Events January–March January 2 – Seven Years' War: The British East India Company Army, under the command of Robert Clive, captures Calcutta, India. January 5 – Robert-François Damiens makes an unsuccessful assassination attempt on Louis XV of France, who is slightly wounded by the knife attack. Damiens is executed on March 28.Herbert J. Redman, Frederick the Great and the Seven Years' War, 1756–1763 (McFarland, 2015) p33 January 12 – Koca Ragıp Pasha becomes the new Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, and administers the office for seven years until his death in 1763. January 17 – Ahmad Shah Durrani leads his Afghan forces to sack Delhi during his invasions of India. February 1 – King Louis XV of France dismisses his two most influential advisers. His Secretary of State for War, the Comte d'Argenson and the Secretary of the Navy, Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville, are both removed from office at the urging of the King's mistress, Madame de Pompadour.Clare Haru Crowston, Credit, Fashion, Sex: Economies of Regard in Old Regime France (Duke University Press, 2013) p10 February 2 – At Versailles in France, representatives of the Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire enter into an alliance against Prussia, with each nation pledging 80,000 troops.Martin Philippson, and John Henry Wright, translator The Age of Frederick the Great, Volume 15 (Lea Brothers & Company, 1905) p48 Other clauses to the treaty, not disclosed to the public, commit Austria to pay Russia one million rubles per year during the war to pay for the expenses of 24,000 of the Russian troops, and two million rubles upon the conquest of Silesia (a Prussian province that had been seized from Austria in 1746). William R. Nester, The French and Indian War and the Conquest of New France (University of Oklahoma Press, 2014) p219-221 February 3 – French artist Robert Picault begins the rescue of the frescoes at the King's Chamber of the Palace of Fontainebleau before architect Ange-Jacques Gabrel begins renovations.Noémie Étienne, The Restoration of Paintings in Paris, 1750-1815 (Getty Publications, 2017) p120 February 5 – The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj ud-Daulah, leads an attempt to retake Calcutta from the British. With just 1,900 soldiers and sailors, but superior cannon power, General Robert Clive forces the Nawab's much larger force into a retreat. The British sustain 194 casualties, but the Bengalis suffer 1,300. Richard Stevenson, Bengal Tiger and British Lion: An Account of the Bengal Famine of 1943 (Lionheart LLC, 2005) pp53-54 February 9 – The Nawab and General Clive sign the Treaty of Alinagar, with Bengal compensating the British East India Company for its losses and pledging respect for British control of India. February 22 – King Frederick V of Denmark issues an order to create a Lutheran mission for African slaves at the Danish West Indies (the modern-day United States Virgin Islands) at St. Croix.Theodore Emanuel Schmauk, The Lutheran Church in Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania-German Society, 1900) pp18-19 February 23 – A revolt against the government of King Joseph I of Portugal takes place in the city of Porto. After the riot's suppression, the King's minister, Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, orders harsh punishments against the perpetrators, carried out in October.Bruno Aguilera-Barchet, A History of Western Public Law: Between Nation and State (Springer, 2014) p276 March 14 – British Royal Navy Admiral John Byng is executed by firing squad on board the ship HMS Monarch in the Solent after his court martial conviction for failing in the Battle of Minorca (1756) to save British troops who had been besieged by a numerically superior French force in the Siege of Fort St Philip.Chaim M. Rosenberg, Losing America, Conquering India: Lord Cornwallis and the Remaking of the British Empire (McFarland, 2017) p59 General Edward Cornwallis, the ranking British Army officer at the battle, is exonerated of charges of dereliction of duty, but his career is ruined. Byng's execution is the origin of the phrase "In this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others", coined by Voltaire in his novel Candide. March 21 – Sweden signs an alliance treaty with France and Austria in the multinational effort to remove King Frederick the Great, even though Queen Consort Ulrika of Sweden is Frederick's sister. Sweden agrees to contribute 25,000 troops to the French and Austrian force. March 23 – The British East India Company takes control of Chandannagar and forces out the French Indian administrators.Sanjay Subrahmanyam, Europe's India: Words, People, Empires, 1500–1800 (Harvard University Press, 2017) p247 March 28 – Robert-François Damiens is tortured, then dismembered and his remains burned in public for his January 5 assassination attempt on King Louis XV of France, the last person in France to suffer this punishment."Executions and Executioners", by John De Morgan, in The Green Bag magazine (March, 1900) p127-128 March 30 – The Rigshospitalet, national hospital of Denmark, is founded at Copenhagen.Adrian Raine, The Anatomy of Violence: The Biological Roots of Crime (Vintage Books, 2014) p185
April–June
April 6 – William Pitt resigns from the government of Great Britain after Prince William, Duke of Cumberland refuses to command the British forces in Germany in the Seven Years' War and following several military reverses in Britain's fight against France in America. A Caretaker Ministry takes power, led by William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire. Pitt is recalled to the government in early July.William M. Fowler Jr., Empires at War: The French and Indian War and the Struggle for North America, 1754-1763 (Bloomsbury, 2009) p115 April 16 The works of astronomer Galileo Galilei espousing heliocentrism are removed (with the approval of Pope Benedict XIV) from the Index Librorum Prohibitorum list of books banned by Roman Catholic Church, along with "all books teaching the earth's motion and the sun's immobility". Other works of heliocentrists Galileo, Nicolaus Copernicus, Johannes Kepler, Diego de Zúñiga and Paolo Foscarini remain on the list.Maurice A. Finocchiaro, Retrying Galileo, 1633–1992 (University of California Press, 2007) p138 In the wake of public unrest in France, the King's Council issues a decree that bars anyone from writing or printing anything that would tend toward émouvoir les esprits (stir up popular sentiment) against the government, with violations punishable by death.Robert Darnton, Censors at Work: How States Shaped Literature (W. W. Norton & Company, 2014) April 17 – The Spanish mission of Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá is founded by Spanish missionary families on the banks of the San Saba River near modern-day Menard, Texas. Donald E. Chipman and Harriet Denise Joseph, Explorers and Settlers of Spanish Texas (University of Texas Press, 2010) Less than two years later, the European settlement is destroyed by the native Comanche Indians who lives in the area. April 21 – Battle of Reichenberg: Marshal Augustus William von Bevern enters Bohemia with a Prussian army (some 15,000 men). In Reichenberg he encounters the Austrians under the command of General Christian Moritz von Königsegg. Von Bevern defeats the Austrian troops and captures large quantities of supplies. He continues his advance on Prague. April 29 – Inside the house at Stratford-upon-Avon in England known as Shakespeare's Birthplace, a bricklayer, identified only as "Mosely", re-tiling the roof, discovers a supposed pro-Catholic testament of John Shakespeare, father of William Shakespeare, more than 150 years after the elder's death. The finding starts "what remains one of the most controversial topics in Shakespeare studies" because of disagreements over its authenticity and date.René Weis, Shakespeare Unbound: Decoding a Hidden Life (Macmillan, 2008) p304 May 1 – France and Austria sign a second Treaty of Versailles, committing France to sending an additional 105,000 troops to the war against Prussia, and to pay expenses to Austria at the rate of 12 million florins annually. May 6 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Prague – Frederick the Great defeats an Austrian army, and begins to besiege the city. June 18 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Kolín – Frederick is defeated by an Austrian army under Marshal Daun, forcing him to evacuate Bohemia. June 23 – Battle of Plassey: 3,000 troops serving with the British East India Company under Robert Clive defeat a 50,000 strong Indian army under Siraj ud-Daulah with the help of Mir Jafar, at Plassey in India, marking the first victory of the East India Company over India, which lasts until 1857. June 25 The Duke of Devonshire resigns as Prime Minister of Great Britain after being unable to conduct governmental affairs without William Pitt. The 1755 rebellion against the Chinese Empire by Mongolian Oirat Prince Amursana is met by a Chinese army of 10,000 attackers against Amursana's 2,500 man force at their capital at Bor Tal. The rebels hold out until July 17."Amarsanaa", in Historical Dictionary of Mongolia, by Alan J. K. Sanders (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017) p57
July–September July 2 – The Duke of Newcastle is asked to form a new government of Great Britain and fills the office of Prime Minister of Great Britain, after his forced resignation eight months earlier. Pitt is recalled to conduct Britain's foreign and military affairs and given greater control. July 17 – Amursana's Mongolian rebellion against the Chinese Empire is crushed after a battle of 17 days, and the survivors flee to Russia, where Amursana unsuccessfully seeks Russian aid. July 26 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Hastenbeck – An Anglo-Hanoverian army under the Duke of Cumberland is defeated by the French forces under Louis d'Estrées, and forced out of Hanover. August 3–9 – French and Indian War: A French army under Louis-Joseph de Montcalm forces the English to surrender Fort William Henry. The French army's Indian allies slaughter the surviving men, women and children. August 11 – In the Battle of Delhi, the capital city of the Mughal Empire is retaken by Maratha Empire leader Raghunathrao from Najib ad-Dawlah, who flees to refuge in the royal palace, the Red Fort. Jaswant Lal Mehta, Advanced Study in the History of Modern India 1707-1813 (Sterling Publishers, 2005) pp230-232 August 30 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Gross-Jägersdorf – A Prussian army under Hans von Lehwaldt is defeated by the Russian army under Marshal Stepan Apraksin. September 6 – The life of Najib ad-Dawlah is spared by Raghunathrao upon the intercession of General Malhar Rao Holkar. Najib and his family are permitted to leave the Fort along with most of their property, and the Emperor Alamgir II is restored to the Mughal throne as a nominal ruler. September 7 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Moys – A Prussian army (some 13,000 men) under Hans von Winterfeldt fights an Austrian army of double their size. The Prussians are defeated near Moys and von Winterfeldt is killed. September 8 – The Convention of Klosterzeven is signed at the Lower Saxony town of Bremervörde by the Duke of Cumberland following his defeat at Hastenbeck. The treaty provides for the army of the Electorate of Hanover to be reduced to a token force and for the French Army to occupy Hanover and most of northwest Germany.Jeremy Black, From Louis XIV to Napoleon: The Fate of a Great Power (Routledge, 2013) p. 109 At the time, King George II of Great Britain is also the Elector of Hanover, and it is later said that "The terms proved worse than either George or his ministers had wanted or expected." Andrew C. Thompson, George II: King and Elector (Yale University Press, 2011) p267