1756
Britain Declares War on France
The colonial brushfires in America and India finally reached the palaces of Europe. Britain declared war; France's new ally, Austria, declared back. The 'Diplomatic Revolution' had flipped old enmities: Prussia and Britain on one side, France, Austria, Russia on the other. The Seven Years' War was on. Winston Churchill would later call it the first true world war, fought on five continents and three oceans simultaneously.
Black Hole of Calcutta
The nawab of Bengal, furious at Company fortification, stormed Fort William and locked captured Britons in a tiny airless cell for a June night. How many died - 43? 123? - would be debated for centuries. What was certain: London now had a justification to remake Bengal by force. Clive sailed from Madras with troops and a grudge, and within a year the nawab's throne was empty.
Mozart Born in Salzburg
Leopold Mozart, a provincial court musician, welcomed a son on January 27 and baptized him Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus. The boy would be exhibited across Europe before his legs reached the pedals, and would die at thirty-five leaving a Requiem unfinished and Western music permanently altered. In those three and a half decades he composed over six hundred works spanning every genre of his age.
Frederick Invades Saxony
Rather than wait to be encircled, Frederick of Prussia struck first - marching into neutral Saxony, seizing its army, and opening the continental phase of the Seven Years' War. 'I have crossed the Rubicon,' he wrote. For seven years his small kingdom would hold off half of Europe. He survived through tactical genius, British subsidies, and the death of the Russian empress who hated him most.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1756?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1756. The most significant is Britain Declares War on France: The colonial brushfires in America and India finally reached the palaces of Europe. Britain declared war; France's new ally, Austria, declared back.
What era was 1756 part of?
1756 falls within the Enlightenment (1651-1800). Reason, revolution, and the first global wars.
Which regions saw notable events in 1756?
The curated events from 1756 span Europe and South Asia.