Editing 1807 (section)

== Events ==

=== January–March ===
*[[January 7]] – The [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] issues an [[Orders in Council (1807)|Order in Council]] prohibiting British ships from trading with France or its allies.<ref>William S. Dudley, ed. ''The Naval War of 1812: A Documentary History'' (Naval Historical Center, 1985) p34</ref>
*[[January 20]] – The [[Sierra Leone Company]], faced with [[bankruptcy]] because of the imminent [[Abolitionism in the United Kingdom|abolition of the slave trade in British colonies]], petitions the British government for purchase and transfer of its property to the Crown; Parliament approves the transfer on July 29, and it takes effect on January 1, 1808.<ref>Stephen Tomkins, ''The Clapham Sect: How Wilberforce's Circle Transformed Britain'' (Lion Books, 2012) p200</ref>
*[[February 3]] – [[Napoleonic Wars]] and [[Anglo-Spanish War (1796–1808)|Anglo-Spanish War]]: [[Battle of Montevideo (1807)|Battle of Montevideo]] – The British Army captures [[Montevideo]] from the [[Spanish Empire]], as part of the [[British invasions of the Río de la Plata]].
*[[February 7]] – [[Napoleon]] leads the forces of the [[First French Empire|French Empire]] in an invasion of the [[Russian Empire]], and begins fighting at the [[Battle of Eylau]] against Russian and [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussian]] forces.<ref>William Hodgson, ''The Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Once Emperor of the French, who Died in Exile, at St. Helena, After a Captivity of Six Years' Duration'' (Orlando Hodgson, 1841) p384</ref>
*[[February 8]] – [[Battle of Eylau]]: [[Napoleon]] fights a hard but inconclusive battle against the Russians under [[Levin August, Count von Bennigsen|Bennigsen]].
*[[February 10]] – The Survey of the Coast (renamed the United States Coast Survey in 1836 and the [[United States Coast and Geodetic Survey]] in 1878) is established; work begins on August 3, 1816.
*[[February 17]] – [[Henri Christophe|Henry Christopher]] is elected first President of the [[State of Haiti]], ruling the northern part of the country.
*[[February 19]] – [[Burr conspiracy]]: In [[Alabama]], former Vice President of the United States [[Aaron Burr]] is tried for conspiracy, but acquitted.
*[[February 23]] – The [[Slave Trade Act 1807|Slave Trade Act]] is passed in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom]] by an overwhelming majority.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.brycchancarey.com/abolition/wilberforce.htm|title=William Wilberforce (1759–1833)|access-date=2021-01-18}}</ref>
*[[March 2]] – The [[United States Congress]] passes the [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves]] "into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States ... from any foreign kingdom, place, or country" (to take effect January 1, 1808).
*[[March 25]]
** The United Kingdom [[Slave Trade Act 1807|Slave Trade Act]] becomes law abolishing the [[History of slavery|slave trade]] in most of the [[British Empire]]<ref name="BBC Slave">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/|title=Abolition of the Slave Trade 1807|publisher=[[BBC]]|access-date=2007-09-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011120129/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/|archive-date=2007-10-11}}</ref> with effect from 1 May (slavery itself is abolished in British colonies in 1833).
** The [[Swansea and Mumbles Railway]] in South Wales, at this time known as the [[Oystermouth Railway]], becomes the first passenger-carrying railway in the world.
*[[March 29]] – [[Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers|H. W. Olbers]] discovers the [[asteroid]] [[4 Vesta|Vesta]].

=== April–June ===
*[[April 4]]–[[April 12|12]] – [[Froberg mutiny]]: The British suppress a mutiny at [[Fort Ricasoli]], [[Malta]], by men of the irregularly-recruited Froberg Regiment.
*[[April 14]] – [[African Institution]] holds its first meeting in London; it is intended to improve social conditions in Sierra Leone.
*[[May 22]] – A [[grand jury]] indicts former Vice President of the United States [[Aaron Burr]] for [[treason]].
*[[May 24]] – [[Siege of Danzig (1807)|Siege of Danzig]] ends after 6 weeks with Prussian and Russian defenders capitulating to French forces.
*[[May 29]] – [[Selim III]], [[Ottoman Emperor]] since 1789, is deposed in favour of his nephew [[Mustafa IV]].
*[[May 31]] – [[Primitive Methodism]] originates in an All Day of Prayer at [[Mow Cop]], in the north midlands of England.<ref>{{cite book|last=Farndale|first=W. E.|title=The Secret of Mow Cop: a new appraisal of the origins of Primitive Methodism|publisher=Epworth Press|location=London|year=1950}}</ref>
*[[June 9]] – The [[William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland|Duke of Portland]] is chosen as Prime Minister after the [[1807 United Kingdom general election|United Kingdom general election]].
*[[June 10]] – The [[Battle of Heilsberg]] ends in a draw.
*[[June 14]] – [[Battle of Friedland]]: [[Napoleon]] decisively defeats [[Levin August, Count von Bennigsen|Bennigsen]]'s Russian army.
*[[June 22]] – [[Chesapeake–Leopard affair|''Chesapeake''–''Leopard'' affair]]: British [[Royal Navy]] [[fourth rate]] {{HMS|Leopard|1790|6}} attacks and boards [[United States Navy]] [[frigate]] [[USS Chesapeake (1799)|USS ''Chesapeake'']] off [[Norfolk, Virginia]], seeking [[Desertion|deserters]]. This act of British aggression plays a role in the run-up to the War of 1812.

=== July–September ===
*[[July 5]] – A disastrous British attack is mounted against [[Buenos Aires]], during the second failed [[British invasions of the Río de la Plata#Second invasion - 1807|invasion]] of the [[Río de la Plata]].
*[[July 7]]–[[July 9|9]] – The [[Treaties of Tilsit]] are signed between France, Prussia and Russia. [[Napoleon]] and Russian Emperor [[Alexander I of Russia|Alexander I]] ally together against the British. The Prussians are forced to cede more than half their territory, which is formed into the [[Duchy of Warsaw]] in their former Polish lands, and the [[Kingdom of Westphalia]] in western Germany. The [[Free City of Danzig (Napoleonic)|Free City of Danzig]] is also formed (established September 9 by Napoleon).
*[[July 13]] – With the death of [[Henry Benedict Stuart]], the last [[House of Stuart|Stuart]] claimant to the throne of the United Kingdom, [[Jacobitism]] comes to an effective end.
*[[July 20]] – [[Nicéphore Niépce]] is awarded a patent by [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] for the [[Pyréolophore]], the world's first [[internal combustion engine]], after it successfully powers a boat upstream on the river [[Saône]] in France.
*[[August 17]] – The ''[[North River Steamboat]]'', [[Robert Fulton]]'s first American [[steamboat]], leaves New York City for [[Albany, New York|Albany]] on the [[Hudson River]], inaugurating the first commercial steamboat service in the world.
*[[September 1]] – Former U.S. Vice President [[Aaron Burr]] is acquitted of [[treason]]. He had been accused of plotting to annex parts of [[Louisiana]] and Mexico, to become part of an independent republic.
*[[September 2]]–7 – [[Battle of Copenhagen (1807)|Battle of Copenhagen]]: The British [[Royal Navy]] bombards [[Copenhagen]] with fire bombs and phosphorus rockets, to prevent the [[Dano-Norwegian navy]] from surrendering to [[Napoleon]]; 30% of the city is destroyed, and 2,000 citizens are killed.
*[[September 7]] – [[Robert Morrison (missionary)|Robert Morrison]], the first [[Protestant]] [[missionary]] to China, arrives in [[Guangzhou]] (Canton).<ref>"Sketch of the Canton Protestant Mission", by Rev. John Chalmers, in ''The Chinese Recorder and Missionary Journal'', Volume 7 (American Presbyterian Mission Press, 1876) p174</ref>
*[[September 13]] – Beethoven's [[Mass in C major (Beethoven)|Mass in C major]], [[Opus number|Op]]. 86, is premiered, commissioned by [[Nikolaus I, Prince Esterházy]], and displeasing him.<ref>{{cite AV media notes | last = Marston | first = Nicholas | url = http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/notes/55263-B.pdf | title = Beethoven: Mass in C major, Op. 86 | publisher = [[Hyperion Records]] | type = CD | id = CDH55263 | date = 2006 | access-date = 15 May 2015}}</ref>
*[[September 27]] – Napoleon purchases the [[Scipione Borghese|Borghese]] [[Borghese Collection|art collection]], including the [[Antinous Mondragone]], and brings it to Paris.<ref>Francis Haskell and Nicholas Penny, ''Taste and the Antique: The Lure of Classical Sculpture, 1500-1900'' (Yale University Press, 1982) p281</ref>

=== October–December ===
*[[October 9]] – [[Prussian Reform Movement (1806–1815)|Prussian Reform Movement]]: [[Serfdom]] is abolished by the October edict.
*[[October 13]] – The [[Geological Society of London]] is founded.
*[[October 30]] – [[El Escorial Conspiracy]]: [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand, Prince of Asturias]] is arrested for conspiring against his father [[Charles IV of Spain]].
*[[November 24]] – [[Battle of Abrantes]], Portugal: The French under [[Jean-Andoche Junot]] take the town.
*[[November 29]] – Portuguese Queen [[Maria I of Portugal|Maria I]] and the [[Court (royal)|Court]] embark at [[Lisbon]], bound for Brazil. [[Rio de Janeiro]] becomes the Portuguese capital.
*[[December 5]]–11 – Napoleonic Wars: [[Raid on Griessie]] – A British Royal Navy squadron attacks the Dutch port of [[Gresik|Griessie]] on [[Java]] in the [[Dutch East Indies]], eliminating the last Dutch naval force in the Pacific and concluding the [[Java campaign of 1806–1807]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Clowes|first=William Laird|author-link=William Laird Clowes|year=1997|orig-year=1900|title=The Royal Navy: A History from the Earliest Times to 1900|volume=V|publisher=Chatham Publishing|isbn=1-86176-014-0}}</ref>
*[[December 17]] – Napoleonic Wars: France issues the [[Milan Decree]] which confirms the [[Continental System]] (i.e. no European country is to trade with the United Kingdom).
*[[December 22]] – The [[United States Congress]] passes the [[Embargo Act of 1807|Embargo Act]], a trade [[embargo]] on all foreign nations.

=== Approximate date ===
*[[Battle of Hingakaka]] between two factions of [[Māori people]], the largest battle ever fought in [[New Zealand]], and the last fought there without firearms.<ref>{{cite book|last=Anderson|first=Atholl|author-link=Atholl Anderson|year=2022|chapter=War is their principal profession: On the frequency and causes of Maori warfare and migration, 1250–1850 CE|editor1-last=Clark|editor1-first=Geoffrey|editor2-last=Litster|editor2-first=Mirani|title=Archaeological Perspectives on Conflict and Warfare in Australia and the Pacific|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Archaeological_Perspectives_on_Conflict/cf9iEAAAQBAJ|location=Canberra|publisher=ANU Press|page=51|access-date=2025-03-29|via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1807 or 1808 is fought the [[Battle of Moremonui]], first of the [[Musket Wars]].