1767 CE

Troops of the Burmese Konbaung dynasty sack the Siamese city of Ayutthaya, ending the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767) after 15 months, and bringing the four-century-old Ayutthaya Kingdom to an end. King Ekkathat is found dead inside the city walls on April 9. At the Foundling Hospital in London, Dr. William Watson becomes the first physician to conduct a controlled clinical trial, selecting 32 boys and girls of similar age who have not yet had smallpox. He divides them into three groups in order to test treatments before inoculation for smallpox, with one group receiving a mixture of mercury and jalap, another senna glycoside, and the third getting no pre-treatment at all. A boycott, of 38 types of goods imported from England, is resolved by Boston merchants meeting at Faneuil Hall as a response to the taxes imposed by Great Britain, and one of the first "Buy American" campaigns is started in order to encourage the purchase of items manufactured and produced in the 13 colonies. Copies of the agreement, to be signed by participating merchants, are circulated beyond the Province of Massachusetts Bay to other colonial provinces in New England.

In the 1760s, the 18th century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

January 9 – William Tryon, governor of the Royal Colony of North Carolina, signs a contract with architect John Hawks to build Tryon Palace, a lavish Georgian style governor's mansion on the New Bern waterfront.source
February 19 – The Earl of Shelburne, British Secretary of State for the Southern Department (which has jurisdiction over Britain's American colonies) fires the unpopular Governor of West Florida, George Johnstone, and summons him back to London.source
March 24 – Spain acquires control of what are now called the Falkland Islands from France, compensating French Admiral Louis Antoine de Bougainville for the money spent on the construction of the settlement at Fort Saint Louis. The islands, named les Îles Malouines by the French, are renamed las Islas Malvinas by the Spanish, and Fort Saint Louis is renamed as Puerto Soledad. In 1816, Argentina declares independence from Spain and takes the Malvinas; and in 1833, Britain's Royal Navy captures the islands from the Argentines and renames them the Falklands, and renames Puerto Soledad as Port Louis.source
24 March – Spain acquires control of the Falkland Islands (les Îles Malouines) from France, compensating Admiral Louis Antoine de Bougainville for the money spent on the construction of the settlement at Fort Saint Louis.France source
May 10 – Sir William Johnson, 1st Baronet, acting on behalf of Great Britain, meets with representatives of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy at German Flatts, New York, opening negotiations on the boundary between the New York colony and the Native Americans, eventually concluded by the Treaty of Fort Stanwix.source
May 31 – The Genoese island of Capraia is conquered by the Corsican Army after a ten-week campaign.source
20 July – Arthur Chichester, 5th Earl of Donegall, grants new leases for most of his property holdings in Belfast, obliging tenants to redevelop.Ireland source
19 August – Viscount Townshend appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (sworn 14 October).Ireland source
October 9 – Surveying of the "Mason–Dixon line", which will later become the traditional division between the northern and southern states of the United States, is completed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon after four years, initially to settle a boundary dispute between the colonies of Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The survey party is halted at Dunkard Creek when a chief of the Mohawk Indians tells them that they are in Native American territory and that the Mohawks guiding the property "would not proceed one step further Westward"; the line, slightly west the 80th meridian west, is now part of the boundary between Pennsylvania and West Virginia.source
October 17 – Šćepan Mali, nicknamed "Stephen the Little", is selected as the legislature at Podgorica to be the Tsar of Montenegro, representing "a short but an important break in the succession of the Petrovic dynasty".source
November 19 – Under the coercion of Russian occupation armies, the legislature of Poland follows the wishes of Russian Minister Nicholas Repnin and agrees to allow the kingdom to become a Russian protectorate.source
November 20 – The new American Colonies Act 1766, commonly called the "Declaratory Act", goes into effect, virtually providing for Great Britain's Parliament to govern lawmaking in 13 colonies and exacerbating tensions there.source
20 November – the "Declaratory Act" (American Colonies Act 1766) goes into effect, repealing unpopular duties imposed in 1765 on the Thirteen Colonies but declaring Parliament's authority to be the same in North America as in Britain.United Kingdom source
November 27 – Oconostota and Attakullakulla, Chiefs of the Cherokee people in the Carolinas, depart from Charleston, South Carolina on a ship voyage to New York City, where they are welcomed by British colonial officials as a prelude to negotiations with Britain's Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Sir William Johnson.source
December 2 – Future Pennsylvania chief executive John Dickinson begins publishing his revolutionary "Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania" in the Pennsylvania Chronicle.source
December 28 – Phraya Taksin, a minor provincial official in Siam (now Thailand), crowns himself as King of Siam, establishing the Siamese Thonburi Kingdom, taking the regnal name of Borommaracha IV and begins a 14-year reign of liberation and conquest; historically, he is known as "Taksin the Great".source
December 29 – Oconostota and Attakullakulla arrive at Johnstown, New York where they, along with leaders of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy (the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora tribal nations) meet with Sir William Johnson to begin peace negotiations with the British Empire.source
In the fall of 1767, the Gueguen, Arseneau, Hébert and Bourg families receive the first land grant conveyed to Acadians after the Expulsion. In November, Cocagne becomes the first Acadian community established with official permission from the British Crown.Canada source
The Riksdag of the Estates, which had convened since 1765 and was dominated by the ruling "Caps" (Mössorna) party, was finally dissolved in 1767 after failing to resolve the country's severe economic crisis and political deadlock. This created a governing vacuum and heightened the sense of national instability.Sweden source

Conflict & Security

February 16 – On orders from head of state Pasquale Paoli of the newly independent Republic of Corsica, a contingent of about 200 Corsican soldiers begins an invasion of the small island of Capraia off of the coast of northern Italy and territory of the Republic of Genoa. By May 31, the island is conquered as its defenders surrender.source
March 14 – Antonio de Ulloa, the Colonial Governor of Spanish Louisiana (Luisiana), dispatches Captain Francisco Ríu y Morales up the Mississippi River to establish two forts, one at San Luis (now St. Louis, Missouri) and to set up a colony for displaced French-speaking Acadians and protect shipping on the river.source
April 7 – Troops of the Burmese Konbaung dynasty sack the Siamese city of Ayutthaya, ending the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–1767) after 15 months, and bringing the four-century-old Ayutthaya Kingdom to an end. King Ekkathat is found dead inside the city walls on April 9.source
May 3 – A fleet of ships from the Republic of Genoa arrives at Capraia and sends 150 men ashore to drive out the Corsicans, but the outnumbered Genoese marines are "quickly cut to pieces".source
October 28 – A boycott, of 38 types of goods imported from England, is resolved by Boston merchants meeting at Faneuil Hall as a response to the taxes imposed by Great Britain, and one of the first "Buy American" campaigns is started in order to encourage the purchase of items manufactured and produced in the 13 colonies. Copies of the agreement, to be signed by participating merchants, are circulated beyond the Province of Massachusetts Bay to other colonial provinces in New England.source

Exploration & Expansion

June 17 – British Royal Navy Captain Samuel Wallis becomes the first European to visit the island of Tahiti in the Pacific Ocean, during HMS Dolphins second circumnavigation; he also sights Mehetia.source
July 3 – Pitcairn Island in the Pacific Ocean is sighted from HMS Swallow, by 15-year-old Midshipman Robert Pitcairn, on a British Royal Navy expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret, the first definite European sighting.source
3 July – Pitcairn Island in the Pacific Ocean is sighted from HMS Swallow (1766) by 15-year-old Midshipman Robert Pitcairn on a Royal Navy expeditionary voyage commanded by Philip Carteret, the first definite European sighting.United Kingdom source
29 August - John Wesley begins a two-week evangelical tour of South Wales.Wales source
September 29 – The Spanish Empire's Governorate of the Río de la Plata and Governorate of Paraguay begin the process of expulsion of the 456 members of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) from southern South America, placing them on five ships bound for Spain.source
November 1 – Scottish-born American merchant and shipowner Andrew Sprowle of Portsmouth, Virginia, establishes the Gosport Shipyard on the western shore of the Elizabeth River in the Virginia Colony, on the site of what will eventually become the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.source
Carsten Niebuhr returns to Copenhagen as the only surviving member of the Danish Arabia expedition.Denmark source

Religion & Belief

February 27 – King Carlos III of Spain issues a decree expelling the Jesuits from the dominions of the Spanish Empire worldwide.source
March 31 – Enforcement begins of the February 27 decree by King Carlos III of Spain, ordering the suppression of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) in the colonies in Spanish America. Over the next few months approximately 2,200 Jesuit priests and missionaries are deported.source
April 2 – Suppression of the Jesuits begins, in the Spanish Empire and Kingdom of Naples.source
May 16 – Ahmed al-Ghazzal, the emissary from Sultan Mohammed ben Abdallah of Morocco to the Spanish Empire, makes a triumphant return to Marrakesh with almost 300 Muslims who had been held captive in Spain, as well as sacred Islamic manuscripts that had been seized by the Spanish in 1612. The negotiation of the release had started with al-Ghazzal's meeting with Spain's King Carlos III on August 21, 1766.source
24 October – Several anti-Jewish regulations in place since 1661, are repealed by the King's Council. While Jewish merchants are still prohibited from owning their own retail stores, they are allowed to sell merchandise on credit to gentile merchants at legal interest rates, to legally enforce debts, and to sell jewelry.France source
November 3 – King Ferdinand IV of the Spanish dominated Kingdom of Naples follows Spain's lead and orders the expulsion of the Jesuits from Naples and has them marched northward to the Neapolitan border with the Papal States.source
November 4 – Francisco de Paula Bucareli, the Governor of Buenos Aires (at the time, a province within the Spanish Empire's Viceroyalty of Peru), hosts the caciques who are the Guarani chiefs of the 30 mission towns established by Jesuit missionaries, in an effort to gain Guarani peoples' support in the expulsion of the Jesuits.source
A Magdalen Asylum was established by Lady Arabella Denny in Leeson Street, for Protestant women.Ireland source
The titles Earl of Howth and Viscount St Lawrence are created in the Peerage of Ireland in favour of Thomas St Lawrence, 15th Baron Howth.Ireland source
The circular Kilarrow Parish Church in Bowmore on Islay is built.Scotland source
Tankar i anledning af Sista Öfwerflöds-Förordningen Och Dess wärkställighet; Fattade i pennan, och Dedicerade til MALCONTENTERNE, Af En Fri Svensk, by Françoise Marguerite JaniçonSweden source
Evan Thomas (Ieuan Fardd Ddu) - Traethawd ar Fywyd FfyddWales source
date unknown - On the death of Daniel Lewis, another local Baptist, Rachel Lewis, hosts meetings of multiple denominations in her home at Merthyr Tydfil.Wales source

Economy & Finance

1 January – The Banking Company in Aberdeen, a co-partnery, opens for business.Scotland source
March 13 – British Chancellor of the Exchequer Charles Townshend, having already pushed through the unpopular Townshend Acts to recoup war expenses from Britain's American colonies, presents a comprehensive plan for more taxes in a closed door session of the House of Commons, with most proposals passed within a month.source
9 June – the Townshend Acts are passed by Parliament, placing a tax on common products, such as lead, paper, paint, glass, and tea.United Kingdom source
August 26 – Construction begins on Tryon Palace in New Bern, North Carolina. The construction proves more expensive than initially expected, leading the government to increase local taxes. This stirs resentment among some North Carolinians, and helps prolong the War of the Regulation.source
October 24 – In France, several anti-Jewish regulations in place since October 12, 1661, are repealed by the King's Council that advises Louis XV. While Jewish merchants are still prohibited from owning their own retail stores, they are allowed to sell merchandise on credit to gentile merchants at legal interest rates, to legally enforce debts, and to sell jewelry.source
28 October – a boycott of 38 types of goods imported from England is resolved by merchants in Boston, Massachusetts, as a response to the taxes imposed by Britain.United Kingdom source
National income - ₹9,828 millionIndia source
The Johnston family enters the printing business.Scotland source
The country continued to suffer from a severe financial crisis and high debt stemming from the previous government's (Hats) aggressive, mercantilist policies and expensive wars. The economic situation, coupled with poor harvests, contributed to widespread discontent among the populace.Sweden source

Technology & Infrastructure

30 April - John Guest of Broseley becomes manager of Dowlais Ironworks.Wales source
July – Edinburgh Council adopts the final plan for the New Town, for which the architect James Craig has been made a Freeman of the city on 3 June.Scotland source
A second Fort Dauphin was built on the north shore of Lake Dauphin.Canada source
Nesstofa is built in Seltjarnarnes.Iceland source
The first sections of the Hotel Refsnes Gods are erected.Norway source
Quarries and lime kilns at Charlestown, Fife, opened by Charles Bruce, 5th Earl of Elgin.Scotland source
Auchincruive House is built after a design by Robert Adam.Scotland source
Undated – Josiah Spode establishes the Spode pottery manufactory at Stoke-on-Trent.United Kingdom source

Science & Discovery

January 1 – The first annual volume of The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris, produced by British Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, gives navigators the means to find longitude at sea, using tables of lunar distance.source

Health & Medicine

October 12 – At the Foundling Hospital in London, Dr. William Watson becomes the first physician to conduct a controlled clinical trial, selecting 32 boys and girls of similar age who have not yet had smallpox. He divides them into three groups in order to test treatments before inoculation for smallpox, with one group receiving a mixture of mercury and jalap, another senna glycoside, and the third getting no pre-treatment at all.source
12 October – Dr William Watson, at the Foundling Hospital in London, conducts an early planned and controlled clinical trial (on treatments for smallpox).United Kingdom source
November 9 – At the new King's College medical school in New York City (later the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons), Dr. John Jones gives the first lecture by a surgical professor in North America.source

Crime & Justice

19 June – The last of several animals (probably wolves) to be known over the past 3 years as the Beast of Gévaudan is shot.France source
Nykøbing Castle is sold at auction and demolished. The bricks were used to build numerous estates and rectories in different parts of Falster. All that remains of the castle is a stump of wall from the Medieval prison tower known as Fars Hat (Father's Hat).Denmark source
All spinning for both household needs as well as for selling is freely permitted in all Sweden.Sweden source
Thomas Jones is awarded a premium for landscape painting by the Society of Arts.Wales source

Disasters & Accidents

Autumn - Cyfarthfa Ironworks probably first comes into blast.Wales source

Climate & Environment

November 14 – The Timucua Indian tribe, native to central Florida, becomes extinct with the death of the last speaker of the Timucuan language, Juan Alonso Cabale. Eight years earlier, the last 95 surviving Timucuan people had been forcibly relocated by the Spanish colonial government to Guanabacoa, a township in western Cuba.source

Culture & Society

2 January – The newspaper Aalborg Stiftstidende is published for the first time in Aalborg.Denmark source
1 May – Anointing of Christian VII and Queen Caroline Mathilde at Christiansborg Palace.Denmark source
July 3 – Norway's oldest newspaper still in print, Adresseavisen, is first published.source
3 July — Norway's oldest newspaper, still in print, Adresseavisen, is founded (first edition published this date).Norway source
24 November – Ernelinde, princesse de Norvège, a three-act operatic tragédie lyrique, composed by François-André Danican Philidor, was first performed by the Paris Opera at the Salle des Machines in the Palais des Tuileries in Paris.France source
November 29 – The Archduchess Maria Theresa of Austria, in her capacity as Queen of Hungary, issues an edict against the Romani people (commonly called the "gypsies"), prohibiting them from marrying and calling for gypsy children to be taken away by the government so that they can be brought up by Christian families, a proclamation that "produced little or no effect in comparison with the trouble involved".source
Establishment of the Collège de Montréal.Canada source
John O'Keeffe's first play, The She Gallant, is performed at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin.Ireland source
The first known competition of winter sport biathlon takes place, in Norway.Norway source
Adam Ferguson's An Essay on the History of Civil Society is published.Scotland source

Births

January 8 – Jean-Baptiste Say, French economist, originator of Say's law (died 1832)source
March 15 – Andrew Jackson, seventh President of the United States (died 1845)source
March 25 – Joachim Murat, French marshal, King of Naples (died 1815)source
13 April - Artemy Vedel, composer (died 1808)Russia source
May 4 – Tyagaraja, Indian Carnatic music composer (died 1847)source
May 12 – Manuel Godoy, Spanish statesman (died 1851)source
May 13 – John VI of Portugal, King of Portugal (died 1826)source
13 May – John VI of Portugal, king (died 1826).Portugal source
May 19 – Sir George Prevost (died 1816)Canada source
June 24 – Jean-Baptiste Benoît Eyriès, French geographer, author and translator (died 1846)source
July 4 – Kyokutei Bakin, Japanese author (died 1848)source
July 11 – John Quincy Adams, sixth President of the United States, son of John Adams and Abigail Adams (died 1848)source
July 28 – James Asheton Bayard Sr., U.S. Senator from Delaware (died 1815)source
August 25 – Louis Antoine de Saint-Just, French revolutionary (d.1794)source
September 20 – José Maurício Nunes Garcia, Brazilian composer (died 1830)source
October 25 – Benjamin Constant, Swiss writer (died 1830)source
November 2 – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, member of the British Royal Family (died 1820)source
Steinunn Sveinsdóttir, murderer.Iceland source

Deaths

January 7 – Thomas Clap, first president of Yale University (born 1703)source
March 7 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, French colonizer and Governor of Louisiana (born 1680)source
March 13 – Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France (born 1731) (tuberculosis)source
29 April - Sir John Morgan, 4th Baronet, of Llangattock, politician, 56Wales source
May 28 – Maria Josepha of Bavaria (born 1739) (smallpox)source
June 25 – Georg Philipp Telemann, German composer (born 1681)source
July 13 – John Quincy, American Soldier (born 1689)source
1 September – Carl Juel, statesman, councillor, and diocesan governor (born 1706)Denmark source
September 4 – Charles Townshend, English politician (born 1725)source
19 September - Thomas Angell, merchant and philanthropist (born 1692).Norway source
October 7 – Frederick North, Lord North becomes the new British Chancellor of the Exchequer after the sudden death of Charles Townshend.source
7 October – Frederick North, Lord North, becomes Chancellor of the Exchequer after the sudden death of Charles Townshend.United Kingdom source
October 15 – Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (born 1751) (smallpox)source
October 16 – Burkhard Christoph von Münnich, Russian military leader (born 1683)source
November 5 – John Reading (New Jersey governor), Colonial Governor of New Jersey (born 1686)source
December 22 – John Newbery, English publisher (born 1713)source
December 22 – Jacques Bridaine, French Catholic preacher and missionary (born 1701)source
December 28 – Emer de Vattel, Swiss philosopher (born 1714)source