18th Century England

1702 - The beginning of Queen Anne's reign; also the beginning of the war of the Spanish succession.

1704 - The Duke of Marlborough won a victory over the French at Blenheim. The British annexed Gibraltar and have possessed it ever since.

1706, 1708, 1709 - The Duke of Marlborough is triumphant at Ramillies, Oudenarde and Malplaquet respectively.

1707 - Till now separate countries despite sharing a king, England and Scotland are united after the Act of Union is passed. Scotland still retained their own church as well as their own legal and educational systems.

1711 - The South Sea Company was established. It had the exclusive rights to trade with the Spanish colonies in South America and transported numerous African slaves to South America.

1714 - Queen Anne died and was succeeded by George I who preferred to stay and rule over Hanover, Germany while leaving the running of Britain to his ministers.

1721 - Robert Walpole is made the king's chief minister but was more popularly called Prime Minister, which in those times was a term of abuse and not an official title. 1727 - George I died and was succeeded by son George II, who was also content to leave the running of England largely in the hands of his ministers. 1732 - 10 Downing Street became the Prime Minister's official residence

1742 - Walpole resigned from office.

1745 - Charles Stuart landed in the Hebrides and captured all of Edinburgh except for the castle.

1746 - Charles Stuart fled to France after his army, the Jacobites were crushed at the battle of Culloden.

1751 - A duty was added to gin to make it more expensive, in an effort to curtail rampant gin drinking that was prevalent among the poor at that time. The Agricultural Revolution 700-400 The agricultural revolution was initiated in England in the 18th century by Jethro Tull, who invented the seed drill that dropped seeds in the field in straight lines at a controllable rate. A harrow at the rear of the machine covered the seeds to prevent them being eaten up by birds. Tull also invented a horse-drawn hoe that killed off the weeds that sprung up between rows of seeds. The old system of crop rotation was based on dividing the land into 3 fields and leaving one of these fields fallow every year. This proved to be rather wasteful as 1/3rd of the land was not utilized every year. In the 18th century the English began using a new form of crop rotation. Instead of letting the land grow fallow, they grew root crops such as swedes and turnips, which restored the fertility to the soil. In addition to fertilizing the soil, one of the other benefits of growing turnips was that they provided winter feed for the cattle, which meant fresh milk and butter would now become available all year round. Earlier, most cattle had to be slaughtered at the onset of winter because there was not enough food to feed them through the season. In the early 18th century farmers resorted to selective breeding in order to improve their livestock.

The Act of Enclosures, which was passed in the 18th century, resulted in the division of land in such a way that each farmer had all of his land in one place.

The Seven Years War between England and France began in 1756 and went on till 1763. The British victories at Plassey in 1757 and at Quebec in 1759 ensured that India as well as Canada became British colonies rather than French

George II died in 1760 at the age of 77 and was succeeded by George III. Unlike his predecessors who essentially left the running of the country in the hands of their ministers, George III wanted more control and power.

During his reign as king, Britain lost her colonies in North America despite several attempts to crush the various uprisings by the colonists.

In 1780 a huge crowd led by MP Lord George Gordon marched to parliament to demand the repeal of a 1778 act, which essentially took away certain restrictions on Roman Catholics. The demonstration quickly escalated into a riot that lasted several days and left about 300 people dead.

The Clapham Sect was established at the end of the 18th century. It comprised of a group of Evangelical Christians who campaigned for an end to cruel sports and slavery.

The Industrial Revolution

Economic growth in England soared around 1780 and the ensuing Industrial revolution in the late 18th century transformed everyday life in Britain.

Here are some of the salient features of the Industrial Revolution:

Turnpike Roads - Huge improvements in transport boosted economic growth even further. Several turnpike roads were constructed in the early and mid 18th century and local turnpike trusts were established to maintain individual roads. In order to earn sufficient revenue for maintenance, people were charged to travel on these roads.

Canals - A network of canals was constructed in the late 18th century. one of the earliest ones to be built was opened in 1761 from Manchester to Worseley.

Charcoal is replaced with Coke - In 1709 Abraham Darby, an ironworks owner, began melting iron ore using coke, which was a much more efficient fuel than charcoal. Though a closely guarded secret at first; the practice was soon widespread in the late 18th century.

Steam Engine - The first steam engine was built in 1698. By 1712 steam engines were being used to pump water from coalmines. A more efficient steam engine that was patented by James Watt in 1769 was later adapted in the 1780s and used to power machinery.

Mechanization of Industry - The textile industry was the first to be mechanized starting in 1771 with the invention of a simple cotton-spinning mill powered by a water mill. In 1779 a new cotton-spinning machine, the spinning mule was invented followed by the steam-engine powered loom in 1785. Cotton production boomed.

Iron Production - There was a tremendous boost in iron production following the invention of the puddling process by Henry Cort in 1784. The process involved melting iron in an extremely hot furnace after which it was puddled or stirred to get rid of impurities. This replaced the older more laborious method of beating red hot iron with hammers in order to remove all impurities.

1732 - 10 Downing Street became the Prime Minister's official residence

1742 - Walpole resigned from office.

1745 - Charles Stuart landed in the Hebrides and captured all of Edinburgh except for the castle.

1746 - Charles Stuart fled to France after his army, the Jacobites were crushed at the battle of Culloden.

1751 - A duty was added to gin to make it more expensive, in an effort to curtail rampant gin drinking that was prevalent among the poor at that time. The Agricultural Revolution 700-400 The agricultural revolution was initiated in England in the 18th century by Jethro Tull, who invented the seed drill that dropped seeds in the field in straight lines at a controllable rate. A harrow at the rear of the machine covered the seeds to prevent them being eaten up by birds. Tull also invented a horse-drawn hoe that killed off the weeds that sprung up between rows of seeds. The old system of crop rotation was based on dividing the land into 3 fields and leaving one of these fields fallow every year. This proved to be rather wasteful as 1/3rd of the land was not utilized every year. In the 18th century the English began using a new form of crop rotation. Instead of letting the land grow fallow, they grew root crops such as swedes and turnips, which restored the fertility to the soil. In addition to fertilizing the soil, one of the other benefits of growing turnips was that they provided winter feed for the cattle, which meant fresh milk and butter would now become available all year round. Earlier, most cattle had to be slaughtered at the onset of winter because there was not enough food to feed them through the season. In the early 18th century farmers resorted to selective breeding in order to improve their livestock.

The Act of Enclosures, which was passed in the 18th century, resulted in the division of land in such a way that each farmer had all of his land in one place.

The Seven Years War between England and France began in 1756 and went on till 1763. The British victories at Plassey in 1757 and at Quebec in 1759 ensured that India as well as Canada became British colonies rather than French

George II died in 1760 at the age of 77 and was succeeded by George III. Unlike his predecessors who essentially left the running of the country in the hands of their ministers, George III wanted more control and power.

During his reign as king, Britain lost her colonies in North America despite several attempts to crush the various uprisings by the colonists.

In 1780 a huge crowd led by MP Lord George Gordon marched to parliament to demand the repeal of a 1778 act, which essentially took away certain restrictions on Roman Catholics. The demonstration quickly escalated into a riot that lasted several days and left about 300 people dead.

The Clapham Sect was established at the end of the 18th century. It comprised of a group of Evangelical Christians who campaigned for an end to cruel sports and slavery.

The Industrial Revolution

Economic growth in England soared around 1780 and the ensuing Industrial revolution in the late 18th century transformed everyday life in Britain.

Here are some of the salient features of the Industrial Revolution:

Turnpike Roads - Huge improvements in transport boosted economic growth even further. Several turnpike roads were constructed in the early and mid 18th century and local turnpike trusts were established to maintain individual roads. In order to earn sufficient revenue for maintenance, people were charged to travel on these roads.

Canals - A network of canals was constructed in the late 18th century. one of the earliest ones to be built was opened in 1761 from Manchester to Worseley.

Charcoal is replaced with Coke - In 1709 Abraham Darby, an ironworks owner, began melting iron ore using coke, which was a much more efficient fuel than charcoal. Though a closely guarded secret at first; the practice was soon widespread in the late 18th century.

Steam Engine - The first steam engine was built in 1698. By 1712 steam engines were being used to pump water from coalmines. A more efficient steam engine that was patented by James Watt in 1769 was later adapted in the 1780s and used to power machinery.

Mechanization of Industry - The textile industry was the first to be mechanized starting in 1771 with the invention of a simple cotton-spinning mill powered by a water mill. In 1779 a new cotton-spinning machine, the spinning mule was invented followed by the steam-engine powered loom in 1785. Cotton production boomed.