Events from the year
1700
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 19), where the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 11 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 17) ...
in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
.
Incumbents
*
Monarch
A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...
–
William III
Events
*27 February – The island of
New Britain
New Britain () is the largest island in the Bismarck Archipelago, part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea. It is separated from New Guinea by a northwest corner of the Solomon Sea (or with an island hop of Umboi Island, Umboi the Dampie ...
is discovered by
William Dampier
William Dampier (baptised 5 September 1651; died March 1715) was an English explorer, pirate, privateer, navigator, and naturalist who became the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavig ...
in the western
Pacific
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...
.
*early March –
William Congreve
William Congreve (24 January 1670 – 19 January 1729) was an English playwright, satirist, poet, and Whig politician. He spent most of his career between London and Dublin, and was noted for his highly polished style of writing, being regard ...
's comedy ''
The Way of the World
''The Way of the World'' is a play written by the English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in early March 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London. It is widely regarded as one of the best works of Restoration comedy ev ...
'' is first performed at the
New Theatre, Lincoln's Inn Fields.
*24 March –
Treaty of London signed between
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, England and the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
.
*24 June – Responsibility for
vagrants
Vagrancy is the condition of wandering homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by travelling while engaging in begging, scavenging, or petty theft. In Western countries, ...
passes from
churchwarden
A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...
s to
parish constable A parish constable, also known as a petty constable, was a Law enforcement agency, law enforcement Police officer, officer, usually unpaid and part-time, serving a Civil parishes in England, parish. The position evolved from the ancient ''headboroug ...
s under terms of the Vagrant Removal Costs Act (1698).
*30 July –
Princess Anne
Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...
's only surviving child,
Prince William, Duke of Gloucester
Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (William Henry; 24 July 1689 – 30 July 1700), was the son of Princess Anne (later Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1702) and her husband, Prince George of Denmark. He was their only child t ...
, dies aged eleven of "a malignant fever" at
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
, leaving the Protestant
succession to the British throne
Succession to the British throne is determined by descent, sex, legitimacy, and religion. Under common law, the Crown is inherited by a sovereign's children or by a childless sovereign's nearest Collateral descendant, collateral line. The Bil ...
in doubt.
*September – While in the Netherlands,
William III meets his cousin
Sophia at
Het Loo Palace
Paleis Het Loo ( , meaning "The wikt:lea#English, Lea") is a palace in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, built by the House of Orange-Nassau.
History
The symmetry, symmetrical Dutch Baroque architecture, Dutch Baroque building was designed by Jacob Roman ...
. This is a precursor to the
Act of Settlement
The Act of Settlement ( 12 & 13 Will. 3. c. 2) is an act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Cathol ...
of the following year that opens the way to the future succession of the
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover ( ) is a European royal house with roots tracing back to the 17th century. Its members, known as Hanoverians, ruled Hanover, Great Britain, Ireland, and the British Empire at various times during the 17th to 20th centurie ...
.
*6 September –
Edmond Halley
Edmond (or Edmund) Halley (; – ) was an English astronomer, mathematician and physicist. He was the second Astronomer Royal in Britain, succeeding John Flamsteed in 1720.
From an observatory he constructed on Saint Helena in 1676–77, Hal ...
returns to England after a voyage of almost one year on
HMS ''Paramour'', from which he has observed the
Antarctic Convergence
The Antarctic Convergence or Antarctic Polar Front is a marine belt encircling Antarctica, varying in latitude seasonally, where cold, northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet the relatively warmer waters of the sub-Antarctic. The line separate ...
, and publishes his findings on terrestrial magnetism in ''General Chart of the Variation of the Compass''.
*20 November – First boats reach
Leeds
Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...
from the tideway by way of the
Aire and Calder Navigation
The Aire and Calder Navigation is the River engineering#Canalization of rivers, canalised section of the River Aire, Rivers Aire and River Calder, West Yorkshire, Calder in West Yorkshire, England. The first improvements to the rivers above Kn ...
.
*19 December – The
4th Parliament of King William III is dissolved and new elections are ordered by the King.
*25 December – First Christmas hymn authorised to be sung in the Anglican church, "
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks", the words by
Nahum Tate
Nahum Tate ( ; 1652 – 30 July 1715) was an Anglo-Irish poet, hymnist, and lyricist, who became Poet Laureate in 1692. Tate is best known for '' The History of King Lear'', his 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', and for his libr ...
having been first published this year, in a supplement to "
Tate and Brady".
*28 December –
Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester
Laurence Hyde, 1st Earl of Rochester, (March 1642 – 2 May 1711) was an English statesman and writer. He was originally a supporter of James II but later supported the Glorious Revolution in 1688. He held high office under Queen Anne, daug ...
is appointed
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...
.
*Approximate date –
Jeremiah Clarke
Jeremiah Clarke (c. 1674 – 1 December 1707) was an English baroque composer and organist, best known for his ''Trumpet Voluntary,'' a popular piece often played at wedding ceremonies or commencement ceremonies.
Biography
The exact date of Cla ...
writes the ''
Prince of Denmark's March
The ''Prince of Denmark's March'' (), commonly called the '' Trumpet Voluntary'', was written around 1700 by the English composer Jeremiah Clarke, the first organist of the then newly-rebuilt St Paul's Cathedral.
Composition
For many years the p ...
''.
Births
* 29 March –
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis (29 March 170023 June 1762), styled The Honourable Charles Cornwallis until 1722 and known as The Lord Cornwallis between 1722 and 1753, was a British peer.
Background
Cornwallis was the son of Charles ...
(died 1762)
* April –
John Wyatt, inventor (died 1766)
* 4 May ''(bapt.)'' –
Joseph Adams, chief factor of the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...
(died 1737)
* 14 May –
Mary Delany
Mary Delany, earlier Mary Pendarves ( Granville; 14 May 1700 – 15 April 1788) was an English artist, letter-writer, and bluestocking, known for her "paper-mosaicks", botanic drawing, needlework and her lively correspondence.
Early life
Mary ...
, Bluestocking, artist and writer (died 1788)
* 13 July –
John Dandridge, colonel and planter in Virginia (died 1756)
* 20 September –
Benedict Leonard Calvert, Governor of Maryland (died 1732)
* 26 September? –
Mary Hervey, née Lepell, courtier (died 1768)
* 13 October –
Phanuel Bacon, playwright, poet and author (died 1783)
* 31 October –
Joseph Blake, alias Blueskin, highwayman (executed 1724)
* 28 November –
Nathaniel Bliss,
Astronomer Royal
Astronomer Royal is a senior post in the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. There are two officers, the senior being the astronomer royal dating from 22 June 1675; the junior is the astronomer royal for Scotland dating from 1834. The Astro ...
(died 1764)
Full date unknown
*
John Cecil, 7th Earl of Exeter
John Cecil, 7th Earl of Exeter (c. 1700–1722) was an English peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Lord Burghley from 1721 to 1722.
He inherited the earldom in 1721. His parents were John Cecil, 6th Earl of Exeter, and Elizabeth Brow ...
, peer (died 1722)
*
William Craven, 3rd Baron Craven, nobleman (died 1739)
*
Emanuel Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe
Emanuel Scrope Howe, 2nd Viscount Howe (c. 1700 – 29 March 1735), of Langar Hall, Nottinghamshire, was a British politician and colonial administrator.
Life
His father was Scrope Howe, a Whig Member of Parliament from whom he inherited t ...
, politician and colonial administrator (died 1735)
*
John Immyns, attorney and lutenist (died 1764)
*
Charles Jennens
Charles Jennens (1700 – 20 November 1773) was an English landowner and art patron. As a friend of Handel, he helped author the libretti of several of his oratorios, most notably ''Messiah''.
Life
Jennens was brought up at Gopsall Hall in L ...
, landowner and patron of the arts (died 1773)
Deaths
*16–27 January –
John Dormer, born Huddleston, Jesuit priest (born 1636)
*21 January –
Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort
Henry Somerset, 1st Duke of Beaufort (162921 January 1700) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1667, when he succeeded his father as 3rd Marquess of Worcester. He was styled Lord Herbert ...
(born 1629)
*14 March –
Henry Killigrew, dramatist (born 1613)
*12 May –
John Dryden
John Dryden (; – ) was an English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who in 1668 was appointed England's first Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate.
He is seen as dominating the literary life of Restoration (En ...
, poet (born 1631)
*10 July –
John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale
John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale, PC FRS (25 April 165510 July 1700), known as Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, from 1675 to 1696, was an English politician.
Early life
He was born at Hackthorpe Hall, Lowther, Westmorland, the son of Col. ...
, politician (born 1655)
*19 July (date found dead) –
Thomas Creech, translator (born 1659; suicide)
*29 July –
Prince William, Duke of Gloucester
Prince William, Duke of Gloucester (William Henry; 24 July 1689 – 30 July 1700), was the son of Princess Anne (later Queen of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1702) and her husband, Prince George of Denmark. He was their only child t ...
(born 1689)
*8 August –
Joseph Moxon, mathematician and lexicographer (born 1627)
*7 September –
William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford
William Russell, 1st Duke of Bedford (August 1616 – 7 September 1700) was an English nobleman and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he inherited his Peerage as 5th Earl of Bedford and removed to the House o ...
, peer and soldier (born 1616)
References
{{Year in Europe, 1700
Years of the 17th century in England