Timeline (Cromwell the Great)

He maketh kings to sit in soverainty;

He maketh subjects to their powre obey;

He pulleth downe, he setteth up on hy:

He gives to this, from that he takes away;

For all we have is his: what he list doe he may.

(Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene (1589-96), Book V, Canto II, Stanza 41) A timeline of Cromwell the Great and events of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Two Lords
(1658-1718, 9th to 69th Year of the Commonwealth)

1658

 * Anglo-Spanish War (1654–60).
 * Northern War (1655-1660 Wars between Sweden and its adversaries)
 * Publication of The Prerogative of Popular Government  by James Harrington.
 * 3 September - Death of Oliver Cromwell.
 * 4 September - The Protector's Privy Council issues proclamation of Henry Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
 * 12 November - Major-General John Lambert named President of the Protector's Privy Council.
 * 23 November - State Funeral of Oliver Cromwell at Westminster Abbey.
 * Tea first arrived in England, exported from China via Holland.

1659

 * Anglo-Spanish War (1654–60)
 * First Esopus War (Sept 1659-July 1660 war between Dutch settlers of New Netherland against Esopus tribe)
 * Northern War (1655-1660 Wars between Sweden and its adversaries)
 * Founding of the debate society The Rota Club
 * 14 January – Battle of the Lines of Elvas: The Portuguese beat the Spanish in the Portuguese Restoration War.
 * 31 May – The Netherlands, France and the Commonwealth sign the Treaty of The Hague.
 * Summer - Campaign and elections of the Third Protectorate Parliament. MPs to the House of Commons results in a solid majority of Cromwellian, followed by Presbyterians and an important minority faction of republican Commonwealthmen. Also elected representatives of extreme sects (such as Fifth Monarchists) and crypto-cavaliers, Catholics (from Ireland), and Episcopalians.
 * July - Henry Cromwell nominates missing members needed to complete the total of 70 in the Other House.
 * August - Henry Cromwell's first address to Parliament. The House of Commons by a large majority recognizes proclamation and proceeds to call for the formal installation and oath.
 * November - Establishment of the Rota Club as a republican debate society founded and dominated by James Harrington.
 * 7 November - Treaty of the Pyrenees between France and Spain ending the Franco-Spanish War (1635–59).

1660

 * Anglo-Spanish War (1654–60).
 * Northern War (1655-1660 Wars between Sweden and its adversaries).
 * First Esopus War (Sept 1659-July 1660 war between Dutch settlers of New Netherland against Esopus tribe).
 * Inauguration of Loftus College of the University of Dublin.
 * Publication of The Use and Manner of the Ballot by James Harrington.
 * March - Fendall's Rebellion, against Lord Baltimore. Establishment Commonwealth of Maryland.
 * 23 April / 3 May – Treaty of Oliva: peace made between Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Habsburgs and Brandenburg-Prussia.
 * August - Failed mutiny of army officials and troops in Jamaica.
 * August - Return of Prince Rupert to England.
 * 28 November - At Gresham College in London, twelve men, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir Robert Moray meet after a lecture by Wren and decide to found "a College for the Promoting of Physico-Mathematical Experimental Learning". Later to be known as the Society for Promoting and Improving Knowledge (SPIK).
 * Hopkins Grammar School is founded in New Haven Colony.
 * Navigation Act of 1660.

1661

 * The Irish Common Prayer Book (Leabhar na hUrnaí Coitinne) is published.
 * April - The Post Office introduces postmarks.
 * April - Easter, and later in the same year Christmas, officially celebrated. They were suppressed between 1647-1660.
 * 6 August – Portugal and the Dutch Republic sign the Treaty of The Hague, whereby New Holland (in Brazil) is formally ceded to Portugal by the Dutch Republic.
 * Commonwealth Charter given out to Society of London for Promoting and Improving of Natural Knowledge (Society for Promoting and Improving Knowledge, SPIK).
 * Tenures Abolition Act. Abolishes all feudal obligation to landlords, Churches and the State throughout the Commonwealth. Establishes a new taxing system for land tenure and new excise duties. It also dissolves the Court of Wards and Liveries already in recess since 1659 by Order of Council.

1662

 * Campaign and elections of the Fourth Protectorate Parliament. Results in similar majority of Cromwellian followed by Presbyterians, a strong republican Commonwealthmen minority and others as in the previous election.
 * Council of State statute the creation of two new permanent bodies: Council for Foreign Plantations and Council of Trade.
 * Establishment of county commissions for keeping public peace in England and Wales
 * Poor Relief Act 1662.
 * The Senate Act of 1662.
 * Meeting at the Savoy Palace of the main factions: Presbyterians, Independents and Episcopalians.
 * Common Prayer Book and the Book of Reformed Liturgy are published.
 * Koxinga's army expels Dutch from Formosa
 * 10 March Death of Samuel Hartlib.
 * April - Protector-in-Council issues commonwealth charter for Connecticut, that provides the absorption of New Haven Colony, and self government.
 * 17 October - Sale of Dunkirk to France.
 * Theaters allowed to stage all sorts of plays. This was banned between 1642 to 1661.
 * October - Henry Cromwell's opening speech to the Parliament Principles of our Government of the Commonwealth that sketches out the Constitutional Framework of the Commonwealth.

1663

 * First gathering of electors and nominations of the Senate, second chamber of the Parliament that replaces the Other House.
 * March - Iroquois and Dutch West India Company (WIC) envoys meet at Fort Orange to sign the North River Treaty.
 * 24 March - Approval of the Act of Union of Ireland, which regularizes the island's status within the Commonwealth.
 * March - Amended Westminster Confession of Faith for England, Wales and Ireland. Does not included Chapters 30 and 31 on Church discipline.
 * April - Act on certain measures on doctrine and organization given to the Church in Ireland to dictate. Gives to the Church of Ireland authority in a synod to establish its canons and modify the Irish Act of Faith.
 * April - First issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the SPIK.
 * July - September - Second Esopus War (war between Dutch settlers of New Netherland against Esopus tribe).
 * September - Freeholders rebellion ousts Governor Berkeley of Virginia.
 * November - Second Act of General Pardon and Oblivion.

1664

 * Foundation of the French East India Company (Compagnie française pour le commerce des Indes orientales) to compete with the English (later British) and Dutch East India companies in the East Indies.
 * Act of Settlement (of 1664 for Ireland), it also creates land registries for Ireland.
 * Act for Leeward Caribbee Island Government
 * March - Act on the Organization of the Churches of England, Wales and Ireland. Creates the conjoined polity or Ussher scheme, a via media of church governance.
 * April - Venner's Rising in London, Bristol and Belfast against the questionable government of Henry Cromwell. Rebels subdued and imprisoned. Hanging of Thomas Harrison, Thomas Venner, John Carew, and others. The following months purge of Fifth Monarchist from the British Army and militias. Ejectors advised to expel preachers associated with extreme sects.
 * June - Licensing of the Press Act (of 1664).
 * July - The Sedition Act (of 1664) and Blasphemy Act (of 1664). The last Act punishes severely independent preachers wherever they are public or unlicensed.
 * August - First Joint annual session of the Trustees, Triers and Ejectors for England, Wales and Ireland.
 * December - British Army and British Navy came into being with the unification of the army and navy of England, and the armies and militia of Scotland and Ireland.

1665

 * Campaign and elections of the Fifth Protectorate Parliament.
 * Creation of the Commissioners for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge in Wales.
 * Act for matters of government of the Church of Scotland of 1665.
 * The University of Durham (founded in 1656) receives its Commonwealth Charter, giving it powers to grant its own degrees.
 * The revision of The Irish Common Prayer Book (Leabhar na hUrnaí Coitinne) is published
 * Company of Adventurers Trading to Africa chartered by the Commonwealth Council of State.
 * February - Outbreak of the Great London Plague.
 * August - First Joint annual session of the Trustees, Triers and Ejectors for Scotland.
 * September - Peak of the Great London Plague, over 7000 deaths per week.
 * November - State funerals of Elizabeth Cromwell (née Bourchier), window of Oliver and mother of Henry.

1666

 * Establishment of shire guardians in Scotland.
 * Act for the organization of the courts in Ireland.
 * Act of the Government and Discipline of the National Churches of England, Wales and Ireland.
 * Act of Public Monies and Endowment for Religious Observance in Scotland.
 * Publication of Court Maxims by Algernon Sidney.
 * Meeting the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. There were no General Assemblies between 1653 and 1665.
 * February - End of the Great London Plague, city considered safe.

1667

 * Star of the War of Devolution (1667–68) saw Louis XIV's French armies overrun the Habsburg-controlled Spanish Netherlands and the Franche-Comté. The Triple Alliance of the Commonwealth, Sweden, and the Dutch Republic formed and secured a combined army to defend the Spanish Netherlands from the French.
 * Judicature Acts of 1667.
 * Parish Register Act that mandates the record of births, marriages and burials in the Civil Registers and issue marriage certificates.
 * By Quinquennial Act, the House of Commons of the Parliament is to elected every five years.
 * May - first meeting of the reformed General Synod of the Church of Ireland. Its Bishop-President is appointed Archbishop of Armagh.
 * 2-5 September - The Great Fire of London.
 * October - First meeting of the reformed General Synod of the Church of England at London. Its Bishop-President is appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, assisted by the Archbishop of York. Also approves alternately meetings of the General Synod at London and York.

1668

 * War of Devolution (1667–68) Louis XIV is forced to give back Habsburg-controlled Spanish Netherlands and the Franche-Comté, by Spain and the Triple Alliance in the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (2 May 1668) that allowed the French to maintain their minor gains and required a monetary compensation to the Spanish in return.
 * Campaign and elections of the 6th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons).
 * Publication of revised latin edition of Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes in Amsterdam to avoid the Blasphemy Act of 1664.
 * Publication of An Account of the Trial of Charles I by Algernon Sidney.
 * Dutch regain Island of Formosa
 * 12 August - Act organizing the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands.
 * 14 August - Death of Robert Lilburne. His funeral marked the first public rally of the Levellers since 1649.
 * October - Start of the legal year of the recently created High Judicial Committee.

1669

 * Election and nominations of Senators.
 * The Isle of Man and Channel Islands Constituencies Act. It allows for the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands to elect MPs and Senators. First elections are held in spring of 1670.
 * Act of parliament that establishes land registries for England and Wales. Scotland and Ireland already had theirs respectively in 1617 and 1664.
 * Reopening of City of London Exchange in new building after the old one destroyed by the Great Fire.
 * Test Acts, a series of penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics.

1670

 * Establishment of county commissions for keeping public peace in Ireland.
 * Public Worship Regulation Act of 1670.
 * Acts strengthening the East India Company. Rights to autonomous territorial acquisitions, to mint money, to command fortresses and troops and form alliances, to make war and peace, and to exercise both civil and criminal jurisdiction over the acquired areas.
 * Establishment of the second Danish East India Company
 * 2 May - Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) is chartered by Parliament granting the company a monopoly over the region drained by all rivers and streams flowing into Hudson Bay (Borealia ) in northern Canada.
 * July - Treaty of Madrid. Spain recognized English possessions in the Western Indies and Western Hemisphere. Spain also agreed to permit English ships freedom of movement in the Caribbean. Each country agreed to refrain from trading in the other's territory, and both countries agreed to limit trading to their own possessions. England agreed to suppress piracy in the Caribbean.
 * Edward Somerset’s Water-commanding Engine that uses steam

1671

 * March - First Charter of the Danish West India Company or Danish West India–Guinea Company a Dano-Norwegian chartered company for the exploitation of the colonies in the Danish West Indies.
 * 12 November - Death of Sir Thomas Fairfax, Lord General of the British Army. His state funeral at Westminster Hall, the national day of mourning and the highly emotional public sorrow that was expressed by all, marked for many the end of an era of the English Revolution.
 * An Act to restrain Foreign Education, prohibiting Catholics from sending their children to be educated abroad.
 * First Letters patent that grants titles and honours to North Americans. It Also created the titles of landgrave and cassique and new baronies for its use in the American colonies.

1672

 * Publication of A System of Politics by James Harrington.
 * April - On John Wilkins' proposal the SPIK establishes a commission for the creation of a universal standard of measure and report its implementation. Newton named Fellow of the SPIK (FSPIK).
 * 7 April - Start of Franco-Dutch War 1672-1678). France declares war on the Dutch Republic. Triple Alliance renewed.
 * May - Parliament dissolved (before its full term) and writ of elections issued.
 * May to June - Campaign and elections of the 7th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons).
 * July Lord Edward Montagu 1st Earl of Sandwich named Lord President of the Commonwealth Council of State. Former Lord President John Lambert named Commander-in-Chief of the Land Forces and President of the Army Council.

1673

 * Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678).
 * Catholic Exclusion Act. Expels Jesuits from the Commonwealth and confiscates their properties. Establishes severe penalties for public and private worship. Denies public rights to Catholics.

===1674 (25th Year of the Commonwealth Era ) ===
 * Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678).
 * First Anglican or Episcopalian Toleration Act (1676). Allows private worship, convincles and religious assemblies for Episcopalians in England
 * 14th to 20th May (Old Style)- Week of Celebration of the 25 years of the Declaration of the Commonwealth.
 * June 1674 – April 1678 King Philip's War (war of the New England Confederation against the Native Americans).
 * December - Death of Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon.

1675

 * Scanian War (1675-1679)
 * Franco-Dutch War 1672-1678).
 * Establishment of the Dominion of New England with Charles Fleetwood as its first Governor-general.
 * May to June - Election and nominations of Senators.
 * Promulgation of the Habeas Corpus Act (or Shaftesbury's Habeas Corpus)
 * November - start construction of new St Paul's Cathedral.
 * Foreign Religious Orders Act. Expels Catholic orders that do not register to local authorities, prohibits their employment as teachers and dissolves Catholic seminaries.

1676

 * Scanian War (1675-1679)
 * Franco-Dutch War 1672-1678).
 * Second Anglican or Episcopalian Toleration Act (1676). Allows the establishment of Episcopalian seminaries and use of property for religious services (church). The seized Catholic seminaries and properties were to be given out to the Episcopalian church and reconsecrated. Extends First Act to Scotland and Ireland.

1677

 * Scanian War (1675-1679)
 * Franco-Dutch War 1672-1678).
 * May to June - Campaign and elections of the 8th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons).

1678

 * Scanian War (1675-1679)
 * Franco-Dutch War (1672-1678).
 * Failed Irish-Scottish Jacobite rising of 1678.
 * March - Anthony Ashley-Cooper 1st Earl of Shaftesbury named Lord President of the Commonwealth Council of State.

1679

 * Scanian War (1675-1679)
 * Treaties of Fontainebleau, Lund (both between Denmark-Norway and the Swedish Empire) and Saint-Germain-en-Laye (France and the Electorate of Brandenburg)
 * 22 May - The steam digester (a high-pressure cooker with a safety valve.) built by Denis Papin is presented to members of the SPIK and general public.
 * October - Death of Thomas Hobbes.

1680

 * Publication of Discourses Concerning Government by Algernon Sidney.
 * Publication of The English Liberties and the Commonwealth by James Harrington.
 * Rupertine boring machine used in gun making.

1681
.
 * May to June Election and nominations of Senators.
 * July - State visit of Stadtholder Willem III (widely known afterwards as the Dutch Summer)
 * Posthumous publication of Behemoth: the history of the causes of the civil wars of England by Thomas Hobbes printed in Amsterdam to avoid the Blasphemy Act of 1664.
 * Papin develops and builds first safety-valve

1682

 * May to June - Campaign and elections of the 9th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons).
 * Papin's pressure cooker, an improved steam digester is manufactured. The Board of Ordnance and the Commissariat put orders for pressure cookers, becoming a standard cooking equipment of the British Armed Forces.
 * Episcopalian Services and Indulgence Act (Third Episcopalian Act 1676). Allows full autonomous church governance and equals rights as the rest of national churches in the Commonwealth.
 * New Netherland becomes a Generality Land of the Dutch Republic, gained full autonomy.

1683

 * Signing of the Anglo-Dutch Concord (Engels–Nederlandse Eendracht).
 * Scottish Jacobite rebellion of 1683.
 * Representation and Seats of Scotland in Commonwealth Parliament (1683). The Act gives one seat to all scottish counties, with the exception Orkney and Shetland that share MP.
 * Representation and Seats of Ireland in Commonwealth Parliament (1683). The Act gives one seat to Irish counties or neighboring group of counties and creates MP for the City of Dublin.
 * Samuel Morland’s steam powered water-pump. He states the size of the cylinders required in his machine to raise given quantities of water per hour, and gives very exactly the relative volumes of equal weights of water and of steam under atmospheric pressure.

1685

 * 22 October - Louis XIV revokes Edict of Nantes, making Protestantism illegal in France. Exodus of French Huguenots most moving to the British Commonwealth and its colonies, Brandenburg-Prussia, the Dutch Republic, Switzerland, Dutch Cape Colony, New Netherland, Norway and Denmark.

1687

 * May to June- Election and nominations of Senators and elections of the 10th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons).
 * 5 July - Isaac Newton Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica or simply Principia is published.
 * Joseph Dudley appointed Governor-general of the Dominion of New England

1688

 * Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
 * Jacobite War in Ireland (1688-1690)
 * Episcopalian Colonies Act (1688). Extends previous rights, privileges and toleration of Anglicans to the colonies of the Commonwealth, specifically North America. Removes various civil disabilities on Anglicans.

1689

 * Jacobite War in Ireland (1688-1690)

1690

 * Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
 * Jacobite War in Ireland (1688-1690)
 * Promulgation of the Act and Declaration of Indulgence. It established complete freedom of religion and suspends or lessens punishment to Catholics in Ireland. However system of registration of Catholic clergy upheld.
 * Papin constructs a working model of an engine, consisting of a steam-cylinder with a piston which was raised by steam-pressure, and which descended again when the condensation of the steam produced a vacuum beneath it.

1692

 * Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
 * May to June - Election of the 11th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1692-1697).
 * Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, elevated Ernest Augustus of Duke of Brunswick and Lüneburg to the rank of Elector of the Empire as a reward for aid given in the Nine Years' War.
 * October - Death of Charles Fleetwood

1693

 * Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
 * May to June - Election and nominations of Senators.

1694

 * Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
 * Scottish Jacobite rebellion of 1694.
 * 27 July - Establishment of the Governor and Company of the Bank of England (Bank of England) as government lender.

1695

 * Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
 * Seven ill years (1695, 1696 and 1698–99) of famine in Scotland in the 1690s. It resulted from an economic slump created by French protectionism and changes in the Scottish cattle trade, followed by four years of failed harvests.
 * Posthumous publication of Edmund Ludlow's Memoirs.
 * 17 July - Establishment of The Governor and Company of the Bank of Scotland (Bank of Scotland) as government lender and commercial bank (deposit-taker and credit institution) to assists and promote Scottish business and lend to the government, subject to parliamentary approval.

1696

 * Seven ill years (1695, 1696 and 1698–99).
 * 23 March - Death of Lord Protector Henry Cromwell (46th Year of the Commonwealth).
 * April - James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth named Lord Protector.

1697

 * Nine Years' War (1688–1697).
 * May to June - Election of 12th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1697-1702).
 * New issue of Letters patent grating titles landgrave and cassique as part of installation of new Protector.

1699 (50th Year of the Commonwealth)

 * Seven ill years (1695, 1696 and 1698–99).
 * January - Louis XIV gives Royal Academy of Sciences its firsts statues. Until then it was as an informal small group of scholars that held weekly working meetings in the King's Library (1666).
 * May to June - Election and nominations of Senators.

1701

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * Coinage Union of England, Scotland and Wales making the pound sterling the sole currency.

1702

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1715).
 * Posthumous publication of History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England by Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon.
 * May to June Election of 13th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1702-1703).
 * Promulgation of the Claim of Rights Act. First full declaration of public and civil liberties.

1703

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * July-August - Election of 14th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1703-1708), previous House od Commons dissolved in April and earlier elections called by Lord Protector.
 * 7 December - Great Storm of 1703. A a destructive extratropical cyclone that struck central and southern England. The British Navy was badly affected, losing thirteen ships including the entire Channel Squadron.

1705

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1706

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * The Standard Weights and Measures Act of 1706 that abolished obsolete, not widely used or arcane weight and measuring units and repealed local customary units used in Scotland and Ireland.
 * Joint Regulations of the Mints of the Commonwealth of 1706 that created and defined the Newton degrees for metals (°N).

1708

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * The Haudenosaunee become a Dutch protectorate (Treaty Teantontalago / Mabee Fort).
 * The Foreign Protestants Naturalization Act 1708, that allows the naturalisation of French Protestants (Huguenots), passed by Parliament only with the votes of the Whigs.
 * May to June Election of 15th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1708-1712).
 * George Louis officially installed Elector-Prince of Hannover.

1709

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * June - Battle of Poltava. Death of King Charles XII of Sweden. His sister Ulrika Eleonora elected Queen by the Riksdag of the Estates (July).

1710

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * The Dutch Republic provide full citizens rights to Huguenot immigrants. The Spanish Netherlands already tolerated their residence.
 * First diplomatic visit of Iroquois and Mahicans representatives (known incorrectly as the Four Mohawk Kings) to Dutch Republic and Britain.
 * Papin's piston steam engine. A modified Somerset’s Water-commanding Engine with a safety valve and piston. Papin’s engine though more efficient than the Savery-Newcomen engine was costlier to build and accident prone due to the lack of machine boring tools to build and seal precise metal parts.

1711

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * Election and nominations of Senators.
 * Promulgation of the Act on Liberty of Religion Consciousness. It established complete freedom of religion in the Commonwealth for all Protestant and Catholics. It would by several judiciary challenges also include Judaism, Socinianism and Islam. The Act was supported by William Penn, who was widely perceived to be its instigator. It also marked the downfall of his presidency of the Council after the elections of the following year.
 * Ulrika Eleanor Queen of Sweden marries Prince Charles brother of Frederick IV King of Denmark-Norway.

1712

 * Great Northern War (1700–12)
 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * First commercial use of the Thomas Newcomen atmospheric engine in pumping water out of a coal mine.
 * Establishment of the Savery and Newcomen Engine Company as an industrial venture for manufacturing and licensing steam engines.
 * July-August - Election of 16th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1712-1717), previous House of Commons dissolved in April and earlier elections called by Lord Protector.
 * Treaty of Nystad concluded between the Tsardom of Russia and the Swedish Empire ending the Great Northern War (1700–12)

1713

 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * Peace of Utrecht. France cedes territories in dispute with Hudson's Bay Company (surroundings of lakes Winnipegosis and Winnipeg).
 * Swiss Jean Maritz invents a vertical drilling machine for cannons while in France.

1714

 * War of the Spanish Succession.
 * First Newcomen atmospheric engine installed in the Dutch Republic by Savery and Newcomen Engine Company and used to assist windmills in draining polders. Ten years later several more are built in France, Flanders, parts of Germany, Austria, Hungary and Sweden.

1715

 * End of War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1715).
 * Creation of the Grand-Duchy of Flanders.
 * 1th September - Death Louis XIV of France.

1716

 * Desaguliers introduces an improved version of the Savery-Newcomen engine, which includes safety valves and a two-way valve that operated both the steam and cold water (as opposed to two separate valves).

1717

 * Election and nominations of Senators.
 * May to June Election of 17th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1717-1722).
 * Isle of Wight - Trials of Papin's steam powered paddle boat. However due to technical and design deficiencies it was not successful sinking the following year.

Whig Hegemony
(1718-1761, 69th to 112th Year of the Commonwealth)

1718

 * Ascension of the Archduchess Maria Anna Eleanor of Austria as Grand Duchess of Flanders.
 * 15 July - Death of Lord Protector James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (69th Year of the Commonwealth).
 * July - William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire named Lord Protector.

1720

 * Jacob Leupold starts to work on the manuscript of Theatrum Machinarum Generale ("The General Theory of Machines"). Leupold includes and describes the design of a high-pressure non-condensing steam engine.

1722

 * Irish coinage crisis due to shortage of circulation, debased coins, inflation and rise in food prices. Previous year unusual cold weather produce crop failure in some areas.
 * Riots in Belfast, Dublin and Cork. Units of the British Army called to control Ireland.
 * May to June Election of 18th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1722-1727).
 * Johan Willem Friso Prince of Orange-Nassau is appointed Stadtholder of the majority of provinces of the Dutch Republic

1723

 * Election and nominations of Senators.
 * 25 June - The Irish coinage crisis of 1722 leads to the establishment of the Bank of Ireland as government lender and commercial bank (deposit-taker and credit institution). Opens for business in 1725.

1724 (75th Year of the Commonwealth)

 * Celebrations of the 75th Year of the Commonwealth in the British Isles and North America.

1725

 * June - Comes into effect the incorporation of Ireland to the Coinage Union. Also the Dublin Mint reopens to provide quality coinage instead of the copper tokens.

1729

 * Election and nominations of Senators.
 * June - Death of Lord Protector William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire (80th Year of the Commonwealth).
 * July - Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend elected Lord Protector by Parliament of proposition of the Council of State.

1730

 * Joseph Hornblower starts to work in an operational Leupold engine. In part an improvement of Papin’s piston steam engine.
 * Death of Frederick IV, his son Christian VI becomes King of Denmark-Norway.
 * Act for ascertaining and establishing Uniformity of Weights and Measure that standardized the customary units creating the British Exchequer Standards and redefined units, simplified the association of measurements.

1732

 * May to June Election of 20th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1732-1737).

1734

 * JSwiss Jean Maritz further developed a method for the horizontal drilling of cannons

1735

 * Election and nominations of Senators.
 * July - The SPIK defines the Roemer-Fahrenheit degrees (°RF) that would become the usual unit of temperature.

1736

 * Act on the Election of Lord Protector by Parliament, passed with votes of Whig Radicals, Tories, Reformist and Country MP after proposal of the Senate is approved.
 * Joseph Collingwood patents an improved Rupertine horizontal boring machine used in gun making. A shaft holds the cutting tool extended through the cylinder and is supported on both ends, unlike the cantilevered borers then in use.

1737

 * May to June Election of 21th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1737-1743).

1738

 * June - Death of Lord Protector Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend (89th Year of the Commonwealth).
 * July - First joint meeting of both chambers of Commonwealth Parliament as electoral assembly. John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville is elected Lord Protector.
 * Charles XIII, King of Sweden on the abdication of his mother Queen Ulrika Eleanor.

1740

 * War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48)
 * Irish Famine of 1740–1741 (Irish: Bliain an Áir ).
 * Joseph Hornblower's steam engine is marketed. Establishment of Hornblower and Sons Co.

1741

 * War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48)
 * Russo-Swedish Baltic War (1741–43)
 * Irish Famine of 1740–1741 (Bliain an Áir)
 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1742

 * Russo-Swedish Baltic War (1741–43)
 * War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48)
 * Death of Christian VI, his son Frederick V becomes King of Denmark-Norway.

1743

 * War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48)
 * Russo-Swedish Baltic War (1741–43)
 * May to June Election of 22th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1743-1748).
 * At the siege of Riga Charles XIII King of Sweden is hit and killed by an enemy bullet.
 * Treaty of Åbo between Russian and Sweden ending Russo-Swedish Baltic War.
 * Frederick Christian I, son of Christian VI of Denmark-Norway, is elected and crowned King of Sweden.

1744

 * War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48)
 * First Carnatic War (1744–1748). Proxy conflict between France and Britain for the control of the South of India
 * August- Louis XV king of France and Navarre dies. His sons Louis XVI enthroned as king.

1745

 * Jacques de Vaucanson’s first completely automated loom enters in production at the Royal silk plant of Lyon. Vaucanson’s automated loom is based on the work of Basile Bouchon and Jean Falcon.

1746

 * Death of Frederick V after a long sickness leaving no immediate heir to the crown. The Riksråd elects his uncle Frederick Christian I of Sweden as King of Norway.

1747

 * War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48)
 * First Carnatic War (1744–1748). Proxy conflict between France and Britain for the control of the South of India
 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1748

 * War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48)
 * First Carnatic War (1744–1748). Proxy conflict between France and Britain for the control of the South of India
 * Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, by which Maria Theresa was confirmed as Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, but Prussia retained control of Silesia.
 * May to June Election of 23th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1748-1753).

1749 (100th Year of the Commonwealth)

 * Second Carnatic War (1749–1754)
 * April – The first official performance of Handel's Music for the Centennial Fireworks of the Commonwealth in London. The performance marked the start of a month long celebration.
 * Willem IV is appointed Stadtholder of the majority of provinces of the Dutch Republic.

1752

 * Second Carnatic War (1749–1754)
 * July - Joint meeting of both chambers of Commonwealth Parliament as electoral assembly that elects Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll as Lord Protector.

1753

 * Second Carnatic War (1749–1754)
 * Election and nominations of Senators.
 * May to June Election of 24th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1753-1758).

1756

 * The Seven Years' War (1756-1763)
 * French and Indian War (1756-1760)
 * Third Carnatic War (1756–1760)
 * The Conference of Boston attended by delegates from Virginia, Maryland, New England and observer from New Netherlands to discuss better relations with the Native American tribes and common defensive measures against the French threat from Canada in the opening stage of the French and Indian War.

1757

 * The Seven Years' War (1756-1763)
 * French and Indian War (1756-1760)
 * Third Carnatic War (1756–1760)
 * Due to the poor results of the Dominion Militia the Governor General of New England replaces it with the seven New England Militia Regiments with better payment and established its own officers staff separate from the one of the British Army.
 * Maryland and Virginia follow the example of New England and established their own permanent Provincial Regiments and officers corps, separate from the already existing Colonial Militia.
 * October - Death of Stadtholder Willem IV.
 * December - The Dutch States General name Maurits II of Orange-Nassau General Stadholder.

1758

 * The Seven Years' War (1756-1763)
 * French and Indian War (1756-1760)
 * Third Carnatic War (1756–1760)
 * May to June Election of 25th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1758-1763).
 * Indian Affairs Department established by Protector-in-Council order.
 * Joint meeting of the generals of the British Army, Provincial Regiments of New England, Virginia and Maryland to coordinate actions. Attempts for equal participation of the colonies fail as British Army assumes direct command of military campaigns.

1759

 * The Seven Years' War (1756-1763)
 * French and Indian War (1756-1760)
 * Third Carnatic War (1756–1760)
 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1760

 * The Seven Years' War (1756-1763)
 * French and Indian War (1756-1760)
 * Third Carnatic War (1756–1760)
 * New England, Virginia and Maryland send colonial agents to protest creation of Indian Affairs Department, new taxes on the colonies and demand de-establishment of Navigation Acts for North American trade.
 * William Pitt's budget calls for new taxes, customs and excise duties to be applied in North America to finance loans and debts from the Seven Years' War. Approved by Parliament against opposition and lobby of the colonies.

British Enlightenment
(1761-1790, 112th to 141th Year of the Commonwealth)

1761

 * The Seven Years' War (1756-1763)
 * April - Death of Protector Campbell. Parliament passes Act of Regency that establishes the Council of Regents (i.e. Commissioners of the Great Seal) to carry out part of the duties of the Protectorship until election of June.
 * June - Joint meeting of both chambers of Commonwealth Parliament as electoral assembly that elects John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford as Lord Protector.
 * Clive-Dupleix Agreement that ends East Indian proxy wars between France and Britain. Originally a private communication the revelation of its contents provokes uproars and criticism against the private diplomacy of the East India Company.

1763

 * The Seven Years' War (1756-1763)
 * Treaty of Paris. The British Commonwealth awarded French Canada.
 * May to June Election of 26th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1763-1768).

1764

 * Union of the Crowns Denmark-Norway and Sweden with Frederick Christian I as its first King.
 * Louis XVI of France assumes the title of Emperor of India.

1765

 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1766

 * Establishment of the British Colony of Ohio.

1767

 * Parliament extends mandate of Protector to ten years.

1768

 * Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
 * April-May Election of 27th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1768-1773).
 * June - Joint meeting of both chambers of Commonwealth Parliament as electoral assembly that elects Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford as Lord Protector.
 * Establishment of the British Colony of Tennessee.
 * Louis XVI signs the Decree of Population of the Colonies enabling unrestricted migration with official sanction and aid to Louisiana, d Guyana and later Australia.

1769

 * Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
 * Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot builds a small version of his three-wheeled fardier à vapeur ("steam dray" or steam-tractor).

1770

 * Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
 * The Inclosure Act created standard legal procedures that enabled enclosure of land, at the same time removing the right of commoners' access. The Act called for the appointment of Inclosure Commissioners who could enclose land without submitting a request to Parliament, thereby removing private members inclosure acts. Historically considered one of the major land reforms of the Tory-Country Coalition.
 * Falklands Crisis, diplomatic standoff between Britain and Spain over possession of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic Ocean.
 * Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot's full-size version of the fardier à vapeur. Initial lack of small and effective engine curtails further development until adoption of a newer and smaller high-pressure steam engines.

1771

 * Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1773

 * Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774)
 * May-June Election of 28th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1773-1778).
 * Louis XVI king of France and Navarre and Emperor of India dies. His sons Louis XVII enthroned as king and emperor.

1777

 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1778

 * Central European War (1778-1782)
 * April-May Election of 29th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1778-1783).
 * June - Joint meeting of both chambers of Commonwealth Parliament as electoral assembly that elects Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton as Lord Protector.

1779

 * Central European War (1778-1782)
 * Death of Frederick Christian I, his son Adolf Frederick crowned King of the United Kingdom of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

1780

 * Central European War (1778-1782)
 * Fourth Silesian War (1780-1782)
 * Representation of the People Act (1780).
 * Ascension of the Grand Duchess Anne-Charlotte of Flanders.

1782

 * Central European War (1778-1782)
 * Fourth Silesian War (1780-1782)
 * First Partition of Poland-Lithuania (1782)

1783

 * May-June Election of 30th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1783-1788).
 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1788

 * April-May Election of 31th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1788-1793).
 * May - Meeting of the Estates-General. A week later the Third State proclaims itself, inviting the other two states, a National Assembly. De facto end of Absolutism and establishment of Constitutional Monarchy in France
 * June - Joint meeting of both chambers of Commonwealth Parliament as electoral assembly that elects Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford as Lord Protector.

1789

 * Election and nominations of Senators.
 * July 1789 - The National Assembly becomes National Constituent Assembly). Drafts and approves Constitution.
 * The Battle of French Guiana against Dutch and British Fleets.

The Age of Reforms and Revolutions
(1790-1840, 141th to 191th Year of the Commonwealth)

1790

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * Elections of the French National Convention
 * 5 October 1790 - The French National Convention proclaims the Republic (14 of Vendémiaire of Year I)

1791

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * February - Execution of former French King Louis XVII.
 * November - The National Convention approves the Constitution of Year II.
 * November - At New Orleans the exiled Dauphin Louis-Auguste is proclaimed Louis XVIII King of France and Emperor of India (at Louisiana). Louisiana declares in favor of the Bourbons.
 * Slave rebellion in Haiti

1792

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * French National Convention votes nationalization of French East India Company and Indian freedom of trade for French merchants.
 * French East India Company breaks ties with the French Republic and allies with Royalists.
 * Louis XVIII's brother Prince Louis-Charles de Bourbon arrives to Pondicherry as Viceroy of India.
 * Slave conspiracy in Louisiana suppressed.
 * 24 October 1792 the French Republican Calendar is adopted and also extended it proleptically to its epoch of 22 September 1790 (Year I of the Republic)

1793

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * April-May Election of 32th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1793-1798).

1795

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1796

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * New French Constitution (Constitution of Year V) establishes the Directory (five men executive)
 * Slave conspiracy in Louisiana suppressed.

1797

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * June - Pitt's Council of All Talents, ruling coalition of Radical and National Reformists.

1798

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * April-May Election of 33th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1798-1803).
 * June - Joint meeting of both chambers of Commonwealth Parliament as electoral assembly that elects George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer as Lord Protector.
 * Adam I Kazimierz Czartoryski elected King and Grand Duke of the Commonwealth of Three Nations (1798-1809). Under the Government Act this is the last royal election beginning the reign of the House of Czartoryski.

1799

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * The First edition of the Exhibition of Products of French Industry of the Year X. It was the first industrial exposition in the World being the first exhibitions a showcase of French technology and industrial production. Although opened during the war it was considered an exit an further exhibitions were organized. It provided a major publicity of French achievements in the early period of the Industrial Revolution.

1801

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * Election and nominations of Senators. Pitt gains a surprising majority in the Senate
 * November 1801 - Coup of Brumaire of Year XII the dismissal of the Directory and the establishment of the Grand Electorship under the (Constitution of Year XII)
 * Grand Elector of the French Republic Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès ((1801-1809)

1802

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * Peace of Amiens. Ends Revolutionary Wars. However it will last only 8 months before War restarts with the British declaration of war.

1803

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * April-May Election of 34th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1803-1806). Pitt's majority enlarged in newly elected House of Commons.
 * May - British declaration of war against France.

1804

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * Death of Adolf Frederick his son Christian Gustav I crowned King of the United Kingdom of Denmark, Sweden and Norway.

1805

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * French invasion of Denmark, Sweden and Norway and the establishment of a client Scandinavia Republic
 * Prussia declared war against France and allies.

1806

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * January - Death of William Pitt the Younger (1759–1806), President of the Council of State (1788-1806).
 * May - Council Crisis after the disaster of the North Sea. Fall of Council of All Talents
 * June-July -Dissolution and call for election of 35th Protectorate Parliament (House of Commons) (1806-1811).
 * September - Grand Court Martial for the disaster of the North Sea starts its sessions.

1807

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * Election and nominations of Senators.

1808

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * June - Reelection of Lord Protector George Spencer for a five year mandate

1809

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * April 1809 - Coup of Floreal of Year XIX. Dismissal of Grand Elector Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès
 * Election of First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte (1809-1826) as established under the mandate of Constitution of Year XIX.

1810

 * European Revolutionary Wars
 * Peace of Vienna definitely ends Revolutionary Wars.

1815

 * Monday 20 March of 1815 - The Italo-Iberian Civil Calendar in official use in the Italian Republic, Liguria, Etruria and Piedmont.
 * 5 to 17 of April - Eruption of Mount Tambora. The Year Without a Summer (1816).