1788 - Political Events

Political Events

The Parlement at Paris presents Louis XVI with a list of grievances as the country suffers its worst economic chaos of the century. Naval hero Admiral de Grasse, marquis de Grasse-tilly, has died at Le Barr, outside Paris, January 11 at age 65, and France is in turmoil. Louis recalls Swiss banker Jacques Necker, 55, as minister of finance, making him secretary general and virtual premier as drought reduces the harvest and wheat prices soar. Grain reserves are depleted as a result of last year's edict permitting grain producers to sell without restriction, but finance minister Jacques Necker suspends grain exports. He requires that all grain be sold in the open market once again to allay suspicions that the endless line of heavy carts seen to be carrying grain and flour are bound for ports to be shipped abroad. Most Frenchmen remain convinced that the king has an interest in the Malisset Company, which he has entrusted with victualling Paris, and that the king and the aristocracy are profiting at the people's expense. Hungry peasants and townspeople seize wagons in transit even when escorted in large convoys, farmers resist bringing their grain to market lest it be commandeered, and people starve. Necker's wife, Suzanne (née Curchod), 48, was engaged to the English historian Edward Gibbon before his father broke off the match in 1758 (they have remained friends), and since her marriage in 1764 she has helped her husband in his career with her brilliant Paris salon. The king (or Necker) calls upon the Estates General to assemble in May of next year for the first time since its dissolution in 1615 (see 1789). Admiral Pierre André de Suffren de Saint-Tropez dies at Paris December 8 at age 59, having gained fame for the innovative strategems that he has devised for defeating British men of war off the coasts of India and Ceylon from 1782 to 1783.

Sweden's Gustav III demands the return of Karelia and Finland from Russia, declares war in June with British diplomatic support, and invades Russian Finland, beginning a 2-year conflict that will end with Finland and Karelia still in Russian hands (see 1790).

Russia's war with the Ottoman Empire gains support from Austria, which joins with Catherine the Great under terms of a 1781 alliance treaty and declares war on the Turks. Bohemian-born Austrian soldier Joseph Wenzel Radetzky, 22, get his first taste of battle to begin a brilliant military career.

The 44-year-old Albanian brigand Tepelenë Ali uses murder, intrigue, and lavish gifts to gain appointment from Constantinople as governor (pasha) of Janina, a position that he will use to install his sons as governors of Trikkala, the Morea, and Lepanto as he increases his personal wealth through extortion. The British and French will treat him virtually as an independent monarch (but see 1819).

The Young Pretender Charles Edward "Bonnie Prince Charlie" Stuart dies at his native Rome January 31 at age 67, having long since alienated his friends by his drunken debaucheries. The Young Pretender's 62-year-old brother Henry Cardinal Stuart is archbishop of Frascati and proclaims himself Henry IX, but although he gains some support for his Jacobite claim to the throne he will soon lose all his property in Italy.

Spain's Carlos III dies at Madrid December 14 at age 72 after an enlightened reign of 29 years in which he has encouraged trade and industry, suppressed lawlessness, constructed roads and canals, improved sanitation, and supported the American colonists. Greatest of the Spanish Bourbons, he is succeeded not by his firstborn son (an epileptic imbecile who is set aside) but rather by his slothful 40-year-old second son, who will reign until 1808 as Carlos IV.

The trial of Warren Hastings begins in London's Westminster Hall February 13 (see 1784). He has been impeached at the bar of the House of Lords on charges of "high crimes and misdemeanors" (playwright Richard B. Sheridan has delivered a 5½-hour speech favoring impeachment), and the case against him is handled by House of Commons members who include Edmund Burke, Charles James Fox, and Charles Grey. Few of his critics have ever set foot in India, but Burke calls Hastings, "The captain-general of iniquity—thief—tyrant—robber—cheat—sharper—swindler. We call him these names, and are sorry the English language does not afford terms adequate to the enormity of his offences" (see 1795).

Delhi is seized by the Ghulam Qadir, chief of the warlike Afghan tribes (Rohillas) who have settled in India; unable to find the Mughal imperial treasury, the Rohillas vent their frustration by blinding the Mughal emperor Shah Alam II, who is given sanctuary by the Maratha chief Sindhia.

A Chinese army invades Vietnam, whose Later Le dynasty was ended last year. A peasant army headed by Nguyen Hue of the Tay Son brothers opposes the invaders, who will be defeated next year and forced to withdraw (see 1793).

Former North Carolina colonial governor William Tryon dies at London January 27 at age 58, having served also as governor of the New York colony.

The United States Constitution becomes operative June 21 as New Hampshire ratifies the Constitution by a vote of 57 to 47, becoming the ninth state to ratify. Georgia has ratified January 2, Connecticut January 9, Massachusetts February 6. Federalist Paper No. 51 has appeared February 8 (see 1787): written by James Madison, it has said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary." Maryland has ratified the Constitution April 28, and South Carolina May 23 to become states of the Union. Massachusetts has become the sixth state of the Union by a 19-vote margin, with former Shays rebels among the 168 who opposed ratification, but an economic upsurge has quieted unrest in the commonwealth. Virginia and New York ratify June 25 and July 26, respectively, New York by a vote of 30 to 27 as Federalists win a razor-thin majority. Former Virginia House of Delegates member John Taylor, 34, has bitterly opposed ratification, arguing that the Constitution gives far too much power to the central government.

Observations on the New Constitution and on the Federal Union by "A Columbian Patriot" expresses the anti-Federalist views of Mercy Otis Warren, now close to 60, who would have preferred "a union of the states on the free principles of the late Confederation"; Récherches historiques et politiques sur les Etats-Unis de l'Amérique septentrionale (four volumes) by Italian physician-merchant Philip Mazzei, now 57, who was an ardent supporter of the War of Independence (his work is published at Paris).