The world in 1776

In 1776, the timeline shows 254 states, empires and colonies and 94 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Republic of Venice, Holy Roman Empire, Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Mughal Empire and Portuguese Brazil.

See 1776 on the interactive chart

What was happening around 1776

1755 Destruction of the Dzungars, Central and North Asia. The Qianlong emperor sends armies against the Dzungar Khanate. War, massacre and smallpox kill most of the Dzungar people by 1758.
1756 Seven Years' War begins, Europe. Frederick II leads Prussian troops into Saxony on 29 August in a global conflict that sets Britain and Prussia against France and Austria. It spreads to North America and India before ending in 1763.
1757 Battle of Plassey, South Asia. Robert Clive's East India Company troops defeat the Nawab of Bengal after bribing his commander Mir Jafar, a battle seen as pivotal to colonial control of the subcontinent.
1761 Third Battle of Panipat, South Asia. Ahmad Shah Durrani destroys the Maratha army north of Delhi in one of the largest battles of the 18th century.
1763 Treaty of Paris ends New France, North America. France cedes Canada and its lands east of the Mississippi to Britain, having secretly passed western Louisiana to Spain three months earlier. Spain cedes Florida to Britain.
1767 Fall of Ayutthaya, Southeast Asia. Konbaung armies take and ruin Ayutthaya after a 14-month siege, ending a kingdom that had lasted 417 years.
1769 Watt's steam engine, Europe. James Watt patents a separate condenser that makes steam engines far more efficient, powering the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
1776 Declaration of Independence, North America. The Continental Congress declares the Thirteen Colonies independent of Britain. The war ends with British recognition in 1783.
1778 Cook reaches Hawaii, Oceania. James Cook's ships become the first recorded Europeans to reach Hawaii. Cook returns late that year and is killed at Kealakekua Bay in February 1779.
1780 Peak of the Atlantic slave trade, North and West Africa. The Atlantic slave trade peaks in the last two decades of the 18th century, fed in part by the wars of expanding states such as Dahomey, Oyo and Ashanti. In all about 12.75 million Africans were shipped.
1780 Rebellion of Tupac Amaru II, South America. The kuraka José Gabriel Condorcanqui leads the largest revolt in the Americas before the wars of independence. He is executed in Cusco in 1781, and by 1783 an estimated 100,000 Indigenous people have died.
1787 United States Constitution drafted, North America. The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia completes a new framework of government on 17 September 1787, separating power among Congress, the president and the courts. It supersedes the Articles of Confederation on 4 March 1789.
1788 First Fleet lands at Sydney Cove, Oceania. Eleven British ships carrying over 1,400 convicts, marines, sailors and officials arrive at Port Jackson, beginning British colonisation of Australia.
1789 French Revolution, Europe. The storming of the Bastille on 14 July begins the revolution that abolishes feudal privileges and, in 1792, the monarchy.
1791 Haitian Revolution begins, Mesoamerica and Caribbean. Enslaved people in northern Saint-Domingue rise up in August 1791. France abolishes slavery in its colonies in 1794, and after years of war Dessalines declares Haiti independent on 1 January 1804.
1798 Napoleon invades Egypt, North and West Africa. Napoleon defeats the ruling Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids and takes Cairo. The French occupation lasts until 1801, and the Rosetta Stone found during it later allows hieroglyphs to be read.

Central and Southern Africa

Kingdom of Kongo c. 1390 to 1914 CE
Central African forest foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
San hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Khoekhoe herders c. 100 BCE to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Buganda c. 1300 to 1966 CE
Portuguese Mozambique 1505 to 1975 CE
Portuguese Angola 1575 to 1975 CE
Bunyoro-Kitara c. 1575 to 1899 CE
Luba Empire c. 1585 to 1889 CE
Kingdom of Imerina c. 1540 to 1817 CE
Lunda Empire c. 1665 to 1887 CE
Rozvi Empire c. 1683 to 1866 CE
Omani East Africa 1698 to 1856 CE
Dutch Cape Colony 1652 to 1806 CE
East African hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Kikuyu people c. 1200 CE to the present
Tio Kingdom (Anziku) c. 1350 to 1880 CE
Sotho-Tswana chiefdoms c. 1300 to 1830 CE
Nguni chiefdoms c. 1300 to 1820 CE
Kingdom of Nkore (Ankole) c. 1450 to 1967 CE
Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe 1470 to 1975 CE
Xhosa chiefdoms c. 1400 to 1879 CE
Kingdom of Rwanda c. 1500 to 1961 CE
Maravi Confederacy c. 1400 to 1860 CE
Herero pastoralists c. 1450 to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Karagwe c. 1450 to 1890 CE
Maasai pastoralists c. 1600 CE to the present
Comorian sultanates c. 1500 to 1912 CE
Antemoro kingdom c. 1500 to 1890 CE
Kingdom of Loango c. 1550 to 1883 CE
Ovambo kingdoms c. 1600 to 1917 CE
Lozi Kingdom (Barotseland) c. 1650 to 1964 CE
Kingdom of Kasanje c. 1620 to 1910 CE
Kingdom of Burundi c. 1680 to 1966 CE
Kuba Kingdom c. 1625 to 1900 CE
Sakalava kingdoms c. 1600 to 1840 CE
Pedi Kingdom c. 1650 to 1879 CE
Ovimbundu kingdoms c. 1700 to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Kazembe c. 1740 to 1899 CE
Swazi Kingdom c. 1745 to 1903 CE
Betsimisaraka Confederation c. 1712 to 1817 CE
Isle de France (French Mauritius) 1715 to 1810 CE

North and West Africa

Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE
Kingdom of Benin c. 1180 to 1897 CE
Oyo Empire c. 1300 to 1835 CE
Bornu Empire c. 1387 to 1893 CE
Funj Sultanate of Sennar 1504 to 1821 CE
Regency of Algiers 1516 to 1830 CE
Alaouite Sultanate of Morocco 1666 to 1912 CE
Ashanti Empire 1701 to 1901 CE
Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads c. 2300 BCE to the present
Cushitic-speaking peoples c. 2000 BCE to the present
Sahelian cereal farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
West African yam and oil palm farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
Amazigh (Berber) tribes c. 1400 BCE to the present
Coptic Christians c. 300 CE to the present
Saharan camel nomads (Sanhaja and Tuareg) c. 300 CE to the present
Chadic-speaking farmers c. 700 CE to the present
Kingdom of Nri c. 900 to 1911 CE
Arab tribes of Sudan c. 1150 CE to the present
Hausa city-states c. 1000 to 1808 CE
Kwararafa c. 1000 to 1800 CE
Mossi kingdoms c. 1250 to 1896 CE
Hadiya c. 1300 to 1893 CE
Kingdom of Bamum 1394 to 1923 CE
Portuguese Cape Verde 1462 to 1975 CE
Oromo Gadaa confederations c. 1522 CE to the present
Sultanate of Agadez c. 1405 to 1906 CE
Kingdom of Dagbon c. 1400 to 1896 CE
Sultanate of Bagirmi 1522 to 1897 CE
Shilluk Kingdom c. 1490 to 1861 CE
Sultanate of Darfur c. 1550 to 1916 CE
Ottoman Tripolitania 1551 to 1911 CE
Ottoman Egypt 1517 to 1867 CE
Kingdom of Gonja c. 1552 to 1899 CE
Kingdom of Cayor 1549 to 1886 CE
Kaabu 1537 to 1867 CE
Dendi Kingdom 1591 to 1901 CE
Regency of Tunis 1574 to 1881 CE
Kingdom of Dahomey c. 1600 to 1904 CE
French Senegal 1659 to 1960 CE
Wadai Sultanate 1635 to 1912 CE
Aro Confederacy c. 1640 to 1902 CE
Dutch Gold Coast 1612 to 1872 CE
Pashalik of Timbuktu 1591 to 1833 CE
Emirate of Harar 1647 to 1887 CE
Geledi Sultanate c. 1700 to 1911 CE
Sultanate of Aussa 1734 to 1936 CE
Fante Confederacy c. 1680 to 1873 CE
Kong Empire 1710 to 1898 CE
Majeerteen Sultanate c. 1750 to 1927 CE
Imamate of Futa Jallon 1725 to 1896 CE
Bambara Empire of Ségou 1712 to 1861 CE
Isaaq Sultanate 1750 to 1884 CE
Imamate of Futa Toro 1776 to 1861 CE

Europe

Republic of Venice c. 697 to 1797 CE
Holy Roman Empire 962 to 1806 CE
Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE
Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE
Habsburg Monarchy 1526 to 1804 CE
Dutch Republic 1581 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of France (Bourbon) 1589 to 1792 CE
Russian Empire 1721 to 1917 CE
Papal States 756 to 1870 CE
Kingdom of Portugal 1139 to 1910 CE
Kingdom of Bohemia 1198 to 1918 CE
Republic of Genoa c. 1099 to 1797 CE
Grand Duchy of Lithuania c. 1236 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of Naples 1282 to 1816 CE
Crimean Khanate 1441 to 1783 CE
Kingdom of Sweden 1721 CE to the present
Denmark-Norway 1523 to 1814 CE
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1569 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of Prussia 1701 to 1918 CE
Kingdom of Sardinia (Piedmont-Sardinia) 1720 to 1861 CE
Bourbon Spain 1700 to 1808 CE
Kingdom of Great Britain 1707 to 1800 CE
Sami people c. 1000 BCE to the present
Basques c. 500 BCE to the present
County of Flanders 862 to 1795 CE
San Marino c. 1243 CE to the present
Andorra 1278 CE to the present
Bavaria (Wittelsbach) 1180 to 1918 CE
Monaco 1297 CE to the present
Duchy of Brabant 1183 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of Sicily (island) 1282 to 1816 CE
Wallachia 1330 to 1859 CE
Moldavia c. 1346 to 1859 CE
Old Swiss Confederacy 1291 to 1798 CE
Republic of Ragusa 1358 to 1808 CE
Montenegro (Prince-Bishopric to Kingdom) 1516 to 1918 CE
Duchy of Milan 1395 to 1796 CE
Duchy and Grand Duchy of Tuscany 1532 to 1859 CE
British Gibraltar 1713 CE to the present
Liechtenstein 1719 CE to the present
Order of Saint John in Malta 1530 to 1798 CE
Kingdom of Ireland 1542 to 1800 CE
Duchy of Courland and Semigallia 1561 to 1795 CE
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria 1772 to 1918 CE
Austrian Netherlands 1714 to 1797 CE

Middle East

Ottoman Empire 1299 to 1922 CE
Zaydi Imamate of Yemen 897 to 1918 CE
Ottoman Syria and Palestine 1516 to 1918 CE
Ottoman Iraq 1534 to 1920 CE
Emirate of Diriyah 1744 to 1818 CE
Afsharid dynasty 1736 to 1796 CE
Arab Bedouin tribes c. 900 BCE to the present
Kurdish tribes and emirates c. 640 CE to the present
Sharifate of Mecca c. 967 to 1916 CE
Kingdom of Imereti 1260 to 1810 CE
Mahra Sultanate 1432 to 1967 CE
Ottoman Hejaz and Yemen 1517 to 1918 CE
Emirate of Mount Lebanon c. 1516 to 1842 CE
Sheikhdom of Kuwait c. 1752 to 1961 CE
Mamluk dynasty of Iraq 1704 to 1831 CE
Bani Khalid Emirate 1669 to 1796 CE
Omani Empire (Al Bu Said) 1744 to 1856 CE
Erivan Khanate 1747 to 1828 CE
Baku Khanate 1747 to 1806 CE
Ganja Khanate 1747 to 1804 CE
Zand dynasty 1751 to 1794 CE
Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti 1762 to 1801 CE

South Asia

Mughal Empire 1526 to 1857 CE
Ahom Kingdom 1228 to 1826 CE
Kingdom of Mysore c. 1399 to 1950 CE
Kingdom of Kandy 1469 to 1815 CE
Kingdom of Nepal 1768 to 2008 CE
Hyderabad State 1724 to 1948 CE
Maratha Confederacy 1674 to 1818 CE
Company rule in India 1757 to 1858 CE
Durrani Empire 1747 to 1823 CE
Munda-speaking peoples c. 1500 BCE to the present
Tibeto-Burman hill peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Vedda people c. 900 BCE to the present
Kingdom of Mewar c. 728 to 1948 CE
Pashtun tribes c. 1000 CE to the present
Kingdom of Manipur c. 1110 to 1949 CE
Sultanate of the Maldive Islands c. 1153 to 1887 CE
Kingdom of Marwar c. 1226 to 1947 CE
Dimasa Kachari Kingdom c. 1250 to 1832 CE
Twipra Kingdom c. 1400 to 1949 CE
Portuguese Goa 1510 to 1961 CE
Koch dynasty and Cooch Behar 1515 to 1949 CE
Kingdom of Sikkim 1642 to 1975 CE
Bhutan under the Zhabdrung 1616 to 1907 CE
French India 1674 to 1954 CE
Bhopal State 1707 to 1949 CE
Baroda State 1721 to 1949 CE
Jaipur State 1727 to 1949 CE
Travancore 1729 to 1949 CE
Gwalior State 1731 to 1948 CE
Bahawalpur State 1748 to 1955 CE
Thanjavur Maratha kingdom 1675 to 1855 CE
Carnatic Sultanate c. 1692 to 1855 CE
Dutch Ceylon 1640 to 1796 CE
Awadh 1722 to 1856 CE
Kalhora dynasty 1701 to 1783 CE
Sikh Misls c. 1748 to 1799 CE

Central and North Asia

Kazakh Khanate 1465 to 1847 CE
Russian Siberia 1582 to 1917 CE
Khanate of Bukhara 1500 to 1785 CE
Qing rule in Mongolia 1691 to 1911 CE
Qing Xinjiang 1759 to 1912 CE
Yukaghir peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Chukchi, Koryak and Itelmen peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Evenki and Even reindeer herders c. 500 CE to the present
Khanty, Mansi and Samoyedic peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Buryats c. 1200 CE to the present
Turkmen tribes c. 1100 to 1881 CE
Sakha (Yakuts) c. 1250 CE to the present
Khanate of Khiva 1511 to 1920 CE
Russian Far East and Yakutia 1632 to 1917 CE
Kumul Khanate 1696 to 1930 CE
Khanate of Kokand 1709 to 1876 CE

East Asia

Qing dynasty 1636 to 1912 CE
Joseon 1392 to 1897 CE
Ganden Phodrang (Dalai Lama government) 1642 to 1951 CE
Edo period (Tokugawa shogunate) 1603 to 1868 CE
Formosan Austronesian peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Qiang peoples c. 1250 BCE to the present
Ainu c. 1200 CE to the present
Ryukyu Kingdom 1429 to 1879 CE
Portuguese Macau 1557 to 1999 CE
Manchuria under the Qing 1644 to 1907 CE

Southeast Asia

Champa c. 192 to 1832 CE
Bruneian Sultanate c. 1368 to 1888 CE
Sultanate of Sulu c. 1457 to 1915 CE
Aceh Sultanate c. 1496 to 1903 CE
Later Le dynasty 1428 to 1789 CE
Spanish Philippines 1565 to 1898 CE
Johor Sultanate 1528 to 1824 CE
Dutch East India Company (VOC) 1605 to 1799 CE
Konbaung dynasty 1752 to 1885 CE
Philippine Negrito foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi) c. 1800 BCE to the present
Dayak peoples of Borneo c. 1000 BCE to the present
Shan States c. 1215 to 1959 CE
Balinese kingdoms 1343 to 1908 CE
Pattani Sultanate c. 1400 to 1902 CE
Pagaruyung Kingdom 1347 to 1833 CE
Post-Angkor Cambodia 1431 to 1863 CE
Ternate and Tidore sultanates c. 1486 to 1914 CE
Sultanate of Maguindanao c. 1515 to 1899 CE
Mrauk U Kingdom (Arakan) 1429 to 1785 CE
Banten Sultanate 1527 to 1813 CE
Portuguese Timor 1702 to 1975 CE
Trinh lords 1545 to 1787 CE
Nguyen lords 1558 to 1777 CE
Surakarta and Yogyakarta 1755 to 1950 CE
Kingdom of Champasak 1713 to 1904 CE
Kingdom of Luang Phrabang 1707 to 1893 CE
Dutch Malacca 1641 to 1824 CE
Kingdom of Vientiane 1707 to 1828 CE
Thonburi Kingdom 1767 to 1782 CE

North America

United States 1776 CE to the present
Thirteen Colonies 1607 to 1776 CE
Pacific Northwest peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Pueblo peoples (Hopi, Zuni, Rio Grande) c. 1300 CE to the present
Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) c. 1450 CE to the present
Navajo (Diné) c. 1500 CE to the present
Inuit peoples c. 1600 CE to the present
Lakota (Teton Sioux) c. 1700 CE to the present
Rupert's Land (Hudson's Bay Company) 1670 to 1870 CE
Comanche empire (Comancheria) c. 1706 to 1875 CE
Unangan (Aleut) peoples c. 2500 BCE to the present
Dene (Northern Athabaskan) peoples c. 750 BCE to the present
Chumash c. 500 CE to the present
California peoples (Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, Tongva) c. 500 CE to the present
Caddo confederacies c. 800 to 1859 CE
Cree peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Numic peoples (Shoshone, Paiute, Ute) c. 1000 CE to the present
Plains Village tradition c. 900 to 1780 CE
Apache peoples c. 1400 CE to the present
Wichita peoples (Quivira) c. 1450 CE to the present
O'odham peoples c. 1450 CE to the present
Mandan and Hidatsa villages c. 1300 to 1837 CE
Blackfoot Confederacy c. 1600 CE to the present
Beothuk c. 1500 to 1829 CE
Cherokee c. 1500 to 1794 CE
Danish Greenland 1721 to 1979 CE
Spanish Florida 1565 to 1821 CE
Santa Fe de Nuevo México 1598 to 1821 CE
Muscogee (Creek) Confederacy c. 1650 to 1836 CE
Spanish Texas 1690 to 1821 CE
Alta California 1769 to 1821 CE
Spanish Louisiana 1762 to 1801 CE
Province of Quebec 1763 to 1791 CE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

New Spain 1521 to 1821 CE
Spanish Cuba 1511 to 1898 CE
British West Indies 1624 to 1983 CE
Captaincy General of Santo Domingo 1493 to 1821 CE
Colony of Jamaica 1655 to 1962 CE
Captaincy General of Guatemala 1543 to 1821 CE
Saint-Domingue 1697 to 1804 CE
Island Caribs (Kalinago) c. 1200 CE to the present
Zapotec, Mixtec and Mixe peoples c. 1521 CE to the present
Maya peoples (colonial and modern) c. 1524 CE to the present
Yaqui, Mayo and Raramuri peoples c. 1533 CE to the present
Dutch Caribbean 1634 CE to the present
Spanish Puerto Rico 1508 to 1898 CE
Spanish Panama (Castilla de Oro) 1510 to 1821 CE
French Antilles 1635 to 1946 CE
Nueva Vizcaya 1562 to 1821 CE
Mosquito Kingdom c. 1638 to 1894 CE
Danish West Indies 1672 to 1917 CE
Baymen settlement of Belize c. 1650 to 1862 CE

South America

Portuguese Brazil 1500 to 1815 CE
Viceroyalty of Peru 1542 to 1824 CE
Tupi-Guarani peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Mapuche c. 1000 CE to the present
Viceroyalty of New Granada 1717 to 1819 CE
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata 1776 to 1814 CE
Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar) before 3200 BCE to the present
Jê peoples c. 1 CE to the present
Patagonian peoples (Tehuelche, Selk'nam) c. 1 CE to the present
Arawakan peoples of the Amazon c. 1000 CE to the present
Carib peoples of the Guianas c. 1000 CE to the present
Guaraní c. 1000 CE to the present
Charrúa c. 1000 to 1831 CE
Quechua and Aymara peoples c. 1533 CE to the present
French Guiana 1664 CE to the present
Dutch Suriname 1667 to 1975 CE
Araucanía (independent Mapuche lands) 1598 to 1883 CE
Captaincy General of Chile 1541 to 1818 CE
Charcas (Upper Peru) 1559 to 1825 CE
Real Audiencia of Quito 1563 to 1822 CE
Governorate of the Río de la Plata 1536 to 1776 CE
Province of Venezuela 1546 to 1777 CE
State of Maranhão and Grão-Pará 1621 to 1823 CE
Dutch Essequibo, Berbice and Demerara 1616 to 1814 CE
Spanish Malvinas (Puerto Soledad) 1767 to 1811 CE

Oceania

Aboriginal Australian peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Māori iwi c. 1500 CE to the present
Papuan farmers and foragers before 3200 BCE to the present
Kuk Swamp agriculture before 3200 BCE to 1900 CE
Tu'i Tonga Empire c. 950 to 1865 CE
Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Torres Strait Islanders c. 500 BCE to the present
Island Melanesian societies c. 500 BCE to the present
Fijian chiefdoms c. 500 BCE to 1874 CE
Eastern Micronesian islanders c. 200 BCE to the present
Samoan chiefdoms c. 1000 to 1900 CE
Society Islands chiefdoms c. 1000 to 1788 CE
Rapa Nui society c. 1200 to 1888 CE
Hawaiian chiefdoms c. 1200 to 1795 CE
Moriori c. 1500 to 1835 CE
Nahnmwarki chiefdoms of Pohnpei c. 1628 to 1887 CE
Spanish Marianas 1668 to 1898 CE
Macassan trepangers c. 1720 to 1907 CE

Questions

What countries existed in 1776?

The timeline shows 254 states, empires and colonies alive in 1776. Among the most significant: Republic of Venice, Holy Roman Empire, Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Kingdom of Kongo, Mughal Empire and Portuguese Brazil. The full list by region is on this page.

What was happening in the world in 1776?

Within 25 years of 1776, the timeline records Destruction of the Dzungars (1755), Seven Years' War begins (1756), Battle of Plassey (1757), Third Battle of Panipat (1761), Treaty of Paris ends New France (1763) and Fall of Ayutthaya (1767).

Which empires existed in 1776?

Holy Roman Empire, Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Ottoman Empire, Portuguese Empire, Mughal Empire, Habsburg Monarchy, Qing dynasty, Russian Empire, Tu'i Tonga Empire and Oyo Empire.

Where do these dates come from?

Each row's dates were checked against the sources listed on that row's own page, mostly English Wikipedia articles, which cite the underlying scholarship. Dates that are uncertain are marked c.