Events of 1766

January - June

• January 1 - Bonnie Prince Charlie becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain as King Charles III and figurehead for Jacobitism.
• January 14 - Christian VII becomes King of Denmark.
• February 5 - An observer in Wilmington, North Carolina reports to the Edinburgh newspaper Caledonian Mercury that three ships were seized by British Men of War on the charge of carrying official documents without stamps. The strict enforcement causes seven other ships to leave Wilmington for other ports.
• February 20 - The Pennsylvania Gazette reports that a British sloop outside of Wilmington, North Carolina seized one sloop sailing from Philadelphia and one sloop sailing from Saint Christopher on the charge of carrying official documents without stamps. In response, local residents threaten to burn a Royal Man of War attempting to deliver stamps to Wilmington, forcing the ship to return to the mouth of the Cape Fear River.
• February-Ferocious wolf attacks occur in France, such as the Beast of Gevaudan or Wolves of Périgord
• March 5 - Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.
• March 18 - American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act which was very unpopular in the British colonies. The persuasion of Benjamin Franklin is considered partly responsible. The Declaratory Act asserts the right of Britain to bind the colonies in all other respects.

July - December