Directory

1733 CE

A year defined by the outbreak of the War of the Polish Succession, the founding of Georgia, John Kay's invention of the flying shuttle, and mounting colonial tensions.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • Augustus II the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, died on February 1, triggering a succession crisis that would escalate into the War of the Polish Succession.
  • Stanislaw Leszczynski was elected King of Poland on September 12 with French support, but his rival Augustus III, backed by Russia and Austria, contested the throne.
  • James Oglethorpe and 114 colonists arrived at Yamacraw Bluff on February 12, founding the city of Savannah and establishing the colony of Georgia.
  • France, Spain, and Sardinia formed an alliance against Austria in the War of the Polish Succession, seeking to diminish Habsburg power in Europe.
  • The British Parliament passed the Molasses Act, imposing heavy duties on sugar and molasses imported to the American colonies from non-British Caribbean sources.
  • Russia and Austria supported Augustus III's claim to the Polish throne, deploying diplomatic pressure and military forces to install their preferred candidate.
  • The Qing Emperor Yongzheng maintained strict control over foreign trade, confining European merchants primarily to the port of Canton.
  • British diplomats pursued a policy of neutrality in the Polish succession crisis, avoiding direct involvement in the continental conflict.
  • Oglethorpe negotiated peaceful relations with the Yamacraw people under Chief Tomochichi, securing land for the new Georgia settlement.
  • Sweden remained largely uninvolved in the Polish succession dispute, its military power diminished since the defeat of Charles XII.

Conflict & Security

  • The War of the Polish Succession began in earnest as Russian forces invaded Poland to support Augustus III and drive out Stanislaw Leszczynski.
  • French forces besieged the fortress of Kehl on the Rhine in October, opening a western front in the War of the Polish Succession.
  • A combined Austro-Russian army entered Poland, forcing Stanislaw Leszczynski to flee from Warsaw to the fortified city of Danzig.
  • Spanish and Sardinian forces invaded the Duchy of Milan, seeking to expel Austrian control from northern Italy.
  • The First Maroon War in Jamaica continued with inconclusive fighting between British troops and Maroon guerrilla fighters.
  • Nader Khan of Persia continued his campaigns to secure the western borders of the Persian Empire against Ottoman encroachment.
  • Slave resistance on the Danish island of St. John erupted into a major revolt in November, with enslaved Africans seizing control of much of the island.
  • French colonial forces in Louisiana maintained uneasy relations with the Chickasaw Nation, which allied with British traders.
  • Barbary corsairs from Algiers and Tunis continued to prey on Mediterranean shipping, capturing European merchant vessels.
  • Security concerns on the Georgia frontier led Oglethorpe to establish a system of defensive outposts along the Savannah River.

Economy & Finance

  • The Molasses Act sought to protect British Caribbean sugar planters by making French and Dutch molasses more expensive for colonial distillers.
  • Colonial American merchants widely evaded the Molasses Act through smuggling, as enforcement proved nearly impossible.
  • The Georgia colony was founded partly as a social experiment, with the trustees prohibiting slavery and limiting land grants to promote small farming.
  • The Leipzig Book Fair continued to serve as the center of the German-language publishing trade, attracting booksellers from across Central Europe.
  • The French wine trade flourished as demand for Bordeaux and Burgundy wines grew among wealthy consumers across Europe.
  • Silver production in Mexico surpassed that of Peru, making New Spain the world's leading source of the precious metal.
  • The British East India Company's trade in Chinese tea continued to expand, creating a growing trade deficit paid in silver.
  • Silk manufacturing in Spitalfields, London, employed thousands of Huguenot weavers who had fled religious persecution in France.
  • The development of banking networks in Scotland accelerated, with the Royal Bank of Scotland expanding its operations.
  • The construction of Georgia's early settlements was funded by Parliament and private charity, with no expectation of immediate economic return.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • John Kay patented the flying shuttle on May 26, a device that dramatically increased the speed of weaving and would transform the textile industry.
  • The flying shuttle allowed a single weaver to operate a wider loom, doubling productivity and setting the stage for the Industrial Revolution.
  • Abraham Darby II continued to refine the process of smelting iron with coke at Coalbrookdale, building on his father's pioneering work.
  • Road construction and maintenance under the turnpike system expanded in England, with new trusts established on major routes.
  • The fortification of Danzig was tested as Russian and Saxon forces prepared to besiege the city where Stanislaw Leszczynski had taken refuge.
  • The construction of the new city of Savannah followed a distinctive grid plan laid out by Oglethorpe, featuring public squares and regular lots.
  • Improvements to water-powered machinery in textile mills increased output of woolen and linen cloth in England and the Low Countries.
  • Shipbuilding in New England expanded to meet growing demand for merchant vessels and fishing boats in the colonial economy.
  • The Jaipur observatory (Jantar Mantar) continued to take shape under Maharaja Jai Singh II, with construction of large masonry instruments.
  • Mining technology in Saxony and Bohemia advanced as engineers developed improved ventilation and drainage systems for deep shafts.

Science & Discovery

  • Abraham de Moivre published an approximation to the binomial distribution, contributing to the development of the normal distribution in statistics.
  • Giovanni Poleni constructed an arithmetical calculating machine based on the stepped drum mechanism, presenting it to the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI.
  • Charles Marie de La Condamine and other French scientists prepared an expedition to South America to measure the length of a degree of latitude at the equator.
  • The astronomer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle established an observatory in St. Petersburg, strengthening Russian contributions to astronomy.
  • Stephen Hales published the second volume of Statical Essays, titled Haemastaticks, detailing his measurements of blood pressure in animals.
  • Georg Brandt published results of his chemical investigations that would lead to the identification of cobalt as a new metallic element.
  • Observations of Jupiter's moons continued to be used by astronomers as a method of determining longitude at sea and on land.
  • Botanical gardens in European capitals expanded their collections, receiving specimens from colonial expeditions around the world.
  • Charles Francois de Cisternay du Fay conducted experiments on static electricity, distinguishing between vitreous and resinous electricity and advancing understanding of electrical attraction and repulsion.
  • Exploration of the Missouri and Arkansas rivers by French traders yielded geographic knowledge of the North American interior.

Health & Medicine

  • An outbreak of influenza swept across parts of Europe, affecting England, France, and the Italian states.
  • Smallpox inoculation gained wider practice in the American colonies, particularly in Boston where Cotton Mather had promoted the technique.
  • The physicians at the University of Leiden under Boerhaave's influence continued to set the standard for clinical medical education.
  • Scurvy remained a devastating problem for naval and merchant sailors on long voyages, with no standardized prevention yet adopted.
  • Tropical diseases including malaria and yellow fever took a heavy toll on European colonists in West Africa and the Caribbean.
  • The practice of quarantine was enforced at major Mediterranean ports to prevent the spread of plague from Ottoman territories.
  • Apothecaries in London and Paris prepared compound medicines from an expanding range of imported plant-based ingredients.
  • William Cheselden, a leading English surgeon, continued to refine the lateral lithotomy procedure for removing bladder stones.
  • Public health measures in European cities remained limited, with refuse collection and sewage disposal grossly inadequate.
  • Traditional birth attendants (midwives) continued to manage the vast majority of deliveries across Europe, with varying levels of training.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 277 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.
  • Heavy rains in parts of Central Europe caused flooding along the Elbe and Oder rivers, damaging crops and infrastructure.
  • Deforestation in New England continued as colonists cleared land for farming and harvested timber for shipbuilding and fuel.
  • The expansion of rice paddies in the South Carolina lowcountry altered the landscape, converting wetlands into cultivated fields.
  • Erosion from intensive farming practices degraded soils in parts of the Chesapeake Bay region, reducing tobacco yields.
  • The fur trade in North America continued to deplete populations of beaver, otter, and other fur-bearing animals.
  • Urban pollution in London worsened as coal burning increased, producing thick fogs that affected public health.
  • Timber exports from the Baltic states to Western Europe continued at high levels, gradually reducing old-growth forests.
  • Coastal wetlands along the North Sea were increasingly dyked and drained for agricultural use in the Netherlands and northern Germany.
  • The Mediterranean climate of southern France supported expanding vineyards, though drought years remained a periodic risk.

Culture & Society

  • George Frideric Handel composed his opera Orlando, which premiered at the King's Theatre in London on January 27.
  • Giovanni Battista Pergolesi composed La serva padrona, a short comic opera that would become a landmark in the development of opera buffa.
  • James Oglethorpe founded the colony of Georgia and established the settlement of Savannah on February 12, creating the last of the original thirteen British colonies in North America.
  • Alexander Pope published his Essay on Man, a philosophical poem exploring humanity's relationship with the universe and God.
  • The first Masonic lodge in the American colonies was established in Boston, spreading the fraternal movement to North America.
  • Oglethorpe brought Chief Tomochichi and several Yamacraw delegates to England in 1734, but diplomatic contacts began in 1733.
  • The Evangelical revival movement gained momentum in the German states through the influence of Pietist preachers.
  • Chinese literary culture under the Qing Dynasty continued to produce scholarship and poetry of great refinement.
  • The art of porcelain painting at Meissen reached new heights, with intricate floral and figural decorations highly prized by collectors.
  • The world population was approximately 716 million.