1711
Death of Emperor Joseph I
Smallpox took the Habsburg emperor at thirty-two, leaving his brother Charles, the allied claimant to Spain, now heir to Austria as well. Suddenly the war to keep a Bourbon off the Spanish throne threatened to recreate Charles V's empire. England began writing a separate peace. The irony was complete: the allies had fought to prevent one family from holding too much, and now faced exactly that from the other side.
Treaty of Pruth
Peter the Great, who had advanced too far into Ottoman territory, found his army surrounded on the Pruth River without water. A bribe of jewels to the grand vizier's wife, and the return of Azov, bought him escape. The tsar learned that the Turks could still teach him a lesson.
Tuscarora War Begins
In Carolina's coastal forests, Tuscarora warriors fell upon English and Palatine German settlements, killing more than a hundred. Two years of brutal reprisal would follow. Defeated, the Tuscarora migrated north and became the sixth nation of the Iroquois Confederacy, changing the political geography of eastern North America. Their adoption into the league in 1722 formalized the transformation of the Five Nations into Six.
Handel's Rinaldo in London
The young Saxon composer, newly arrived in London via Hamburg and Italy, premiered his first Italian-language opera at the Queen's Theatre. Its bird arias used real sparrows released onstage. London audiences went mad for Italian opera, and for Handel, who would become an Englishman in all but accent and spend the rest of his life there.
Want 1711 in context? Print the whole 18th century as a one-sheet timeline chart.
Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1711?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1711. The most significant is Death of Emperor Joseph I: Smallpox took the Habsburg emperor at thirty-two, leaving his brother Charles, the allied claimant to Spain, now heir to Austria as well.
What era was 1711 part of?
1711 falls within the Enlightenment (1651-1800). Reason, revolution, and the first global wars.
Which regions saw notable events in 1711?
The curated events from 1711 span Europe, Middle East and North America.