1700-1800
1709: Shakespeare collection published
The First collection of Shakespeare’s work is published since the Folios. The six volume set is edited by Nicholas Rowe and includes engravings of modern stage practices of the plays.
1709: The Dukes Company
Sir William Davenant is granted a warrant to act several of Shakespeare’s plays and is also granted a patent for his acting company, known as “The Duke’s Company.” Davenant claimed to be Shakespeare’s godson.
1737: Licensing Act
Largely in response to Henry Fielding and the growing number of political and social satirical pieces published, the Licensing Act of 1737 is enacted. This results in the censorship and banning of many plays and closed all but two metropolitan theatres.
April 1721: Lord North becomes Prime Minister
Although never granted the title of “Prime Minister,” Sir Robert Walpool is often recognized as the first Prime Minister, due to holding the powers associated with the office and being given the address at 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister still resides.
1737-1741: David Garrick performs Shakespeare revivals
Performer and manager David Garrick helped Shakespearean works gain popularity in the 18th century in his revivals of Shakespeare’s works. Garrick is noted for not only engaging new audiences in the plays but also for reinventing the art of acting itself.
October 1739:War of Jenkins’s Ear begins
Britian declares war on Spain after several ships are attacked by Spanish “guarda costas.” The war was mostly fought in Caribbean waters and was named after Captain Robert Jenkins whose ear had been severed by the Spanish. It lasted until 1748 but essentially merged into the War of Austrian Succession in 1742.
April 1746: Jacobites are defeated at Culloden
Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of king James II, and a member of the exiled Stuart family fought to restore the Stuarts to the throne. They were defeated and retreated back to Scotland, the battle at Culloden was the last fought on British soil.
May 1756 - 1763: The French-Indian War (Also known as the Seven Years’ War)
Arguably the first global war in history, the French-Indian war begins with the British and French battling in the Americas as well as in India and Europe. France, Spain, Austria, and Russia battled Britain, Prussia, and Hanover until 1763 when the Treaty of Paris ended the warfare.
October 1763: George III succeeds George II.
George III succeeds his grandfather and takes the British crown. During his reign Gorge III took an interest in agriculture and lost the American colonies during the American War for Independence.
1772: “Factory Age”/Industrial Revolution Begins with Cotton Mill
Inventor Richard Arkwright opens the first Cotton Mill using his patented “water frame.” This changed the cotton industry as a leap towards automation of labor-intensive industries. The following period dramatically alters manufacturing and social life, primarily in London. Child labor and prostitution become more frequent and create the stages for many literary pieces.
April 1775: “Shot heard around the world”: America’s War of Independence begins
Fighting began in Lexington, Massachusetts between the British and the American Colonies local militia, although no one who shot first it marked the first fighting between the colonies and empire that did not end until America gained its independence in 1783.
1778: Catholic Relief Act
The Protestant nation finally lifts its restrictions on Catholics in Britain. This act resulted in the “Gordon Riots,” some of the worst riots in London history that resulted in hundreds of deaths, two years later.
May 1787: Britain begins to transport convicts to Australia
After the Americans won their independence, in place of using the American colonies to transport convicts as Britain had done in previous years, the country begins to send its convicted criminals to Australia.
July 1789: French Revolution begins
The notoriously bloody storming of Bastille prison in Paris occurs. The French monarchy is overthrown, executed, and a republic built on “liberty, equality, and fraternity” is established.
February 1793: Britain again goes to war with France
With the execution of King Louis XVI in Paris, Britain joins the anti-French coalition and goes to war with France that does not end until Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815.
The First collection of Shakespeare’s work is published since the Folios. The six volume set is edited by Nicholas Rowe and includes engravings of modern stage practices of the plays.
1709: The Dukes Company
Sir William Davenant is granted a warrant to act several of Shakespeare’s plays and is also granted a patent for his acting company, known as “The Duke’s Company.” Davenant claimed to be Shakespeare’s godson.
1737: Licensing Act
Largely in response to Henry Fielding and the growing number of political and social satirical pieces published, the Licensing Act of 1737 is enacted. This results in the censorship and banning of many plays and closed all but two metropolitan theatres.
April 1721: Lord North becomes Prime Minister
Although never granted the title of “Prime Minister,” Sir Robert Walpool is often recognized as the first Prime Minister, due to holding the powers associated with the office and being given the address at 10 Downing Street, where the Prime Minister still resides.
1737-1741: David Garrick performs Shakespeare revivals
Performer and manager David Garrick helped Shakespearean works gain popularity in the 18th century in his revivals of Shakespeare’s works. Garrick is noted for not only engaging new audiences in the plays but also for reinventing the art of acting itself.
October 1739:War of Jenkins’s Ear begins
Britian declares war on Spain after several ships are attacked by Spanish “guarda costas.” The war was mostly fought in Caribbean waters and was named after Captain Robert Jenkins whose ear had been severed by the Spanish. It lasted until 1748 but essentially merged into the War of Austrian Succession in 1742.
April 1746: Jacobites are defeated at Culloden
Charles Edward Stuart, the grandson of king James II, and a member of the exiled Stuart family fought to restore the Stuarts to the throne. They were defeated and retreated back to Scotland, the battle at Culloden was the last fought on British soil.
May 1756 - 1763: The French-Indian War (Also known as the Seven Years’ War)
Arguably the first global war in history, the French-Indian war begins with the British and French battling in the Americas as well as in India and Europe. France, Spain, Austria, and Russia battled Britain, Prussia, and Hanover until 1763 when the Treaty of Paris ended the warfare.
October 1763: George III succeeds George II.
George III succeeds his grandfather and takes the British crown. During his reign Gorge III took an interest in agriculture and lost the American colonies during the American War for Independence.
1772: “Factory Age”/Industrial Revolution Begins with Cotton Mill
Inventor Richard Arkwright opens the first Cotton Mill using his patented “water frame.” This changed the cotton industry as a leap towards automation of labor-intensive industries. The following period dramatically alters manufacturing and social life, primarily in London. Child labor and prostitution become more frequent and create the stages for many literary pieces.
April 1775: “Shot heard around the world”: America’s War of Independence begins
Fighting began in Lexington, Massachusetts between the British and the American Colonies local militia, although no one who shot first it marked the first fighting between the colonies and empire that did not end until America gained its independence in 1783.
1778: Catholic Relief Act
The Protestant nation finally lifts its restrictions on Catholics in Britain. This act resulted in the “Gordon Riots,” some of the worst riots in London history that resulted in hundreds of deaths, two years later.
May 1787: Britain begins to transport convicts to Australia
After the Americans won their independence, in place of using the American colonies to transport convicts as Britain had done in previous years, the country begins to send its convicted criminals to Australia.
July 1789: French Revolution begins
The notoriously bloody storming of Bastille prison in Paris occurs. The French monarchy is overthrown, executed, and a republic built on “liberty, equality, and fraternity” is established.
February 1793: Britain again goes to war with France
With the execution of King Louis XVI in Paris, Britain joins the anti-French coalition and goes to war with France that does not end until Napoleon Bonaparte’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815.