January 5 –
Robert-François Damiens makes an unsuccessful assassination attempt on
Louis XV of France, who is slightly wounded by the knife attack. On
March 28 Damiens is publicly executed by burning and dismemberment, the last person in France to suffer this punishment. [1]
February 2 – At
Versailles in
France, representatives of the Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire enter into an alliance against Prussia, with each nation pledging 80,000 troops. [3] Other clauses to the treaty, not disclosed to the public, commit Austria to pay Russia one million
rubles per year during the war to pay for the expenses of 24,000 of the Russian troops, and two million rubles upon the conquest of
Silesia (a Prussian province that had been seized from Austria in 1746). [4]
February 3 – French artist Robert Picault begins the rescue of the
frescoes at the King's Chamber of the
Palace of Fontainebleau before architect Ange-Jacques Gabrel begins renovations. [5]
February 5 – The
Nawab of Bengal,
Siraj ud-Daulah, leads an attempt to retake Calcutta from the British. With just 1,900 soldiers and sailors, but superior cannon power, General Robert Clive forces the Nawab's much larger force into a retreat. The British sustain 194 casualties, but the Bengalis suffer 1,300. [6]
February 9 – The Nawab and General Clive sign the
Treaty of Alinagar, with Bengal compensating the British East India Company for its losses and pledging respect for British control of India. [6]
February 23 – A revolt against the government of King
Joseph I of Portugal takes place in the city of
Oporto. After the riot's suppression, King Joao's minister, the
Marquis of Pombal (
Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo), orders a harsh punishment against the perpetrators. Of 478 people arrested, 442 of them (including 50 women and young boys) are condemned to various sentences carried out in October. [8]
March 14 – British Royal Navy Admiral
John Byng is executed by firing squad on board ship after his court martial conviction for failing in the
Battle of Minorca (1756) to save British troops who had been besieged by a numerically superior French force in the
Siege of Fort St Philip (1756).[9] General Edward Cornwallis, the ranking British Army officer at the battle, is exonerated of charges of dereliction of duty, but his career is ruined. Byng's execution is the origin of the
phrase "In this country, it is wise to kill an admiral from time to time to encourage the others", coined by
Voltaire in his novel Candide.
March 21 –
Sweden signs an alliance treaty with
France and
Austria in the multinational effort to remove King
Frederick the Great, even though Queen Consort Ulrika of Sweden is Frederick's sister. Sweden agrees to contribute 25,000 troops to the French and Austrian force. [4]
April 6 –
William Pitt is dismissed from the government, following several military reverses in Britain's fight against France in America. After a public outcry, Pitt is called back to conduct Britain's foreign and military affairs and given greater control. [13]
In the wake of public unrest in
France, the King's Council issues a decree that bars anyone from writing, printing anything that would tend toward émouvoir les esprits (stir up popular sentiment) against the government, with violations punishable by death. [15]
April 29 – Inside a house at
Stratford-upon-Avon in England, a bricklayer, identified only as "Mosely", discovers the testament of
John Shakespeare, father of
William Shakespeare, more than 150 years after the elder's death. The finding, done while Mosely is re-tiling the roof of what is now called
Shakespeare's Birthplace, starts "what remains one of the most controversial topics in Shakespeare studies" because of disagreements over its authenticity. [17]
May 1 –
France and
Austria sign a second treaty of alliance at Versailles, committing France to sending an additional 105,000 troops to the war against Prussia, and to pay expenses to Austria at the rate of 12 million florins annually. [4]
The 1755 rebellion against the
Chinese Empire by Mongolian
Oirat Prince
Amursana is met by a Chinese army of 10,000 attackers against Amursana's 2,500 man force at their capital at
Bor Tal. The rebels are able to hold out for 17 days before being routed. [18]
July 17 – Amursana's Mongolian rebellion against the Chinese Empire is crushed after a battle of 17 days, and the survivors flee to Russia, where Amursana unsuccessfully seeks Russian aid. [18]
September 6 – The life of
Najib ad-Dawlah is spared by
Raghunathrao upon the intercession of General
Malhar Rao Holkar. Najib and his family are permitted to leave the Fort along with most of their property, and the Emperor
Alamgir II is restored to the Mughal throne as a nominal ruler. [19]
September 13 –
Pomeranian War: a column of troops from
Sweden begins the surprise invasion of
Prussia, setting up a
pontoon bridge across the
Peene River that marks the boundary between
Swedish Pomerania and northern Prussia. After crossing at
Loitz in the early morning hours, the troops march 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) and begin the occupation of the undefended Prussian town of
Demmin. Hours later, another Swedish infantry regiment charges across the border into the Prussian town of
Anklam, where the city gate had been left open. [22]
October 4 – Bearing British flags, two French
privateers sail up the
Gambia River and attempt to capture the British fort on
James Island, but their ruse is discovered the next day before they can stage their attack. The two ships are captured by the Royal Navy after retreating [24]
October 14 – Of the 442 men, women and children who are convicted for their roles in the
Oporto riot in February, 13 men and one woman are hanged; afterward, their bodies are then quartered and the severed limbs are publicly displayed on spikes. Another 49 men and 10 women are exiled at Portuguese colonies in Africa and India, and the others are either flogged, imprisoned or pressed into service rowing
galley ships. [8]
October 24 –
1757 Hajj caravan raid: Led by
Bedouin warriors of the
Beni Sakhr tribe conducts a massive assault against a caravan of thousands of Muslim travelers who are on their way back to
Damascus after the
Hajj, the pilgrimage to
Mecca. The attack, made at Hallat Ammar after the group has been resupplied at
Tabuk, leads to the annihilation of 20,000 of the pilgrims. Those who are not killed outright die later in the desert from thirst and starvation. [25] According to one Arabic source, the largest attack takes place on 10 Safar 1171 A.H. (October 24, 1757)
December 5 –
Seven Years' War –
Battle of Leuthen: Frederick defeats Prince Charles's Austrian army, in what is generally considered the Prussian king's greatest tactical victory.
Robert Wood publishes The ruins of Balbec, otherwise Heliopolis in Coelosyria in English and French, making the ancient city of
Baalbek,
Syria known to the West.