Early Modern
Founding of Saint Petersburg (1703): Peter the Great's Capital
A fortress on the Neva grew into a planned European-style city that became the capital of the Russian Empire from about 1712 to 1918.
Region
Europe
Early Modern
Capture of Gibraltar (1704): How Britain Gained the Rock
The Spanish garrison surrendered on 4 August 1704; Gibraltar was held against a Franco-Spanish siege and ceded to Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713.
Early Modern
Battle of Blenheim (1704): Marlborough's Great Victory in Bavaria
Decisive Allied victory; the Franco-Bavarian army was destroyed, Marshal Tallard was captured, Vienna was saved and Bavaria was knocked out of the war.
Early Modern
Halley's Comet Prediction (1705): The Return of 1758
The comet returned as predicted, reaching perihelion on 13 March 1759 and providing powerful confirmation of Newtonian gravitation.
Early Modern
Acts of Union 1707: England and Scotland Become Great Britain
The parliaments of England and Scotland were merged into a single Parliament of Great Britain, while Scotland kept its own law, church and education system.
Early Modern
Battle of Malplaquet (1709): Marlborough's Costliest Victory
Allied tactical victory; the French withdrew in good order, but Allied losses were roughly twice those of the French.
Early Modern
Great Frost of 1709: Europe's Coldest Winter in 500 Years
Crops and livestock were destroyed across much of Europe, and the famine that followed in France caused an estimated 600,000 excess deaths in 1709-1710.
Early Modern
Abraham Darby and Coke Smelting (1709): Iron at Coalbrookdale
Darby proved that iron could be smelted commercially with coke, freeing ironmaking from dependence on charcoal and preparing the way for large-scale iron production.
Early Modern
Battle of Poltava (1709): Peter the Great Defeats Charles XII
Decisive Russian victory; the Swedish army surrendered at Perevolochna days later and Charles XII fled into Ottoman territory.
Early Modern
Statute of Anne (1710): The First Copyright Law in Britain
Copyright became a statutory right of limited duration vested in authors and their assignees, replacing the booksellers' perpetual control under the old licensing system.
Early Modern
Newcomen Engine (1712): The First Practical Steam Engine
The atmospheric engine became the standard machine for pumping water from mines for most of the eighteenth century and paved the way for Watt's improved steam engine.
Early Modern
Siege of Barcelona (1713-1714): The Fall of Catalan Liberties
Barcelona fell to Bourbon forces after a final assault on 11 September 1714; Catalonia's own institutions were abolished by the Nueva Planta decree of 1716.