Early Modern
Lunar Society of Birmingham (c. 1765): Science Meets Industry
The informal society linked scientific research with manufacturing and helped shape the early Industrial Revolution, before declining after the Priestley Riots of 1791.
Era · c. 1500 – 1800
Early Modern
Voyages of exploration, the Reformation and the age of revolutions that reshaped Europe and the wider world.
Early Modern
Stamp Act (1765): The Taxation Without Representation Crisis
Colonial resistance made the act unenforceable; Parliament repealed it in March 1766 but passed the Declaratory Act asserting its full authority over the colonies.
Early Modern
Bougainville's Voyage Round the World (1766-1769)
La Boudeuse and L'Étoile completed the first French naval circumnavigation, losing few men, and Bougainville's account shaped European images of Tahiti.
Early Modern
Fall of Ayutthaya (1767): Burma Destroys Siam's Capital
Ayutthaya was sacked and abandoned and its kingdom collapsed, but Taksin expelled the Burmese garrison within months and refounded Siam at Thonburi.
Early Modern
Townshend Acts (1767): Duties That Revived Colonial Resistance
Colonial boycotts led Parliament to repeal most of the duties in 1770, keeping only the tax on tea.
Early Modern
James Cook's First Voyage (1768-1771) on HMS Endeavour
Cook observed the 1769 transit of Venus, charted both main islands of New Zealand and the east coast of Australia, and claimed that coast for Britain.
Early Modern
Encyclopaedia Britannica First Edition (1768-1771), Edinburgh
A three-volume reference work was completed in 1771 and grew, through many later editions, into the best-known English-language encyclopedia.
Early Modern
Transit of Venus (1769): Cook's Observation in Tahiti
Observers at dozens of stations timed the transit; combined with 1761 results, it gave a Sun–Earth distance within a few per cent of the modern value.
Early Modern
James Watt's Steam Engine (1769): The Separate Condenser
Watt's separate condenser cut the fuel use of steam engines dramatically, and the Boulton and Watt firm made steam power practical across British industry.
Early Modern
Spanish Missions of California (1769): Junípero Serra's Chain
Spain established 21 Franciscan missions in Alta California between 1769 and 1823, securing its claim to the region at a devastating cost to its Native peoples.
Early Modern
Zemene Mesafint (1769-1855): Ethiopia's Era of the Princes
Imperial power collapsed into rule by regional warlords for over 80 years, until Kassa Hailu reunited Ethiopia as Tewodros II in 1855.
Early Modern
Battle of Chesma (1770): Russia Destroys the Ottoman Fleet
Decisive Russian victory; almost the entire Ottoman battle fleet in the Aegean was destroyed.