18th Century

Purely as a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th Century was that century which lasted from 1701-1800; however, historians will sometimes specifically refer to the 18th Century as 1715-89; which denotes the period of time between the death of King Louis XIV and the start of the French Revolution. In Europe, the primary nations of this period (in terms of industrial capacity) were: Austria, Britain, France, Prussia, and Russia. This was the period of the so-called "enlightened absolutism".

Events

• 1707 - The Kingdom of Great Britain is formed
• 1715 - Louis XIV dies
• 1750 -- peak of the Little Ice Age
• 1770s - James Cook explorations
• 1786 - On behalf of the English East India Company, Francis Light acquires the island of Penang from the Sultan of Kedah- the first British colony in South-East Asia.
• 1788 - First European settlement established in Australia
• 1789 - The French Revolution
• The Enlightenment
• Scientific discovery and early Industrial Revolution. See the History of Science and Technology.

• American Revolution leading to United States declaration of independence in 1776 and Constitution in 1789.

• Rosetta stone is found by Napoleon's troops in 1799.
• Wars of Empire between Great Britain, France, Spain, Austria.
  • See the War of the Spanish Succession (or Queen Anne's War), War of the Austrian Succession (or King George's War), War of Jenkins' Ear, Seven Years' War (or French and Indian War)

Significant people

• Johann Sebastian Bach (composer)
• Catherine the Great (Russian Tsarina)
• James Cook (British navigator)
• Denis Diderot (French writer and philosopher)
• Leonhard Euler (mathematician)
• Benjamin Franklin (inventor and diplomat)
• Thomas Gainsborough (painter)
• Thomas Gray (British writer)
• William Hogarth (painter and engraver)
• David Hume (philosopher)
• Thomas Jefferson (American politician)
• Immanuel Kant (philosopher)
• Louis XIV of France (monarch)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (composer)

Artists

• Samuel Johnson (British writer)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (composer)
• Sir Joshua Reynolds (painter)
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (French writer and philosopher)
• Friedrich Schiller (German writer)
• Jonathan Swift (British writer)
• Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (German writer)
• Voltaire (French writer and philosopher)

Notorious People

• Benedict Arnold, considered a traitor by many people on both sides (United States and Britain) of the American Revolutionary War.

Inventions, Discoveries, Introductions

• Cotton gin by Eli Whitney
• The marine chronometer of John Harrison solves the longitude problem for navigation.
• Improved Steam engines by Thomas Newcomen and James Watt
• first steam-powered automobile by Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot

Decades and Years

1700s	1700	1701	1702	1703	1704	1705	1706	1707	1708	1709
1710s	1710	1711	1712	1713	1714	1715	1716	1717	1718	1719
1720s	1720	1721	1722	1723	1724	1725	1726	1727	1728	1729
1730s	1730	1731	1732	1733	1734	1735	1736	1737	1738	1739
1740s	1740	1741	1742	1743	1744	1745	1746	1747	1748	1749
1750s	1750	1751	1752	1753	1754	1755	1756	1757	1758	1759
1760s	1760	1761	1762	1763	1764	1765	1766	1767	1768	1769
1770s	1770	1771	1772	1773	1774	1775	1776	1777	1778	1779
1780s	1780	1781	1782	1783	1784	1785	1786	1787	1788	1789
1790s	1790	1791	1792	1793	1794	1795	1796	1797	1798	1799
1800s	1800	1801	1802	1803	1804	1805	1806	1807	1808	1809

Referenced By