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1689 - Parliament draws up the
Declaration of Right detailing the
unconstitutional acts of King James II. James'
daughter and her husband, his nephew, become
joint sovereigns of Britain as King William III
and Queen Mary II. Parliament passes the Bill of
Rights. Toleration Act grants rights to
Trinitarian Protestant dissenters. Catholic
forces loyal to James II land in Ireland from
France and lay siege to Londonderry
1690 - King William defeats the
Irish and French armies of his father-in-law at
the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland
1691 - The Treaty of Limerick
allows Cathloics in Ireland to exercise their
religion freely, but severe penal laws soon
follow. The French War begins
1692 - The Glencoe Massacre
occurs
1694 - Death of Queen Mary;
King William now rules alone. Foundation of the
Bank of England. Triennial Act sets the maximum
duration of a parliament to three years
1695 - Lapse of the Licensing
Act
1697 - Peace of Ryswick between
the allied powers of the League of Augsburg and
France ends the French War. Civil List Act votes
funds for the maintenance of the Royal Household
1701 - The Act of Settlement
settles the Royal Succession on the Protestant
descendants of Sophia of Hanover. Death of the
former King James II in exile in France. The
French king recognizes James II's son as
"King James III". King William forms a
grand alliance between England, Holland and
Austria to prevent the union of the Spanish and
French crowns. The War of the Spanish Succession
breaks out in Europe over the vacant throne
1702 - Death of King William
III in a riding accident. He is succeeded by his
sister-in-law, Queen Anne. England declares war
on France as part of the War of the Spanish
Succession
1704 - British, Dutch, German
and Austrian troops, under the Duke of
Marlborough, defeat the French and Bavarians at
the Battle of Blenheim. British, Bavarian and
Austrian troops under Marlborough defeat the
French at the Battle of Ramillies, and expel the
French from the Netherlands. The British capture
Gibraltar from Spain
1707 - The Act of Union unites
the kingdoms of England and Scotland and
transfers the seat of Scottish Government to
London
1708 - The Duke of Marlborough
defeats the French at the Battle of Oudenarede.
The French incur heavy losses. Queen Anne vetoes
a parliamentary bill to recognise the Scottish
militia. This is the last time a bill is vetoed
by the sovereign
1709 - Marlborough defeats the
French at the Battle of Malplaquet
1710 - A Tory ministry is
formed, under Harley, with the impeachment of Dr.
Sacheverell and the fall of the Whig government
1713 - The Treaty of Utrecht is
signed by Britain and France, thus concluding the
War of the Spanish Succession
1714 - Death of Queen Anne at
Kensington Palace. She is succeeded by her
distant cousin, the Elector George of Hanover, as
King George I. A new parliament is elected with a
strong Whig majority, led by Charles Townshend
and Robert Walpole
1715 - The Jacobite Rebellion
begins in Scotland with the aim of overthrowing
the Hanovarian succession and placing the
"Old Pretender" - James II's son - on
the throne. The rebellion is easily defeated
1716 - The Septennial Act sets
General Elections to be held every seven years
1717 - Townshend is dismissed
from government by George I, causing Walpole to
resign. The Whig party is split. Convocation is
suspended
1719 - South Sea Bubble bursts,
leaving many investors ruined after speculating
with stock of the 'South Sea Company'
1721 - Sir Robert Walpole
returns to government as First Lord of the
Treasury. He remains in office until 1742 and
effectively becomes Britain's first Prime
Minister
1722 - Death of the Duke of
Marlborough. The Jacobite 'Atterbury Plot' is
hatched
1726 - First circulating
library in Britain opens in Edinburgh. Jonathan
Swift publishes his 'Gulliver's Travels'
1727 - Death of great British
scientist, Sir Isaac Newton and of King George I
(in Hanover). The latter is succeeded by his son
as King George II
1729 - Alexander Pope publishes
his ' Dunciad'
1730 - A split occurs between
Walpole and Townshend
1732 - A royal charter is
granted for the founding of Georgia in America
1733 - The 'Excise Crisis'
occurs and Walpole is forced to abandon his plans
to reorganise the customs and excise
1737 - Death of King George
II's wife, Queen Caroline
1738 - John and Charles Wesley
start the Methodist movement in Britain
1739 - Britain goes to war with
Spain in the 'War of Jenkins' Ear'. The cause:
Captain Jenkins' ear was claimed to have been cut
off during a Naval Skirmish
1740 - Commencement of the War
of Austrian Succession in Europe
1742 - Walpole resigns as Prime
Minister
1743 - George II leads British
troops into battle at Dettingen in Bavaria
1744 - Ministry of Pelham
1745 - Jacobite Rebellion in
Scotland led by 'Bonnie Prince Charlie'. There is
a Scottish victory at Prestonpans
1746 - The Duke of Cumberland
crushes the Scottish Jacobites at the Battle of
Culloden
1748 - The Peace of
Aix-la-Chapelle brings the War of Austrian
Succession to a close
1751 - Death of Frederick,
Prince of Wales. His son, Prince George, becomes
heir to the throne
1752 - Adoption of the
Gregorian Calendar in Britain
1753 - Parliament passes the
Jewish Naturalization Bill
1754 - The ministry of
Newcastle
1756 - Britain, allied with
Prussia, declares war against France and her
allies, Austria and Russia. The Seven Years' War
begins
1757 - The Pitt-Newcastle
ministry. Robert Clive wins the Battle of Plassey
and secures the Indian province of Bengal for
Britain. William Pitt becomes Prime Minister
1759 - Wolfe captures Quebec
and expels the French from Canada
1760 - Death of King George II.
He is succeeded by his grandson as George III
1761 - Laurence Sterne
publishes his 'Tristram Shandy'
1762 - The Earl of Bute is
appointed Prime Minister. He becomes very
unpopular and employs a bodyguard
1763 - Peace of Paris ends the
Seven Years' War. Grenville ministry.
1765 - Rockingham ministry. The
American Stamp Act raises taxes in the colonies
in an attempt to make their defence
self-financing
1766 - Chatham ministry. Repeal
of the American Stamp Act
1768 - Grafton ministry. The
Middlesex Election Crisis occurs
1769 - James Watt patents the
Steam Engine
1769-70 - Captain James Cook's
first voyage to explore the Pacific
1770 - Lord North begins
service as Prime Minister. The Falkland Island
Crisis occurs. Edmund Burke publishes his
'Thoughts on the Present Discontents'
1771 - The Encyclopedia
Britannica is first published
1773 - American colonists
protest at the East India Company's monopoly over
tea exports to the colonies, at the so-called
'Boston Tea Party'. The World's first cast-iron
bridge is constructed over the River Severn at
Coalbrookdale
1774 - Parliament passes the
Coercive Acts in retaliation for the 'Boston Tea
Party'
1775 - American War of
Independence begins when colonists fight British
troops at Lexington. James Watt further develops
his steam engine
1776 - On 4th July, the
American Congress passes their Declaration of
Independence from Britain. Edward Gibbons'
publishes his 'Decline and Fall' and Adam Smith,
his 'Wealth if Nations'
1779 - The rise of Wyvill's
Association Movement
1780 - The Gordon Riots develop
from a procession to petition parliament against
the Catholic Relief Act
1781 - The Americans obtain a
great victory of British troops at the surrender
of Yorktown
1782 - End of Lord North's time
as Prime Minister. He is succeeded by Rockingham
in his second ministry. Ireland obtains
short-lived parliament
1783 - Shelburne's ministry,
followed by that of William Pitt the Younger.
Britain recognises American independence at the
Peace of Versailles. Fox-North coalition
established
1784 - Parliament passes the
East India Act
1785 - Pitt's motion for
Parliamentary Reform is defeated
1786 - The Eden commercial
treaty with France is drawn up
1788 - George III suffers his
first attack of 'madness' (caused by porphyria)
1789 - Outbreak of the French
Revolution
1790 - Edmund Burke publishes
his 'Reflections on the Revolution in France'
1791 - James Boswell publishes
his 'Life of Johnson' an Thomas Paine, his
'Rights of Man'
1792 - Coal gas is used for
lighting for the first time. Mary Wollstonecraft
publishes her 'Vindication of the Rights of
Women'
1793 - Outbreak of War between
Britain and France. The voluntary Board of
Agriculture is set up. Commercial depression
throughout Britain
1795 - The 'Speenhamland'
system of outdoor relief is adopted, making wages
up to equal the cost of subsistence
1796 - Vaccination against
smallpox is introduced
1798 - Introduction of a tax of
ten percent on incomes over £200. T.R. Malthus
publishes his 'Essay on Population'
1799 - Trade Unions are
suppressed. Napoleon is appointed First Consul in
France
1799-1801 - Commercial boom in
Britain
1800 - Act of Union with
Ireland unites Parliaments of England and
Ireland
1801 - Close of Pitt the
Younger's Ministry. The first British Census is
undertaken
1802 - Peace with France is
established. Peel introduces the first factory
legislation
1803 - Beginning of the
Napoleonic Wars. Britain declares war on France.
Parliament passes the General Enclosure Act,
simplifying the process of enclosing common land
1805 - Nelson destroys the
French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of
Trafalgar, but is killed in the process
1808-14 - Peninsular War to drive
the French out of Spain
1809-10 - Commercial boom in
Britain
1810 - Final illness of George
III begins
1811 - Depression caused by
Orders of Council. There are Luddite disturbances
in Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. The King's
illness leads to his son, the Prince of Wales,
becoming Regent
1812 - Prime Minister Spencer
Perceval is assassinated in the House of Commons
by a disgruntled bankrupt
1813 - Jane Austen's 'Pride and
Prejudice' is published. The monopolies of the
East India Company are abolished
1815 - The defeat of Napoleon
Bonaparte at Waterloo marks the end of the
Napoleonic Wars. Peace is established in Europe
at the Congress of Vienna. The Corn Laws are
passed by Parliament to protect British
agriculture from cheap imports
1815-17 - Commercial boom in
Britain
1817- Economic slimp in Britain
leads to the 'Blanketeers' March' and other
disturbances
1818 - Death of the King's
wife, Queen Caroline. Mary Shelley's publishes
her 'Frankenstein'
1819 - Troops intervene at a
mass political reform meeting in Manchester,
killing and wounding four hundred people at the
'Peterloo Massacre'
1820 - Death of the blind and
deranged King George III. He is succeeded by his
son, the Prince Regent, who becomes King George
IV. A radical plot to murder the Cabinet, known
as the Cato Street Conspiracy, fails. Trial of
Queen Caroline, in which George IV attempts to
divorce her for adultery
1821 - Queen Caroline is
excluded from the coronation
1821-23 - Famine in Ireland
1823 - The Royal Academy of
Music is established in London. The British
Museum is extended and extensively rebuilt to
house an expanding collection
1824 - The National Gallery is
established. Commercial boom in Britain
1825 - Nash reconstructs
Buckingham Palace. The World's first railway
service, the Stockton and Darlington Railway
opens. Trade Unions are legalized. Commercial
depression in Britain
1828 - The Duke of Wellington
becomes British Prime Minister
1829 - The Metropolitan Police
Force is set up by Robert Peel. Parliament passes
the Catholic Relief Act, ending most restrictions
on Catholic Civil Rights. They are allowed to own
property and run for public office, including
parliament
1830 - Death of King George IV
at Windsor. He is succeeded by his brother,
William IV. Opening of the Liverpool and
Manchester Railway. Rise of the Whigs, under
Grey
1830-32 - First major cholera
epidemic in Britain
1831 - 'Swing' Riots in rural
areas against the mechanization of agricultural
activities. The new London Bridge is opened over
the River Thames
1832 - The first or great
Reform Act is passed. This climax of a period of
political reform extends the vote to a further
500,000 people and redistributes Parliamentary
seats on a more equitable basis
1833 - Abolition of Slavery
throughout the British Empire. Parliament passes
the Factory Act, prohibiting children aged less
than nine from working in factories, and reducing
the working hours of women and older children.
Start of the Oxford Movement in the Anglican
Church
1834 - Parliament passes the
Poor Law Act, establishing workhouses for the
poor. Robert Owen founds the Grand National
Consolidated Trade Union. The government acts
against 'illegal oaths' in such unionism,
rsulting in the Tolpuddle Martyrs being
transported to Australia. Fire destroys the
Palace of Westminster
1835 - Parliament passes the
Municipal Reform Act, requiring members of town
councils to be elected by ratepayers and councils
to publish their financial accounts
1835-36 - Commercial boom with
'little' railway mania across Britain
1837 - Death of King William IV
at Windsor. He is succeeded by his niece,
Victoria. Births, deaths and marriages must be
registered by law. Charles Dickens publishes
'Oliver Twist,' drawing attention to Britain's
poor.
1838 - The Anti-Corn Law League
is established. Publication of the People's
Charter. The start of Chartism
1839 - Chartist Riots take
place
1840 - Queen Victoria marries
Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The penny
post is instituted
1841 - The first British Census
recording the names of the populace is
undertaken. The Tories come to power. Sir Robert
Peel becomes Prime Minister
1844 - Parliament passes the
Bank Charter Act. Foundation of the Rochdale
Co-Operative Society and the Royal Commission on
the Health of Towns
1844-45 - Railways mania explodes
across Britain. Massive investment and
speculation leads to the laying of 5,000 miles of
track
1845-49 - Irish Potato Famine
kills more than a million people
1846 - End of Sir Robert Peel's
Ministry. Whigs come to Power. Repeal of the Corn
Laws
1848 - Major Chartist
demonstration in London. Revolutions in Europe.
Parliament passes the Public Health Act
1851 - The Great Exhibition is
staged in Hyde Park. Thanks to Prince Albert, it
is a great success
1852 - Death of the Duke of
Wellington. Derby's first minority Conservative
government. Aberdeen's coalition government is
established
1853 - Vaccination against
smallpox is made compulsory. Queen Victoria uses
chloroform during birth of Prince Leopold.
Gladstone presents his first budget
1854 - The Northcote-Trevelyan
civil service report is published
The Crimean
War begins, as Britain and France attempt to
defend European interests in the Middle East
against Russia
1855 - End of Aberdeen's
coalition government. Palmerston's first
government comes to power
1856 - Crimean War comes to an
end. The Victoria Cross is instituted for
military bravery
1857-58 - The Second Opium War
opens China to European trade. The Indian Mutiny
erupts against British Rule on the sub-continent
1858 - Derby establishes his
second minority government. Parliament passes the
India Act
1859 - End of Derby's second
minority government. Palmerston brings his second
Liberal government to power. Charles Darwin
publishes his 'The Origin of the Species'
1860 - Gladstone's budget and
the Anglo-French Cobden Treaty codifies and
extends the principles of free trade
1861 - Death of Prince Albert,
Prince Consort
1862 - Parliament passes the
Limited Liability Act in order to provide vital
stimulus to accumulation of capital in shares
1863 - Edward, Prince of Wales,
marries Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The
Salvation Army is founded
1865 - Death of Palmerston.
Russell establishes his second Liberal
government
1866 - Russell and Gladstone
fail to have their moderate Reform Bill passed in
parliament. Derby takes power in his third
minority Conservative government
1867 - Derby and Disraeli's
Second Reform Bill doubles the franchise to two
million. Canada becomes the first independent
dominion in the British Empire under the Dominion
of Canada Act
1868 - Disraeli succeeds Derby
as Prime Minister. Gladstone becomes Prime
Minister for the first time
1869 - The Irish Church is
disestablished. The Suez Canal is opened
1870 - Primary education
becomes compulsory in Britain through the
Forster-Ripon English Elementary Education Act.
Parliament also passes the Women's Property Act,
extending the rights of married women, and the
Irish Land Act
1871 - Trade Unions are
legalized
1872 - Secret voting is
introduced for elections. Parliament passes the
Scottish Education Act
1873 - Gladstone's government
resigns after the defeat of their Irish
Universities Bill. Disraeli declines to take up
office instead
1874 - Disraeli becomes
Conservative Prime Minister for the second time
1875 - Disraeli purchases a
controlling interest for Britain in the Suez
Canal. Agricultural depression increases
1875-76 - Parliament passes R.A.
Cross's Conservative social reforms
1876 - Queen Victoria becomes
Empress of India. The massacre of Christians in
Turkish Bulgaria leads to anti-Turkish campaigns
in Britain, led by Gladstone
1877 - Confederation of British
and Boer states established in South Africa
1878 - The Congress of Berlin
is held. Disraeli announces 'peace with honour'
1879 - A trade depression
emerges in Britain. The Zulu War is fought in
South Africa. The British are defeated at
Isandhlwana, but are victorious at Ulundi
1879-80 - Gladstone's Midlothian
campaign denounces imperialism in South Africa
and Afghanistan
1880 - Gladstone establishes
his second Liberal government
1880-81 - The first Anglo-Boer War
is fought
1881 - Parliament passes the
Irish Land and Coercion Acts
1882 - Britain occupies Egypt.
A triple alliance is established between Germany,
Austria and Italy
1884 - Parliament passes the
third Reform Act which further extends the
franchise
1885 - Death of General Gordon
at Khartoum. Burma is annexed. Salisbury succeeds
Gladstone with his first minority Conservative
government. Parliament passes the Redistribution
Act
1886 - Gladstone's third
Liberal government fails to pass its first Irish
Home Rule Bill through the House of Commons.
Gladstone resigns as Prime Minister. Split in the
Liberal Party. Salisbury establishes his second
Conservative-Liberal-Unionist government. The
Royal Niger Company is chartered. Gold is
discovered in the Transvaal
1887 - Queen Victoria
celebrates her Golden Jubilee. The Independent
Labour Party is founded. The British East Africa
Company is chartered
1888 - The County Councils' Act
establishes representative county based
authorities
1889 - London Dockers' Strike.
The British South Africa Company is chartered
1892
- Gladstone forms his fourth Liberal government
1893 - Second Irish Home Rule
Bill fails to pass the House of Lords
1894 - Rosebery takes power
with his minority Liberal government
1895 - Salisbury forms his
third Unionist ministry
1896 - The British conquest of
the Sudan begins
1897 - Queen Victoria
celebrates her Diamond Jubilee
1898 - British rule over Sudan
fully established. German Naval expansion begins
1899 - British disasters in
South Africa
1899-1902 - Boer War in South
Africa
1900 - Salisbury wins the Khaki
election. The Labour Representation Committee is
formed. Parliament passes the Commonwealth of
Australia Act
1901 - Death of Queen Victoria.
She is succeeded by her son, Prince Albert, as
King Edward VII
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