Editing 1778 (section)

== Events ==
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=== January&ndash;March ===
* [[January 18]] &ndash; [[Third voyage of James Cook]]: [[Sea captain|Captain]] [[James Cook]], with ships [[HMS Resolution (1771)|HMS ''Resolution'']] and [[HMS Discovery (1774)|HMS ''Discovery'']], first views [[Oahu|Oʻahu]] then [[Kauai|Kauaʻi]] in the [[Hawaiian Islands]] of the Pacific Ocean, which he names the ''Sandwich Islands''.
* [[February 5]] &ndash; In the United States:
**[[South Carolina]] becomes the first state to ratify the [[Articles of Confederation]]. 
**General [[John Cadwalader (general)|John Cadwalader]] shoots and seriously wounds Major General [[Thomas Conway]] in a duel after a dispute between the two officers over Conway's continued criticism of General [[George Washington]]'s leadership of the [[Continental Army]].<ref name="Harper1778">''Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History from 458 A. D. to 1909'', ed. by Benson John Lossing and, Woodrow Wilson (Harper & Brothers, 1910) p166</ref>
* [[February 6]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: In Paris, the [[Treaty of Alliance (1778)|Treaty of Alliance]] and the [[Treaty of Amity and Commerce (United States–France)|Treaty of Amity and Commerce]] are signed by the United States and France, signaling official French recognition of the new republic.
* [[February 23]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben]] arrives at [[Valley Forge]], [[Pennsylvania]] and begins to train the American troops.
* [[March 6]]&ndash;[[October 24]] &ndash; [[James Cook|Captain Cook]] explores and maps the [[Pacific Northwest]] coast of North America, from [[Cape Foulweather]] ([[Oregon]]) to the [[Bering Strait]].
* [[March 10]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[George Washington]] approves the dishonorable discharge of Lieutenant [[Frederick Gotthold Enslin]], for "attempting to commit sodomy, with John Monhort a soldier".

=== April&ndash;June ===
* [[April 7]] &ndash; Former British Prime Minister [[William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham|William Pitt]] delivers his last speech to Parliament, and speaks to the House of Lords "passionately but incoherently against the granting of independence" to the American colonies, but collapses during the debate, and dies five weeks later.<ref>"Pitt, William (The Elder; Earl of Chatham)", by Philip Woodfine, in ''British Political Leaders: A Biographical Dictionary'', ed. by [[Keith Laybourn]] (ABC-CLIO, 2001) p264</ref> 
* [[April 12]] &ndash; King George III appoints the five-member [[Carlisle Peace Commission]] to present peace terms to negotiate an end to the rebellion of Britain's 13 American colonies.<ref>Barry Alan Shain, ''The Declaration of Independence in Historical Context'' (Yale University Press, 2014) p657</ref>
* [[April 30]] &ndash; The {{convert|1800|ft}} long [[Hudson River Chain]], designed to prevent British ships from moving up the river toward [[West Point, New York]] is stretched across the river and anchored by an engineering team under the direction of Captain Thomas Machin.<ref>Raymond C. Houghton, ''A Revolutionary War Road Trip on US Route 9'' (Cyber Haus, 2003) pp37-38</ref> 
* [[May 12]] &ndash; [[Heinrich XI, Prince Reuss of Greiz]] is elevated to [[Prince]] of the [[Principality of Reuss-Greiz]] by [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor]]. This year sees the first appearance of the modern-day [[national colors of Germany]] on a flag that closely resembles the modern [[flag of Germany]], to occur [[Thuringia|anywhere within]] modern-day Germany.
* [[May 30]] &ndash; [[Benedict Arnold]] signs the [[Oath of Allegiance (United States)|U.S. Oath of Allegiance]] at [[Valley Forge]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ushistory.org/ValleyForge/served/arnold.html|title=Benedict Arnold|website=www.ushistory.org}}</ref>
* [[June 24]] &ndash; A total [[Solar eclipse of June 24, 1778|solar eclipse]] takes place across parts of North America, from [[Texas]] to [[Virginia]].
* [[June 28]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Battle of Monmouth]] &ndash; [[George Washington]]'s [[Continental Army]] battles British general [[Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)|Sir Henry Clinton]]'s army to a draw, near [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]].
* [[June]] &ndash; The [[Anglo-French War (1778–83)]] begins.

=== July&ndash;September ===
* [[July 3]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: The [[Battle of Wyoming]] takes place near [[Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania]], ending in a terrible defeat for the local colonists.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Harrison Wick|author2=Luzerne Country Historical Society|title=Luzerne County|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gYPlqdCp2nEC&pg=PA101|year=2011|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-7378-6|pages=101}}</ref>
* [[July 4]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[George Rogers Clark]] [[Illinois campaign|takes Kaskaskia]].
* [[July 10]] &ndash; [[Louis XVI of France]] declares war on the [[Kingdom of Great Britain]].
* [[July 26]] &ndash; In the Russian Empire, the forced [[Emigration of Christians from the Crimea (1778)|emigration of Christians from the Crimea]] to [[Pryazovia]] begins.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beketov |first=V. M. |title=Регіональне і загальне в історії: Тези міжнародної наукової конференції, присвяченої 140-річчю від дня народження Д.І.Яворницького та 90-літтю XIII Археологічного з'їзду (9 листопада 1995 р.). |publisher=[[Institute of History of Ukraine]] |year=1995 |isbn=5-7707-8671-X |location=Dnipro |pages=262–264 |language=uk |trans-title=Regional and general in history: Abstracts from the international scientific conference dedicated to the 140th anniversary of the birth of D.I. Yavornytsky and the 90th anniversary of the XIII Archaeological Congress (9 November 1995) |contribution=З історії переселення греків з Криму на Маріупольщину: Митрополит Ігнатій (Газадінов) |access-date=13 March 2023 |contribution-url=http://new.museum.dp.ua/uk/article0564.html |via=[[Dmytro Yavornytsky National Historical Museum of Dnipropetrovsk]] |trans-contribution=From the history of the relocation of the Greeks from the Crimea to the Mariupol region: Metropolitan Ignatius (Gazadinov) |contributor-last=Kozina |contributor-first=N. I.}}</ref>
* [[July 27]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Battle of Ushant (1778)|First Battle of Ushant]] &ndash; [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] and French fleets fight to a standoff.
* [[August 3]] &ndash; The [[La Scala]] Opera House opens in [[Milan]], with the première of [[Antonio Salieri]]'s ''[[Europa riconosciuta]]''. 
* [[August 26]] &ndash; [[Triglav]], at {{convert|2,864|m|ft}} above sea level the highest peak of [[Slovenia]], is ascended for the first time by four men: Luka Korošec, Matevž Kos, Štefan Rožič, and Lovrenc Willomitzer, on [[Sigmund Zois]]' initiative.
* [[August 29]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: The tactically inconclusive [[Battle of Rhode Island]] takes place, after which the [[Continental Army]] abandons its position on [[Aquidneck Island]].
* [[September]] &ndash; The ''[[Massachusetts Banishment Act]]'', providing punishment for [[Loyalist (American Revolution)|Loyalists]], is passed.
* [[September 7]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Invasion of Dominica (1778)|Invasion of Dominica]] &ndash; The French capture the British fort there, before the latter is aware that France has entered the war in the [[Franco-American alliance]]. 
* [[September 17]] &ndash; The [[Treaty of Fort Pitt]] is signed, the first formal treaty between the United States and a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] tribe (the [[Lenape]] or Delaware).
* [[September 19]] &ndash; The [[Continental Congress]] passes the first [[United States federal budget|budget of the United States]].

=== October&ndash;December ===
* [[October 12]] &ndash; The Continental Congress advises the 13 member states to suppress "theatrical entertainments, horse-racing, gaming, and such other diversions as are productive of idleness, dissipation, and general depravity of principles and manners."<ref name="Harper1778"/>
[[File:KahakuloaHead sml.jpg|thumb|right| [[November 26]]: [[James Cook|Captain Cook]] lands on [[Maui]].]]
* [[November 11]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Cherry Valley massacre]] &ndash; British forces and their Iroquois allies attack a fort and the village of Cherry Valley, New York, killing 14 soldiers and 30 civilians.
* [[November 26]]
**In the [[Hawaiian Islands]], Captain [[James Cook]] becomes the first European to land on [[Maui]].
**[[New Jersey]] becomes the second state to agree to the [[Articles of Confederation]].<ref name="Harper1778"/>
* [[December 10]] &ndash; [[John Jay]] of New York is chosen as the sixth [[President of the Continental Congress]].<ref name="Harper1778"/>
* [[December 29]] &ndash; [[American Revolutionary War]]: [[Capture of Savannah]] &ndash; British forces under [[Archibald Campbell (British Army officer, born 1739)|Archibald Campbell]] take the city of [[Savannah, Georgia]].

=== Undated ===
* The first [[colonisation|settlement]] is made in the area of modern-day [[Louisville, Kentucky]], by 13 families under [[Colonel]] [[George Rogers Clark]].
* [[Phillips Academy]] is founded in Massachusetts by Samuel Phillips Jr.
* The term ''[[thoroughbred]]'' is first used in the United States, in an advertisement in a [[Kentucky]] [[gazette]], to describe a [[New Jersey]] stallion called Pilgarlick.
* [[Thomas Kitchin]]'s ''The Present State of the West-Indies: Containing an Accurate Description of What Parts Are Possessed by the Several Powers in Europe'' is published in London.<ref name="WDL">{{cite web |url = http://www.wdl.org/en/item/4397/ |title = The Present State of the West-Indies: Containing an Accurate Description of What Parts Are Possessed by the Several Powers in Europe |website = [[World Digital Library]] |year = 1778 |access-date = 2013-08-30 }}</ref>
* The city of [[Ulaanbaatar]] is settled at its present location, having functioned as a mobile monastic settlement since 1639.</onlyinclude>