1718 in Great Britain explained

Events from the year 1718 in Great Britain.

Incumbents

• Monarch – George I

Events

• 7 January – Religious Worship Act 1718 repeals the Occasional Conformity Act 1711^[1] and Schism Act 1714, restoring some freedoms to dissenters.
• 21 March – Piracy Act 1717 receives royal assent, providing the punishment of penal transportation (to British North America) as an alternative to a death sentence for lesser crimes.^[2]
• 15 May – James Puckle patents the Puckle Gun.^[3]
• 2 August – Quadruple Alliance formed between Britain, the Kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic.^[4]
• 11 August – a British fleet under Admiral Byng defeats a Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape Passaro, a prelude to the War of the Quadruple Alliance.^[5]
• 24 November – 'Calico Jack' Rackham becomes captain of the pirate sloop Ranger in The Bahamas.^[6]
• 17 December – War of the Quadruple Alliance: Britain, the Kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic declare war on Spain.

Undated

• The Proper motion of stars discovered by Edmond Halley.^[5]
• Marrow Controversy, an ecclesiastical dispute in Scotland, begins.^[7]
• Greenwich Hospital receives a Royal Charter (revoked in 1829).^[8]
• The Hovering Act makes it illegal for vessels under 50 tons to linger offshore, in an attempt to prevent smuggling.

Births

• 18 February – Robert Henry, historian (died 1790)
• 4 April – Benjamin Kennicott, churchman and Hebrew scholar (died 1783)
• 7 April – Hugh Blair, preacher and man of letters (died 1800)
• 17 May – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, diplomat and politician (died 1778)
• 23 May – William Hunter, anatomist (died 1783)
• 30 May – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, politician (died 1793)
• 5 June – Thomas Chippendale, furniture maker (died 1779)
• 17 June – George Howard, field marshal (died 1796)
• 5 July – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, Viceroy of Ireland (died 1794)
• 31 July – John Canton, physicist (died 1772)
• 3 November – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, statesman (died 1792)

Deaths

• 6 January – Richard Hoare, goldsmith and banker (born 1648)
• 1 February – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, politician (born 1660)
• 17 February – Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, heiress (born 1664)
• 18 February – Peter Anthony Motteux, dramatist and editor, probably murdered (born 1663 in France)
• 30 July – William Penn, Quaker and founder of the Pennsylvania colony (born 1644)
• 22 November – Blackbeard, pirate, killed in action (born c. 1680)
• 6 December – Nicholas Rowe, poet laureate and dramatist (born 1674)

See also

• 1718 in Wales

Notes and References

1. Book: Palmer. Alan. Palmer. Veronica. 1992. The Chronology of British History. Century Ltd. London. 210–211. 0-7126-5616-2.
2. Web site: BBC History British History Timeline. 2007-09-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20070909012414/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/launch_tl_british.shtml. 2007-09-09.
3. Book: Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 0-14-102715-0. 2006.
4. Book: Cates, William L. R.. The Pocket Date Book. Chapman and Hall. William Leist Readwin Cates. 1863.
5. Book: Williams, Hywel. Cassell's Chronology of World History. registration. London. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 2005. 0-304-35730-8.
6. Book: Konstam, Angus. Piracy: the complete history. 19 August 2008. 336. Osprey Publishing. 978-1-84603-240-0.
7. Book: Schaff, Philip. New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. VII. Philip Schaff. 2007-09-03.
8. Web site: List of Charters Granted. The Privy Council Office. 2020-10-25.