Events January–March January 21 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm (Great Northern War). February 10 – Edmond Halley is appointed as Astronomer Royal for England. February 17 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed between Spain, Britain, France, Austria and the Dutch Republic, ending the War of the Quadruple Alliance. February 24 – Battle of Nassau: Spanish forces assault the British settlement of Nassau, Bahamas during the War of the Quadruple Alliance. March 11 (February 29 Old Style) – Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden resigns, to let her husband Frederick I take over as king of Sweden. She had desired a joint rule, in a similar manner to William III and Mary II in Britain, but as the Swedish Riksdag of the Estates refuses this, she abdicates in her husband's favour instead. April–June April 4 (March 24 Old Style) – The Riksdag of the Estates elects Frederick I new King of Sweden. April – "South Sea Bubble" in England: A scheme for the South Sea Company to take over most of the unconsolidated national debt of Britain massively inflates share prices. May 3 – The coronation of King Frederick I of Sweden takes place in Stockholm, six weeks after his rule began. May 20 – The Treaty of The Hague, signed between Spain and the Quadruple Alliance (Britain, France, the Netherlands and Austria) on February 17, goes into effect. Spain renounces its claims to the Italian possessions of the French throne, and Austria and the Duchy of Savoy trade Sicily for Sardinia. May 25 – The British privateer Speedwell, captained by George Shelvocke, is wrecked on the uninhabited island of Más a Tierra, the same island where Alexander Selkirk was marooned for five years; the island off of the coast of Chile is later called Robinson Crusoe Island. The crew is marooned for five months but is able to build a boat from timbers salvaged from the wreck, and is able to escape the island on October 6. June 1 – British silversmiths are once again allowed to use sterling silver after 24 years of being limited to a higher quality (but softer) Britannia silver. June 11 – The British Parliament approves the Bubble Act (officially the Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719), prohibiting the formation of joint-stock companies without prior approval by royal charter. June 19 – At Burhanpur (in the modern-day Indian