1773
Boston Tea Party
Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawks with soot on their faces, boarded three tea ships at Griffin's Wharf and tipped 340 chests into the harbor - £9,659 worth of good Darjeeling. The organization was so thorough they swept the decks afterward. In London, George III concluded the colonies had to be punished.
Pope Clement XIV Suppresses the Jesuits
Under pressure from the Bourbon courts, the pope issued Dominus ac Redemptor dissolving the Society of Jesus throughout the Catholic world. Their schools, missions, observatories, and libraries were seized. Catherine the Great - that unlikely protector - allowed them to survive quietly in Belarus. The order would sleep for forty years.
Pugachev's Rebellion
Yemelyan Pugachev, an illiterate Cossack, announced he was the real Peter III and raised the Urals against Catherine. Serfs, Bashkirs, Old Believers, and factory slaves rallied. He besieged Orenburg and advanced on Kazan before being betrayed, caged in iron, and quartered alive in Moscow's Bolotnaya Square. The rebellion terrified the Russian nobility and prompted Catherine to tighten serfdom rather than loosen it.
Tea Act
Parliament, desperate to save the bankrupt East India Company, gave it a monopoly on tea exports to America - undercutting colonial smugglers and imposing a token duty. The cheap tea was, from London's viewpoint, a gift. From Boston's viewpoint, it was a trap to legitimize taxation through bargain shopping. On December 16 the Sons of Liberty settled the argument by dumping 342 chests of tea into the harbor.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1773?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1773. The most significant is Boston Tea Party: Sons of Liberty, disguised as Mohawks with soot on their faces, boarded three tea ships at Griffin's Wharf and tipped 340 chests into the harbor - £9,659…
What era was 1773 part of?
1773 falls within the Enlightenment (1651-1800). Reason, revolution, and the first global wars.
Which regions saw notable events in 1773?
The curated events from 1773 span North America and Europe.