We have another beginning.
There's been plenty beginnings before this, of course, but the year 1700 seems to be yet another one. We have the beginning of the House of Hanover in England, the American Revolution in the British colonies, the founding of St. Petersburg in Russia, not to mention the beginnings of the Enlightenment in Europe. Yep, the first few decades of this century definitely lead up to a new era of worldviews.
As you go along, keep your eyes and ears open, ask questions and be curious.
Ready to listen to the era? Click here for a YouTube playlist to immerse yourself in the early 1700s
(Feature Photo: The Hohenzollern Castle in the Swabian Alps in Germany, The House of Hohenzollern will rule the Kingdom of Prussia from its foundation in 1702, until its dissolution in 1918 after World War One)
1700
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and (II of Scotland) is king of England – Peter the Great (I) is tsar of Russia – Charles II is Spanish Emperor (since 1665) until November when Philip V (French, Bourbon) becomes emperor – Louis XIV is king of France (since 1643) – Leopold I is Holy Roman/German Emperor (since 1658)
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Off to the Bookstore!
The English government relaxes its control on publishing, and the new art form of the “Novel” begins to thrive
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February 6, Anne, the future queen of England, turns 35
March 30, Future German composer Johann Sebastian Bach turns 16; By April, he is enrolled at the prestigious St. Michael’s School in Lüneburg, Germany, where he sings in the choir and plays on the school’s three-manual organ and harpsichords
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London Loves Coffee
"By the turn of the century, there were some two thousand coffee houses in London, their popularity came both from 'the convenience of being able to make appointments in any part of town,' as Macaulay said, and the further convenience 'of being able to pass evenings socially at a very small charge;' There is a painting dated approx. to this year that shows several bewigged gentlemen sitting down to 'dishes' of coffee; There are candles upon the tables, while the floor is of bare wood, one customer is smoking a clay pipe, others are reading periodicals;" (London the Autobiography, Pg. 214)
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Spain Goes From Having a German to a French Emperor
November 1, Charles II, emperor of the Spanish Empire dies (the Spanish Empire has colonies in the Americas); Charles has been reigning since 1665, and because he didn’t leave a direct heir to the throne...
...the War of the Spanish Succession begins...
Charles was the last Hapsburg (German) ruler of the Spanish Empire, who was also first cousins with the Holy Roman/German Emperor, Leopold I; Before he died, Charles named Philip V of Anjou, a grandson of King Louis XIV of France and a Bourbon, as his successor (Encyclopedia Britannica)
November 16, Philip V, grandson of the French king, is proclaimed king of an undivided Spanish Empire (France and England had tried to partition it in 1698 and in this year as well), which led to war--with Spain and France on one side, and the Grand Alliance (England, the Dutch Republic and the Holy Roman Empire) on the other (Photo: Philip V of France being proclaimed king of the Spanish Empire in the palace in Versailles, November 16, 1701)
Needless to say, not all were thrilled with the choice.
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November 12, Augustine Washington, future father of the first U.S. president, George Washington, turns 6; His father died two years ago; At some point, his mother marries a man named George Gale and they all leave the Virginia Colony in British America and move back to England
November 21, Future French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, Voltaire, turns 6 (real name Françoi-Marie Arouet)
1701
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and II (of Scotland) is king of England – Peter the Great (I) is tsar of Russia – Philip V (French, Bourbon) is king of Spain – Louis XIV is king of France – Fredrick I is king of Prussia (German Kingdom) – Leopold I is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire
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Prussia Becomes a Kingdom & The House of Hohenzollern Becomes Royal
January 18, Fredrick I crowns himself king of Prussia (he is also an Elector of Brandenburg, which means he can cast a vote for who becomes the next Holy Roman Emperor) After being the “Duchy of Prussia” since 1525, the Kingdom of Prussia is formed (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Prussia is a German Kingdom that, at its peak, will include what we know today as the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Poland, and part of Russia, with Berlin as its capital
(Photos: King Fredrich I's coronation at Königsberg castle, and below that, a portrait of King Fredrich I in 1701)
Look at that swagger...
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February 6, Anne, the future queen of England, turns 36
March 21, Future German composer Johann Sebastian Bach turns 17; He is currently enrolled in the prestigious Saint Michael’s School in Lüneburg, Germany (which in this year becomes part of the Kingdom of Prussia); He is meeting many aristocratic people while at school there
The Collegiate School (later called Yale) is founded in Saybrook, Connecticut as a means to educate students for employment in both the church and the state. (Photo: Farnam Hall, Yale College; Credit: Nick Allen, Wikimedia Commons)
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No Catholics Allowed!
The Act of Settlement is passed, formalizing the succession of the English throne to exclude all Catholics
Actually, this is interesting because George I (r. 1714-1727) was an elector of Hanover, meaning he got to be one of the ones who elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire [or the German king], and the Holy Roman Empire is the empire of Catholicism, so even though George became king of England, which was super anti-Catholic, he was very much tied to the pope and Catholicism
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November 12, Augustine Washington, future father of the first U.S. president, George Washington, turns 7; His father died three years ago; His mother has married a man named George Gale and they've all moved back to England
November 21, Future French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, Voltaire, turns 7
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
1702
RULERS & ROYALTY: William III and (II of Scotland) is king of England until March 8 when he dies and his sister-in-law, Queen Anne ascends the throne – Peter the Great (I) is the tsar of Russia – Philip V (French, Bourbon) is king of the Spanish Empire – Louie XIV is king of France – Fredrick I is king of Prussia (German Kingdom) – Leopold I is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire
February 6, Anne (who is just about to become queen of England) turns 37
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The Next Prince of Orange?
March 8, William III, king of England, (and also William II of Scotland), is thrown from his horse during a hunt at Hampton Court Palace and dies, aged 51, at Kensington Palace from complications resulting from a broken collarbone; He is succeeded by his sister-in-law and cousin, Anne who becomes queen of England
But, in addition to being King of England and Scotland, William III was also...
William, Prince of Orange
Why was he called the Prince of Orange? Because he was the sovereign of the Principality of Orange which has been a principality in Provence, France, since 1163 (currently, it is in the Netherlands, and Catherina-Amalia is the present-day princess of Orange)
Since William dies without an heir, a dispute breaks out between his cousin Frederick I of Prussia (who just became the first king of Prussia last year) and John William Friso, a descendant of William's brother
John eventually wins the fight and gains the title (though oddly King Fredrick I of Prussia keeps the territory) and becomes the next Prince of Orange at 14 years-old
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April 23, The coronation of Queen Anne takes place at Westminster Abbey
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Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne’s War (1702-1713) begins in America, it is the second in a series of French and Indian Wars fought in North America; It's primarily a conflict between French, Spanish and English colonists for...
...control of the American continent...
with each side allied to various Native American tribes; In the south, Spanish Florida and the English Province of Carolina attacked one another, and English colonists engaged French colonists based at Fort Louis de la Louisiane (near present-day Mobile, Alabama), with allied Native Americans on both sides (Wikipedia)
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March 21, Future German composer Johann Sebastian Bach turns 18
November 12, Augustine Washington, future father of the first U.S. president, George Washington, turns 8; His father died four years ago; His is living with his mother and step-father, George Gale, in England
November 21, Future French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, Voltaire, turns 8
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
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The House of Hohenzollern in Berlin, Prussia
The House of Hohenzollern has been a Prussian power-family since 1525, when Albert of the House of Hohenzollern became the first Duke of Prussia; Berlin has always been a major city in that Dukedom, but now that Prussia is a Kingdom, Berlin is its capital; Pictured below is the Hohenzollern family's residence in Berlin in 1702 (Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
1703
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter I "The Great" is tsar of Russia – Philip V (French, Bourbon) is emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV is king of France – Fredrick I is king of Prussia – Leopold I is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 38
March 21, German composer Johann Sebastian Bach turns 19
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The Founding of St. Petersburg
May 27, Perter I "The Great" establishes the city of St. Petersburg, on the site of a captured Swedish fortress (St. Petersburg's name was changed to Leningrad between 1924-1991, it is now the second largest city in Russia); It is situated on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea (Wikipedia)
St. Petersburg is historically associated with the birth of the Russian Empire, and its entry into modern history as a European power
(Photo: Peter the Great Meditating on the Idea of Building St. Petersburg on the Shore of the Baltic Sea; Painted by Alexandre Benois in 1916)
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June 28, John Wesley is born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England; He later founds (along with his brother Charles) the Methodist movement in the Church of England
November 12, Augustine Washington, future father of the first U.S. president, George Washington, turns 9; His father died five years ago; His mother has married a man named George Gale and they've moved back to England
November 21, Future French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, Voltaire, turns 9
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
Queen Anne’s War in America continues (1702-1713)
1704
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter the Great (I) is on the Russian throne – Philip V is emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV is king of France – Fredrick I is king of Prussia – Leopold I is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire
The Battle of Blenheim in Bavaria, Germany, takes place, and John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough is rewarded by the crown with land to build Blenheim Palace for his military triumphs (see the year 1710 for more about Sarah Churchill, John’s wife and the Queen Anne’s best friend)
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 39
March 21, German composer Johann Sebastian Bach turns 20
November 12, Augustine Washington, future father of the first U.S. president, George Washington, turns 10; His father died six years ago; His mother dies while they are still children, and in her will, she leaves them in the care of their step-father, George Gale; However, their cousin, John Washington, fights to have himself named as guardian and wins; After this he takes Augustine and his siblings back to the Virginia colony in British America, where Augustine had been born
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The 97 Year-Old Virginia Colony
The Virginia colony in British America is only 97 years old right now, having been settled in 1607; People currently living in the colony surely had grandfathers and great grandfathers who remembered settling there and helped build the town themselves; Back in 1624, King James I of England revoked the Virginia Company's charter and made the Virginia Colony a crown colony, meaning it is now administered by The Crown, not by a company; Later in the 1680s, King Charles II nicknamed the Virginia Colony "The Old Dominion" because of its loyalty to The Crown of England; This is where George Washington's dad is growing up, and Later George Washington himself; The capital of the colony has been Williamsburg since 1699
(Photo: The flag of the Virginia Colony)
November 21, Future French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, Voltaire, turns 10
Isaac Newton’s book Opticks, a study on light (especially light as particles) is published (Thomas Young reads the book in 1790)
Queen Anne has the Orangery built at Kensington Palace, it was designed as a greenhouse for her orange trees, but it was used as a venue for balls and ceremonies
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
Queen Anne’s War in America continues (1702-1713)
1705
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter I "The Great" is tsar of Russia – Philip V is emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV is king of France – Fredrick I is king of Prussia – Leopold I is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire throne until May 5, when Joseph I becomes the emperor
Construction begins on Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Winston Churchill
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 40, and a portrait is painted of her this year...
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 21
November 12, Augustine Washington, future father of the first U.S. president, George Washington, turns 11; He is back living in the Virginia colony in British America with his cousin, John Washington; Both his mother and father have died, and he will not come into his inheritance until he is 15
November 21, Future French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher, Voltaire, turns 11
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
Queen Anne’s War continues in America (1702-1713)
1706
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter I "The Great" is tsar of Russia – Philip V is emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV is king of France – Fredrick William I "The Soldier King" is king of Prussia (German Kingdom) – Joseph I is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 41
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 22
November 10, Voltaire turns 12
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
Queen Anne’s War in America continues (1702-1713)
1707
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter I "The Great" is tsar of Russia – Philip V is emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV is king of France – Fredrick William I "The Soldier King" is king of Prussia – Joseph I is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire
Mary Ball, future mother of U.S. president George Washington, is born (approx.) in the colony of Virginia, British America; She is the only child of Col. Joseph Ball (1649 - 1711) and Mary Johnson Ball; Her dad, Joseph, was born in England and emigrated to Virginia as a child in the 1650s (Virginia was founded in 1607, so when he came over, the colony was only around 50 years old) (Wikipedia)
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 42
March 7, Stephen Hopkins, who becomes one of the signers of The Declaration of Independence, is born in Providence in the colony of Rhode Island; Stephen and his brother grow up being involved with the slave trade; Stephen will play an important role in ending the slave trade in his state of Rhode Island (d.1785) (Signing Their Lives Away, Pg. 56)
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 23
May 23, Carl Linnaeus is born in Råshult, Strenbrohult parish, Sweden; He becomes the inventor of the binomial system, or two naming system, to classify organisms [plants, animals, bacteria, fungi, etc.]) (Encyclopedia Britannica)
August 18, The 1st Duke of Devonshire, William Cavendish, dies, aged 67, (b. 1640); He had spent the last 20 twenty years rebuilding the Elizabethan House called Chatsworth, as it had become old-fashioned and was unstable when he inherited it; His son, also named William Cavendish, becomes the 2nd Duke of Devonshire; He becomes an active politician, and the family’s first serious collector of paintings, drawings, gems, and coins (Chatsworth House guidebook) (Photo: Chatsworth House in 2013; Credit: Rprof, Wikimedia Commons)
November 10, Voltaire turns 13
December 18, Charles Wesley (brother of John Wesley) is born in Epworth, Lincolnshire, England; He became a clergyman, poet, hymn writer (over 6,500 hymns!) and also started the Methodist movement in the Church of England
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
Queen Anne’s War in America continues (1702-1713)
1708
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter the Great (I) is tsar of Russia – Philip V (French) is emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV is king of France – Fredrick I is king of Prussia (German Kingdom) – Joseph I is emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 43
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 24
November 10, Voltaire turns 14
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
Queen Anne’s War in America continues (1702-1713)
1709
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter I "The Great" is tsar of Russia – Philip V (French) is the emperor of the Spanish Empire – Louis XIV is on the French throne –Fredrick I is on the Prussian throne – Joseph I is emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 44
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 25
November 10, Voltaire turns 15
Queen Anne’s husband, Prince George of Denmark dies at Kensington Palace
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (1700-1714)
Queen Anne’s War in America continues (1702-1713)
1710
RULERS & ROYATY: Anne is queen of England – Peter the Great (I) is tsar of Russia – Fredrick William I "The Soldier King" is king of Prussia (German Kingdom) – Louis XIV is king of France
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 45
New St. Paul’s in London is completed
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Four Kings From the New World
Five Mohawk Kings from the New World set sail from New York to England to meet the queen of Great Britain; One dies on the voyage; The four that arrive are received in London as diplomats and are taken around the city in Royal Carriages
After being received by the queen at St. James Palace, They visit the Tower of London and St. Paul’s Cathedral
They stay at The Crown and Cushion in King Street and the inn keeper is so friendly and warm, that the kings gave him the name Cataraqui in a Mohawk christening ceremony
April 10, The kings give a speech to Queen Anne, which is published in London by John Baker (Photo: The published transcription)
The diplomatic visit was organized by Pieter Schuyler, who had been Governor of the province of New York for a little bit in 1709, and will later serve as Governor from 1719-1720
Pieter Schuyler is the progenitor of the American Schuyler family
In addition to requesting military aid for defense against the French, the chiefs ask for missionaries to offset the influence of French Jesuits, who have converted numerous Mohawk to Catholicism; Queen Anne informs the Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Tenison, and a mission is organized
The Archbishop of Canterbury also gives each of the four Native American Chiefs a Bible bound in turkey-red leather; The Queen also gives them a silver communion set and a reed organ
Pieter Schuyler will have a chapel built next year at Fort Hunter (near the Mohawk “Lower Castle” village) along the Mohawk River; The village of Lower Castle became mostly Christianized in the early part of this century; Unlike the “Upper Castle” at Canajoharie further upriver, no mission is founded there until 1769 (see that year) (Wikipedia)
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On Good Friday, Queen Anne and her long time best friend, Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, have a falling out in the Queen’s Closet at Kensington Palace, Sarah leaves the Queen, never to see her again, and goes to build Blenheim Palace as a monument as well as a memorial to her husband, John Churchill (Kensington Palace Guidebook)
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 26
November 10, Voltaire turns 16
1711
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter I "The Great" is on the Russian Throne – Fredrick I is king of Prussia – Louis XIV is king of France
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 46
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 27
In the spring, a periodical in London gives an account of the world of coffee houses:
“Sometimes I am seen thrusting my Head into a Round of Politicians at Will’s, and listening with great Attention to the Narratives that are made in those little Circular Audiences. Sometimes I smoak a Pipe at Child’s, and whilst I seem attentive to nothing but the Post-Man over hear the Conversation of every Table in the Room. I appear on Sunday nights at St. James’s Coffee-House, and sometimes join the little Committee of Politcks in the Inner Room, as one comes there to hear and to improve. My Face is likewise very well known at the Grecian, the Cocoa-Tree…” in all these coffee houses the news and rumors of the day were disseminated.”
(London the Autobiography, Pg. 314)
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A Prince of Orange, The Most Common Ancestor of All Present-Day Monarchs
July 14, John William Friso, the Prince of Orange (in title only, no territory), dies, aged 23, by accidentally drowning in Hollands Diep, a wide river in the Netherlands
In the year 2022, the royal descendents of John William Friso, Prince of Orange, still occupy all the hereditary European thrones
"Due to the intermarriage of the European royal houses, many monarchs are descended from Friso in more than one way; Through history, Friso has been the ancestor of many monarchs whose thrones no longer exist" (Wikipedia)
John's son, William IV, (who won't be born until September) succeeds him as Prince of Orange (in title only, no territory--the territory is actually ruled by king Fredrick I of Prussia)
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November 10, Voltaire turns 17
The South Sea Company is founded in England, and begins trading with the Spanish colonies in South America in anticipation of benefits that would arise from success in the War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (until 1714)
1712
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter the Great (I) is on the Russian Throne – Fredrick I is king of Prussia – Louis XIV is king of France
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 47
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 28
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (until 1714)
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Naming All the Plants & Animals
May 23, Carl Linnaeus, the Swedish botanist, zoologist and taxonomist, turns 5; He will one day be responsible for how we classify organisms by genius and species; His father, called Nils, is a minister and keen gardener; He often takes Carl into the garden and teaches him about botany; By this time, Carl has his own garden, giving him a great thirst for learning about plants and how they work; (Source: Linnean website)
Giant Panda
Latin Binomial: Ailuropoda melanoleuca
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November 10, Voltaire turns 18
1713
RULERS & ROYALTY: Anne is queen of England – Peter the Great (I) is on the Russian throne – Fredrick I is king of Prussia until February 25, when his son Frederick William I "The Soldier King" ascends the throne – Louis XIV is king of France
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 48
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The Soldier King of Prussia
February 25, King Fredrick I of Prussia, dies, aged 55, and his son Fredrick William I "The Soldier King," ascends the throne; Fredrick William I was born in 1688 in Berlin; Remember...
Prussia's capital is Berlin
Fredrick William I is an elector of Brandenburg, meaning he is one of the ones who can vote for who becomes the next Holy Roman/German Emperor; Just like the German-Prussian born King George I of England (who will become king of England next year), is an elector from Hanover--they can both cast their vote for the next Holy Roman/German Emperor
(Photo: Prussian King's crown, now held in the collection of Hohenzollern Castle)
The War of the Spanish Succession continues (until 1714)
Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin is completed, or rather will no longer be worked on, as King Fredrich I in Prussia dies and his son Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia ascends the throne, and he isn’t very much into building like his father was
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 29
November 10, Voltaire turns 19
1714
RULERS & ROYALTY: Queen Anne is queen of England until she dies in August and German/Prussian born George I ascends the throne – Peter the Great (I) is on the Russian throne – Frederick William I is king of Prussia – Louis XIV is king of France
February 6, Queen Anne of England turns 49
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The Royalty of England Becomes German
August 1, Queen Anne dies, aged 49 (b. 1665); Though she had seventeen pregnancies, she did not leave a direct heir, so the throne is passed to a distant relative in the German Kingdom of Prussia: Georg Ludwig; He is an elector of Hanover (meaning he is one of several who can vote on who becomes the next emperor of the Holy Roman/German Empire) and will remain so throughout his reign; So now begins the rule of...
The House of Hanover in England
Georg is descended from King James I (1603 - 1625) through his grandmother; He ascends the English throne as King George I, and speaks only German, no English; He comes from the newly established German Kingdom of Prussia
The language barrier probably contributed to the creation of the office of Prime Minister...
George I's great grandson, George IV, is the king that America will rebel against in 1776
And here's George looking very kingly in 1714...
King George I of England is the uncle of King Fredrick William I of Prussia
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The War of the Spanish Succession ends
The Bourbons/French lay siege to the city of Barcelona, Spain and take the city; They then force hundreds of people from their homes in the area now known as El Born in order to build a citadel there to keep watch over the city and keep the people in line;
Fast Forward ----->> In 1863, the citadel is torn down and a park, as well as a covered market is built in the area
Fast Forward ----->> In 2002, renovation work begins on the building after the market moves to a different location; During the course of the work, foundations of homes that were destroyed in 1714 are found beneath its floor, and because records were kept of who lived in these houses, it is possible to know the names of their residents as well as their occupations
(Photo: The former iron and glass covered market with the foundations of the homes under its floor; Tours are now given of the archaeological excavations and you can actually walk the old streets of this lost part of the city! Photo Credit: Deborah Marino, 2022)
The Bourbons still hold the crown of Spain to this day.
(Photo: The current Spanish royalty, King Philip VI and his wife, Queen Letizia; Credit: Getty Images)
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March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 30
November 10, Voltaire turns 20
1715
RULERS & ROYALTY: German/Prussian born King George I is king of England – Peter the Great (I) is on the Russian Throne – Frederick William I is on the Prussian throne – Louis XIV dies on September 1, aged 76 (b. 1638, r. 1643-1715) and Louis XV ascends the throne (he’s only 5 years old), so until he is of ruling age (13 years old), Philippe II d’Orléans is Regent of France until 1723
March 21, Johann Sebastian Bach turns 31
August 22, King George I has a royal water-party on the Thames and George Fredric Handel’s Water Music is played on a boat for the occasion (George I loved music, and his love of Handel’s work led him to found the first Royal Academy of Music in 1720)
November 10, Voltaire turns 21