The American War of Independence begins
April 19, 1775
Jane is born.
DECEMBER 16, 1775
[1783] The Treaty of Paris is signed, formally ending the American War of Independence
Manchester opens its first cotton mill.
[1783] Jane begins her education.
[1787] Britain begins shipping convicts to the penal colony in Australia
Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade is formed in Britain.
Freed slaves from London establish Freetown.
[1787] Jane begins to write short stories and poems that later are collectively referred to as the Juvenilia.
[1788] Scottish geologist James Hutton theorizes “deep time”
King George III’s mental health begins to decline.
[1789] The French Revolution begins
The Women’s March on Versailles – Parisian women, unable to buy bread, march to Versailles and bring the royal family back to Paris.
[1790] Jane writes Love and Friendship
[1791] The Haitian Revolution begins
[1793] Former King Louis XVI of France and his wife Marie Antoinette are executed.
France declares war on England
[1794] Jane writes Lady Susan
[1794] James Lackington opens The Temple of Muses in London.
France abolishes slavery in its colonies.
[1795] George III is attacked by a hungry mob.
[1796] Peace negotiations between Britain and France fail.
[1796] Jane begins writing First Impressions which would later become Pride and Prejudice
[1796] The lithograph is invented
Rudolph Ackermann opens a a print and picture emporium in London called Repository of Arts.
[1796] Jane completes her formal education.
[1797] Jane finishes writing First Impressions.
Jane’s father George Austen unsuccessfully tries to get First Impressions published.
Jane and her sister Cassandra visit their brother James in Bath.
[1798] The Society of United Irishmen rebel against British rule in Ireland.
[1798] Jane begins writing Susan (Northanger Abbey)
[1799] Napoleon organizes a coup and becomes First Consul of France.
[1799] Austen finishes writing Northanger Abbey
[1800] Food riots in Britain provoked by scarcity and soaring prices during Napoleon’s continental blockade of Britain.
[1801] The Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merge to form the United Kingdom.
Napoleon signs the Concordat of 1801 with the Pope.
Cairo falls to the British.
[1802] Harris Bigg-Wither unexpectedly proposes to Jane Austen; she accepts. The very next day she withdraws the acceptance and leaves for Bath.
[1803] Napoleon breaks The Peace of Amiens treaty; The Napoleonic Wars begin.
[1803] Austen sells copyright for Susan (Northanger Abbey) to Benjamin Crosby, a London publisher, for £10
Jane’s brother Henry and his wife Eliza are nearly trapped in France as war breaks out.
[1804] Haiti gains independence from France and becomes the first black republic.
Napoleon crowns himself Emperor of the French.
First steam locomotive begins operation in Britain.
[1804] Jane Austen’s long-time friend, Mrs. Anne Lefroy of Ashe is killed in a riding accident.
[1805] The Battle of Trafalgar eliminates the French and Spanish naval fleets and allows for British dominance of the seas, a major factor for the success of the British Empire later in the century.
Napoleon defeats an Austrian-Russian army at the Battle of Austerlitz.
[1805] George Austen (Jane’s father) dies suddenly in Bath.
[1806] Britain reoccupies the Cape of Good Hope.
[1807] Britain declares the Slave Trade illegal.
[1809] Austen attempts to pressure Crosby to publish Susan. She does not succeed. Crosby gives Jane the option to either keep waiting or purchase back the copyright for the novel. Without the means to do so, Jane cannot purchase back the copyright.
[1809] Ackermann begins publishing Ackermann’s Repository of Arts
[1810] Cassandra sketches Jane’s portrait.
Sense and Sensibility is accepted for publication by Thomas Egerton in London
[1811] George, Prince of Wales becomes Prince Regent.
[1811] Jane stays with her brother Henry in London.
Sense and Sensibility is published anonymously.
Jane begins revising First Impressions, later published as Pride and Prejudice
[1812] The U.S. declares war on Britain, starting the War of 1812.
Napoleon invades Russia and is defeated.
[1812] The copyright to First Impressions (Pride and Prejudice) is sold to Thomas Egerton for publication for the sum of 110 pounds.
[1813] Pride and Prejudice is published anonymously.
Jane finishes Mansfield Park.
[1814] Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
Anglo-Nepalese War begins between Nepal (Gurkha Empire) and the British Empire.
The Treaty of Ghent ends war between the United States and Britain
[1814] Mansfield Park published anonymously.
[1815] The Congress of Vienna redraws the European map. It marks the beginning of a Pax Britannica during which the British Empire became the global hegemonic power and adopted the role of a “global policeman”. This lasts until 1914.
[1815] Jane begins working on Persuasion.
She moves to London to nurse her brother Henry.
Jane visits the Prince Regent’s Library at Carlton House; He invites her to dedicate a future work to him.
[1815] Napoleon escapes exile and beings the War of the Seventh Coalition.
Duke of Wellington defeats Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.
The Treaty of Paris, officially ending Napoleonic wars and Napoleon is exiled to St. Helena.
Mount Tambora erupts, becoming the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The eruption created global climate anomalies known as “volcanic winter”.
[1815] Jane publishes Emma in December, dedicating it to the Prince Regent.
[1816] Jane begins to feel ill.
Henry buys back manuscript of Susan. Jane revises it as Catharine, intending to publish it.
Persuasion is revised and finished.
[1816] Riots begin in the manufacturing districts in Britain.
[1817] Jane begins work on a new novel (later published as Sanditon).
Jane Austen dies early in the morning on July 18.
Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are finally published together by John Murray along with Henry’s “Biographical Notice of the Author” identifying for the first time that Jane Austen is the author of these works.
[1817] Princess Charlotte Augusta of Wales dies during childbirth, beginning a crisis of succession.
Jane's Repository 