George II, 1727-60

Key Events

1727	George II succeeds his father, George I.
1729	Charles Wesley founds the Methodists at Lincoln College Oxford.
1732	A royal charter is granted for the founding of Georgia in America.
1732	Lord Frederick North born
1734	Jethro Tull publishes essays on improving farming including the use of the seed drill.
1736	Witchcraft is abolished as a crime.
1737	Death of George’s wife, Queen Caroline.
1738	John and Charles Wesley start the Methodist movement in Britain.
1739	Dick Turpin, highwayman, hanged at York
1739	Britain goes to war with Spain over Captain Jenkins’ ear, claimed to have been cut off in a skirmish at sea.
1740	The War of Austrian Succession breaks out in Europe.
1742	Walpole resigns as Prime Minister.
1743	George leads troops into battle at Dettingen in Bavaria, the last British monarch to do so.
1745	Charles Edward Stuart, ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, lands in Scotland and raises his flag for the restoration of the Stuarts. 2,000 Jacobites enter Edinburgh. Scottish victory at Prestonpans. Charles and his Jacobite army march South into England and reach Derby before turning back.
1746	Scots defeated at the Battle of Culloden. Duke of Cumberland, the King’s 2nd son, ruthlessly represses the rebels and Scottish traditions.
1748	Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle ends the war of Austrian Succession
1751	Death of Frederick, Prince of Wales. His son, George, becomes heir to the throne.
1752	Britain adopts the Georgian Calendar. 1st January replaces 25 March as the first day of the year.
1757	Britain declares war against France. Start of the Seven Years’ War.
1757	Robert Clive wins the Battle of Plassey and secures the Indian province of Bengal for Britain.
1757	William Pitt becomes Prime Minister
1759	Wolfe captures Quebec from the French and establishes British supremacy in Canada.
1759	First botanical gardens laid out at Kew
1760	George II dies at the age of 76.