1726

1726 (DCCXXVI) was a year in the 18th century during the Enlightenment. It saw ongoing global exchange through trade and exploration, alongside continuing political and religious transformations across continents.

In Europe, monarchies and expanding administrative structures shaped governance, while mercantile and colonial interests extended across the Atlantic and Indian oceans. In Britain and its overseas possessions, the Julian calendar remained in use; the shift to the Gregorian calendar would not occur until 1752. In East Asia, the Qing dynasty under the Yongzheng Emperor continued a program of centralized administration and fiscal reform. In the Indian subcontinent, the Mughal Empire remained a major imperial authority, while regional powers asserted influence in various territories.

Across the Americas, colonial administrations and trade networks linked distant regions, while Indigenous peoples and enslaved communities contributed to social and economic life within these systems.

Intellectual and cultural life continued to reflect broader Enlightenment currents, with advances in science and a flourishing of Baroque and early Rococo arts in various regions.

As with many years of the period, 1726 contains multiple local histories rather than a single global narrative. The year sits within a broader pattern of gradual modernization, ongoing colonial dynamics, and the cross-cultural exchange that characterized the era.