Georgian Era - Timeline

Timeline

1714

Upon the death of his second cousin Queen Anne, George Louis, Elector of Hannover succeeds as the new King, George I, of Great Britain and Ireland, the former of which had itself been established in 1706. This is the beginning of the House of Hanover's reign over the British Crown.

1715

The Whig Party wins the British Parliamentary Election for the House of Commons. This was the party that was in general opposition of the policies of the King.

1727

George I dies and his son George, Prince of Wales ascends to the throne as George II

1746

The final Jacobite rising is crushed at the Battle of Culloden.

1760

George II dies, and his grandson George, Prince of Wales ascends to the throne as George III, since his father, Frederick, Prince of Wales, had died in March 1751.

1763

Britain is victorious in the Seven Years War. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 grants Britain domain over vast new territories around the world.

1765

The Stamp Act is passed by the Parliament of Great Britain, causing much unrest in the Thirteen Colonies in North America.

1775

The War of Independence begins in the Thirteen Colonies, specifically in Massachusetts.

1776

The Thirteen Colonies in North America declare their independence from the British Crown and British Parliament.

1781

The British Army in America under Lord Cornwallis surrenders to George Washington after its defeat in Yorktown, Virginia in October 1781.

1783

British formally recognizes the independence of the original 13 American States when the Treaty of Paris of 1783 is signed by David Hartley, representing George III, and by the American treaty delegation.

1801

The Act of Union 1800 comes into effect on 1 January, uniting the Kingdoms of Great Britain and of Ireland into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

1811

George, Prince of Wales begins his nine-year period as the regent (he became known as George, Prince Regent) for George III, who has become delusional. This sub-period of the Georgian Era is defined as the regency period.

1815

Napoleon I of France is defeated by the Seventh Coalition under The Duke of Wellington at the Battle of Waterloo, in what is now Wallonia, Belgium.

1819

The Peterloo Massacre occurs.

1820

George III dies, and his son George, Prince Regent ascends to the throne of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as George IV.

1830

George IV dies. According to some authorities, this is the end of the Georgian era of the House of Hannover. However, many other authorities continue this era during the relatively short reign of his brother, The Prince William, Duke of Clarence, who became William IV.

1833

Slavery Abolition Act is passed by Parliament through the influence of William Wilberforce and the Evangelical movement, thus criminalizing the African slave trade and all its cruelties and abominations within the British Empire.

1837

William IV dies, ending the Georgian Era, and is succeeded by his niece, Queen Victoria, the last member of the House of Hanover. She married Prince Albert, who was of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and so, when their son Albert Edward, Prince of Wales succeeded as Edward VII, that House gained the British throne.