© National Portrait Gallery, London
by and published by John Smith, after Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt Click on the links below to find out more
mezzotint, 1717 (1716)
13 1/2 in. x 9 3/4 in. (344 mm x 247 mm) plate size; 14 in. x 10 1/4 in. (355 mm x 260 mm) paper size
- Alexander Pope (1688-1744), Poet. Sitter associated with 44 portraits.
- Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt (1646-1723), Portrait painter. Artist associated with 1681 portraits, Sitter associated with 30 portraits.
- John Smith (1652-1743), Engraver. Artist associated with 1180 portraits, Sitter in 4 portraits.
Count Carl Gyllenborg, the Swedish ambassador, is arrested in London and imprisoned over a plot to assist the Pretender James Stuart.Bangorian controversy; a theological argument within the Church of England is initiated by the posthumous publication of a treatise written by George Hicks, Bishop of Thetford.First Freemason's Grand Lodge is founded in London.
Art and science
Actor-manager Colley Cibber stages The Loves of Mars and Venus
at the Drury Lane Theatre; the first ballet to be performed in Britain. Composer George Frideric Handel's Water Music
is performed for the first time on a barge on the River Thames for George I.
John Law establishes the Mississippi Company to develop trade in Louisiania for France. His scheme results in the 'Mississippi Bubble'.Triple Alliance formed between England, France and the Dutch Republic to uphold the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht and maintain peace in Europe.Competition between British and Dutch in factories on the coast of Mauritania results in the first 'gum war' over the lucrative trade in gum arabic.