Directory

1738 CE

A year defined by the Treaty of Vienna formally ending the War of the Polish Succession, Nadir Shah's invasion of Mughal India, the Maroon peace treaty in Jamaica, and early archaeological discoveries at Herculaneum.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • The Treaty of Vienna was formally signed on November 18, officially ending the War of the Polish Succession and redistributing Italian territories.
  • Under the Treaty of Vienna, the Kingdom of Naples and Sicily was confirmed as a Spanish Bourbon possession under King Charles.
  • Stanislaw Leszczynski formally renounced the Polish throne and accepted the Duchy of Lorraine, which would pass to France upon his death.
  • Nadir Shah of Persia invaded Afghanistan and captured Kandahar, completing his subjugation of the Afghan territories.
  • The Qianlong Emperor continued to strengthen Qing administration, pursuing policies of cultural integration in the empire's frontier regions.
  • British colonial policy in North America focused on managing relations with Native American confederacies and countering French expansion.
  • The Peace of Vienna stabilized European politics temporarily, with Austria ceding Naples and Sicily but gaining Parma.
  • Russia continued its war against the Ottoman Empire, pursuing territorial gains along the northern coast of the Black Sea.
  • Swedish diplomats worked to restore their nation's influence in European affairs, diminished since the Great Northern War.
  • Dutch trading posts in Southeast Asia continued to operate profitably, maintaining the spice monopoly in the Moluccas.

Conflict & Security

  • The Russo-Turkish War continued with Russian forces campaigning in Moldavia and the Crimean peninsula.
  • Austrian forces fighting alongside Russia achieved limited success against Ottoman troops in Serbia and Wallachia.
  • Nadir Shah's Persian forces besieged and captured Kandahar after a prolonged siege, eliminating the last major Afghan stronghold.
  • The First Maroon War in Jamaica ended with a peace treaty signed between the British and Cudjoe's Leeward Maroons on March 1.
  • The Maroon treaty granted the Maroons land, autonomy, and freedom in exchange for returning future runaway slaves and aiding the British.
  • Corsican insurgents continued their struggle against Genoese rule, though Genoa received military support from France.
  • The Marathas consolidated their gains in central and western India, establishing administrative control over conquered territories.
  • Frontier violence between the Georgia colony and Spanish Florida escalated, with both sides conducting raids and building fortifications.
  • Ottoman naval forces defended their positions in the Black Sea against Russian naval expansion.
  • Tensions between British colonists and the Yamasee and other Native American groups on the southern frontier persisted.

Economy & Finance

  • The end of the War of the Polish Succession reduced military expenditures for France, Austria, and other belligerent nations.
  • The British colonial economy in North America continued to grow, with exports of tobacco, rice, indigo, and timber increasing.
  • The slave trade across the Atlantic intensified, with the middle passage claiming thousands of lives annually.
  • French colonial sugar production in Saint-Domingue continued to expand, using enslaved labor on an industrial scale.
  • The development of financial instruments in Amsterdam and London advanced, including improvements to insurance and credit markets.
  • The rum trade became a significant economic driver in New England, with distilleries converting molasses into spirits for domestic and export markets.
  • The Georgian economy remained modest, as the prohibition on slavery limited the colony's ability to compete with neighboring plantation colonies.
  • Copper mining in Sweden and Cornwall supplied European metalworkers and coin mints.
  • The silk trade from China to Europe through the Canton system continued to generate substantial profits for European trading companies.
  • Agricultural innovations in England, including improved crop rotation and livestock breeding, increased productivity on enclosed farms.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • Excavations at the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum began under the direction of the Spanish Bourbon King Charles of Naples.
  • The archaeological work at Herculaneum uncovered remarkably preserved buildings, frescoes, and artifacts buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.
  • John Harrison continued to refine his marine chronometers, working toward a design that would meet the Longitude Prize requirements.
  • Lewis Paul and John Wyatt patented a roller spinning machine for cotton, an early step toward mechanized textile production.
  • The construction of turnpike roads in England expanded, with new trusts established to maintain and improve major highways.
  • Fortress construction along the Russian-Ottoman frontier continued as both sides built and reinforced defensive positions.
  • Dutch hydraulic engineering maintained the complex system of dykes, polders, and drainage canals that protected the Low Countries from flooding.
  • The Royal Dockyard at Chatham continued to construct and repair warships for the Royal Navy.
  • Iron foundries in the English Midlands and Sweden continued to produce pig iron and wrought iron for construction and manufacturing.
  • Clockmaking in Switzerland developed as a cottage industry, with artisans producing timepieces for export to European markets.

Science & Discovery

  • Daniel Bernoulli published Hydrodynamica, establishing the relationship between fluid pressure and velocity known as Bernoulli's principle.
  • Linnaeus published Classes Plantarum, further developing his system of plant classification based on reproductive characteristics.
  • The La Condamine geodesic expedition in Peru neared completion, having measured a degree of arc at the equator with great precision.
  • Voltaire published Elements de la philosophie de Newton, introducing Newtonian physics to French-speaking audiences.
  • Leonhard Euler continued his prolific mathematical work at the St. Petersburg Academy, contributing to number theory and analysis.
  • The discovery of ancient artifacts at Herculaneum sparked interest in classical antiquity and the study of Roman civilization.
  • The Swedish Academy of Sciences was planning its foundation, which would be established the following year.
  • Astronomical observations at the Paris Observatory continued to refine knowledge of planetary orbits and stellar positions.
  • Botanical gardens across Europe exchanged specimens and seeds, creating networks of scientific collaboration.
  • The study of magnetism and its relationship to navigation continued to interest European natural philosophers.

Health & Medicine

  • Smallpox epidemics continued to ravage European populations, with inoculation practices slowly gaining acceptance among physicians despite public resistance and debate over their safety.
  • Smallpox continued to be the most devastating epidemic disease in Europe, with outbreaks affecting communities across the continent.
  • The gin epidemic in London continued despite the 1736 Gin Act, with widespread illegal distilling and sales.
  • Military hospitals during the Russo-Turkish War struggled to cope with the volume of sick and wounded soldiers.
  • The practice of inoculation against smallpox continued to spread in the American colonies, reducing mortality among those who underwent the procedure.
  • European medical schools trained growing numbers of physicians, though the quality of medical education varied widely.
  • Malaria remained endemic in the marshlands of southern Europe, the Caribbean, and tropical Africa.
  • The availability of cinchona bark for treating malaria remained limited, with supplies dependent on South American sources.
  • Dental care in Europe remained primitive, with tooth extraction the most common remedy for dental problems.
  • Occupational health hazards in mining, manufacturing, and seafaring caused chronic illness and premature death among workers.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 277 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.
  • Harsh winter conditions in parts of Central Europe caused crop failures and increased demand for stored grain and fuel.
  • The expansion of plantation agriculture in the tropics continued to drive deforestation in the Caribbean and coastal Brazil.
  • Flooding along the Mississippi River affected French colonial settlements in Louisiana and disrupted trade.
  • The introduction of European plant and animal species to the Americas continued to alter native ecosystems.
  • Urban waste disposal in European cities remained a major public health concern, with refuse piling up in streets and waterways.
  • The depletion of timber resources in southern England prompted increased imports from the American colonies and Scandinavia.
  • Soil exhaustion from monoculture farming in the Chesapeake tobacco colonies reduced yields and forced migration to new lands.
  • The North Atlantic cod fishery continued to be intensively exploited by European fishing fleets off the Grand Banks.
  • Seasonal flooding along major Asian rivers, including the Ganges and the Yangtze, affected millions of agricultural laborers.

Culture & Society

  • George Frideric Handel composed the operas Serse (Xerxes) and Faramondo, though both received limited performances in London.
  • The discovery of Herculaneum sparked a wave of interest in classical antiquity that would influence European art and architecture.
  • John Wesley experienced his Aldersgate conversion on May 24, a transformative spiritual experience that energized the Methodist movement.
  • George Whitefield began his first preaching tour of the American colonies, drawing enormous crowds and spreading the Great Awakening.
  • The Imperial Ballet School was established in St. Petersburg, laying the foundation for Russian ballet tradition.
  • Boucher and other French painters continued to develop the Rococo style in painting and decoration.
  • The construction of grand country houses in the Palladian style continued across England, reflecting the taste of the landed gentry.
  • The Qianlong Emperor began his extensive patronage of Chinese arts, commissioning calligraphy, painting, and literary compilations.
  • Swift, Pope, and other satirists continued to influence English literary culture through their works criticizing society and politics.
  • The world population was approximately 736 million.