Events from 1700

Michel Rolle launches sustained attack on infinitesimal calculus at French Academy, calling it 'a collection of ingenious fallacies' with 'impossibilities and contradictions'

Double-entry bookkeeping becomes standardized across European merchant houses, providing mathematical proof that books balance and reducing fraud

St. John Baptist de La Salle founds teaching method for Christian Brothers to educate poor, countering Enlightenment elitism

Act of Settlement - Protestant succession secured, judges removable only by Parliament, judicial independence

Mexico maintains vanilla monopoly - only place where natural pollinators (Melipona bees) exist

Chinese begin mixing tobacco with opium for smoking - creates more addictive combination, accelerates opium crisis

Hunan province develops distinct chili cuisine - 'gan la' (dry spicy) style using chilies for preservation and flavor

Thai bird's eye chili developed through selection - extremely hot small chilies spread through Southeast Asia

Most Asian societies prohibit women from smoking tobacco - creates gendered smoking culture that persists centuries

Cider becomes colonial America's national beverage - safer than water, children drink diluted cider daily, used as currency

Great Northern War begins - Peter the Great challenges Swedish supremacy, initially defeated at Narva