Timeline: Edith Craxford: The Craxford Family Genealogy Magazine

1793 - 1806 (13 years)

	Date	Event(s)
1	1793	11 Feb 1793: Britain declares war on France (1793-1802) 15 Apr 1793: £5 notes first issued by the Bank of England
2	1794	1794: Abolition of Parish Register duties 6 Oct 1794: The prosecutor for Britain, Lord Justice Eyre, charges reformers with High Treason – he argued that, since reform of parliament would lead to revolution and revolution to executing the King, the desire for reform endangered the King's life and was therefore treasonous
3	1795	1795: The Famine Year 1795: Foundation of the Orange Order 1795: Speenhamland Act proclaims that the Parish is responsible for bringing up the labourer's wage to subsistence level – towards the end of the eighteenth century, the number of poor and unemployed increased dramatically – price increases during the Napoleonic Wars (1793-1815) far outstripped wage rises – many small farmers were bankrupted by the move towards enclosures and became landless labourers – their wages were often pitifully low 1795: Pitt and Grenville introduce "The Gagging Acts" or "Two Bills" (the Seditious Meetings and Treasonable Practices Bills) – outlawed the mass meeting and the political lecture. 1795: Consumption of lime juice made compulsory in Royal Navy
4	1796	1796: Pitt's "Reign of Terror": More treason trials – leading radicals emigrate 1796: Legacy Tax on sums over £20 excluding those to wives, children, parents and grandparents 14 May 1796: Dr Edward Jenner gave first vaccination for smallpox in England
5	1797	1797: England in Crisis, Bank of England suspends cash payments 1797: Mutinies in the British Navy at Spithead and Nore 1797: Tax on newspapers (including cheap, topical journals) increased to repress radical publications 1797: The first copper pennies were produced ('cartwheels') by application of steam power to the coining press 22 Feb 1797: French invade Fishguard, Wales; last time UK invaded; all captured 2 days later 26 Feb 1797: First £1 (and £2) notes issued by Bank of England
6	1798	1798: First planned human experiment with vaccination, to test theories of Edward Jenner Feb 1798: The Irish Rebellion; 100,000 peasants revolt; approximately 25,000 die – Irish Parliament abolished (Feb-Oct) 1 Aug 1798: Battle of the Nile (won by Nelson)
7	1799	1799: Foundation of Royal Military College Sandhurst by the Duke of York 1799: Foundation of the Royal Institution of Great Britain 9 Jan 1799: Pitt brings in 10% income tax, as a wartime financial measure 12 Jul 1799: 'Combination Laws' in Britain against political associations and combinations 15 Jul 1799: "Rosetta Stone" discovered in Egypt, made possible the deciphering (in 1822) of Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
8	1800	1800: Electric light first produced by Sir Humphrey Davy 1800: Use of high pressure steam pioneered by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) 1800: Royal College of Surgeons founded 1800: Herschel discovers infra-red light 1800: Volta makes first electrical battery 2 Jul 1800: Parliamentary union of Great Britain and Ireland
9	1801	1801: Grand Union Canal opens in England 1801: Elgin Marbles brought from Athens to London 1 Jan 1801: Union Jack becomes the official British flag 10 Mar 1801: First census puts the population of England and Wales at 9,168,000. Population of Britain nearly 11 million (75% rural) 24 Dec 1801: Richard Trevithick built the first self-propelled passenger carrying road loco
10	1802	25 Mar 1802: Treaty of Amiens signed by Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands – the "Peace of Amiens," as it was known, brought a temporary peace of 14 months during the Napoleonic Wars – one of its most important cultural effects was that travel and correspondence across the English Channel became possible again
11	1803	1803: Poaching made a Capital offence in England if capture resisted 1803: Richard Trevithick built another steam carriage and ran it in London as the first self-propelled vehicle in the capital and the first London bus 1803: Semaphore signalling perfected by Admiral Popham 30 Apr 1803: Louisiana Purchase: Napoleon sells French possessions in America to United States 12 May 1803: Peace of Amiens ends – resumption of war with France – The Napoleonic Wars (1803-18l5) 23 Jul 1803: First public railway opens (Surrey Iron Railway, 9 miles from Wandsworth to Croydon, horse-drawn)
12	1804	1804: Matthew Flinders recommends that the newly discovered country, New Holland, be renamed "Australia" 21 Feb 1804: Richard Trevithick runs his railway engine on the Penydarren Railway (9.5 miles from Pen-y-Darren to Abercynon in South Wales) – this hauled a train with 10 tons of iron and 70 passengers. It was commemorated by the Royal Mint in 2004 in the form of a £2.00 coin. 3 Mar 1804: John Wedgwood (eldest son of the potter Josiah Wedgwood) founds The Royal Horticultural Society 2 Dec 1804: Napoleon declares himself Emperor of the French 12 Dec 1804: Spain declares war on Britain
13	1805	1805: London docks opened 21 Oct 1805: Admiral Nelson's victory at Trafalgar 2 Dec 1805: Battle of Austerlitz; Napoleon defeats Austrians and Russians
14	1806	1806: Dartmoor Prison opened (built by French prisoners) 9 Jan 1806: Nelson buried in St Paul's cathedral, London

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