1718 in Great Britain

Events

7 January – Religious Worship Act 1718 repeals the Occasional Conformity Act 1711^[1] and Schism Act 1714, restoring some freedoms to dissenters.
21 March – Piracy Act 1717 receives royal assent, providing the punishment of penal transportation (to British North America) as an alternative to a death sentence for lesser crimes.^[2]
30 April – the proper motion of stars is demonstrated by Edmond Halley.^[3]
15 May – James Puckle patents the Puckle Gun.^[4]
2 August – Quadruple Alliance formed between Britain, the Kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic.^[5]
11 August – a British fleet under Admiral Byng defeats a Spanish fleet at the Battle of Cape Passaro, a prelude to the War of the Quadruple Alliance.^[3]
24 November – 'Calico Jack' Rackham becomes captain of the pirate sloop Ranger in The Bahamas.^[6]
17 December – War of the Quadruple Alliance: Britain, the Kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic declare war on Spain.

Marrow Controversy, an ecclesiastical dispute in Scotland, begins.^[7]
Greenwich Hospital receives a Royal Charter (revoked in 1829).^[8]
The Hovering Act makes it illegal for vessels under 50 tons to linger offshore, in an attempt to prevent smuggling.

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Births

18 February – Robert Henry, historian (died 1790)
4 April – Benjamin Kennicott, churchman and Hebrew scholar (died 1783)
7 April – Hugh Blair, preacher and man of letters (died 1800)
17 May – Robert Darcy, 4th Earl of Holderness, diplomat and politician (died 1778)
23 May – William Hunter, anatomist (died 1783)
30 May – Wills Hill, 1st Marquess of Downshire, politician (died 1793)
5 June – Thomas Chippendale, furniture maker (died 1779)
17 June – George Howard, field marshal (died 1796)
5 July – Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, Viceroy of Ireland (died 1794)
31 July – John Canton, physicist (died 1772)
3 November – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, statesman (died 1792)

Deaths

6 January – Richard Hoare, goldsmith and banker (born 1648)
1 February – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, politician (born 1660)
17 February – Charlotte Lee, Countess of Lichfield, heiress (born 1664)
18 February – Peter Anthony Motteux, dramatist and editor, probably murdered (born 1663 in France)
30 July – William Penn, Quaker and founder of the Pennsylvania colony (born 1644)
26 September – William Okeden, politician (born 1662)
22 November – Blackbeard, pirate, killed in action (born c. 1680)
6 December – Nicholas Rowe, poet laureate and dramatist (born 1674)

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Incumbents