Born in 1720:
Died in 1720:
Events of 1720:
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Coffee houses in Italy introduce the latest craze from the New World,
chocolate.
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Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit introduces his temperature
scale.
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Russian trade treaty with China
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European books allowed into Japan by shogun Yoshimune.
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Plague kills 50,000 in Marseilles.
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Well-to-do Englishmen begin decorating their walls with wallpaper.
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The British Parliament passes the Declaratory
Act giving itself the right to legislate for Ireland.
-
Sweden and Denmark sign a peace treaty ending their part of the Great
Northern War. Sweden, once the Superpower of Eastern Europe,
is back down on a par with Denmark.
-
British authorities in Bombay expel all Franciscan missionaries
from the island, over fears that they were secretly working to restore
Portugese rule. Carmelites immediately take their place.
-
Chinese Emperor Qang Xi drives the Zungars out of Tibet and installs
the pro-Chinese Dalai Lama in their place.
-
Treaty of the Hague
ending its war with the Quadruple Alliance of Great Britain, France,
Holland and Austria.
-
Spanish king Philip V agrees that his son Charles will give
up any claim to the throne of Italy, although he will inherit Parma,
Piacenza, and Tuscany from his maternal grandfather.
-
Austrian emperor Charles VI gives up his claim to Spain.
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Duke Victor Amadeus of Savoy agrees to let Austria keep Sicily; he is
given Sardinia in exchange and he now styles himself "King of Sardinia".
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The South Sea Bubble is the first major stock market collapse.
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(February) With stock at £175 per 100 shares, and a monopoly on trade
with the South Sea, people imagining piles of gold in Chile and Peru begin
speculating on the stock of the as-yet unprofitable British South Sea
Company.
-
(April) The BSSC buys the entire public debt of Great Britain, after many
influential people are bribed with stock, whose price has been increasing
since January.
-
(June) To prevent low-quality stock scams, Parliament passes the Bubble
Act requiring all publicly traded companies to have a royal charter.
High-quality scams such as the BSSC are unaffected; the price of a share
has reached £1000. However, people begin to stop believing
in fairies, and start selling.
-
(August) Margin calls result in an unprecedented number of bankruptcies.
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(September) BSSC's stock is now £135.
1719 - 1720 - 1721
How they Were Made - 18th Century