1720 CE

Treaties of Stockholm (Great Northern War): Sweden and Prussia sign a treaty by which part of Swedish Pomerania, including the town of Stettin, is ceded to Prussia. Robert Walpole and his ally and brother-in-law Charles Townshend rejoin the government as Paymaster of the Forces and Lord President of the Council ending the Whig Split lasting since 1717. Within a year they will be Prime Minister and Northern Secretary respectively. The Spanish Villasur expedition, which set out on June 16 from New Mexico, with the intention of checking French influence on the Great Plains of North America, ends in failure, as it is ambushed by a Pawnee and Otoe force.

In the 1720s, the 18th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 21 – Treaties of Stockholm (Great Northern War): Sweden and Prussia sign a treaty by which part of Swedish Pomerania, including the town of Stettin, is ceded to Prussia.source
February 17 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed between Spain, Britain, France, Austria and the Dutch Republic, ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance with effect from May 20.source
February 17 – Treaty of The Hague signed between Spain, Britain, France, Austria and the Dutch Republic, ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance.France source
17 February – Treaty of The Hague signed between Britain, France, Austria, the Dutch Republic and Spain ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance.United Kingdom source
February 29 – Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden resigns to let her husband Frederick I take over as king of Sweden. She had desired a joint rule, in a similar manner to William III and Mary II in Britain, but as the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates refuses this, she abdicates in her husband's favour instead.Sweden source
March 11 (February 29 Old Style) – Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden resigns, to let her husband Frederick I take over as king of Sweden. She had desired a joint rule, in a similar manner to William III and Mary II in Britain, but as the Riksdag of the Estates (Sweden's parliament) refuses this, she abdicates in her husband's favour instead.source
March 26 – the Parliament of Great Britain passes the Dependency of Ireland on Great Britain Act 1719 [that is, 1719 Old Style, meaning 1720 in New Style dating], also known as the Declaratory Act 1720, declaring the right of the Parliament of Great Britain to legislate for Ireland and denying the appellate jurisdiction of the Irish House of Lords.Ireland source
April 4 – The Riksdag of the Estates elects Frederick I new King of Sweden.source
May 2 – The Riksdag of the Estates in Sweden adopts the Instrument of Government (1720), an amendment of the 1719 constitution continuing the "Age of Liberty" in the country.source
May 20 – The Treaty of The Hague, signed between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance (Britain, France, the Netherlands and Austria) on February 17, goes into effect. Spain renounces its claims to the Italian possessions of the French throne, and Austria and the Duchy of Savoy trade Sicily for Sardinia.source
June 11 – The British Parliament approves the Bubble Act (officially the Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719), prohibiting the formation of joint-stock companies without prior approval by royal charter.source
11 June – Robert Walpole and his ally and brother-in-law Charles Townshend rejoin the government as Paymaster of the Forces and Lord President of the Council ending the Whig Split lasting since 1717. Within a year they will be Prime Minister and Northern Secretary respectively.United Kingdom source
3 July – The Treaty of Frederiksborg is signed at Frederiksborg Castle, ending the Great Northern War.Denmark source
July 14 (July 3 O.S.) – The Treaty of Frederiksborg is signed between Denmark–Norway and Sweden, restoring the occupied portion of Swedish Pomerania to Sweden and ending the Great Northern War.source
14 July – Denmark–Norway leaves the Great Northern War after the Treaty of Frederiksborg.Norway source
Charles Hanbury Williams succeeds to the estate of his godfather, and takes the surname Williams.Wales source

Conflict & Security

February 24 – Battle of Nassau: Spanish forces assault the British settlement of Nassau, Bahamas at the end of the War of the Quadruple Alliance.source
June 19 – At Burhanpur (in the modern-day Indian state of Madhya Pradesh), the Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad survives an attempted ambush by Mughal Empire forces dispatched by the Sayyid brothers (Syed Abdullah Khan and Syed Husain Ali Khan Barha) and goes on to establish a rival state in southern India.source
July 27 – The Battle of Grengam takes place in the Ledsund strait between the island communities of Föglö and Lemland. It is the last major naval battle in the Great Northern War taking place in the Åland Islands, marking the end of Russian and Swedish offensive naval operations in Baltic waters.source
October 8 – Sayyid Hussain Ali Khan Barha, one of the powerful Sayyid brothers of the Mughal Empire in India, is stabbed to death by Turkish nobleman Haider Beg Dughlat after Dughlat distracts him by giving him a petition to read. The assassination is ordered by Nizam ul-Mulk in retaliation for Sayyid Hussain's attempted ambush on June 19.source
October 15 – Muhammad Ibrahim, a grandson of the late Emperor Bahadur Shah I, is freed from prison by conspirators and declared the Mughal Emperor as a rival of his brother Muhammad Shah, beginning a 32-day reign that is described as being "like a drop of dew upon a blade of grass".source
1 November – The Commanding Major Generals South of Dovre is established. It was a four-general board to lead the Norwegian Army following the Great Northern War.Norway source
November 13 – India's Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah defeats his brother, pretender Muhammad Ibrahim, in a battle at Hasanpur (in Uttar Pradesh). Ibrahim is returned to incarceration at the citadel of Shahjahanabad, part of modern-day Delhi.source
December 8 – Fath-Ali Khan Daghestani is deposed from his position as Grand Vizier of Iran (at this time, part of the Safavid Empire) and tortured by Mohammadqoli Khan, the bodyguard of the Safavid Shah, Sultan Husayn.source
1720-60 - The Chickasaw fight the French and the Choctaw in the Southeast.Canada source

Exploration & Expansion

15 April – Ralph Allen of Bath is appointed to farm Cross and Bye Posts (i.e. to manage mail not going via London), leading to his reform of the system.United Kingdom source
May 25 – The British privateer Speedwell, captained by George Shelvocke, is wrecked off of the coast of Chile on the uninhabited "Robinson Crusoe Island" (Más a Tierra, where Alexander Selkirk was marooned for 5 years). The crew is marooned for 5 months but can build a boat from timbers salvaged from the wreck, and is able to escape the island on October 6.source
August 14 – The Spanish Villasur expedition, which set out on June 16 from New Mexico, with the intention of checking French influence on the Great Plains of North America, ends in failure, as it is ambushed by a Pawnee and Otoe force.source
The Kangxi Emperor announces that all western businessmen in China can trade only in Guangzhou.source
Jonathan Swift begins major composition work on Gulliver's Travels in Ireland.source
The Tuscarora people leave North Carolina as a result of European colonization.source
To compensate for their loss, the French build a fortress at Louisbourg on the southeast tip of Cape Breton Island.Canada source
c. 1720: French forts along the Mississippi River spread northward from New Orleans.Canada source
A great storm cuts Rattray, Aberdeenshire, off from the open sea, creating the Loch of Strathbeg.Scotland source

Religion & Belief

April 17 – Bajirao I is appointed as the Peshwa of the Maratha Empire by Chhatrapati Shahu, succeeding his father Peshwa.source
10 August – The town of Moss was founded.Norway source
20 November - A violent storm damages the northwest tower of Llandaff Cathedral. The southwest tower, reported in 1719 to be in a state of collapse, is further damaged, and a programme of restoration work begins.Wales source
Robert Roberts - A duo-glott-exposition of the Creed, the ten Commandments and the Lords Prayer, calculated for the borders of England and Wales, but particularly for the use of the parish of Chirk, whose inhabitants are partly Welsh and partly English, by R. R. A. M. Vicar of the said parish of ChirkWales source
Llandaff Cathedral is reported as being in a state of collapse.Wales source

Economy & Finance

April – "South Sea Bubble": A scheme for the South Sea Company to take over most of Britain's unconsolidated government debt massively inflates share prices.United Kingdom source
June 25 – The "South Sea Bubble", the phenomenal growth of the South Sea Company, reaches its peak as South Sea stock is priced at £1,060 a share. By the end of September, as panic sales are made, the price falls to £150.source
25 June – "South Sea Bubble" reaches its peak as South Sea Company stock is priced at £1,060 a share.United Kingdom source
July 12 – Under the authority of the Bubble Act, the Lords Justices in Great Britain attempt to curb some of the excesses of the stock markets during the "South Sea Bubble". They dissolve a number of petitions for patents and charters, and abolish more than 80 joint-stock companies of dubious merit, but this has little effect on the creation of "Bubbles", ephemeral joint-stock companies created during the hysteria of the times.source
12 July – Under authority of the Bubble Act, the Lords Justices attempt to curb some of the excesses of the stock markets during the "South Sea Bubble". They dissolve a number of petitions for patents and charters, and abolish more than 80 joint-stock companies of dubious merit, but this has little effect on the creation of "Bubbles", ephemeral joint-stock companies created during the hysteria of the times.United Kingdom source
September 30 – "South Sea Bubble": The English stock market crashes, with dropping prices for stock in the South Sea Company.source
September – "South Sea Bubble": share prices, led by those of the South Sea Company, collapse.United Kingdom source
Parallel to the English South Sea Bubble France experiences the Mississippi Bubble. Market shares of the Mississippi Company reach a peak price of over 10,000 livres in spring just to plummet to 1,000 by the end of the year. Monthly inflation in France reaches 23 percent and a bank rush ensues when investors try in vain to convert paper notes issued by the Banque Royale into gold and silver. John Law, the Scottish architect of the Bubble, is forced to flee the country.source
John Law abandons all his accumulated wealth and flees to Brussels amidst the collapse of the Mississippi Bubble.France source
Food riots in east coast towns from January to March.Scotland source

Technology & Infrastructure

29 December – Haymarket Theatre opens in London.United Kingdom source
The Town on Queen Anne's Creek, North Carolina is renamed Edenton, in honor of North Carolina Governor Charles Eden; it is incorporated in 1722.source
The first yacht club in the world, the Royal Cork Yacht Club, is founded in Ireland.source
The Royal Cork Yacht Club is established as the Water Club of the Cork Harbour by William O'Brien, 4th Earl of Inchiquin; it is widely acknowledged as the world's oldest yacht club.Ireland source
The Naval Charter was issued, the work on which was carried out under the leadership of Peter IRussia source
The Caledonian Mercury newspaper begins publication in Edinburgh.Scotland source

Science & Discovery

February 10 – Edmond Halley is appointed as Astronomer Royal for England.source
10 February – Edmond Halley is appointed Astronomer Royal by George IUnited Kingdom source
Jonathan Swift publishes Proposal for Universal Use of Irish Manufacture.Ireland source

Health & Medicine

May – Great Plague of Marseille begins. The last major outbreak of bubonic plague in western Europe, the disease kill over 100,000 people in the city and surrounding area of France.source
27 July - 1720 års skråordning, the first national guild regulation is introduced, which replaces all the local guild regulations and is in place until the abolition of the guild system by the Fabriks och Handtwerksordning and Handelsordningen of 1846.Sweden source
The Guild Regulation of 1720 is introduced in Sweden.source
Outbreak of plague in Marseille; the bishop, Henri François Xavier de Belsunce de Castelmoron, wins approbation by remaining in his diocese.France source
Dr Steevens' Hospital is established at Kilmainham, Dublin.Ireland source
The General Regulation was issued . It was the first statute of the state civil serviceRussia source

Crime & Justice

November 16 – Pirate John Rackham (captured on October 22) is brought to trial at Spanish Town in Jamaica; he is hanged at Port Royal two days later. Most of his crew is also hanged but female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny are spared.source
16 November – Pirate captain John Rackham (captured on 22 October) is brought to trial at Spanish Town in Jamaica; he is hanged at Port Royal two days later. Most of his crew is also hanged but female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny are spared.United Kingdom source
The wrought-iron gates of St Giles' Church, Wrexham, made by the Davies brothers of Bersham, are erected.Wales source

Culture & Society

March - Sir William Morgan of Tredegar replaces John Morgan of Rhiwpera as Lord Lieutenant of Monmouthshire.Wales source
23 April (St George's Day) – George I publicly reconciles with his son George, Prince of Wales at St James's PalaceUnited Kingdom source
May 3 – The coronation of King Frederick I of Sweden takes place in Stockholm, six weeks after his rule began.source
3 May - Coronation of Frederick I.Sweden source
June 1 – British silversmiths are once again allowed to use sterling silver after 24 years of being limited to a higher quality (but softer) Britannia silver.source
1 June – British silversmiths are once again allowed to use sterling silver after 24 years of being limited to a purer (but softer) Britannia silver.United Kingdom source
21 August - Elisha Beadles sends an account of the progress of the Quaker movement in South Wales to London for consideration by the "Meeting for Sufferings".Wales source
The Academia Real da Historia is founded in Lisbon, Portugal.source
Il teatro alla moda, a satirical pamphlet by Benedetto Marcello, is published anonymously in Venice.source
Severin Seehausen was ennobled, and given the noble family name Svanenhielm.Norway source

Births

January 2 – José de Gálvez, Spanish politician (died 1787)source
January 27 – Samuel Foote, English dramatist and actor (died 1777)source
January 30 – Charles De Geer, Swedish industrialist, entomologist (died 1778)source
February 8 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (died 1750)source
March 13 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist and writer (died 1793)source
16 March – Cecilie Christine Schøller, socialite (died 1786).Norway source
April 23 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi (died 1797)source
May 8 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1764)source
May 15 – Maximilian Hell, Slovakian astronomer (died 1792)source
July 18 – Gilbert White, English naturalist and cleric (died 1793)source
October 4 – Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Italian artist (died 1778)source
October 8 – Geneviève Thiroux d'Arconville, French novelist, translator and chemist (died 1805)source
October 19 – John Woolman, American Quaker preacher, abolitionist (died 1772)source
November 16 – Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-born composer (died 1788)source
December 31 – Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (died 1788)source
31 December – Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (died 1788)United Kingdom source
Aleksandr Rigelʹman (1720–1789) - Russian military officer, historian, and ethnographerRussia source
Ralph Griffiths, journalist (died 1803)Wales source

Deaths

January 10 – Ramon Perellos, Spanish 64th Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (born 1637)source
January 12 – William Ashhurst, Lord Mayor of London (1693–1694) (born 1647)source
January 19 – Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg, Holy Roman Empress (born 1655)source
January – Francis Daniel Pastorius, founder of Germantown, Pennsylvania (born 1651)source
7 March - John Morgan (of Rhiwpera), politician, 49Wales source
April 2 – Joseph Dudley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (born 1647)source
April 12 – Balaji Vishwanath, Peshwa of the Maratha Empire (born 1662)source
April 21 – Antoine Hamilton, French writer (born 1646)source
July 12 – King Sukjong of Joseon (born 1661)source
August 3 – Anthonie Heinsius, Dutch politician (born 1641)source
August 3 – Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea, English poet (born 1661)source
5 August – Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea, English poet (born 1661)United Kingdom source
August 21 – John Leake, English Royal Navy admiral (born 1656)source
November 12 – Peder Tordenskjold, Norwegian naval hero (born 1690)source
12 November – Peter Tordenskjold, nobleman and naval flag officer (born 1690).Norway source
November 18 – John Rackham, English pirate.source
December 29 – Maria Margarethe Kirch, German astronomer (born 1670)source
Yakov Fyodorovich Dolgorukov - (1720 - 1794) - Russian Imperial Army officer and administratorRussia source