A bit of revisionist history from me.
1756
- French and Indian Wars escalate, leading to a declaration of war by France against Great Britain, starting the Seven Years War.
- British invasion of Canada begins, fall of Montreal, siege of Quebec.
- Naples purchases Corsica from Genoa, but fails to establish control of the island eventually leading to a crisis over its ownership.
- Jesuits are expelled from Portugal, starting a long movement towards secularism.
- Reforms begin in the Ottoman Empire with a decree on religious tolerance.
- The meteoric rise of the Dutch East India Company begins, with expansion in Aceh, Brunei, Bengal, and Malacca.
1757
- Austria declares war on Prussia with the goal of re-capturing Silesia, expanding the Seven Years War to include Austria and France on one side and Britain, Prussia, and the Ottoman Empire on the other.
- The Italian League is formed by all independent Italian countries as a loose alliance.
- The largely unsuccessful French military campaign in Germany begins.
- Frederick of Prussia invades Bohemia, taking the city of Prague, but a second Prussian army surrenders in Saxony.
- French forces temporarily re-take Quebec from the British.
- Reforms in the Ottoman Empire continue, with the Janissaries sidelined by the Sultan.
- The beginning of the Dutch military expansion in the Far East with the attack on Johor.
1758
- Russia, Poland, and Zand Persia enter the war against the Ottoman Empire.
- Frederick withdraws from Bohemia, the Austrians sack Berlin.
- The British take Quebec for the second time.
- Austria begins negotiations with bankers over its debt. These long-running negotiations would culminate in disaster some years down the line.
- The Maratha-Durrani war ends with a Maratha victory, establishing Maratha supremacy in India for the next two decades.
- Dutch success prompts the creation of the Sardinian, Venetian, and Danish East India companies and a shift of Portuguese focus to the East Indies and away from China and Japan.
1759
- In the Battle of Brest the British fleet destroys much of the French navy, initiating a blockade of France.
- Pope Clement XIII calls for a Holy League to oppose Ottoman advance in Hungary.
- Ottomans surrender Crimea to the Russians, evacuating their forces there back to Turkey.
- Venetians purchase Corsica from Genoa, sparking a crisis with Naples.
1760
- The Austrian army lays siege to Berlin after defeating Frederick’s forces.
- The short War of the Italian League begins with Italian states fighting against Austria and Spain.
- The First Republic of Corsica is disbanded by the Neapolitans.
- Polish army comes to the rescue of the Austrians in Hungary, preventing the Ottomans from overrunning the Austrians.
- Tensions boil over in Brazil as landowners begin to organize resistance to the Portuguese King that would continue for a number of years.
1761
- The Pope excommunicates Maria Theresa and her husband Francis, sparking large anti-Catholic sentiment in the Holy Roman Empire and Austria.
- The War of the Italian League ends in a disaster for the Italian states. Pope Clement XIII abdicates. Pope Leo XII attempts a reconciliation with Germany.
- Peace is signed between Austria and Prussia, the province of Silesia is returned to Austria.
- The East India Company is nationalized by the Dutch as the government takes an active role in managing the Far East.
1762
- In a stunning surprise the Ottoman army reaches Prague.
- Pope Leo XII is murdered in Salzburg. His successor Pope Clement XIV takes an antagonistic and militant attitude towards those who disparage Catholicism in Germany.
- Treaty of Adrianople ends the war against Turkey. Turkish reforms stall.
- The French campaign in Germany culminates with the Disaster at Celle after a difficult winter in northern Europe.
- Peace is agreed to between Spain and Great Britain, Spain transfers Florida to Britain.
- A revolt temporarily returns Quebec to French control.
- Catherine assassinates her husband and comes to power in Russia.
1763
- King Augustus of Poland abdicates after a confrontation with the nobility and Frederick Henry Louis is elected King.
- Final defeat of the French army in Germany and the end of the Canadian uprising. The Treaty of Paris ends the war between France and Great Britain.
- The French murder the Duke of Wurttemberg as they retreat from the Duchy, sparking a new war between France and Austria.
- Religious scandal in Bavaria as the Duke is seen pandering to the Catholic Church.
- The Portuguese overcome the resistance to their rule in Brazil using brutal measures.
- Southern Indian states accept British protection.
- Covenant of Batavia is signed with the goal of governing colonial trade.
1764
- The Austrian offensive against France reaches Austrian attack into France reaches Tournai.
- Religious riots break out in Bavaria and will continue for the next few years. Eventually the Duke agrees to convert to Evangelicalism and to ban the Catholic Church.
- First Venetian outposts in West Africa are established. These will grow to become some of the most profitable trade posts in the region.
- The Ottomans begin a re-conquest of Iraq from Persia, using the Azerbaijan army as a proxy.
- Maratha subjugate the Mughals, ending the remnants of the Mughal Empire in India.
1765
- Frederick betrays the Imperial Army, attacking it unexpectedly as Prussia enters the war against Austria.
- Austria signs peace with France. Austrian Netherlands are partitioned between France and the Netherlands.
- An Austrian army captures Berlin while Frederick attacks Vienna. Maria Theresa and her son Joseph disappear during the fighting. Leopold becomes the new Archduke of Austria.
- The short Russo-Polish war begins as Russia attempts to unsuccessfully depose Frederick Henry from the Polish throne.
- The Nawab of Bengal kicks out the British, sparking a crisis over Bengal between the British and the Maratha. The Maratha invade and occupy Bengal.
1766
- The peace agreement between Prussia and Austria separates the Duchy of Prussia from the Margraviate of Brandenburg.
- Machinations and bribes give the Imperial Election to Charles Theodore of the Palatinate.
- A radical Protestant movement overthrows the Electorate of Cologne, declaring a Free Commonwealth there. The Commonwealth would be at war with the new Emperor until its destruction at the hands of the French some years later.
- A broad alliance that includes Britain, Austria, Russia, and Venice begins a war against the Ottoman Empire for its attacks on Persia. Greek revolt begins on Crete.
- Yemelyan Pugachev’s uprising begins along the Volga River. The uprising would pose a most serious challenge to the Russian state and would not end until late 1768.
- War in India and instability in Europe cause the beginning of the decline of the East Indies trade.
1767
- Radical Protestantism gains strength in Germany. Margrave Frederick lends it his support and establishes Evangelical religion in Brandenburg.
- A Catholic army is formed in Wurttemberg with the goal of combating the spread of radical Protestantism.
- The Pontiac revolt begins in North America. It is the last large native revolt against colonial incursion. Following the revolt colonists, encouraged by the British government, would quickly move into the Ohio valley and the rest of trans-Appalachia.
- Japanese close their ports to European trade, further damaging European trade in the Far East.
1768
- Charles Theodore proposes the creation of a Kingdom of Germany, causing anger among many HRE princes. A meeting of Protestant princes at Fulda agrees to dissolve the HRE.
- A war between Sweden and Denmark begins as a result of Swedish piracy and will last for a number of years.
- The Ottomans destroy the Zand Persian state, although the Portuguese save the city of Bandar-e-Abbas.
- The combined Austrian and British forces come to within a few miles of Constantinople, forcing peace negotiations which will lead to a peace treaty the following year. Greece emerges as an independent state.
- The British begin a war against the Maratha with the goal of winning back their influence in India.
1769
- The Diet of Hanover sponsored by the British agrees to secularize the HRE.
- The French intervention in Germany begins as the French army makes its way into the Rhineland. The Commonwealth of Cologne falls and the French Jesuits hold public trials of Evangelicals.
- Turkey and Portugal engage in a commercial struggle in the Persian Gulf and around the Horn of Africa. Eventually the Portuguese would secure the rights to trade throughout the region and would use their naval force to dominate the area.
1770
- The French intervention in Germany reaches its goal. Berlin is occupied by the French who spend the next two years restoring Catholic lands and institutions throughout the HRE.
1771
- Sardinian East India Company goes out of business in the first sign of trouble in the Far East.
1772
- Catherine begins radical reforms in Russia. A legislative branch is brought back after its abolition by Peter the Great. Land reforms proceed in successive steps, leading to the abolition of serfdom three years later.
- The British-Maratha War ends in a major victory for Britain. Bengal is ceded to the British and their influence in southern India is solidified.
- The Dutch begin importing slaves from East Africa to the East Indies in hopes of restoring the colonies to profitability.
1773
- Religious wars in Germany end. Frederick is forced to abdicate. The HRE is restored as are all Catholic institutions. Catholicism is granted special protections. The HRE institutions continue their existence by virtue of French military guarantees despite diminishing numbers of Catholics in Germany and broad resentment towards the French.
1774
- An Evangelical coup removes the Margrave from power in Brandenburg. An Imperial intervention is ineffective and in the end the Evangelical state is allowed to continue.
- Due to government mismanagement and the large cost of wars the Austrians default on their loans. A number of banking and merchant companies are severely hurt.
- Catherine makes Gavrila Derzhavin the head of Russia’s government. A reactionary movement coalesces around a pretender who claims to be Peter III. Catherine refuses to abdicate.
- The Dominion of North America is established in Britain’s Atlantic colonies. This experiment at colonial self-government would prove entirely ineffective.
- The Dutch begin exploiting silver mines in Mexico under the terms of the Covenant of Batavia. The Spanish object, but the Dutch argue that the treaty allows them to exploit the silver.
- The Ottoman Empire withdraws from its commercial ambitions in East Africa, ending its conflict with Portugal. Land reform begins in Turkey.
1775
- The Netherlands issues an ordinance to restrict lending to foreign governments in the aftermath of the Austrian default. The lack of financing contributes to a sharp decline in commercial activity.
- The Zaporozhian Cossacks back the pretender Peter III, beginning a brief civil war in Russia. The Cossack and reactionary forces are defeated near Moscow, and the pretender is seized. Instability in Russia continues for a large number of years to come as Catherine struggles to hold the country together.
- The Portuguese begin to tax Dutch trade while subsidizing their trade in the Dutch East Indies. Many Dutch merchant houses go out of business.
1776
- The Spanish dispute with the Dutch escalates into armed conflict as the Spanish blockade Dutch ports in Europe. The following Dutch default sends a shockwave through Europe, causing a serious disruption.
- A sharp decline of European trade would take years to recover from. Merchants from Venice, Portugal, and a few other countries managed to take advantage of it.
- The Patrick Henry Ministry in British North America falls. The British Governor General chooses to govern without an American cabinet for the next few years.
1779
- After fighting flares up in India British forces surrender to the Maratha. A new treaty forces Britain to surrender all territories acquired in the last six years, setting back British expansion in India.
- After Maximilian Joseph of Bavaria dies Austria attempts to prevent Bavaria from falling into Palatine hands. The Austrians fail to achieve victory and French mediate a settlement. Palatinate and Bavaria are united.
1780
- Riots in London following the rejection of demands for more suffrage and broader legislative powers.
1783
- A potential uprising in New York is defused when George Washington asks the officers to respect the colonial government.
1784
- Russia establishes a colony on Kodiak, Alaska.
- The Austrians suspend the Constitution of Hungary due to an uprising in Transylvania that is crushed the following year. The Constitution remains suspended.
- The first meeting of the North American Parliament since 1776. The elections are boycotted by a large part of the population demanding self-government. The Parliament approves symbolic measures proposed by the Governor General and then disbanded. The Dominion continues to be ruled by the British-appointed Governor General.
1785
- Napoleone di Buonaparte becomes a lieutenant in the Sardinian army after graduating from the Suvorov academy in Sardinia.
1786
- Penang becomes the first British colony in Southeast Asia.
1787
- An armed revolt in Massachusetts is crushed by the British army
- Dutch radicals seize Princess Wilhelmina of Orange. A Prussian army enters the Netherlands to restore order. Dutch radical flee the country.
- The Ottoman Empire asserts its control over Moldavia and Wallachia, sparking tensions with Austria and Russia.
1788
- British penal colony is established at Sydney.
- A bad harvest in much of northern Europe leads to large movement of people and riots in major towns. In France local parliaments are abolished following the riots.
- King Charles III of Spain dies, sparking a succession crisis between his daughter Maria Josefa and her English husband and his son Carlos.
