Directory

1734 CE

A year shaped by the intensification of the War of the Polish Succession, the siege of Danzig, and the growing influence of religious revivalism in the American colonies.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • Russian forces besieged the city of Danzig beginning in February, where Stanislaw Leszczynski had taken refuge with French support.
  • Danzig fell to Russian forces on June 30 after a prolonged siege, though Stanislaw Leszczynski escaped disguised as a peasant.
  • Augustus III was formally crowned King of Poland on January 17 in Krakow, with Russian and Austrian military backing.
  • A French relief force sent to Danzig was defeated by the Russians, demonstrating the limits of French ability to project power into Eastern Europe.
  • Spanish and French forces captured the Kingdom of Naples from Austrian control, installing the Spanish Bourbon prince Don Carlos as king.
  • Don Carlos entered Naples on May 10 and was proclaimed King Charles VII of Naples, ending Austrian Habsburg rule in southern Italy.
  • The Spanish-Sardinian alliance continued military operations in northern Italy, contesting Austrian control of Lombardy.
  • Oglethorpe brought Chief Tomochichi and a delegation of Yamacraw leaders to London, where they were received by King George II.
  • The Qing Emperor Yongzheng issued edicts against Christianity in China, ordering the expulsion of missionaries from most provinces.
  • British colonial authorities in North America continued to navigate complex relationships with Native American nations on the frontier.

Conflict & Security

  • The siege of Danzig was one of the major military operations of the War of the Polish Succession, involving Russian, Saxon, and French forces.
  • Spanish forces decisively defeated Austrian troops at the Battle of Bitonto on May 25, securing Bourbon control over the Kingdom of Naples.
  • Austrian forces fought to hold their positions in northern Italy against Spanish and Sardinian armies advancing into Lombardy.
  • The slave revolt on the Danish island of St. John was finally suppressed in 1734 after months of resistance by the enslaved population.
  • French forces captured the fortress of Philippsburg on the Rhine in July after a siege, extending French military control along the river.
  • The First Maroon War continued in Jamaica, with Nanny of the Maroons leading resistance against British forces in the Blue Mountains.
  • Russian forces consolidated their control over Poland, installing garrisons in key cities to support Augustus III's regime.
  • Nader Khan's forces continued to restore order in Persia, campaigning against tribal groups that resisted central authority.
  • The Marathas under Peshwa Baji Rao I conducted raids into the Mughal provinces of Gujarat and Malwa, asserting their military dominance.
  • Border tensions between the Georgia colony and Spanish Florida began to emerge as both sides fortified their positions.

Economy & Finance

  • The Lloyd's Coffee House in London continued to develop as a center for marine insurance, serving the growing needs of British shipping.
  • Colonial American distilleries continued to import molasses from the French Caribbean despite the Molasses Act, relying on widespread smuggling.
  • The British textile industry benefited from John Kay's flying shuttle, though adoption was gradual due to resistance from handloom weavers.
  • The silver mines of Zacatecas in Mexico produced enormous quantities of bullion, which flowed through the Spanish trade system to Asia and Europe.
  • Dutch commercial interests in the East Indies focused on the spice monopoly, controlling the trade in cloves, nutmeg, and pepper.
  • Coffee cultivation expanded in the Caribbean, particularly in Jamaica and Saint-Domingue, meeting growing European demand.
  • The fishing industry of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia remained vital to the economies of New England and the Atlantic provinces.
  • The trade in enslaved Africans across the Atlantic reached tens of thousands annually, with major ports in Liverpool, Nantes, and Lisbon.
  • Agricultural output in France was supported by favorable weather, keeping bread prices relatively stable for the general population.
  • The growth of the Pennsylvania colony attracted German and Scots-Irish immigrants seeking farmland and economic opportunity.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • The Swedish engineer Christopher Polhem continued to develop water-powered machinery for mining and manufacturing.
  • Fortification engineering advanced during the siege of Danzig, with both attackers and defenders employing sophisticated earthworks.
  • The construction of the Karlskirche in Vienna, designed by Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, neared completion as one of the great Baroque churches.
  • Canal improvements in France continued to connect river systems, facilitating the transport of grain, wine, and manufactured goods.
  • The Royal Navy expanded its fleet, commissioning new warships at dockyards in Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth.
  • Iron production in Sweden remained among the highest in Europe, with Swedish iron exported widely for use in construction and manufacturing.
  • The construction of plantation infrastructure in Georgia progressed, though the colony's prohibition on slavery limited its agricultural development.
  • Improvements to clock and watch mechanisms continued in London and Geneva, with craftsmen pursuing greater accuracy.
  • Printing technology remained largely unchanged since Gutenberg, but the volume of printed material increased steadily across Europe.
  • Bridge construction in stone and timber improved transport links in France and the German states.

Science & Discovery

  • Emanuel Swedenborg published his Philosophical and Mineralogical Works (Opera Philosophica et Mineralia), presenting theories on the formation of matter and the structure of crystals.
  • Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur published volume one of his Memoires pour servir a l'histoire des insectes, providing detailed observations on insect anatomy and behavior.
  • The French Academy of Sciences dispatched the geodesic expedition to Peru under La Condamine to measure a degree of arc at the equator.
  • Rene Antoine Ferchault de Reaumur continued his research on insects, studying metamorphosis and social behavior in ants and bees.
  • Carl Linnaeus continued refining his botanical classification system, corresponding with scientists across Europe about plant taxonomy.
  • Observations of variable stars by European astronomers advanced understanding of stellar behavior.
  • The explorer Vitus Bering planned his second Kamchatka expedition, which would chart the coasts of Siberia and Alaska.
  • Chemical investigations by European natural philosophers continued to explore the properties of acids, alkalis, and metallic salts.
  • The natural history of the American colonies attracted growing interest among European scientists seeking new species descriptions.
  • Mathematical research advanced in the St. Petersburg Academy, where Euler and Daniel Bernoulli worked on problems in mechanics and fluid dynamics.

Health & Medicine

  • Epidemic diseases continued to spread in European port cities, with outbreaks of typhus and smallpox reported in several locations.
  • The London Hospital was founded, eventually becoming the Royal London Hospital and one of the major medical institutions in Britain.
  • Pierre Fauchard's Le Chirurgien Dentiste continued to influence dental practice, promoting the treatment of tooth decay and the use of dental prosthetics.
  • Mercury-based treatments for syphilis remained the standard therapy, despite the severe toxic side effects experienced by patients.
  • Malaria continued to affect populations in the marshlands of southern England, the Low Countries, and the Mediterranean region.
  • The supply of cinchona bark (source of quinine) from South America to Europe provided the primary treatment for malarial fevers.
  • Midwifery practice in France began to be more formally regulated, with the establishment of training programs for accoucheuses.
  • Military surgeons gained extensive practical experience during the sieges and battles of the War of the Polish Succession.
  • Occupational diseases among miners, including silicosis and heavy metal poisoning, were recognized but poorly understood.
  • Nutritional deficiencies caused widespread health problems among the poor in both urban and rural areas across Europe.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 277 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.
  • Cold winters in parts of Northern Europe affected crop yields and increased the demand for firewood and coal.
  • The clearing of forests along the eastern seaboard of North America continued to alter watersheds and wildlife habitats.
  • Coastal storms in the North Sea caused flooding in the Low Countries, damaging dykes and inundating agricultural land.
  • The expansion of cattle ranching in the grasslands of South America altered the landscape of the Argentine pampas.
  • Soil depletion from continuous tobacco cultivation in Virginia prompted the opening of new lands further inland.
  • Whale populations in the North Atlantic came under increasing pressure from expanding European and colonial whaling fleets.
  • Reforestation efforts in parts of Germany reflected growing awareness of the need to manage timber resources sustainably.
  • Urban rivers in major European cities, including the Seine and the Thames, continued to be heavily polluted by sewage and industrial waste.
  • Seasonal drought in parts of the Mediterranean affected olive and grape harvests in Spain and Italy.

Culture & Society

  • Jonathan Edwards delivered powerful sermons in Northampton, Massachusetts, sparking a local religious revival that prefigured the First Great Awakening.
  • Voltaire published his Lettres philosophiques (Philosophical Letters), praising English political and intellectual freedom and criticizing French institutions.
  • The Voltaire work was condemned by the French authorities, and copies were publicly burned, forcing Voltaire to flee Paris.
  • George Frideric Handel premiered his oratorio Deborah in London, marking a shift in his compositional focus from opera toward oratorio.
  • The art of printmaking continued to develop in Europe, with artists using engraving and etching to produce widely circulated images.
  • Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin exhibited still-life paintings at the Paris Salon, winning acclaim for his mastery of domestic subjects.
  • The tradition of public festivals and carnival celebrations continued across Catholic Europe, providing communal entertainment.
  • Novels and periodicals gained wider readership among the growing literate middle class in England and France.
  • The construction of grand Baroque palaces and gardens continued across the German states and Central Europe.
  • The world population was approximately 720 million.