Directory

1735 CE

A year marked by Linnaeus publishing his foundational Systema Naturae, Hadley's description of atmospheric circulation, the trial of John Peter Zenger for press freedom, and the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • Preliminary peace negotiations to end the War of the Polish Succession began, with France and Austria seeking a diplomatic resolution.
  • The Qing Emperor Yongzheng died on October 8 and was succeeded by his son, who became the Qianlong Emperor, beginning one of the longest reigns in Chinese history.
  • Nadir Khan deposed Shah Tahmasp II's infant son and crowned himself Nadir Shah of Persia on March 8, founding the Afsharid dynasty.
  • Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire, beginning the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739 over control of territories along the Black Sea.
  • The French diplomat Cardinal Fleury managed France's foreign policy, seeking to end the War of the Polish Succession on favorable terms.
  • Austria joined Russia against the Ottoman Empire, hoping to gain territory in the Balkans and along the Danube.
  • The colony of Georgia continued to develop under Oglethorpe's leadership, with new settlers arriving from Britain and continental Europe.
  • Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines strengthened their administrative control over the islands and expanded missionary activity.
  • The Kingdom of Sardinia negotiated with France and Austria for territorial gains in northern Italy as part of the peace settlement.
  • Diplomatic tensions between Britain and Spain over trade rights and colonial boundaries in the Americas continued to simmer.

Conflict & Security

  • The Russo-Turkish War began with Russian forces launching campaigns into the Crimean Khanate and the Caucasus region.
  • Russian troops under General Leontiev invaded Crimea but were forced to retreat due to supply shortages and disease.
  • The War of the Polish Succession continued with sporadic fighting in Italy and along the Rhine, though peace talks were underway.
  • Austrian forces engaged the French at the Battle of Clausen in October, one of the last major engagements of the Polish Succession war.
  • The First Maroon War in Jamaica continued, with Maroon forces under Cudjoe and Nanny maintaining effective resistance against the British.
  • Nader Shah consolidated his power in Persia by subduing remaining pockets of Afghan resistance and tribal opposition.
  • Corsican rebels continued to fight against Genoese rule, gaining control of significant portions of the island's interior.
  • The Chickasaw Wars in the lower Mississippi Valley pitted French forces and their Choctaw allies against the pro-British Chickasaw nation.
  • Slave patrols were strengthened in the British American colonies following reports of planned uprisings on several plantations.
  • The construction of Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island in Georgia was begun by Oglethorpe to defend against Spanish incursion from Florida.

Economy & Finance

  • The trial of John Peter Zenger, publisher of the New-York Weekly Journal, drew attention to the role of a free press in colonial commerce and politics.
  • The Georgia trustees continued to prohibit slavery in the colony, though neighboring South Carolina planters pressured for its introduction.
  • The porcelain industry at Meissen continued to be a major source of revenue for the Electorate of Saxony.
  • British wool exports faced growing competition from linen and cotton textiles, prompting industry lobbying for protective tariffs.
  • The French West Indies produced growing quantities of sugar and coffee, enriching planters and fueling the Atlantic trade.
  • Whaling expeditions from Nantucket and other New England ports ranged further into the Atlantic in pursuit of sperm whales.
  • Russian trade expanded overland to China through the border town of Kyakhta, exchanging furs for tea, silk, and porcelain.
  • The development of the Chesapeake tobacco economy continued, with planters seeking new markets in France and the Netherlands.
  • Amsterdam remained the financial capital of Europe, with Dutch banks providing credit to governments and merchants across the continent.
  • The expansion of rice cultivation in South Carolina made it one of the wealthiest colonies in British North America.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • Charles Marie de La Condamine's geodesic expedition arrived in South America to measure the shape of the Earth near the equator.
  • The French Academy also dispatched Pierre Louis Maupertuis to Lapland to measure a degree of arc near the North Pole for comparison.
  • John Harrison began work on his first marine chronometer, H1, seeking to solve the problem of determining longitude at sea.
  • Cobalt blue pigment production in Saxony improved, supplying painters and porcelain decorators across Europe.
  • Road construction in the American colonies linked coastal settlements but remained primitive compared to European turnpike roads.
  • The ongoing construction of the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg reflected Russia's ambition to create a world-class capital city.
  • Improvements to blast furnace design in England and Sweden increased the efficiency of iron smelting operations.
  • Fortification construction at Louisburg on Cape Breton Island was largely completed, making it one of the strongest French positions in North America.
  • Canal construction in England was still in its early stages, with rivers serving as the primary inland waterways for heavy goods.
  • The development of precision instruments for navigation and surveying progressed in London workshops.

Science & Discovery

  • Carl Linnaeus published the first edition of Systema Naturae, establishing his binomial nomenclature system for classifying plants and animals.
  • George Hadley presented his theory of atmospheric circulation to the Royal Society, explaining the trade winds through the rotation of the Earth.
  • The French geodesic expeditions to Peru and Lapland sought to determine whether the Earth was flattened at the poles or at the equator.
  • Leonhard Euler continued his prolific mathematical output at the St. Petersburg Academy, working on number theory and mechanics.
  • Benoit de Maillet's manuscript Telliamed circulated privately, proposing that the Earth was far older than biblical chronology suggested.
  • The imperial observatory in Beijing, staffed by Jesuit astronomers, continued systematic observations of celestial phenomena.
  • Botanical exploration in the East Indies by Dutch naturalists produced descriptions of numerous tropical plant species.
  • The study of comparative anatomy advanced as European naturalists examined specimens from around the world.
  • Chemical research continued under the phlogiston theory, with investigators studying the calcination of metals.
  • The mapping of North American coastlines progressed through French and British naval surveys.

Health & Medicine

  • Epidemic dysentery affected Russian troops campaigning in Crimea, contributing to the failure of the initial invasion.
  • Claudius Aymand performed the first recorded successful appendectomy at St. George's Hospital in London on December 11.
  • Smallpox continued to kill thousands across Europe, with periodic outbreaks devastating both urban and rural populations.
  • The use of mineral waters at spas such as Bath in England and Baden-Baden in Germany was popular among the wealthy for treating various ailments.
  • Yellow fever remained a major threat in Caribbean ports, killing newly arrived European sailors and soldiers who lacked immunity.
  • The training of physicians at the University of Leiden attracted students from across Europe, setting standards for clinical education.
  • Herbal remedies and folk medicine remained the primary form of healthcare for the vast majority of the European population.
  • Public hospitals in France, known as Hotels-Dieu, provided care for the poor but were often overcrowded and unsanitary.
  • The practice of variolation (smallpox inoculation) spread slowly through the American colonies, meeting both acceptance and resistance.
  • Venereal diseases, particularly syphilis, remained widespread in European cities, with few effective treatments available.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 277 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.
  • Severe weather events in the Caribbean damaged plantation crops and shipping, affecting the sugar and tobacco trades.
  • The ongoing Little Ice Age continued to produce cooler average temperatures than the twentieth century, with variable effects across regions.
  • Deforestation in the British Isles continued as demand for timber, fuel, and agricultural land grew with the rising population.
  • River pollution in industrial areas of England, particularly near textile mills and metal works, contaminated local water supplies.
  • The introduction of European livestock and farming practices in the American colonies continued to transform indigenous ecosystems.
  • Extensive marshlands in eastern England, known as the Fens, were increasingly drained for agriculture through canal and pump systems.
  • Soil erosion in the Mediterranean caused by centuries of grazing and farming reduced the productivity of marginal lands.
  • Fishing in the Grand Banks off Newfoundland attracted hundreds of European vessels annually, harvesting enormous quantities of cod.
  • Forest fires in sparsely populated areas of North America shaped the landscape, though they were rarely documented by colonists.

Culture & Society

  • John Peter Zenger was acquitted on August 5 in a landmark trial for freedom of the press, with Andrew Hamilton arguing that truth was a defense against libel.
  • George Frideric Handel composed Alcina, one of his last great Italian operas, which premiered at Covent Garden in London.
  • William Hogarth completed A Rake's Progress, a series of eight paintings tracing the moral and financial ruin of a young man in London.
  • The Imperial Academy of Fine Arts was established in St. Petersburg, promoting European artistic traditions in Russia.
  • The First Great Awakening began to take shape in the American colonies as Jonathan Edwards's revival in Northampton attracted widespread attention.
  • Samuel Johnson arrived in London with his pupil David Garrick, beginning his career as one of the greatest figures of English literature.
  • The Moravian Brethren, a Protestant missionary community, expanded their activities, sending missionaries to the Caribbean and North America.
  • Traditional Confucian scholarship continued to flourish in China under the new Qianlong Emperor, who was himself a patron of the arts.
  • The opera seria tradition dominated musical theater in Italy, with composers producing elaborate works for aristocratic patrons.
  • The world population was approximately 724 million.