| 1730 AD Nadir Free Persia -The Safawid dynasty, which had ruled Persia since 1502, came to an end when Abbas III the 4-year-old shah died. Nadir a Sunni Muslim founds the Afsharid dynasty. |
| 1733 AD War of Polish Succession Begins - With the death of Poland’s King Augustus II a war broke out to determine who would succeed him. Russia and Prussia demanded his legitimate son, Frederick Augustus. France however, convinced the Polish nobility to restore Stanislas Leeszynski, the kings father-in-law, to the throne. As a result Russia invaded and Stanislas was forced to flee to Danzig. The Russians lay seige to Danzig, while France ,with Spanish support ,declared war on the Holy Roman Empire and sent a force to relieve the siege of Danzig. After eight months Danzig fell to Russian forces. The war ended in October 1735 when the parties signed the Treaty of Vienna. The elector of Saxony became the new Polish King. Austria ceded Naples and Sicily to the Spanish Bourbons under the condition that they never be united with Spain. |
1739 AD War of Jenkins Ear - The War of Jenkins’ Ear began between England and Spain in 1739, when the Glasgow brig Rebecca was boarded by a Spanish Man of War. The Spanish captain supposedly cut off one of the ears of the British captain Richard Jenkins and declared "Carry this home to the King your master whom, if he were present, I would serve in a like fashion."
In response Admiral Edward Vernon was sent with a small squadron of six ships to capture Porto Bello, one of the strongest Spanish outposts in the Western Empire. Due to superior tactics and gunnery, he succeeded. |
| 1739 AD Battle of Karnal - A large Mughal army was defeated by Persia's Nadir Shah. On March 20th 1739 Nadir Shah occupies Delhi, which he sacks . This ends the Mughal Empire. |
| 1740 AD The First Silesian War - The First Silesian War occurs when Frederick II the son of Frederich Wilhelm come to power in Prussia, on the death of his father and seizes Silesia from the Austrians. The Prussians soon become involved in the larger War of Austrian succession. |
| 1740 AD The War of the Austrian Succession Begins The death of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI on October 20, 1740 begins a contest of succession. Maria Theresa queen of Hungary claims her right to succeed her father. The King of Saxony, the elector of Bavaria and Spain’s Phillip V contest that right. Thus begins the War of Austrian succession that will embroil Europe for most of the next eight years. |
| 1741 AD Handel Composes The Messiah - George Frideric Handel composed the oratiorio, The Messiah, between August and September 1741, in London, England. The work is premiered in the Music Hall of Dublin, Ireland, on April 14, 1742. The text for The Messiah comes from the Bible and the Prayer Book Psalter, and was compiled by Charles Jennens. The tradition of standing up for the Hallelujah Chorus began at the first performance. |
| 1743 AD Treaty of Abo The Treaty of Abo is signed between Russia and Sweden. Under its terms, Sweden maintains part of Finland, but accedes to having Russia's candidate become the King of Sweden. |
| 1745 AD Jonathan Swift Dies - Famous British author, Jonathan Swift, best known for his works Gulliver's Travels, died in England in 1745. |
| 1748 AD Treaty of Aix-la Chapelle The War of Austrian Succession came to an end with the Treaty of Aix-la chapelle. The war had exhausted European powers, with all the major powers dragged into the war. In 1743 the British army who for the last time was led in the field by the King defeated the French at the battle of Dettingen. Before long the war was being fought not only on the European continent but in the Americas as well as in Asia. The peace treaty called for the return of all captured territories worldwide. The only exception was Silesia, which Prussia refused to return to Austria, thus guaranteeing another war. |
| 1754 AD French–Indian War Begins For almost nine years, a war was fought between British and French soldiers in North America. The war was part of a larger global war between the opponents. The British were victorious, and France was forced to cede a new sense of independent identity amongst the colonists, who were forced to defend the colonies with limited help from the motherland. |
| 1756 AD The Seven Years War -Maria Theresa the ruler of Austria was unwilling to accept the loss of Silesia and she took steps to develop alliances to restore it. She accomplished a diplomatic revolution by creating an alliance between France and Austria. Great Britain had meanwhile allied itself with Prussia. France entered into an alliance with Sweden who then entered into an alliance with Denmark aimed against France. Thus the stage was set for a world war. It began when Prussia under Frederick the Great invaded Saxony. Austria, France, Russia and Sweden then declared war on Prussia and England soon declared war on France. |
| 1757 AD British Establish Sovereignty Over India The British establish their sovereignty in India when they defeat the Bengalese nabob at the Battle of Nabob. Robert Clive led the British force. The British were avenging the attack the year before by Siraj-ud-Daula on Calcutta where he was trying to drive all Europeans out of Bengal He locked up 146 Europeans in a small guardroom. Overnight 2/3 died in the heat in what became known as the "Black hole of Calcutta" |
| 1759 AD Battle of Kunerdorf -The Prussians suffered a number of major defeats on the battlefield in 1759. First Prussia lost a major battle at Kunersdorf. Then Friedrich August von Finck surrendered his troops at Dresden. Another Prussian army was defeated at Maxen. Finally, on the western front the French were defeated. |
| 1759 AD Battle of Quiberon Bay The French fleet was defeated by the British, at the Battle of Quiberon Bay on November 20, 1759. This eliminated French plans for the invasion of England. |
| 1762 AD Treaty of St. Petersburg -On May 5, 1762 the Treaty of Petersburg was signed between Prussia and Russia. The treaty brought a switch in the alliances in the war. Now Prussia and Russia were allies and with Russian aid Prussia was able to recapture Silesia from the Austrians. |
| 1763 AD Treaty of Paris The Treaty of Paris was signed bringing to an end the French and Indian War in North America and the Seven Years War in Europe, Asia and Africa. Under the terms of the treaty France retained Guadeloupe and Martinique. France ceded all of what is today Canada to Great Britain and ceded Louisiana territory to Spain. Spain regained the Phillipines and Cuba. France was allowed to maintain a trading post in Bengal India, but was not allowed to fortify it. |
| 1764 AD Battle of Baxar -The British, led by Hector Munro, defeated the final attempt by Mogul Mir Kasim to maintain an independent Bengal. He was defeated at the Battle of Baxar. |
1765 AD Stamp Tax Passed In an effort to raise additional revenue, England imposed a tax on all documents issued in the colonies.
The colonies erupted in protest, claiming that England had no right to impose the tax. A formal “declaration of grievances” was adopted by a special Stamp Act Congress, whose delegates represented many of the colonies. |
| 1769 AD Spain Establishes Settlement In California -On July 16, 1769, Spain established the first permanent settlement in California. The settlement was called “Mission San Diego de Alcala.” The mission helped strengthen the Spanish claim to the area. Its inhabitants migrated from Mexico, beginning a long California tradition. |
