1763 to 1767

Society

1763. Treaty recognizes Mississippi River as boundary between British and Louisiana, ceded to Spain.

1763. Chief Pontiac tries to drive the British and whites back across the Alleghenies.

1764. Boston lawyer James Otis denounces "taxation without representation."

1764. Boston merchants begin policy of nonimportation, boycott of British goods.

1764. British pay higher taxes than any other Europeans. Want colonies to do their share.

1764. London begins practice of numbering houses.

Literature

The Castle of Otranto. Horace Walpole. British. 1764. Gothic Novel. Villain is Manfred. Supernatural events. Isabella flees with Theodore, a peasant. Ghost destroys the castle.

Society

1765. Quartering Act orders colonists to provide barracks, supplies to British troops.

1765. Stamp Act first direct taxes on American colonists.

1765. Patrick Henry against the Stamp Act: "If this be treason, make the most of it."

1765. Stamp Act Congress at New York: Resolution to import no goods that require payment of duty.

1765. Scotsman James Watt invents steam engine.

1765. First American medical school opens in Philadelphia.

Literature

Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. Thomas Percy. British. 1765. Poetry Collection. Collection of ballads, sonnets, historical songs, and romances. One of the earliest histories of literature. 15th through 18th centuries.

The Prince of Parthia. Thomas Godfrey. American. 1765. Play. First play by an American. Villainous prince murders his father and keeps the elder brother from the throne.

"Goody Two-Shoes." Oliver Goldsmith. British. 1765. Tale. Nursery tale written for publisher John Newbery. Poor girl delights in a new pair of shoes.

Society

1766. Parliament repeals Stamp Act. Reaffirms right to make laws and bind colonies in all respects.

1766. Treaty of Oswego ends Pontiac's 3-year rebellion.

Literature

"Laocoon, or On the Limits of Painting and Poetry." Gotthold Lessing. German. 1766. Essay. Criticism of art and literature differs. Art exists in space with all parts perceived simultaneously. Work of literature exists in time with parts perceived one after another. The statue of Laocoon was one of his main examples. (Laocoon was a Trojan priest who offended Athene and was killed by sea snakes.)

The Vicar of Wakefield. Oliver Goldsmith. British. 1766. Novel. Vicar withstands a variety of misfortunes with fortitude.

Confessions (of Jean Jacques Rousseau). French. 1766/70. Autobiography. 12 volumes. Reveals details of his erratic, rebellious life. Began the fashion in the literature of confessions.

Society

1767. Mason and Dixon Line between Pennsylvania and Maryland is completed.

1767. North Carolina woodsman Daniel Boone reaches "Kentucky."

1767. Townshend Revenue Act imposes duties on tea, glass, etc.