Born ThenLife in the 18th century
Be born somewhere between 1700 and 1799, weighted by real births, and live five lives from that year on.
The numbers
The world had about 789 million people around the middle of the 18th century. Life expectancy at birth was near 27 years, mostly because so many children died; people who reached adulthood often lived into their fifties or sixties. About 13% could read and 9% lived in towns. Most births happened in South China (19%), North India (15%), North China (11%), South India and Sri Lanka (8%), Central Europe (4%).
All numbers before 1800 are modelled from long-run population and life-expectancy estimates by region. How it works
What happened
- Indian Ocean slave trade 700–1799
- Atlantic slave trade (West Africa) 1501–1799
- Atlantic slave trade (Kongo and Angola) 1514–1799
- Plantation slavery in Brazil 1550–1799
- Russian conquest of Siberia 1580–1700
- Tokugawa peace 1603–1780
- Sugar slavery in the Caribbean 1640–1799
- Slavery in the British North American colonies 1660–1799
- 1707 Hōei earthquake and Fuji eruption 1707–1708
- 1755 Lisbon earthquake 1755
- Burmese–Siamese War and fall of Ayutthaya 1765–1767
- Bengal famine of 1770 1769–1771
- Spanish missions in California 1769–1799
- Great Tenmei famine 1782–1788
- Laki haze and the cold winter of 1783–1784 1783–1784
- Laki eruption and the Haze Famine 1783–1785
- Smallpox epidemic around Sydney 1789–1790