1736

1736 (MDCCXXXVI) was a leap year in the Gregorian calendar. In Britain and its colonies the Julian calendar remained in use, while many continental states followed the Gregorian system; the two calendars would be aligned in 1752. The year sits in the middle of the 1730s, a period marked by imperial competition, colonial exchange, and the spread of Enlightenment ideas.

In Europe, dynastic and territorial conflicts continued amid shifting alliances. The War of the Polish Succession, fought over succession to the Polish throne, involved several great powers and extended across central and eastern Europe. The conflict would not be resolved until 1738 with the Treaty of Vienna, shaping the political map of the region for years to come.

In Russia, Empress Anna Ioannovna's government continued to exercise autocratic authority and pursued policy directions aligned with Baltic and Black Sea interests, continuing the legacy of earlier reforms and expansions from the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Throughout the world, 1736 was part of the broader Enlightenment era. Scientific inquiry, philosophical debate, and cultural production continued to grow in Europe and beyond, even as global trade networks linked continents. The period saw ongoing integration of European economies with Asia, Africa, and the Americas, alongside the troubling realities of the transatlantic slave trade.