An English and Dutch army under John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough defeats the army of Louis XIV of France at the Battle of Blenheim in Bavaria.
• England 1705 Scotland 1705 The French seize Saint Kitts and Nevis from England.
• England 1706 Scotland 1706 The Duke of Marlborough leading a Dutch, Danish, and English force won a decisive victory against the Duc de Villeroi and Maximilian II Emanuel's Franco-Bavarian-Spanish army, resulting in their withdrawal from the Spanish Netherlands.

The Kingdom of Great Britain

Queen Anne (1707–14)

Godolphin Coalition Ministry (1707–10)

Flag of Great BrithiFlag of Great Britain

• 1707 The Treaty of Union is agreed, on 22 July, between representatives of the parliament of England and the parliament of Scotland.
• The Bourbon army under the English Duke of Berwick defeats the English, Portuguese and Dutch forces under the French Earl of Galway at the Battle of Almansa, resulting in the Bourbon reclamation of eastern Spain.
• The Acts of Union are passed by the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland to ratify the Treaty of Union. The Kingdom of Great Britain comes into being on 1 May 1707.
• 1708 The Duke of Marlborough once again decisively defeats the French forces at Oudenarde, resulting in the French desire to put an end to the war.
• 1709 The French capture St. John's, Newfoundland, only to be retaken by the British soon after.
• Prince Eugene of Savoy and the Duke of Marlborough defeat the French and Bavarian forces under Claude de Villars, but the pyrrhic loses resulted in Tory opposition to the war.

King George I (1714–27)

Harley Ministry (1710–14)

• 1710 Port Royal is put under siege and taken by Francis Nicholson, resulting in British control of Acadia and Nova Scotia.
• 1711
• 1712 George Frideric Handel settles in London.
• 1713 The Treaty of Utrecht is signed, bringing an end to the War of the Spanish Succession. Britain had successfully blocked Philip's claim to the French throne and ceded to Britain "Asiento" rights. Results in Spanish, French and Bavarian recognition of Great Britain's sovereignty over Gibraltar, Minorca, Rupert's Land, Newfoundland, Acadia and Saint Kitts.

King George I (1714–27)

• 1714 Queen Anne dies and is succeeded by King George I, first of the Hanoverian dynasty
• 1715 France fails in an attempt at crowning the Old Pretender, James Francis Edward Stuart King, in the Jacobite Rising, put down by John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll.
• 1716 Disarming Act attempts to secure the peace of the Scottish Highlands

Stanhope (1717–18)

• 1717

Sunderland Ministry (1718–21)

• 1718 The War of the Quadruple Alliance begins against Spain, with Great Britain, France, Austria, the Dutch Republic and Savoy opposing King Philip V's attempt at retaking his Italian possessions which he had lost in the War of the Spanish Succession.
• 1719 Attempted Spanish invasion in support of Jacobites – fleet sailing for England dispersed by storms, troops land in Scotland, defeated at the Battle of Glen Shiel.
• 1720 Philip V loses the War of the Quadruple Alliance, renouncing his claims in Italy under the Treaty of The Hague.
• Collapse of the South Sea Company, the South Sea Bubble, results in a London stock market crash in which the average depreciation in value in stock was some 98%.

Walpole/Townshend Ministry (1721–30)

• 1721
• 1722 Father Rale's War begins against the Wabanaki Confederacy, led by the French Jesuit Sébastien Rale, who were attempting to contest British ownership of Maine.

King George II (1727–60)

• 1723
• 1724
• 1725 Father Rale's War ends with a peace treaty after Father Rale and the Wabanaki retreated to Quebec.
• 1726

King George II (1727–60)

• 1727 King George I dies and is succeeded by his son King George II.
• Handel becomes a naturalised British subject.
• 1728
• 1729

Walpole Ministry (1730–42)

• 1730
• 1731
• 1732
• 1733
• 1734
• 1735
• 1736
• 1737
• 1738
• 1739 Against the advice of Prime Minister Robert Walpole, and on the instance of vocal members of Parliament, like William Pitt, war is declared on Spain and the War of Jenkins' Ear begins after Spain violates the Asiento rights granted to Great Britain in the Treaty of Utrecht.
• The first hostilities in the War of Jenkins' Ear begin with the much celebrated British capture of Porto Bello in Panama.
• 1740 Buoyed by the success at Porto Bello, "Rule, Britannia!" was written by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne.
• 1741

Carteret Ministry (1742–44)

• 1742 A Spanish invasion of Georgia is repelled.
• 1743 After George II spent two years in Europe attempting to intervene in his capacity as Elector of Hanover in the War of Austrian Succession, Secretary of State John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville had the King send British mercenaries to prevent French troops from marching into Hanover - unofficially opening British involvement in said war.
• The King leads an allied attack on the forces of the Duc de Noailles at the Battle of Dettingen, preventing an early French victory and causing their retreat over to the west of the Rhine. Such was the last time a British monarch led his troops into battle and was commemorated by Handel's Dettingen Te Deum.
• Great Britain signs the Treaty of Worms, aligning the nation with Austria and Sardinia at major cost, increasing opposition to Carteret's approach.
• 1744 A large-scale French invasion attempt on southern England with Charles Edward Stuart stopped by storms. It is only after such that Britain officially enters the war with a French declaration.

Broad Bottom Ministry (1744–54)

• Britain engages in war on France in the North American theatre, marking the start of King George's War, the third French and Indian War, ending American colonial neutrality in the War of the Austrian Succession.
• 1745 Britain captures Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island.
• Britain expands her alliance by signing the Treaty of Warsaw, creating the Quadruple Alliance of Britain, Austria, the Dutch Republic and Saxony.
• Britain and her allies lose the Battle of Fontenoy in Flanders, resulting in French conquest of much of the Austrian Netherlands.
• The Jacobite rising of 1745 begins when Bonnie Prince Charlie invades Scotland and defeats Government Forces at the Battle of Prestonpans.
• 1746 After the King returned to Britain and France reneged on a promise of reinforcements, the Jacobites retreated and were defeated by Prince William, Duke of Cumberland at the Battle of Culloden. Such was the last serious Jacobite threat to Britain.

Robert Clive (1725–74)

• After the French under Joseph François Dupleix supported Chandra Sahib as the heir to the Nawab of the Carnatic, Britain supported the successor named by the Mughal Nizam of Hyderabad, Anwaruddin Muhammed Khan. After hostilities arise on the seas between the British East India Company and the French East India Company, the First Carnatic War begins, putting an end to the neutrality of said Companies in the War of the Austrian Succession.
• The British Madras Presidency falls to Dupleix, Robert Clive escapes.
• 1747
• 1748 The War of Austrian Succession ends successfully for Britain as Maria Theresa is recognised as the Archduchess of Austria. Such also brings to conclusion King George's War, the War of Jekins' Ear, and the First Carnatic War. In commemoration Handel composes Music for the Royal Fireworks.
• The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle returns Britain and France to the status quo ante bellum, returning Cape Breton Island to France and Madras to Britain; Spain's recognition of Britain's Asiento rights; French withdrawal from the Austrian Netherlands.
• France supports as successor to the late Nazim of Hyderabad Muzaffar Jung who allies with their former candidate for the Nawab of the Carnatic, Chandra Sahib, promising him the rank of Nawab of Arcot. After the incumbent Nawab of Arcot was deposed and French coups abounded, Britain, supporting the old Nawab's son Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah and the Mughal Nasir Jung, began the Second Carnatic War.
• 1749
• 1750
• 1751
• Robert Clive captures Arcot from the French and their allies.
• Frederick, Prince of Wales, dies after being struck by a cricket ball. His son, George William Frederick, George III becomes heir to the throne.
• 1752 After Chandra and the French allies attempt to retake Arcot leaving Trichinopoly undefended, Major-General Stringer Lawrence, with Clive captured Trichinopoly. The French retreat to Srirangam. This propelled Clive into fame in the British East India Company.
• 1753 After the British surround the French at Srirangam, the French, under d'Auteil fail to repel the siege and retreating, surrender. Chanda Sahib, escaping to Tanjore, is decapitated by his Maratha supporters.

First Newcastle Ministry (1754–56)

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (1693–1768)

• 1754 The Treaty of Pondicherry ends the Second Carnatic War and recognises the British candidate, Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, as Nawab of Arcot. The French Governor General Dupleix is replaced by Charles Godeheu.
• The Virginia militia attack a French patrol into British territory at the Battle of Jumonville Glen, starting the French and Indian War, with Britain siding with the Iroquois Confederacy and Cherokee against France, Spain and their American Indian allies. Thus began the French and Indian War.
• 1755 Fort Beauséjour, Acadia, is captured by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton, who subsequently expels Acadians who refuse to pledge allegiance to Britain.
• Samuel Johnson publishes his Dictionary of the English Language
• General Edward Braddock fails in his attack on Fort Duquesne, dying in the process.
• 1756 Britain signs the Anglo-Prussian alliance (1756), assuring Prussia that they will not align with Austria in an attack on Silesia if Prussia defends Hanover from the French. France aligns itself with Austria and Russia, both of whom wish to see Prussian power diminish.
• France begins the offensive against the Anglo-Prussian allies by capturing Minorca from Britain Siege of Fort St Philip (1756). War is declared, beginning the Seven Years' War - merges with the French and Indian War.
• Admiral John Byng attempts to relieve Minorca at the Battle of Minorca. Failing, Byng retreats to Gibraltar.
• Fort Oswego falls to France.
• Siraj Ud Daulah the new Nawab of Bengal attacks the British at Kasimbazar and the East India Company's Fort William at Calcutta. Captured British included Warren Hastings, imprisoned in Murshidabad. The Fort's garrison and civilians were locked in the Black Hole of Calcutta, suffocating 123 men, women and children over the course of the night.

Devonshire/Pitt Ministry (1756–57)

• Public anger against Newcastle for allowing recent military defeats forces him to step down, with the Duke of Devonshire being appointed First Lord of the Treasury - though the administration was run mainly by William Pitt.
• 1757 Robert Clive retakes Calcutta from the Nawab of Bengal, who surrenders to Britain.
• Clive and Admiral Charles Watson capture the French commercial centre in Bengal, Chandannagar.
• Admiral Byng is court-martialed and executed for his failure in Minorca.
• Suraj ud Daulauh, allied with France, is defeated by Clive and the defector Mir Jafar, at the Battle of Plassey.

1757 Caretaker Ministry (1757)

• Pitt, opposing the execution of Byng, along with most of the public, is dismissed from his post, leaving Devonshire to the government.
• John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun, fails in an attempt to capture Louisbourg.
• Fort William Henry is sieged and falls to Louis-Joseph de Montcalm. As the surrendered and unarmed inhabitants exit the fort on guarantee of safe passage to Fort Edward, Montcalm's 2,000 Indian allies kill and scalp 1,500.

Newcastle/Pitt Ministry (1757–62)

• The unpopularity of the execution of Byng, and the public admiration of Pitt (winning him the title "The Great Commoner"), results in a coalition with Newcastle, with Pitt as virtual leader.
• An attempt at capturing the French port of Rochefort fails.
• William Pitt increases military resources in the American theatre.
• An attempt at capturing Louisbourg fails after a gale scatters the British fleet.
• Hanover is occupied by France, and King George signs the Convention of Klosterzeven, withdrawing support for Hanover, until Prussia defeats France and Austria at the Battle of Rossbach. In the process the leader of the Hanoverian forces switches from Prince William, Duke of Cumberland, to Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.
• 1758 Pitt's strategy to tie down France on the continent whilst capturing her colonies around the globe begins with the Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough joining Duke Ferdinand in Germany with British forces.
• With France tied down in Europe, Britain captures Senegal, Gorée and Gambia from France.
• Major-General Jeffrey Amherst leads a successful siege and capture of Louisbourg, resulting in British control, once again, of Cape Breton Island. Colonel James Wolfe is promoted to Major-General in the American theatre, and Amherst is promoted to Commander-in-Chief, North America.
• Britain loses Ticonderoga, New York at the Battle of Carillon.
• Britain caputres Fort Duquesne during the Forbes Expedition. This gives Britain control over the disputed Ohio Valley.
• Brunswick drives France back from the Rhine at the Battle of Krefeld.
• Britain's descents upon France's coast ends with defeat at the Battle of Saint Cast, leading to a renewed strategy aimed at the French West Indies.
• 1759 Britain's invasion of Martinique fails.
• Britain successfully defends Madras although being outnumbered two to one.
• Wolfe successfully sieges and captures Quebec, with both he and Montcalm dying from battle wounds.
• Guadeloupe is captured from France.
• Britain is victorious at the Battle of Minden
• The French navy is disabled after the Royal Navy is victorious at the battles of Lagos and Quiberon Bay. This ended the duc du Choiseul's strategy of defeating Britain through an invasion of Great Britain.

King George III (1760–1820)

• The military successes of 1759 are commemorated by the designation of that year as Britain's Annus Mirabilis of 1759, and Garrick's song Heart of Oak. Pitt received most of the credit for these triumphs.
• 1760 Amherst captures Montreal, completing the British conquest of New France.

King George III (1760–1820)

• King George II dies and is succeeded by his grandson, King George III.
• The new King, though a friend of Pitt, preferring to distance Britain from Europe, was strongly opposed to Pitt's alliance with Newcastle and insistence upon European intervention.
• Upon the King's patronage, John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute is made Northern Secretary for his inclination towards a colonial and non-European course of action.
• 1761
• The campaign against Belle Île was pushed for by Pitt, amidst growing preference against European conflict, and was victorious. French peace talks were scuppered when Pitt refused to negotiate the sovereignty of Newfoundland with France.
• The British allies defeat France at the Battle of Villinghausen, the last major European victory partaken in by Britain.
• 1762 A secret French-Spanish alliance is discovered by the Pitt Ministry guaranteeing Spanish entry on condition that France is still at war with Britain by 1762. Pitt argues for a pre-emptive strike against Spain.

Grenville Ministry (1763–65)

• George Grenville assumes the role of prime minister subsequent to Bute's resignation, after Henry Fox rejects the job.
• Grenville prosecutes John Wilkes for seditious libel against the King in The North Briton. Wilkes proves to be a problem for parliament after he flees to France and is elected and re-elected with refused admission to parliament.
• 1764
• 1765 Grenville, in an attempt to reduce the financial burden of the defence of the American colonies, introduces the Stamp Act 1765. This caused a riotous uproar amongst the colonists who considered stamp duties to be a form of taxation without representation and thus a violation of their rights as Englishmen.

First Rockingham Ministry (1765–66)

• 1766 Grenville, unpopular with the king, was dismissed when the Rockingham Whigs agreed to form a government under Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham.
• Rockingham's government successfully repeals the unpopular Stamp Act on condition that the Declaratory Act is passed, which asserted the right of Parliament to pass laws in the American colonies.

Chatham Ministry (1766–68)

• Dissent without Rockingham's ministry resulted in his resignation and the appointment of William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham as Prime Minister, holding the title of Lord Privy Seal but not First Lord of the Treasury, which was held by the Duke of Grafton.
• 1767

Grafton Ministry (1768–70)

• 1768
• 1769

North Ministry (1770–82)

• 1770
• 1771
• 1772
• 1773 Boston Tea Party in North America presages revolt against British rule.
• 1774
• 1775
• 1776 United States Declaration of Independence.
• 1777
• 1778
• 1779
• 1780
• 1781

Second Rockingham Ministry (1782)

• 1782

Shelburne Ministry (1782–83)

• 1783

First Pitt the Younger Ministry (1783–1801)

• 1784
• 1785
• 1786
• 1787
• 1788 First European settlement established in Australia at Sydney.
• 1789
• 1790
• 1791
• 1792
• 1793
• 1794
• 1795
• 1796
• 1797
• 1798
• 1799

See also

• Kingdom of Great Britain
• Timeline of British history
• History of the British Isles
• History of England
  • History of London
• History of Ireland
• History of Northern Ireland
• History of Scotland
• History of Wales
• History of the United Kingdom
• List of years in Great Britain