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1701 BCE
Act of Settlement 1707
It assured the succession of George I, German Prince of Hanover and son of Sophia, granddaughter of James I. This is the beginning of the Hanoverian Dyansty -
Succession of George I
Protestant king preferred over the Catholic choice of James, the Old Pretender -
First Jacobite Rising - Riot Act
Highlanders of Scotland + the Fellows of Oxford University attempted to depose George I and replace him with the Old Pretender, James Stuart. Failure. Tories discredited. Whig Supremacy -Septennial Act -
South Sea Bubble
Financial and political crisis. Inverstors ruined after having invested in shares in the supposedly successful South Sea Company. -
Succession of George II
Ruled from 1727-1760, with his wife, Caroline and Walpole as Prime Minister. -
Kay´s Flying Shuttle was invented
An invention that made the weaving much faster. This triggered several mobs of violence as people claimed it put them out of work. It also triggered the imposibility of keeping the production of thread up to the level required by this machine. Some spinning invention was needed. -
The War of Jenkin´s ear
Foreign Secretary James Stanhope concluded the Quadruple Alliance between England, Austria, Prussia and France against Spain, who violated the asiento of the Treaty of Utretch. Spain then had designs on Austrian territory and ambitions for the French throne. It was mainly a war over slave trade in the West Indies -
War of Austrian Succession
A dispute over the succession to the throne of Austria provoked a war in Europe. England sided with Austria against the French, Spanish and German enemies. -
Second Jacobite Rebellion
Jacobites now attempted to place Bonnie Prince Charles, the Young Pretender, on the throne. Scots army was destroyed in the Battle of Culloden (1746). Charles escaped with a price on his head. The Whig government broke up the clans. -
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
End of the War of Austrian Succession. The Austrian queen kept her throne. Spain agreed to allow more English ships to trade in her colonies. -
The Seven Years´War
Anglo-French rivalry in the colonies. The French were in India and in North America, where the war started. England wanted to crush French trade. Results: Montreal and all Canada became British. The French empire in India ended. France was bankrupted and her navy destroyed. -
Succession of George III
George II died, George III ruled from 1760-1826 with William Pitt as Prime Minister -
Hargreave´s Spinning Jenny was invented
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John Wilkes is allowed to take a seat in the House of Commons
After the journalist and critic of the Peace of Paris´s newspaper was suppressed and he was arrested, he was allowed a seat in Parliament. He had won several elections and was, in the public eye, the champion of free speech and the right of Englishmen to choose their representatives. -
Adam Smith´s Enquiry into the Wealth of Nations
Self-interested individuals will produce a prosperous economy,if not restricted by the government. -
The Renunciation Act (Ireland)
Provided the Irish Parliament with legislative independence. -
Cartwright´s power loom was invented
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The First Coalition - against France
1792 - 1797 - Austria - Prussia - Great Britain - Spain, etc against France. -
Napoleonic Wars - Second Coalition and British Victory
Napoleon against England´s commercial by invading Egypt. Admiral Nelson defeated the French. -
Act of Union (Ireland)
Ireland then became represented by 32 peers in the House of Lords and 100 in the Commons. Free trade between the 2 countries, continuance of the Anglican Church of Ireland and abolished the Irish Parliament. The Irish wanted more: Catholic emancipation. -
Napoleonic Wars - Treaty of Amiens
Marked the end of the war with France but just for a short period. France was supreme on land and England supreme on the seas. The treaty was favourable to France. Napoleon wanted more -
Napoleonic Wars - Renewal of the War
Britan did not want to surrender Malta, as Napoleon wanted, so B declared war. -
Napoleonic wars - Victory at Trafalgar
English fleet commanded by Admiral Nelson defeated the French fleets. The victory ensured England control of the seas. -
Napoleonic Wars - Defeat in Russia
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Napoleon exiled
Napoleon abdicated and was exiled to the island of Elba -
Napoleonic wars - Battle of Waterloo
Napoleon is defeated in Waterloo, near Brussels thanks to the British and the Prussians. France lost all territorial gains in Europe. England gained colonies. England was a world power. -
The Corn Law
Parliament revised the corn law so as to raise the tariff on the cheap imported grain. A mesaure that attracted the Tory landlord but increased the price of bread. -
Peterloo Massacre
Hunt´s speech on parliamentary reform encouraged the magistrates to order the cavalry to arrest him and charge the crowd. -
Succession o George IV
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The Catholic Emancipation Act
Permitted O´Connell, Irish Catholic, to take his seat in the House of Commons. -
The Great Reform Bill
After the abuses in the parliamentary system because of the rotten boroughs, the lack of corresponding change in representation of the northern and western recently populated and of the commercial interests, the reform bill was introduced. It granted the vote to owners of lessees of land. -
Factory Act
Lord Ashley introduced a bill to improve children´s conditions in the mines. -
Succession of Queen Victoria
William IV died with no legitimate heir, leaving his niece as the next successor to the throne. Royal connections with Hanover broken -women could not rule for that German state. In 1840, she married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. -
The People´s Charter
A draft to grant the lower-middle class and the working classes a voice in Government. Universal male suffrage - secret ballot - payment of mp - no property qualifications for MP- annual general elections and equal electoral districts. -
Peel became Prime Minister
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Mines Act
Prohibited the employment in mines of boys under ten and of women and girls. -
Factory Acts
Women´s working day of 12 hours. Children - 6 and a half hours. Safety provisions were included. In 1847, 13-18 yrs old and women´s working day of 10 hours. -
Repeal of the Corn Laws
After the potato famine in Ireland and disastrous weather conditions in England too.