William
III and Mary II 1689 The "Toleration
Act" establishes permanent freedom of
worship. The "Bill of Rights" summarizes
the liberties established by the Glorious
Revolution and asserts that no Catholic
may become sovereign. James II lands in
Ireland. 1690 Defeat of Jacobite
Forces at the Battle
of Boyne
(Ireland). James II flees to France.
(Whigs = supporters of William III, a
standing army, weakening of State Church
and long parliaments) . John Locke's
Of
Human
Understanding.
Colley Cibber's first performance as actor
1692 Campaign against
France. Over 150 people accused of
witchcraft in Salem,
Massachusetts. 1694 Mary Astell's A
Serious Proposal to Ladies. William
Congreve's The Double
Dealer 1695 Licensing Act
expires (no more government control over
printing presses) 1698 Isaac Newton
calculates the speed of sound 1697 Astell's A
Serious Proposal to Ladies Part II
Daniel Defoe's An Academy for
Women 1699 England prohibits
the export of wool from
Ireland. 1700 Defoe's
True-born
Englishman.
John Dryden dies. Congreve, The Way of
the World Anne 1702 Tory administration
under Anne. England declares war on
France. The Duke of Marlborough (John
Churchill) starts a campaign
on the continent and captures Kaiserworth,
Venloo and Liege (= War of the Spanish Succession). . The first English
daily newspaper, the Daily
Courant,
published by E. Mallet. 1703 Marlborough
captures Bonn, Huy, Limoges and
Guelders. . Defoe sentenced to
the pillory. 1704 Battle of Blenheim:
Anglo-Austrian victory under Marlborough
and Prince Eugene against French and
Bavarian armies. . John Locke
dies. 1704 -
1713 Defoe's
Review 1707 Union between
England and Scotland ratified. Union Jack
is adopted as the national
flag. 1708 The
"Old
Pretender",
James Edward, lands in Scotland. . Addison's
Present State of the
War. 1709 -
1711 Richard Steele's
The
Tatler.
Samuel Johnson born in Lichfield. The
first new edition of Shakespeare's Works
by Nicholas
Rowe. 1710 -
1713 Old Whig / Tory
government 1710 -
1711 Jonathan Swift's
Examiner 1711 -
1712 1711 Stage Licensing
Act: No play can be performed without the
approval of the Lord
Chamberlain. . David Hume born.
Handel's first opera in England,
Rinaldo in the King's Theatre,
Haymarket. Pope's Essay
on Criticism. 1712 Pope's
Rape
of the Lock
published 1713 Treaty of Utrecht
establishes the terms of peace with Louis
XIV. . The Guardian
(175 numbers) George
I 1714 Whig parliament
under George I. Richard Steele expelled
from parliament. 1715 Jacobite Rebellion
in favour of James Stuart, "the Old
Pretender", fails in Scotland. . George Frederick
Handel: Water Music 1717 Birth of David
Garrick 1719 Daniel Defoe's
Robinson Crusoe. Joseph Addison
dies. 1720 -
1729 England at war with
Spain. 1720 Elizabeth Montague
("the Queen of Bluestockings")
born. 1721 The Whig
Robert
Walpole
becomes the first British Prime Minister
(till 1742) 1722 Mary Leapor
born 1723 -
1725 Alexander Pope's
The
works of Shakespear George
II 1726 Swift's
Gulliver's Travels. Lewis
Theobald's edition
of Shakespeare's
works. 1728 Pope's
The
Dunciad;
John Gay's Beggar's
Opera. 1729 Swift's
A
Modest
Proposal.
Richard Steele dies. 1731 Daniel Defoe dies.
Mary Astell dies. 1731 -
1907 1733 Alexander Pope's
Essay
on Man 1737 -
1968 Stage L icensing
Act
(censurship on the stage) 1739 England declares
war on Spain. 1740 Samuel Richardson (1689-1761): Pamela 1742 Walpole is forced
to resign as Prime Minister. He is
followed by the rather incompetent Spencer
Compton (Earl of Wilmington). . George Frederick
Händel, Messias. David Hume,
Essays Moral and
Political 1743 Wilmington replaced
by Henry
Pelham.
(Whig) 1744 Alexander Pope
dies. Samuel Johnson, The Life of
Richard Savage. Thomas Hanmer's
edition
of Shakespeare's
works. 1745 The
Young
Pretender,
Charles Edward ("Bonny
Prince Charles")
lands in Scotland. He leads his army
against England, but has to return to
Scotland because he does not find enough
support for the Jacobite cause. . Jonathan Swift dies
in Dublin. Samuel Johnson's Proposal
for a New Edition of
Shakespeare 1746 The Highlanders are
massacred at the Battle
of Culloden,
Cumberland wins against the Jacobites.
Charles Edward, the Young Pretender,
escapes to France. . Mary Leapor dies.
1747 Drury Lane reopens
under Garrick (prologue
by Samuel Johnson). William Warburton's
edition
of Shakespeare's
works.
(based on Pope's edition) 1750 Death of Johann
Sebastian Bach 1750 -
1752 Samuel
Johnson's
Rambler Essays. 1751 Judith Sargent
Murray born in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Mary Leapor's "An Essay on Woman"
published. 1752 Britain adopts the
Georgian calendar. 1754 Newcastle
(Thomas
Pelham-Holles)
becomes Prime Minister after his brother's
death (Whig). 1755 Samuel Johnson:
A Dictionary of the English
Language 1756 -
1763 America:
Seven
Years War
between Britain and Prussia against
France, Spain and Austria (will lead to
the acquisition by Britain of Canada and
India.) 1756 Birth of Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart. 1757 -
61 William
Pitt the
elder (Whig) Prime minster 1758 -
1760 Samuel Johnson's
The
Idler 1759 The British Museum.
Voltaire: Candide 1760 James
Macpherson,
Fragments of Ancient Poetry
(Ossian) George
III 1761 The British take
Pondicherry in
India. 1762 Britain occupies
the Philippines. John
Stuart,
Earl of Bute Prime minster till
63. 1762 -
1766 First German
translation of Shakespeare's works by
Christoph
Martin Wieland 1763-65 George
Grenville
(Whig) Prime Minister. (Followed by
Rockingham) 1765 Samuel Johnson'
edition
of Shakespeare's
works:
The Works of William
Shakespeare 1766-68 William
Pitt the
Elder (Whig) Prime minster 1766 -
1770 The British occupy
the Falkland
Islands.
(1771: Samuel Johnson's Thoughts
on the Falkland
Islands) 1766 Lessing:
Laokoon 1768 Edward Capell's
edition
of Shakespeare's works 1769 Shakespeare
Jubilee celebration
in Stratford-upon-Avon. James Watt patents
his steam engine. Elizabeth
Montagu:
An
Essay on the Writing and Genius of
Shakespeare
(Editions and reprints followed in 1770,
1772, 1777, 1778, 1785, and 1810; a
pirated Dublin edition appeared in 1769;
and translations appeared in German
[1771], French [1777], and
Italian [1828].) 1770 -
1782 Frederick
North
(Tory) Prime Minister. 1771 Goethe: Rede
Zum
Schäkspears Tag 1773 America:
Boston
Tea Party . Samuel Johnson and
James Boswell tour the Hebrides. Oliver
Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer 1774 Goethe: Die
Leiden des jungen Werthers 1775 Charles Lamb born
in London. Samuel Johnson, Journey to
the Western Islands of Scotland
1775 -
1783 1776 America:
Declaration
of Independence
signed . David Hume dies.
Adam Smith: The
Wealth of Nations 1778 France declares war
on Britain over America. 1779 Spain declares war
on Britain. . Death of David
Garrick. 1780 Britain declares
war on Holland. 1781 America: Lord
Cornwallis surrenders to General
Washington, end of the fighting in the
American War of Independence. 1783 William
Pitt the
Younger (son of William Pitt the Elder)
forms a new Tory government. America:
Treaty of Versailles officialy ends the
American Revolution. 1784 William
Pitt's India Act gives Britain the power to guide Indian
politics. . Samuel Johnson
dies. 1787 1788 first edition of
The Times 1789 French
Revolution.
(cf. Impacts
on Britain)
Declaration of the Rights
of Man.
(Déclaration
des droits de
l'homme). 1790 Edmond Malone's
edition
of Shakespeare's
works;
Judith Sargent Murray's On
the Equality of the
Sexes 1791 US:
Bill
of Rights
(the first ten amendments) . 1792 Mary
Wollstonecraft. A
Vindication of the Rights of
Woman 1793 France declares war
on Britain. (Anglo-Frernch
Wars, 1792-1815) 1796 William
Henry Ireland
forges documents and a play by
Shakespeare: Vortigern and
Rowena 1798 Coleridge:
Rime
of the Ancient
Mariner.
Malthus: An
Essay on the principle of Population as it
affects the future improvement of
society.
Jane Austen: Northanger
Abbey 1799 Napoleon enters
Paris. French peace offer is rejected.
2nd
Coalition
against France (Turkey, England, Austria
and Russia). 1800 Elizabeth Montague
("the Queen of Bluestockings")
dies. 1806 William Pitt
dies. 1807 . Charles and Mary
Lamb: Shakespeare's
Tales 1811 Luddite
troubles:
Unemployed weavers of Nottinghamshire and
Yorkshire destroy the machines which seem
to take their bread away. . Percy Bysshe
Shelley: The
Necessity of
Atheism
Jane Austen: Sense and
Sensibility. 1813 "Battle of the
Nations" near Leipzig. 1814 Treaty
of Paris.
Napoleon abdicates. . George Stephenson
builds his first steam
locomotive.
1815 Corn
Laws:
protective measurements to keep the corn
price up harm the poor. Napoleon defeated
at Waterloo.
Congress
of Vienna. 1817 William
Hazlitt's
Characters of Shakespeare's
Plays. 1818 Mary Shelley:
Frankenstein. Jane Austen:
Northanger Abbey. George
IV 1820 Judith Sargent
Murray dies. 1820 -
1826 Charles Lamb's
Elia
essays. 1821 William Hazlitt:
Table Talk. Thomas de Quincey:
Confessions
of an English Opium
Eater. 1826 Samuel Weller
Singer's edition
of Shakespeare's works 1824 Anglo-Burmese Wars:
Britain moves towards the annexation of
Burma. 1828 Non conformists and
catholics are allowed to be
elected. William
IV 1832 First
Reform Bill:
extends the right to vote to any man
owning a household worth £10, adding
217,000 voters to an electorate of
435,000. Approximately one man in five now
has the right to vote. 1833 Factory
Act:
forerunner of a string of reforms, forbids
the employment of children under the age
of nine. . German translation
of Shakespeare's works by Schlegel
/ Tieck / Baudissin
completed. 1834 New
Poor Law
(Poor relief; workhouses etc.) . Charles Lamb
dies. 1838 The
People's Charter,
the first worker's movement, demands
general right to vote, secret vote, paid
MPs. Victoria 1838 Charles Dickens:
Oliver
Twist 1844 Payne Collier's
edition
of Shakespeare's works 1845 Friedrich Engels:
Situation
of the Working Classes in
England 1850 Ralph Waldo
Emerson: Montaigne,
or the Skeptic 1851 1st World
Exhibition in Crystal
Palace,
London. Hudson's edition
of Shakespeare's works 1854 Nikolaus Delius'
edition
of Shakespeare's works 1854 -
1856 The
Crimean
War
(1854-56) is considered a purification and
a strenghtening of the nation. 1857 Alexander Dyce's
edition
of Shakespeare's works 1859 Charles Darwin:
On the Origin of Species. John
Stuart Mill: On
Liberty 1865 W. G. Clark's
edition
of Shakespeare's
works
(The Cambridge
Shakespeare) 1868 Benjamin
Disraeli (Conservative)
becomes the first Jewish Prime Minister.
Defeated in a general election by his
rival William
Gladstone
(Liberal), Prime Minister 1868-74,
1880-85, 1886, and 1892-94 1867 2nd
Reform Act
of Parliament gives the right to vote to
the lower middle class. 1870 Education
Act:
compulsary primary education. 1871 Charles Darwin:
The
Descent of Man 1874 -
80 Benjamin
Disraeli (Conservative),
2nd. ministry. 1879 Shakespeare
Memorial Theatre
opens in Stratford. 1884 3rd
parliamentary
reform by
William
Gladstone,
vote for land workers and miners, but not
for domestic servants and bachelors living
with their parents. Fabian Society formed.
(1918: Vote for women over 30) 16th
century
(1509 - 1603) Henry VIII - Edward VI - Mary I - Elizabeth
I
1689 - 1702
"Seventeenth
Century"
"Restoration"
1702 - 1714
"18th
Century"
"Augustan Period"
"The Age of Pope"
Daniel Defoe's The
Shortest Way with
Dissenters.
.
Henry Fielding (1707-1746) born at Sharpham Park, near Glastonbury.
Whig
government in England.
Gibraltar and Minorca ceded to
Britain.
1714-1727
"Neoclassical
Period"
"Augustan Period"
"18th Century"
1727-1760
"Neoclassical
Period"
"Augustan
Period"
"The Age of Johnson"
"Enlightenment"
"The Age of Sensibility"
"18th Century"
Colley Cibber,
An Apology for the Life of Colley
Cibber
1741
Henry Fielding: Shamela (a parody on Richardson's Pamela)
1749
Henry Fielding (1707-1746), Tom Jones
1746
Death of Henry Fielding (1707-1746)
1760-1820
"The
Age of Johnson"
"The Romantic Period"
Johnson and George Steevens'
edition
of Shakespeare's works
America:
George Washington
elected as 1st President of the United
States.
1820-1830
"The
Romantic Period"
"Nineteenth Century"
1830-1837
"The
Romantic Period"
"Realist Movement"
Abolition
of Slavery.
1837-1901
"Realist
Movement"
"Victorian
Period"
"Pre-Raphaelites"
17th
century
(1603 - 1702) James I - Charles I - Commonwealth - Charles
II - James II - William III and Mary II
18th
century
(1702 - 1820) Anne - George I - George II - George III
19th
century
(1760 - 1901) George III - George IV - William IV -
Victoria
20th
century
(1901 - today) Edward VII - George V - Edward VIII - George
VI - Elizabeth II