FOOTNOTES:[58]"Storm and stress," the period of intellectual revolt, struggle, and emancipation in Germany.—Ed.[59]Written in 1853, five years before the appearance of Mr. Darwin's great work.
[58]"Storm and stress," the period of intellectual revolt, struggle, and emancipation in Germany.—Ed.
[58]"Storm and stress," the period of intellectual revolt, struggle, and emancipation in Germany.—Ed.
[59]Written in 1853, five years before the appearance of Mr. Darwin's great work.
[59]Written in 1853, five years before the appearance of Mr. Darwin's great work.
A.D.1775
Modern education began when Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi established his experimental school at Neuhof in 1775. Comenius had shown the true path of teaching. Pestalozzi was the enthusiast who felt with burning passion the injustice done to the child in the schoolhouses of his day. He protested that the old education was all wrong, and he proved this by his achievements, establishing a little school in his own home at Neuhof, and then in 1800 a larger one at Burgdorf.The Swiss Government adopted his ideas. Teachers were sent to learn of him. From Burgdorf is sprung the whole school system of to-day. As a practical school-teacher Pestalozzi was nevertheless a failure in the end, because he relied on no force but that of personal affection to control his pupils. This divinest of methods succeeded remarkably while his schools were so small as to bring him into close paternal contact with every child. But at the large institution at Yverdon, of which he was master in his later years, the method broke down badly. Hence there were not wanting in his own times critics who pronounced him a failure. They did not see that beside his insistence on love as the "way," the reformer had an even more important message for the world. "The grand change advocated by Pestalozzi," says Mr. Quick, "was a change of object. The main object of the school should not be to teach, but to develop." In this sentence we have the key to all modern education, though not every teacher even to-day has digested fully the idea that his duty is less that of stuffing a child full of facts than of developing its character and abilities, encouraging whatever of value exists within itself.The full importance of Pestalozzi's work was recognized by keener intellects even in his own lifetime. Queen Louise, the heroine of Prussia, wished she could fly to Switzerland to grasp Pestalozzi's hand. His system was introduced throughout Northern Germany and did wonders for the development of the German people. To-day it is the system of the world.
Modern education began when Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi established his experimental school at Neuhof in 1775. Comenius had shown the true path of teaching. Pestalozzi was the enthusiast who felt with burning passion the injustice done to the child in the schoolhouses of his day. He protested that the old education was all wrong, and he proved this by his achievements, establishing a little school in his own home at Neuhof, and then in 1800 a larger one at Burgdorf.
The Swiss Government adopted his ideas. Teachers were sent to learn of him. From Burgdorf is sprung the whole school system of to-day. As a practical school-teacher Pestalozzi was nevertheless a failure in the end, because he relied on no force but that of personal affection to control his pupils. This divinest of methods succeeded remarkably while his schools were so small as to bring him into close paternal contact with every child. But at the large institution at Yverdon, of which he was master in his later years, the method broke down badly. Hence there were not wanting in his own times critics who pronounced him a failure. They did not see that beside his insistence on love as the "way," the reformer had an even more important message for the world. "The grand change advocated by Pestalozzi," says Mr. Quick, "was a change of object. The main object of the school should not be to teach, but to develop." In this sentence we have the key to all modern education, though not every teacher even to-day has digested fully the idea that his duty is less that of stuffing a child full of facts than of developing its character and abilities, encouraging whatever of value exists within itself.
The full importance of Pestalozzi's work was recognized by keener intellects even in his own lifetime. Queen Louise, the heroine of Prussia, wished she could fly to Switzerland to grasp Pestalozzi's hand. His system was introduced throughout Northern Germany and did wonders for the development of the German people. To-day it is the system of the world.
After completing the usual course of education, Pestalozzi continued his studies, with a view to engaging in the ministry of the gospel, to which the wishes of his friends, as well as his own deep religious feelings, had early destined him. This course,however, was soon abandoned. He appeared for the first and only time in the pulpit as a candidate, and then, discouraged by the ill-success of the experiment, renounced all aspirations to the sacred office. Soon after, he applied himself to the law, but with a strong predilection for political studies. At this time his inquiries seem to have taken the direction which ultimately led him to the discoveries that characterize his name. He saw clearly the great abuses in society which prevailed in his native country; and by dwelling on their enormity his active mind suggested means of relief which could be realized only by a more thorough and judicious education of the people at large. His first publication, issued while a student at law, contained his views on this subject. It was an essay on the bearing which education ought to have upon our respective callings.
It was not for a mind like Pestalozzi's to behold the evils which had been brought to his notice without deep and painful emotion. This was experienced to such a degree that he was thrown into a state of morbid excitement; and, at length, a dangerous illness broke off his ardent researches. Still his mind was not quieted. His thoughts could not be prevented from dwelling on the painful subjects to which he had given his whole soul. Prostrate on the bed of sickness, he continued to indulge himself in dark musings; and his fancy represented the prospects of the future, both for society and for himself, in gloomy colors. The strength of his constitution, however, carried him through the disorder; and from the moment of his recovery he resolved to follow the leadings of Providence, and, setting aside all human considerations, to act up to the full extent of his conceptions, and if possible to put his views to the test of experience.
He now abandoned all his former studies, committed his papers to the flames, and believing that the evils into which society was plunged were mainly owing to a departure from the straight and simple path of nature, to the school of nature he resolved to go. Accordingly he quitted Zurich and went to Kirchberg, in the Canton of Bern, where he became an apprentice to a farmer of the name of Tschiffeli.
After qualifying himself under the direction of Tschiffeli for the charge of a farm, he purchased a tract of waste land in the neighborhood of Lensburg, in the Canton of Bern, on which heerected a dwelling-house, with suitable buildings, and gave it the name of Neuhof. The work of his hands here was prospered. He soon brought himself into comfortable circumstances, and saw his prospects as bright and happy as could be wished. At this time he formed a connection in marriage with Ann Schulthess, the daughter of one of the wealthiest merchants in Zurich, a young lady of a refined education and great dignity of character. This marriage, while it increased the happiness of his domestic circle, offered him a new sphere of useful exertion, by giving him an interest in a flourishing cotton manufactory.
After eight years of successful industry at Neuhof, Pestalozzi resolved to make a fair trial of the plan, which he had long had at heart, of giving the lower orders such an education as should raise them to a condition more consistent with the capacities of their nature and with the spirit of Christianity.
To avoid the interference of others as much as possible, and to place the beneficial results of his system in a clearer light, he selected the objects of his experiment from the very dregs of the people. If he found a child who was left in destitute circumstances from the death of its parents or from their incompetency and vice, he immediately took him home, so that, in a short time, his house was converted into an asylum, in which fifty orphan or pauper children were fed, clothed, and instructed in the different employments from which they might afterward be able to gain a livelihood, and for the exercise of which his farm and the cotton manufactory, in which he was a partner, afforded an ample opportunity.
But this experiment, so happily conceived by Pestalozzi, was destined to prove unsuccessful. He possessed few of the means necessary to bring it to a prosperous issue. His zeal, which led him to undertake the most magnificent enterprises, was not combined with sufficient patience, practical knowledge of human nature, and fixed habits of order and economy to enable him to realize the plans which he proposed; and at length he was obliged to abandon his experiment in despair. It was not, however, altogether useless. He had the satisfaction of knowing that he had rescued more than a hundred children from the degrading influences under which they were born, and planted the seeds of virtue and religion in their hearts; and, in addition to this,his qualifications for the task to which his life was now devoted were greatly increased by this insight he had acquired into its real nature, and the means of its accomplishment. The results of his experience at Neuhof, from the time of opening his asylum in 1775, to its close in 1790, are left on record in the valuable works which he published during that interval. The first of these, entitledLeonard and Gertrude, is a popular novel, under which form he chose to convey his ideas respecting the condition of the lower classes, and the means of their improvement. The success of this work was not what he expected. Though universally popular as a novel, there were few who entered into the spirit of the deep wisdom which it contained. This was published in 1781, and, in order to draw the attention of its readers to the great object which he had in view, he published another work in the following year, entitledChristopher and Eliza. But this also failed of the purpose for which it was principally intended. Still Pestalozzi was not discouraged in his attempts to make the public acquainted with his new ideas. He now addressed himself to the literary world, as he had before written expressly for the common people. In a journal published at Basel, under the direction of Iselin, a distinguished philanthropist, he inserted a series of essays, entitledEvening Hours of a Hermit, which contained a more systematic account of his mode of instruction and his plans for national improvement. But the current of public thought was in an opposite direction, and little attention could be gained to the plans which he labored to introduce. His success was somewhat better in a weekly publication, which he undertook at the beginning of 1782, under the title of theSwiss Journal. This was continued for one year, and forms two octavo volumes in which a great variety of subjects is discussed, connected with his favorite purpose of national improvement.
Soon after the breaking up of his establishment at Neuhof, the country began to be agitated with the excesses of the French Revolution, and Pestalozzi, disappointed in the sanguine hopes which he had formed at the commencement of that event, and disgusted with the scenes of brutality and lawlessness which it had occasioned, wrote hisInquiry into the Course of Nature in the Developement of the Human Species. This work, published in 1797, marks a new epoch in the development of hisviews. It was written at a moment when his mind was covered with the deepest gloom, and he was almost ready to sink under the struggle between the bright conceptions of improvement which he had formed and the darkness which hung over the existing institutions of society. The following questions, which he proposes to himself at the commencement of the work, will give some idea of its plan and of the spirit in which it was composed:
"What am I? What is the human species? What have I done? What is the human species doing?
"I want to know what the course of my life, such as it has been, has made of me? and I want to know what the course of life, such as it has been, has made of the human species?
"I want to know on what ground the volition of the human species and its opinions rest under the circumstances in which it is placed?"
The following portrait of himself, which he draws at the close of the volume, is highly characteristic of his feelings at this time:
"Thousands pass away, as nature gave them birth, in the conception of sensual gratification, and they seek no more. Tens of thousands are overwhelmed by the burdens of craft and trade; by the weight of the hammer, the ell, or the crane, and they are no more. But I know a man, who did seek more; the joy of simplicity dwelt in his heart, and he had faith in mankind such as few men have; his soul was made for friendship; love was his element, and fidelity his strongest tie. But he was not made by this world nor for it; and wherever he was placed in it he was found unfit.
"And the world that found him thus, asked not whether it was his fault or the fault of another; but it bruised him with an iron hammer, as the bricklayers break an old brick to fill up crevices. But though bruised, he yet trusted in mankind more than in himself; and he proposed to himself a great purpose, which to attain he suffered agonies and learned lessons such as few mortals had learned before.
"He could not, nor would he, become generally useful, but for his purpose he was more useful than most men are for theirs; and he expected justice at the hands of mankind, whom he stillloved with an innocent love. But he found none. Those that made themselves his judges, without further examination confirmed the former sentence, that he was generally and absolutely useless. This was the grain of sand which decided the doubtful balance of his wretched destinies.
"He is no more; thou mayest know him no more; all that remains of him is the decayed remnants of his destroyed existence. He fell as a fruit that falls before it is ripe, whose blossom has been nipped by the northern gale, or whose core is eaten out by the gnawing worm.
"Stranger that passest by, refuse not a tear of sympathy; even in falling, this fruit turned itself toward the trunk, on the branches of which it lingered through the summer, and it whispered to the tree: 'Verily, even in my death will I nourish thy roots.'
"Stranger that passest by, spare the perishing fruit, and allow the dust of its corruption to nourish the roots of the tree, on whose branches it lived, sickened, and died."
But a brighter day for Pestalozzi was about to dawn. He now became sensible of the great error of his former plans, which made too much account of external circumstances, without exerting sufficient influence on the inward nature, which it was his object to elevate. His mind gradually arrived at the important truth, which is the keystone of the system he afterward matured: "That the amelioration of outward circumstances will be the effect, but can never be the means, of mental and moral improvement."
He had now succeeded in awakening the attention of the Swiss Government to the importance of his plans for national education, and was invited to take charge of an asylum for orphans and other destitute children, which should be formed under his own direction and supported at the public expense. The place selected for this experiment was Stanz, the capital of the Canton of Underwalden, which had been recently burned and depopulated by the French Revolutionary troops. A new Ursuline convent, which was then building, was assigned to Pestalozzi as the scene of his future operations. On his arrival there he found only one apartment finished, a room about twenty-four feet square, and that unfurnished. The rest of the buildingwas occupied by the carpenters and masons; and even had there been rooms, the want of beds and kitchen furniture would have made them useless. In the mean time, it having been announced that an asylum was to be opened, crowds of children came forward, some of them orphans, and others without protection or shelter, whom it was impossible, under such circumstances, to send away. The one room was devoted to all manner of purposes. In the day it served as a schoolroom, and at night, furnished with some scanty bedding, was occupied by Pestalozzi with as many of the scholars as it would hold. The remainder were quartered out for the night in some of the neighboring houses and came to the asylum only in the day. Of course, under such circumstances, anything like order or regularity was out of the question. Even personal cleanliness was impossible; and this, added to the dust occasioned by the workmen, the dampness of the new walls, and the closeness of the atmosphere in a small and crowded apartment, made the asylum an unhealthy abode.
The character of the children, too, was a great obstacle to Pestalozzi's success. Many of them were the offspring of beggars and outlaws and had long been inured to wretchedness and vice; others had seen better days, and, oppressed by disappointment and suffering, had lost all disposition to exert themselves; while a few, who were from the higher classes of society, had been spoiled by indulgence and luxury, and were now conceited, petulant, and full of scornful airs toward their companions.
The whole charge of the establishment thus composed devolved upon Pestalozzi. From motives of economy and from the difficulty of procuring suitable assistants, he employed no one but a housekeeper. The burden of this task was increased by the caprice and folly of many of the parents, whose children had been sent to the asylum. They were prejudiced against him as a Protestant and an agent of the Helvetic Government, and spared no complaints which their unreasonableness or ignorance could suggest. Mothers who were in the daily practice of begging from door to door would come on some silly pretext and take away their children because they would be no worse off at home. On Sundays especially the whole family circle, from parents to the remotest cousin, would assemble in a body at the asylum, and, after filling the minds of the children with their idlewhims, would either take them home or leave them peevish and unhappy.
Sometimes children were brought to the asylum merely to obtain clothing, which being done they were soon removed and no reasons given. In many instances, parents required payment for leaving their children, to compensate for the loss occasioned by taking them off from their begging. In others, they desired to make an agreement for a certain number of days in the week, in which they could have permission to send them out to beg; and this being refused, they indignantly declared that they would remove them forthwith—a threat which was not unfrequently executed.
Such was the character of the materials on which Pestalozzi was obliged to commence his great experiments. He was deprived of the ordinary means of instruction and authority; and thus thrown entirely upon his own resources, the inventive genius, for which he was afterward distinguished, was awakened within him, and the spirit of humanity received a fresh impulse. One of the first benefits which he derived from his apparently untoward circumstances was the necessity of resorting to the power of love in the child's heart as the only source of obedience. There was nothing either in the disposition of the parents or the children to aid him in his efforts; on the contrary, a spirit of contempt on the one side and of open hostility on the other placed those obstacles in his way which a less original and energetic mind than his would not have been able to surmount. The usual methods of punishment could not be applied with any success; accordingly, he discarded them all. He made no attempt to frighten his refractory troop into order and obedience, but used only the instrument of an all-forbearing kindness. Even when obliged to apply coercive measures, he employed them with such a spirit as showed the children that he did not have recourse to them through anger, but that their use occasioned no less distress to him than to themselves.
His mode of instruction partook of the character of his discipline. Both were marked with the simplicity of nature. He had none of the ordinary apparatus of teaching, not even books. Himself and his pupils were all. The result was that he abandoned the common artificial systems of instruction and gave hiswhole attention to the original elements of knowledge which exist in every mind. He taught numbers instead of ciphers, living sounds instead of dead characters, deeds of faith and love instead of abstruse creeds, substances instead of shadows, realities instead of signs. He led the intellect of his children to the discovery of truths which, in the nature of things, they could never understand.
In the midst of his children he forgot that there was any world beside his asylum. And as their circle was a universe to him, so was he to them all in all. From morning till night he was the centre of their existence. To him they owed every comfort and every enjoyment; and, whatever hardships they had to endure, he was their fellow-sufferer. He partook of their meals and slept among them. In the evening he prayed with them before they went to bed; and from his conversation they dropped into the arms of slumber. At the first dawn of day it was his voice that called them to the light of the rising sun and to the praise of their heavenly Father. All day he stood among them, teaching the ignorant and assisting the helpless; encouraging the weak and admonishing the transgressor. His hand was daily with them, joined in theirs; his eye, beaming with benevolence, rested on theirs. He wept when they wept, and rejoiced when they rejoiced. He was to them a father, and they were to him as children. Seventy or eighty children, whose dispositions were of the most unpromising character, were converted, in a short time, into a peaceful and happy family circle. Their tempers were meliorated, their manners softened, their health improved, and their whole appearance so changed that it was almost impossible to recognize them as the same persons whose haggard and stupid faces had formerly been noticed by every visitor at the asylum.
He wished to give to his establishment the character of a family, rather than of a public school. He often related to his pupils narratives of a happy and well-regulated household; and endeavored to awaken their hearts to a sense of the blessings which men may bestow upon each other by the exercise of Christian love. He taught this, whenever he could, by examples taken from real life. Thus when Altorf, the capital of the Canton of Uri, was laid in ashes, having informed them of the event he suggested the idea of receiving some of the sufferers into the asylum. "Hundreds of children," said he, "are at this moment wandering about as you were last year, without a home, perhaps without food or clothing. What would you say of applying to the Government, which has so kindly provided for you, for leave to receive about twenty of these poor children among you?"
"Oh, yes," exclaimed his pupils; "yes, dear Mr. Pestalozzi, do apply if you please."
"Nay, my children," replied he, "consider it well first. You must know I cannot get as much money as I please for our house-keeping; and if you invite twenty children among us, I shall, very likely, not get any more for that. You must, therefore, make up your minds to share your bedding and clothing with them, and to eat less and work more than before; and if you think you cannot do that readily and cheerfully, you had better not invite them!"
"Never mind," said the children; "though we should not be so well off ourselves, we should be very glad to have these poor children among us."
But the prosperity which Pestalozzi here enjoyed proved to be of short duration. Before the expiration of a year from the commencement of his undertaking, Stanz was taken by the Austrians, and he was obliged to abandon his experiment at the very moment of its greatest success. This took place in the summer of 1799. He was now exposed to the ridicule of many, who had always derided his plan as visionary and enthusiastic, and to whom he was prevented, by this untimely removal, from giving the evidence of facts in demonstration of its excellence. His disappointment and sufferings on this account were severe. Depressed and unhappy, he retired into the solitude of the Alps, and amid the rocks and the steeps of the Gurnigal sought rest for his weary soul, and health for his exhausted nerves. But he could not long remain inactive. The enjoyment of the majestic scenes of nature among which he was placed, and the kindness and sympathy of a friend named Zehender, soon restored him to a cheerful state of mind; and he descended from the mountains, determined to resume his experiment from the point where it had been cut short at Stanz.
The Helvetic Government at this time made him a grant ofabout thirty pounds a year, which in 1801 was raised to one hundred, but was stopped entirely in 1803, by the dissolution of the Government. This was barely sufficient for his own subsistence, and the small remains of his private fortune were absorbed in the maintenance of his family.
In the autumn of 1799, by the advice of his friends, Pestalozzi removed to Burgdorf, an ancient Swiss city, in the Canton of Bern, where after several unsatisfactory attempts, on a small scale, to carry his plans into execution, he at last succeeded by the end of the year in opening an establishment which in 1800 numbered twenty-six pupils, and in 1801 thirty-seven. About one-third of these were sons of representatives of different cantons in Switzerland, and a part belonged to wealthy tradesmen and agriculturists, and the rest were children of respectable families reduced in their circumstances, who were placed by their friends under the care of Pestalozzi. The expenses of this undertaking were defrayed, at first, by a loan, which he was afterward enabled, but with great difficulty, to repay. But it would have been impossible to continue the institution had not the Helvetic Government voted him, in addition to the grant before mentioned, an annual supply of fuel, and a salary of twenty-five pounds each to two of his assistants, Kruesi and Buss, who, however, generously declined receiving it themselves, but devoted it to the general funds of the institution, from which they received nothing but their board and lodging.
At this time Pestalozzi published a work at the request of his friend Gessner, of Zurich, under the title ofHow Gertrude Teaches her Children, in which he gave a historical account of his experiments up to that period, and a general outline of his principles of education. This book made a very favorable impression upon the public; it excited a greater attention to his plans, confirmed the hopes of his friends, and convinced many of the soundness of his ideas who had heretofore regarded them as wild speculations.
The current of popularity now set so strong in his favor that he was chosen in 1802 as one of the deputies to Paris, pursuant to a proclamation of the French Consul, to frame a new constitution for Switzerland. He now made his appearance again as a political writer, and presented his views on the state of the country and the means of improving it, in a pamphlet entitledView of the Objects to which the Legislature of Switzerland has chiefly to direct its Attention. The moderate and liberal opinions expressed in this publication, and the wisdom of the proposals which it suggested, conciliated the best men of all parties, and offended none but the few who cherished an extravagant and bigoted attachment to the ancient order of things.
In all his labors Pestalozzi had a most efficient assistant in his wife, who interested herself especially in cultivating the affections of the younger pupils; while the different branches of domestic economy fell upon his daughter-in-law and an old housekeeper who had been in his family for more than thirty years and lived in it rather as a friend than a servant. The domestic arrangements had for their object to form habits of order, and to insure the enjoyment of good health to the children. In the morning, half an hour before six, the signal was given for getting up: six o'clock found the pupils ready for their first lesson, after which they were assembled for morning prayer. Between this and breakfast, the children had time left them for preparing themselves for the day; and at eight o'clock they were again called to their lessons, which continued, with the interruption of from five to seven minutes' recreation between every two hours, till twelve o'clock. Half an hour later, dinner was served up; and afterward the children were allowed to take moderate exercise till half-past two, when the afternoon lessons began, and were continued till half-past four. From half-past four till five there was another interval of recreation, during which the children had fruit and bread distributed to them. At five, the lessons were resumed till the time of supper at eight o'clock, after which, the evening prayer having been held, they were conducted to bed about nine. The hours of recreation were mostly spent in innocent games on a fine common situated between the castle and the lake and crossed in different directions by beautiful avenues of chestnut and poplar trees.
On Wednesday and Sunday afternoons, if the weather permitted, excursions of several miles were made through the beautiful scenery of the surrounding country. In summer the children went frequently to bathe in the lake, the borders of which offered, in winter, fine opportunities for skating. In bad weatherthey resorted to gymnastic exercises in a large hall expressly fitted up for that purpose. This constant attention to regular bodily exercise, together with the excellent climate of Yverdon, and the simplicity of their mode of living, proved so effectual in preserving the health of the children that illness of any kind made its appearance but very rarely, notwithstanding that the number of pupils amounted at one time to upward of one hundred eighty. Such was the care bestowed upon physical education in Pestalozzi's establishment; and an equal degree of solicitude was evinced for the intellectual and moral well-being of the children.
Successful, however, as the purposes of Pestalozzi were at Yverdon, the scene which is most intimately associated with his name, and which was the theatre of his brightest and most useful achievements, he was destined again to meet with bitter disappointment, and finally to go down to his grave in sorrow. After a series of embarrassments, occasioned principally by the artifices of an unprincipled and intriguing adventurer among his teachers, and having suffered in his property, his happiness, and to a certain extent in his character, and witnessed the gradual destruction of his establishment, he died at Brugg, in the Canton of Basel, on February 17, 1827, at the advanced age of eighty-two years.
A.D.1716-1775
Events treated at length are here indicated in large type; the numerals following give volume and page.
Separate chronologies of the various nations, and of the careers of famous persons, will be found in theIndex Volume, with volume and page references showing where the several events are fully treated.
A.D.1716. Establishment of Law's bank in Paris in connection with the Mississippi Scheme. See "John Law Promotes the Mississippi Scheme,"xiii,1.Parliament passes the Septennial Act limiting the duration of a parliament to seven years.Unsuccessful invasion of Norway by Charles XII.War on Turkey by Austria; Battle of Peterwardein; victory of Prince Eugene.1717. Occupation of Sardinia by Philip V of Spain.Walpole resigns the English ministry.A triple alliance formed between Britain, Holland, and France.Battle of Belgrad; defeat of the Turks by Prince Eugene. See "Prince Eugene Vanquishes the Turks,"xiii,16.1718. Foundation of New Orleans, Louisiana, by the French.Invasion of Sicily by the Spaniards; Austria joins the Triple Alliance; the Spanish fleet defeated off Cape Passaro.Another attempt on Norway by Charles XII; he is killed while besieging Frederikshald.St. Petersburg becomes the capital of Russia.1719. Philip V submits to the alliance; the Spaniards evacuate Sicily and Sardinia.Ravaging of the coast of Sweden by the Russian fleet.Great speculative craze in England.1720. "Bursting of the South Sea Bubble." Seexiii,22.Disastrous end of Law's financial schemes in France.Sweden and Prussia arrange the Treaty of Stockholm; Prussia acquires a large portion of Hither Pomerania.Sardinia becomes a kingdom, raised out of the Savoy dominions.1721. Walpole again First Lord of the Treasury (prime minister) of England.France becomes financially bankrupt.1722. A patent granted Wood for the coinage of copper coin for Ireland; this led Swift to write of the "wooden halfpence."Persia conquered by the Afghans.A Jacobite plot against George I of England discovered.Founding of a Moravian brotherhood at Herrnhut, Saxony.War on Persia by Peter the Great.1723. Majority of Louis XV of France.Large territories secured from Persia by Peter the Great."Bach Lays the Foundation of Modern Music." Seexiii,31.1724. A professorship of modern history founded by George I at Oxford and at Cambridge university.Resignation of the Spanish crown by Philip V in favor of his son, Louis; the latter dies after a short reign, and his father reassumes the government.1725. Treaty of Vienna between Austria and Spain, assenting to the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI.Treaty of Hanover between Great Britain, France, and Prussia.Death of Peter the Great; his widow, Catharine I, succeeds to the throne of Russia.1726. Russia joins in the Treaty of Vienna.1727. Spain makes an unsuccessful attempt to blockade and fails in her siege of Gibraltar.Death of George I; George II succeeds to the throne of England.Persia freed from the Afghans by Nadir Kuli, Shah of Persia.For having published the proceedings in the British House of Commons Edward Cane is taken into custody by the sergeant-at-arms.1728. Assembling at Soissons of a congress of the great powers.Discovery of the strait bearing his name by Bering.1729. Great Britain, France, and Spain arrange the Treaty of Seville.Purchase of Carolina by the crown; two royal provinces instituted, North and South Carolina; plot of the negroes in the latter to murder their masters.Revolt of Corsica against the Genoese.1730. Introduction by Réaumur of his thermometer.Baltimore, Maryland, founded.Opening of the first railway, between Manchester and Liverpool, England.1731. An earthquake convulses Chile for twenty-seven days; Santiago nearly engulfed.Origin of Methodism by the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield.1732. Oglethorpe founds a settlement in Georgia. See "Settlement of Georgia,"xiii,44.Franklin establishes the first subscription library in the United Colonies.Expulsion of the Protestants from Salzburg.1733. Death of Augustus II of Poland; War of the Polish Succession between Austria and France.Invention in England of the fly-shuttle for weaving, by John Kay, aided by Arkwright.1734. Austrian campaign against France and Sardinia in Northern Italy; Philip V enters Naples and proclaims himself king. Battle of Bitonto; defeat of the Austrians, May 25; Capua falls in November.Siege of Philippsburg by the French under Berwick; the fortress taken, Berwick slain.Trial of Zenger in New York, establishing the principle of freedom of the English colonial press.1735. First settlement of the Moravians in America, made at Georgia.Don Carlos conquers Sicily; is crowned king as Charles III.1736. Issue of a papal bull against freemasonry.Glass lamps used in the streets of London.War of Russia against Turkey; capture of Azov by the former.Nadir Shah (Kuli Khan) succeeds to the Persian throne.1737. War on Turkey by Charles VI.End of the Medici line in Tuscany; Francis Stephen becomes grand duke.English theatres are placed under control of the lord chamberlain.Birth of Edward Gibbon, historian.1738. Conquest of Afghanistan by Nadir (Kuli) Shah.At Vienna is signed the definitive treaty between Charles VI of Germany and Louis XV of France.Forming of the first Methodist Society in England, by John Wesley. See "Rise of Methodism,"xiii,57.1739. War of Jenkins's Ear between England and Spain; in 1731 an English merchant-vessel was boarded by a Spanish guardship, and the captain, Robert Jenkins, cruelly used, an ear being torn off.Nadir Shah captures Delhi; he sacks the city and massacres the people. See "Conquests of Nadir Shah,"xiii,72.Recovery of Belgrad and Servian territory by the Turks, arranged by treaty between Austria and Turkey.1740. Death of Frederick William I; accession of Frederick the Great to the Prussian throne. Treachery of the powers which had guaranteed the succession of the Austrian throne to Maria Theresa. See "Frederick the Great Seizes Silesia,"xiii,108.A Moravian settlement formed at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania."First Modern Novel." Seexiii, 100.1741. A revolution places Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, on the throne of Russia; Ivan, an infant, and his parents are imprisoned.Alliance between England and Austria.War between Sweden and Russia.Unsuccessful attack of Admiral Vernon on Cartagena, New Granada.Final separation of New Hampshire from Massachusetts.Pretended negro plot in New York.1742. Election and coronation of the Elector of Bavaria as Emperor Charles VII of Germany.Silesia and Glatz ceded to Frederick the Great.The French are expelled Bohemia.1743. Second Bourbon Family Compact between the kings of France and Spain.Great Britain supports the cause of Maria Theresa. Battle of Dettingen; victory of the English and Hanoverian army.1744. War renewed with Austria by Frederick the Great; he invades Bohemia, captures Prague, but is forced to retreat.Beginning of King George's War in America.1745. Last Jacobite rebellion in Britain; Scotland rises for the Young Pretender, Charles Edward; Battle of Prestonpans; he is victorious and advances into England, but is compelled to retreat.Capture of Louisburg by British-American colonists.Death of Emperor Charles VII; Maximilian Joseph, his successor in Bavaria, makes peace with Maria Theresa. Battle of Fontenoy; victory of the French, under Marshal Saxe, over the allies under the Duke of Cumberland. Victories of the Prussians at Hohenfriedberg, Sohr, Hennersdorf, and Kesseldorf. Francis I, husband of Maria Theresa, elected to the imperial throne. Peace between Austria and Prussia.Invention of the Leyden jar, named from the city where first used.1746. Battle of Falkirk; victory of the Young Pretender; he is overthrown at the Battle of Culloden. See "Defeat of the Young Pretender at Culloden,"xiii,117.Conquest of the Austrian Netherlands by the French.Madras, India, surrenders to the French.Genoa surrenders to the Austrians; they are expelled by a popular rising.1747. Naval victory of the English, off Cape Finisterre, under Anson and Warren, over the French. They suffer another defeat at the hand of Admiral Hawke at Belle-Isle. Battle of Rocourt; Marshal Saxe defeats the allies under the Duke of Cumberland, at Lawfeld. Russia supports the cause of Maria Theresa."Franklin Experiments with Electricity." Seexiii,130.1748. Marshal Saxe captures Maestricht; Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, ending the War of the Austrian Succession.Excavations begin at Pompeii.Pompadour's ascendency over the French King.Pondicherry successfully defended by Dupleix against the English under Boscawen and Lawrence.1749. George II grants a charter to the Ohio Company.1750. Bounties granted and a company formed in England to encourage the herring and cod fisheries.1751. Clive begins his successful career in India.1752. Change from the Old to the New (or Gregorian) style of calendar in England.1753. Founding of the British Museum, due to the legacy of Sir Hans Sloane, who bequeaths his library, antiquities, and collection of natural curiosities for that purpose.1754. Encroachments of the French in North America; Washington, colonel of a provincial regiment, sent from Virginia to drive them from the Ohio, is defeated and made prisoner.King's College, now Columbia, founded at New York.A congress of the American colonies at Albany; union discussed.1755. Braddock defeated and slain near Fort Duquesne. See "Braddock's Defeat,"xiii,163.Great earthquake at Lisbon, Portugal, November 1st."Voltaire Directs European Thought." Seexiii,144.Dispersion of the French colonists of Acadia. See "Exile of the Acadian Neutrals,"xiii, 181.1756. Treaty of Defence between England and Prussia. Treaty of alliance between France and Austria against Prussia. Beginning of the Seven Years' War. See "Seven Years' War,"xiii,204.Calcutta captured by Surajah Dowlah; he throws the English prisoners into the Black Hole. See "Clive Establishes British Supremacy in India,"xiii,185.Conquest of Minorca by the French from the English.Fort Oswego, New York, captured by Montcalm's troops.1757. Calcutta retaken by Watson and Clive. Capture by the English of the French fort Charlemagne, on the Ganges.An army levied by the German Diet against Frederick the Great.[60]France and Sweden declare war against Prussia. Battle of Prague; the Austrians defeated by Frederick. His army beaten by the Austrians under Daun, at Kolin; a Russian army overruns East Prussia. The Duke of Cumberland defeated by the French at Hastenbeck. Defeat of the Prussian general Lehwald by the Russians. The French and Imperialists, under Soubise, defeated by Frederick at Rossbach. After occupying Silesia the Austrians are defeated at Leuthen.Capture of Fort William Henry, at the south end of Lake George, by Montcalm.Mission by Franklin to England in behalf of the Pennsylvanians.1758. Expulsion of the French from Hanover, by Ferdinand of Brunswick. Frederick defeats the Russians at Zorndorf; Daun defeats him at Hochkirchen.Arcot, India, taken by the French, who then besiege Madras.Battle of Ticonderoga; victory of Montcalm over Abercrombie, July 8. Louisburg reduced and occupied by Amherst and Boscawen; loss to the French of forts Frontenac and Duquesne.The French fleet is driven out of the Indian seas by the English admiral, Peacocke.1759. Battle of Minden; defeat of the French by Ferdinand of Brunswick. Kunersdorf: overwhelming defeat of Frederick the Great by the Austrians and Russians. Boscawen, the English Admiral, defeats the French off Lagos; Admiral Hawke gains a naval victory over them, under Conflans, in Quiberon Bay. Fink, the Prussian General, surrenders at Maxen. Havre de Grace bombarded by Rodney, the British Admiral.Quebec captured by the British under Wolfe. See "Conquest of Canada,"xiii,229.Opening of the British Museum.Expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal by King John.Guadelupe taken from the French by the English.1760. George III succeeds to the English throne on the death of his grandfather, George II.Montreal captured by the English; completion of the conquest of Canada.Battles of Liegnitz, Torgau, and Warburg; Berlin occupied by Austrians and Russians.Destructive eruption of Vesuvius, February 21st.Battle of Wandiwash, India; the English defeat the French.1761. Pitt resigns from the British ministry.Third Family Compact of the Bourbons of France, Spain, Naples, and Parma.Belle-Isle captured from the French by the English.Pondicherry surrendered to the English by the French.Otis, at Boston, speaks against the Writs of Assistance.1762. Declaration of war against Spain by England; Havana conquered.Martinique captured from the French by the English: restored the year following.Death of Elizabeth, Empress of Russia; deposition and murder of her successor, Peter III; Catharine II usurps the throne. See "Usurpation of Catharine II in Russia,"xiii,250.1763. Peace of Paris, ending of the Seven Years' War: Canada, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton ceded to England by France, and Florida by Spain; Louisiana to France by Spain.Peace of Hubertsburg: Silesia confirmed to Frederick the Great.Indians unsuccessfully besiege the English at Fort Detroit. See "Conspiracy of Pontiac,"xiii,267.1764. Catharine II secures the election of Stanislas Poniatowski as king of Poland.Mason and Dixon begin the survey of the line determining the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania.1765. Parliament passes the Stamp Act; formation of the Sons of Liberty; convening of the Stamp Act Congress. See "American Colonies Oppose the Stamp Act,"xiii,289.Formal ceding of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa by the Mogul Emperor to the English.1766. Repeal of the Stamp Act by the British Parliament.Hydrogen discovered by Henry Cavendish.Protestants refused concessions by the Diet of Poland; Russia and Prussia intervene; first step toward the partition of Poland.1767. Parliament imposes duties on imports into the American colonies.Beginning of the war between the English and the rajah of Mysore, Hyder Ali.Hargreaves invents the spinning-jenny for cotton-weaving.1768. Elections in England; repeated expulsion and reëlection of Wilkes.A military force stationed at Boston by the British; a circular-letter of Massachusetts to the other American colonies.Corsica, in revolt, is ceded by Genoa to France.Cook sails on his first voyage around the world.James Bruce sets out on his expedition to discover the sources of the Nile.Foundation of the Royal Academy, London; Sir Joshua Reynolds first president.1769. "Watt Improves the Steam-engine." Seexiii,302.TheLetters of Juniusbegin to appear.Patent issued in England to Richard Arkwright for his roller-spinning "water-frame."Daniel Boone migrates from North Carolina into Kentucky.1770. Lord North's ministry succeeds that of Grafton in England; Burke introduces resolutions condemning the course adopted in America.Boston Massacre, March 5.Military and naval successes of the Russians against Turkey.1771. Parliament concedes the freedom of reporting its proceedings.Battle of the Alamance; insurrection of the North Carolina Regulators.Russia conquers the Crimea.1772. "First Partition of Poland." Seexiii,313.Appointment of Warren Hastings as president of the Supreme Council of Bengal.A revenue cutter burned by the populace of Rhode Island while it was attempting to suppress smuggling.Lord Mansfield, in the case of the negro Somerset, decides that a slave cannot be held in England.The Watauga Association, from which grew the State of Tennessee, founded.1773. "The Boston Tea Party." Seexiii,333.A pseudo Peter III, Pugatcheff, raises a rebellion against Catharine II of Russia.1774. Passing by the British Parliament of the Boston Port Bill, closing the port; meeting of the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia, September 5th.John Howard, the philanthropist, receives the thanks of Parliament for his attention to the condition of prisons."Cotton Manufacture Developed." Seexiii,341.Oxygen discovered by Joseph Priestley, England.1775. "Intellectual Revolt of Germany." Seexiii,347.Outrages of the Whiteboys in Ireland.Execution in Russia of Pugatcheff, pseudo Peter III.Stereotype printing first attempted at Philadelphia by Benjamin Mecon, Franklin's nephew.
A.D.
1716. Establishment of Law's bank in Paris in connection with the Mississippi Scheme. See "John Law Promotes the Mississippi Scheme,"xiii,1.
Parliament passes the Septennial Act limiting the duration of a parliament to seven years.
Unsuccessful invasion of Norway by Charles XII.
War on Turkey by Austria; Battle of Peterwardein; victory of Prince Eugene.
1717. Occupation of Sardinia by Philip V of Spain.
Walpole resigns the English ministry.
A triple alliance formed between Britain, Holland, and France.
Battle of Belgrad; defeat of the Turks by Prince Eugene. See "Prince Eugene Vanquishes the Turks,"xiii,16.
1718. Foundation of New Orleans, Louisiana, by the French.
Invasion of Sicily by the Spaniards; Austria joins the Triple Alliance; the Spanish fleet defeated off Cape Passaro.
Another attempt on Norway by Charles XII; he is killed while besieging Frederikshald.
St. Petersburg becomes the capital of Russia.
1719. Philip V submits to the alliance; the Spaniards evacuate Sicily and Sardinia.
Ravaging of the coast of Sweden by the Russian fleet.
Great speculative craze in England.
1720. "Bursting of the South Sea Bubble." Seexiii,22.
Disastrous end of Law's financial schemes in France.
Sweden and Prussia arrange the Treaty of Stockholm; Prussia acquires a large portion of Hither Pomerania.
Sardinia becomes a kingdom, raised out of the Savoy dominions.
1721. Walpole again First Lord of the Treasury (prime minister) of England.
France becomes financially bankrupt.
1722. A patent granted Wood for the coinage of copper coin for Ireland; this led Swift to write of the "wooden halfpence."
Persia conquered by the Afghans.
A Jacobite plot against George I of England discovered.
Founding of a Moravian brotherhood at Herrnhut, Saxony.
War on Persia by Peter the Great.
1723. Majority of Louis XV of France.
Large territories secured from Persia by Peter the Great.
"Bach Lays the Foundation of Modern Music." Seexiii,31.
1724. A professorship of modern history founded by George I at Oxford and at Cambridge university.
Resignation of the Spanish crown by Philip V in favor of his son, Louis; the latter dies after a short reign, and his father reassumes the government.
1725. Treaty of Vienna between Austria and Spain, assenting to the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI.
Treaty of Hanover between Great Britain, France, and Prussia.
Death of Peter the Great; his widow, Catharine I, succeeds to the throne of Russia.
1726. Russia joins in the Treaty of Vienna.
1727. Spain makes an unsuccessful attempt to blockade and fails in her siege of Gibraltar.
Death of George I; George II succeeds to the throne of England.
Persia freed from the Afghans by Nadir Kuli, Shah of Persia.
For having published the proceedings in the British House of Commons Edward Cane is taken into custody by the sergeant-at-arms.
1728. Assembling at Soissons of a congress of the great powers.
Discovery of the strait bearing his name by Bering.
1729. Great Britain, France, and Spain arrange the Treaty of Seville.
Purchase of Carolina by the crown; two royal provinces instituted, North and South Carolina; plot of the negroes in the latter to murder their masters.
Revolt of Corsica against the Genoese.
1730. Introduction by Réaumur of his thermometer.
Baltimore, Maryland, founded.
Opening of the first railway, between Manchester and Liverpool, England.
1731. An earthquake convulses Chile for twenty-seven days; Santiago nearly engulfed.
Origin of Methodism by the preaching of Wesley and Whitefield.
1732. Oglethorpe founds a settlement in Georgia. See "Settlement of Georgia,"xiii,44.
Franklin establishes the first subscription library in the United Colonies.
Expulsion of the Protestants from Salzburg.
1733. Death of Augustus II of Poland; War of the Polish Succession between Austria and France.
Invention in England of the fly-shuttle for weaving, by John Kay, aided by Arkwright.
1734. Austrian campaign against France and Sardinia in Northern Italy; Philip V enters Naples and proclaims himself king. Battle of Bitonto; defeat of the Austrians, May 25; Capua falls in November.
Siege of Philippsburg by the French under Berwick; the fortress taken, Berwick slain.
Trial of Zenger in New York, establishing the principle of freedom of the English colonial press.
1735. First settlement of the Moravians in America, made at Georgia.
Don Carlos conquers Sicily; is crowned king as Charles III.
1736. Issue of a papal bull against freemasonry.
Glass lamps used in the streets of London.
War of Russia against Turkey; capture of Azov by the former.
Nadir Shah (Kuli Khan) succeeds to the Persian throne.
1737. War on Turkey by Charles VI.
End of the Medici line in Tuscany; Francis Stephen becomes grand duke.
English theatres are placed under control of the lord chamberlain.
Birth of Edward Gibbon, historian.
1738. Conquest of Afghanistan by Nadir (Kuli) Shah.
At Vienna is signed the definitive treaty between Charles VI of Germany and Louis XV of France.
Forming of the first Methodist Society in England, by John Wesley. See "Rise of Methodism,"xiii,57.
1739. War of Jenkins's Ear between England and Spain; in 1731 an English merchant-vessel was boarded by a Spanish guardship, and the captain, Robert Jenkins, cruelly used, an ear being torn off.
Nadir Shah captures Delhi; he sacks the city and massacres the people. See "Conquests of Nadir Shah,"xiii,72.
Recovery of Belgrad and Servian territory by the Turks, arranged by treaty between Austria and Turkey.
1740. Death of Frederick William I; accession of Frederick the Great to the Prussian throne. Treachery of the powers which had guaranteed the succession of the Austrian throne to Maria Theresa. See "Frederick the Great Seizes Silesia,"xiii,108.
A Moravian settlement formed at Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
"First Modern Novel." Seexiii, 100.
1741. A revolution places Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, on the throne of Russia; Ivan, an infant, and his parents are imprisoned.
Alliance between England and Austria.
War between Sweden and Russia.
Unsuccessful attack of Admiral Vernon on Cartagena, New Granada.
Final separation of New Hampshire from Massachusetts.
Pretended negro plot in New York.
1742. Election and coronation of the Elector of Bavaria as Emperor Charles VII of Germany.
Silesia and Glatz ceded to Frederick the Great.
The French are expelled Bohemia.
1743. Second Bourbon Family Compact between the kings of France and Spain.
Great Britain supports the cause of Maria Theresa. Battle of Dettingen; victory of the English and Hanoverian army.
1744. War renewed with Austria by Frederick the Great; he invades Bohemia, captures Prague, but is forced to retreat.
Beginning of King George's War in America.
1745. Last Jacobite rebellion in Britain; Scotland rises for the Young Pretender, Charles Edward; Battle of Prestonpans; he is victorious and advances into England, but is compelled to retreat.
Capture of Louisburg by British-American colonists.
Death of Emperor Charles VII; Maximilian Joseph, his successor in Bavaria, makes peace with Maria Theresa. Battle of Fontenoy; victory of the French, under Marshal Saxe, over the allies under the Duke of Cumberland. Victories of the Prussians at Hohenfriedberg, Sohr, Hennersdorf, and Kesseldorf. Francis I, husband of Maria Theresa, elected to the imperial throne. Peace between Austria and Prussia.
Invention of the Leyden jar, named from the city where first used.
1746. Battle of Falkirk; victory of the Young Pretender; he is overthrown at the Battle of Culloden. See "Defeat of the Young Pretender at Culloden,"xiii,117.
Conquest of the Austrian Netherlands by the French.
Madras, India, surrenders to the French.
Genoa surrenders to the Austrians; they are expelled by a popular rising.
1747. Naval victory of the English, off Cape Finisterre, under Anson and Warren, over the French. They suffer another defeat at the hand of Admiral Hawke at Belle-Isle. Battle of Rocourt; Marshal Saxe defeats the allies under the Duke of Cumberland, at Lawfeld. Russia supports the cause of Maria Theresa.
"Franklin Experiments with Electricity." Seexiii,130.
1748. Marshal Saxe captures Maestricht; Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, ending the War of the Austrian Succession.
Excavations begin at Pompeii.
Pompadour's ascendency over the French King.
Pondicherry successfully defended by Dupleix against the English under Boscawen and Lawrence.
1749. George II grants a charter to the Ohio Company.
1750. Bounties granted and a company formed in England to encourage the herring and cod fisheries.
1751. Clive begins his successful career in India.
1752. Change from the Old to the New (or Gregorian) style of calendar in England.
1753. Founding of the British Museum, due to the legacy of Sir Hans Sloane, who bequeaths his library, antiquities, and collection of natural curiosities for that purpose.
1754. Encroachments of the French in North America; Washington, colonel of a provincial regiment, sent from Virginia to drive them from the Ohio, is defeated and made prisoner.
King's College, now Columbia, founded at New York.
A congress of the American colonies at Albany; union discussed.
1755. Braddock defeated and slain near Fort Duquesne. See "Braddock's Defeat,"xiii,163.
Great earthquake at Lisbon, Portugal, November 1st.
"Voltaire Directs European Thought." Seexiii,144.
Dispersion of the French colonists of Acadia. See "Exile of the Acadian Neutrals,"xiii, 181.
1756. Treaty of Defence between England and Prussia. Treaty of alliance between France and Austria against Prussia. Beginning of the Seven Years' War. See "Seven Years' War,"xiii,204.
Calcutta captured by Surajah Dowlah; he throws the English prisoners into the Black Hole. See "Clive Establishes British Supremacy in India,"xiii,185.
Conquest of Minorca by the French from the English.
Fort Oswego, New York, captured by Montcalm's troops.
1757. Calcutta retaken by Watson and Clive. Capture by the English of the French fort Charlemagne, on the Ganges.
An army levied by the German Diet against Frederick the Great.[60]France and Sweden declare war against Prussia. Battle of Prague; the Austrians defeated by Frederick. His army beaten by the Austrians under Daun, at Kolin; a Russian army overruns East Prussia. The Duke of Cumberland defeated by the French at Hastenbeck. Defeat of the Prussian general Lehwald by the Russians. The French and Imperialists, under Soubise, defeated by Frederick at Rossbach. After occupying Silesia the Austrians are defeated at Leuthen.
Capture of Fort William Henry, at the south end of Lake George, by Montcalm.
Mission by Franklin to England in behalf of the Pennsylvanians.
1758. Expulsion of the French from Hanover, by Ferdinand of Brunswick. Frederick defeats the Russians at Zorndorf; Daun defeats him at Hochkirchen.
Arcot, India, taken by the French, who then besiege Madras.
Battle of Ticonderoga; victory of Montcalm over Abercrombie, July 8. Louisburg reduced and occupied by Amherst and Boscawen; loss to the French of forts Frontenac and Duquesne.
The French fleet is driven out of the Indian seas by the English admiral, Peacocke.
1759. Battle of Minden; defeat of the French by Ferdinand of Brunswick. Kunersdorf: overwhelming defeat of Frederick the Great by the Austrians and Russians. Boscawen, the English Admiral, defeats the French off Lagos; Admiral Hawke gains a naval victory over them, under Conflans, in Quiberon Bay. Fink, the Prussian General, surrenders at Maxen. Havre de Grace bombarded by Rodney, the British Admiral.
Quebec captured by the British under Wolfe. See "Conquest of Canada,"xiii,229.
Opening of the British Museum.
Expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal by King John.
Guadelupe taken from the French by the English.
1760. George III succeeds to the English throne on the death of his grandfather, George II.
Montreal captured by the English; completion of the conquest of Canada.
Battles of Liegnitz, Torgau, and Warburg; Berlin occupied by Austrians and Russians.
Destructive eruption of Vesuvius, February 21st.
Battle of Wandiwash, India; the English defeat the French.
1761. Pitt resigns from the British ministry.
Third Family Compact of the Bourbons of France, Spain, Naples, and Parma.
Belle-Isle captured from the French by the English.
Pondicherry surrendered to the English by the French.
Otis, at Boston, speaks against the Writs of Assistance.
1762. Declaration of war against Spain by England; Havana conquered.
Martinique captured from the French by the English: restored the year following.
Death of Elizabeth, Empress of Russia; deposition and murder of her successor, Peter III; Catharine II usurps the throne. See "Usurpation of Catharine II in Russia,"xiii,250.
1763. Peace of Paris, ending of the Seven Years' War: Canada, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton ceded to England by France, and Florida by Spain; Louisiana to France by Spain.
Peace of Hubertsburg: Silesia confirmed to Frederick the Great.
Indians unsuccessfully besiege the English at Fort Detroit. See "Conspiracy of Pontiac,"xiii,267.
1764. Catharine II secures the election of Stanislas Poniatowski as king of Poland.
Mason and Dixon begin the survey of the line determining the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania.
1765. Parliament passes the Stamp Act; formation of the Sons of Liberty; convening of the Stamp Act Congress. See "American Colonies Oppose the Stamp Act,"xiii,289.
Formal ceding of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa by the Mogul Emperor to the English.
1766. Repeal of the Stamp Act by the British Parliament.
Hydrogen discovered by Henry Cavendish.
Protestants refused concessions by the Diet of Poland; Russia and Prussia intervene; first step toward the partition of Poland.
1767. Parliament imposes duties on imports into the American colonies.
Beginning of the war between the English and the rajah of Mysore, Hyder Ali.
Hargreaves invents the spinning-jenny for cotton-weaving.
1768. Elections in England; repeated expulsion and reëlection of Wilkes.
A military force stationed at Boston by the British; a circular-letter of Massachusetts to the other American colonies.
Corsica, in revolt, is ceded by Genoa to France.
Cook sails on his first voyage around the world.
James Bruce sets out on his expedition to discover the sources of the Nile.
Foundation of the Royal Academy, London; Sir Joshua Reynolds first president.
1769. "Watt Improves the Steam-engine." Seexiii,302.
TheLetters of Juniusbegin to appear.
Patent issued in England to Richard Arkwright for his roller-spinning "water-frame."
Daniel Boone migrates from North Carolina into Kentucky.
1770. Lord North's ministry succeeds that of Grafton in England; Burke introduces resolutions condemning the course adopted in America.
Boston Massacre, March 5.
Military and naval successes of the Russians against Turkey.
1771. Parliament concedes the freedom of reporting its proceedings.
Battle of the Alamance; insurrection of the North Carolina Regulators.
Russia conquers the Crimea.
1772. "First Partition of Poland." Seexiii,313.
Appointment of Warren Hastings as president of the Supreme Council of Bengal.
A revenue cutter burned by the populace of Rhode Island while it was attempting to suppress smuggling.
Lord Mansfield, in the case of the negro Somerset, decides that a slave cannot be held in England.
The Watauga Association, from which grew the State of Tennessee, founded.
1773. "The Boston Tea Party." Seexiii,333.
A pseudo Peter III, Pugatcheff, raises a rebellion against Catharine II of Russia.
1774. Passing by the British Parliament of the Boston Port Bill, closing the port; meeting of the first Continental Congress at Philadelphia, September 5th.
John Howard, the philanthropist, receives the thanks of Parliament for his attention to the condition of prisons.
"Cotton Manufacture Developed." Seexiii,341.
Oxygen discovered by Joseph Priestley, England.
1775. "Intellectual Revolt of Germany." Seexiii,347.
Outrages of the Whiteboys in Ireland.
Execution in Russia of Pugatcheff, pseudo Peter III.
Stereotype printing first attempted at Philadelphia by Benjamin Mecon, Franklin's nephew.