Directory

1787 CE

A year defined by the drafting of the United States Constitution in Philadelphia, the Northwest Ordinance establishing governance for new territories, the Russo-Turkish War, and Mozart's composition of Don Giovanni.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • The Constitutional Convention convened in Philadelphia on May 25, with delegates from twelve states gathering to draft a new framework of government for the United States.
  • The United States Constitution was signed on September 17 by thirty-nine delegates at the Constitutional Convention, establishing the structure of the federal government.
  • The Northwest Ordinance was passed by the Continental Congress on July 13, establishing a government for the Northwest Territory and prohibiting slavery in the region.
  • The Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792 began as the Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia in August, seeking to recover Crimea.
  • Catherine the Great of Russia and Emperor Joseph II of Austria formed an alliance against the Ottoman Empire, coordinating military strategy for a joint campaign.
  • The Assembly of Notables convened in France on February 22 at the request of Controller-General Calonne to address the kingdom's fiscal crisis, but refused to approve new taxes.
  • The Prussian army invaded the Dutch Republic in September to suppress the Patriot movement and restore the authority of Stadtholder William V.
  • France and Britain signed the Eden Treaty's commercial provisions, though French manufacturers complained that British goods were destroying their domestic industries.
  • Sierra Leone was established as a settlement for freed slaves by British abolitionists, with the first settlers arriving from London.
  • The Three-Fifths Compromise was adopted at the Constitutional Convention, counting enslaved people as three-fifths of a person for purposes of congressional representation.

Conflict & Security

  • Shays' Rebellion was suppressed in February when the Massachusetts state militia defeated the insurgents at the Springfield Armory, ending the armed uprising.
  • The Russo-Turkish War began with Ottoman forces attacking Russian positions along the Black Sea coast and in the Balkans.
  • The Prussian intervention in the Dutch Republic quickly overwhelmed the Patriot forces, with Amsterdam capitulating in October.
  • Austrian forces entered the war against the Ottoman Empire alongside Russia, opening a second front in the Balkans.
  • Tipu Sultan of Mysore continued his military preparations, expanding his arsenal with rockets and European-style cannon.
  • Frontier conflicts in the Northwest Territory continued between American settlers and the Western Confederacy of Native American tribes.
  • Barbary pirates continued to threaten American shipping in the Mediterranean, with Congress unable to fund a naval force for protection.
  • The Creek Nation under Alexander McGillivray maintained its resistance to American expansion in the southeastern frontier.
  • The French military was weakened by financial constraints, limiting France's ability to intervene in the Dutch crisis despite its alliance with the Patriot faction.
  • The Northwest Indian War intensified as American settlers clashed with the Western Confederacy of Native American tribes in the Ohio Country, prompting calls for federal military intervention.

Economy & Finance

  • The French financial crisis deepened as the Assembly of Notables rejected Calonne's reform proposals, leading to his dismissal and replacement by Lomenie de Brienne.
  • The Constitutional Convention addressed economic issues including the power to tax, regulate commerce, and establish a uniform national currency.
  • British industrial production continued to accelerate, with cotton textile exports growing rapidly and iron output increasing through the adoption of Cort's puddling process.
  • American trade with China continued to develop, with merchants exchanging furs, ginseng, and silver for tea, silk, and porcelain.
  • The East India Company's monopoly on British trade with India came under increasing criticism from free trade advocates in Parliament.
  • Agricultural distress persisted in parts of the United States, though economic conditions were gradually improving from the post-war depression.
  • The slave-based plantation economy of the Caribbean continued to generate enormous wealth for European colonial powers.
  • The Bank of New York, founded by Alexander Hamilton in 1784, continued to operate as one of the earliest financial institutions in the new republic.
  • French wine and silk exports to Britain increased under the Eden Treaty, though the overall trade balance favored British manufactured goods.
  • The development of banking and credit systems in the United States remained rudimentary compared to the established financial infrastructure of London and Amsterdam.

Technology & Infrastructure

  • John Fitch demonstrated the first successful steamboat on the Delaware River on August 22, carrying passengers before delegates attending the Constitutional Convention.
  • Edmund Cartwright continued to develop his power loom, though early versions were slow and unreliable compared to hand weaving.
  • The construction of the Ironbridge Gorge area continued to develop as a center of industrial innovation in Shropshire, England.
  • The spinning technology of Arkwright's water frame and Crompton's spinning mule continued to expand cotton textile production across Lancashire.
  • Road construction in France under the Corps des Ponts et Chaussees maintained one of the best highway networks in Europe.
  • Canal construction advanced in Britain, with new waterways planned to connect the major river systems for industrial transportation.
  • The use of hot air and hydrogen balloons continued as both entertainment and subjects of scientific investigation across Europe.
  • Steam engines manufactured by Boulton and Watt were exported to continental Europe, spreading British industrial technology to France and the German states.
  • Oliver Evans of Delaware designed an automated flour mill that used bucket elevators, conveyor belts, and Archimedean screws to move grain through the milling process with minimal human labor.
  • Agricultural implements remained largely handcrafted, with the mechanization of farming still in its earliest stages outside of Britain.

Science & Discovery

  • Jacques Charles formulated Charles's Law, describing the relationship between the volume and temperature of a gas at constant pressure.
  • Antoine Lavoisier published his Methode de nomenclature chimique, establishing the modern system of naming chemical substances.
  • Abraham Bennet invented the gold-leaf electroscope, a sensitive instrument for detecting and measuring electric charge.
  • William Herschel discovered Titania and Oberon, two moons of the planet Uranus, using his large reflecting telescope.
  • The French Academy of Sciences continued its geodetic surveys, refining the measurement of the Earth's dimensions.
  • Ernst Chladni began his experiments on acoustics, studying the vibration patterns of metal plates sprinkled with sand.
  • The naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach continued his studies of comparative anatomy and anthropology at the University of Gottingen.
  • The botanical exploration of the Pacific region continued to yield new species for European herbaria and gardens.
  • Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin, published his botanical poem The Loves of the Plants, popularizing Linnaean classification.
  • The study of fossils and geological strata continued to advance, though the age of the Earth remained a subject of intense debate.

Health & Medicine

  • Smallpox epidemics continued to strike populations across the globe, with the disease particularly devastating to indigenous communities with no prior exposure.
  • The Allgemeines Krankenhaus in Vienna continued to serve as a leading center for clinical medical education under the patronage of Emperor Joseph II.
  • Yellow fever outbreaks struck several Caribbean ports and coastal American cities, causing high mortality and economic disruption.
  • The Austrian physician Leopold Auenbrugger's technique of percussion for diagnosing chest conditions gained wider recognition among European physicians.
  • Surgical instruments were refined by London instrument makers, though the range of operations that could be performed safely remained severely limited.
  • The treatment of insanity continued to rely primarily on physical restraint and confinement, with limited understanding of mental illness.
  • Measles, whooping cough, and diphtheria continued to kill large numbers of children across Europe and the Americas.
  • The use of opium for pain relief was widespread across Europe and Asia, though its addictive properties were not fully appreciated.
  • Midwifery training improved in several European countries, with formal instruction programs established in Paris, London, and Vienna.
  • Sanitation in military camps and barracks remained poor, with diseases such as dysentery and typhus causing persistent health problems among soldiers.

Climate & Environment

  • Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration was approximately 280 parts per million, as later confirmed by ice core analysis.
  • Deforestation in the newly established Northwest Territory began as surveyors and settlers entered the region under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance.
  • Coal mining operations in Britain deepened as surface and shallow deposits were exhausted, requiring improved ventilation and drainage technology.
  • The expansion of cotton cultivation in the American South had not yet reached its peak, as the cotton gin had not yet been invented.
  • Soil erosion continued to affect agricultural regions of the American Southeast, where tobacco and indigo cultivation depleted soil nutrients.
  • The seasonal patterns of monsoon rainfall continued to dictate agricultural cycles across South and Southeast Asia.
  • Whaling operations from New England ports expanded into the Pacific, with voyages lasting two or more years to hunt sperm whales.
  • Urban growth in British industrial cities produced increasing levels of air and water pollution from coal burning and industrial waste.
  • The clearing of forests in the German states for timber and agricultural land altered local watersheds and wildlife habitats.
  • Fishing communities along the North Sea and Atlantic coasts continued to depend on marine resources, with herring and cod the principal commercial species.

Culture & Society

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera Don Giovanni premiered in Prague on October 29, becoming one of the most acclaimed operas in the classical repertoire.
  • The Federalist Papers began publication in October, with Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay writing essays defending the proposed Constitution.
  • The freed slave community at Sierra Leone was established, marking an early effort to create a homeland for formerly enslaved people.
  • The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formally founded in London on May 22, with Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp among its founding members.
  • The debate over ratification of the Constitution divided Americans into Federalist supporters and Anti-Federalist opponents across the states.
  • Goethe departed for his Italian journey in 1786, spending time in Rome, Naples, and Sicily, an experience that profoundly influenced his literary work.
  • The Marylebone Cricket Club was founded in London, becoming the guardian of the laws of cricket.
  • Mary Wollstonecraft published Thoughts on the Education of Daughters, an early work advocating for improved women's education.
  • The theater remained the most popular form of public entertainment across Europe, with performances of drama, opera, and comedy drawing large audiences.
  • The world population was approximately 943 million.