- 1. The Age of Elegance (Georgian Britain) History of British
Social and Culture Week 8 By Yusuf Kurniawan, SS, MA
2. Georgian Britain
- It was so named because England was ruled by King George I,
George II and George III
- It was the time of great beauty in music, fashion, architecture
and art. But it was also a time of great scientific discovery and
invention, coupled with the emergence of the Industrial Revolution
dramatically changed the British way of life.
3. Queen Anne and Georgian Britain
- The commence of Georgian Britain was signified with death of
Queen Anne.
- She got pregnant many times (17x) but none of her children
survived childhood.
- She finally died in 1714 without leaving an heir.
- The new king was George I who used to live in Germany. When he
arrived in Britain, he could not speak English. Even more, he never
wanted to learn English during his reign, so he always found
difficulties in communication in English.
4. The First Prime Minister
- The impact of the Spanish Succession war was that Britain was
in deep debt.
- The two major parties, the Tories and the Whigs were not in the
line. The Whigs managed the country to recover from the debt.
- They eventually could find the right person to solve the
countrys problems. His name was Robert Walpole a young landowner
who joined the Whigs ministry as Secretary for War in 1708.
- Walpole managed quickly. In 1710 he founded the South Sea
Company which traded in the Pacific and on the East Coast of South
America.
- By 1720 the company made a lot of money and its directors
offered to pay off the national debt.
5.
- However, the South Sea bubble exploded, so the company was in
ruins.
- Walpole was asked to clear up the mess. He could manage it
well.
- Even he became the First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of
the Exchequer. He became the most powerful man in the
government.
- Under Walpoles guidance, the nation struggled back to
prosperity. He accepted bribes but it was considered natural in
politics in the 18 thcentury.
- Under George I and George II money was a powerful means to
influence someone to vote. Some voters were under the influence of
powerful landlords.
6.
- King George Is stubborn refusal to learn English meant that he
could not preside at meetings of his ministers.
- Since there had to besomebodyin charge, the task fell to
Walpole, as the most influential person.
- Presently, Walpole emerged as what came to be known as chief
minister (later to be called Prime Minister).
- The system seemed to work. When George I died in 1727, the new
King, George II, had a better understanding of the language.
However, Walpole continued in this role.
7. Times of War
- Robert Walpole believed that trade developed in times of peace.
He was a peaceful man.
- William Pitt who was elected to Parliament in 1735 was entirely
different. His speeches were warlike, clamoring for war, and this
made people triggered to demand war against Spain.
- Finally, Britain declared war on Spain in 1739.
- It was known as the War of Jenkins Ear (as he told that the
Spanish officers had cut off one of his ears)
- Many people were delighted when the war broke out. But Walpole
was less happy.
- The dispute became more complicated with another quarrel about
who should occupy the throne of Austria.
- Most of European nations became involved.
- Britain and Prussia allied with Austria against France.
8. The Battles continued
- In 1743, George II commanded an army of British and Hanoverians
troops in a battle at Dettingen, near Frankfurt in Germany.
- The War of Austrian Succession at last ended in 1748. For the
next 7 years was peace.
- But then, 1756 the Seven Years War broke out. It was a really
struggle between Britain and France to dominate the world. Britain
was allied to the Prussian monarch, Frederick the Great.
- The French supported the Indian rulers. In 1756, one of the
Indian leaders confined 146 English prisoners in the military guard
room at Calcutta the Black Hole of Calcutta.
9.
- In the Mediterranean, British troops on the island of Minorca
were under siege by the French.
- Admiral John Byng was ordered to rescue them. But he failed and
finally was sentenced to death and shot.
- Britains role in the Seven Years War was mainly as a naval
power. The British fleet was stationed off the French coast to
prevent enemy ships from going in or out of harbour.
- The war dragged on. William Pitt was half mad and certain that
he was the only person who could save Britain. He became Prime
Minister in 1756. One of his aims was to drive the French out of
Canada and secure the fishing rights off Newfoundland.
10.
- In 1759, an expedition led by General James Wolfe sailed up the
St Lawrence River Quebec. His troops could kill more French people
but Wolfe was killed in the fighting.
- The Seven Years War ended with Treaty of Paris in 1763. Britain
received Canada and French possessions in India. French regained
the Newfoundland fishing rights, the African trading post at Dakar
and the sugar-producing islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique.
- Pitt was stressed because he thought that he had given France
too much.
11. The Forty-Five
- Although George II probably did not know it, a young officer
who was to cause him a good deal of trouble had been serving with
French forces at Dettingen. His name was Charles Edward Stuart, son
of the Old Pretender and one day to be so called the Young
Pretender (and also Bonny Prince Charlie).
- His father, James, had attempted to gain the throne of Britain
in 1715, when the Earl of Mar and a number of Highland chiefs
promised him support. But he failed.
- Charles was dashing/stylish, handsome and brave. He wanted to
make his father get the throne of England. Moreover, he got support
from France. However, at last French people lost their
interest.
12.
- Prince Charlie left France. On 23 July 1745 he landed on the
Outer Hebrides; he was only accompanied by seven men.
- Prince Charlie was very persuasive. He won a small victory at
Prestonpans and crossed the border and wished to reach London. But,
he was defeated and finally retreated to Scotland. At last, he was
defeated by Duke of Cumberland.
- The rebellion which was known as the Forty-five was over.
- With the price of30,000 on his head, Charles Stuart escaped and
was eventually taken back to France by a French vessel.
- The Duke of Cumberland lived up to his nick-name of the
Butcher. The wounded and prisoners were massacred.
- Afterwards, the homes of Highlanders were burned down, their
cattle driven away and many of their leaders executed.
13. Life in Georgian Britain
- For people with money, the 18 thcentury produced many beautiful
things.
- They built new style of houses with simpler style but more
attractive designs.
- They even liked to match the surrounding with the elegance of
their homes.
- Lancelot Capability Brown was a famous gardener and
architect.
- He designed no less than 140 estates.
- In towns, John Nash was the popular. London was the richest for
Nash ideas.
14. Popular artists in Georgian Britain
- Joshua Reynolds, a specialist in portraits.
- James Gillray, a cartoonist
- Daniel Defoe, a novelist (Robinson Crusoe)
- Jonathan Swift with hisGullivers Travels
- Henry Fielding with hisTom Jones
- Thomas Arne wroteGod Save the King.
15.
- Some people were making war.
- Some others were making discoveries and inventions, e.g.:
Joseph Priestley found out how to isolate oxygen, Henry Cavendish
managed to separate hydrogen from water and used it for
experimental balloons.
- Benjamin Franklinlightning conductorequipped the Buckingham
Palace during the reign of George III.
- In 1604 the first English dictionary was printed.
- In 1727, Nathaniel Bailey published another edition of
hisComplete English Dictionary.
- In 755 Dr. Samuel Johnson (a poet/ writer) publishedA
Dictionary of the English Language.His effort has helped
standardizing the spelling of English language today.
People did various things 16. Town and Country
- The 18 thcentury was full of new ideas
- London was still not much different. The streets were narrow,
there were no drains, no lamps and no policemen.
- Crime and violence increased. Many of the villains escaped. For
those who were caught, the penalties were harsh.
- Many crimes carried death penalty; flogging and branding were
commonplace; and some villains were transported to America.
- In 1715, the Riot Act was passed. If more than twelve people
remained together for one hour after being ordered by a magistrate
to disperse, they were guilty of crime.
- However, it did not make people stop doing that.
- In the country, gangs of smugglers controlled large areas near
the coast.
- For ordinary country people, life was much as it had been for
many , many years.
17. Life in the country
- A man had to work from dawn to dusk.
- However, he found time to manufacture his own tools and build
fence (if he had his own land)
- His wife made the familys clothes; brewed beer and baked
bread.
- Children were given jobs, such as scaring away birds and
combing wool.
18. The Industrial Revolution
- The 18 thcentury saw the complete change of the British way of
life.
- Many inventions in the agricultural fields made Britain
transformed from agricultural community into the worlds leading
industrial power.
- The invention of coal mining and the steam engine provided the
backbone of the birth of the Industrial Revolution in Britain.
- Coupled with the inventions in many other fields made the pace
of the Industrial Revolution grow faster.
19. Communications Revolution
- In enhancing the pace of the Industrial Revolution, roads
became the second backbone that needed to be improved.
- Since Roman people left Britain, many fine roads in Britain
were not well-maintained, so transportation and communication took
very long time.
- E.g. It took seven days to travel from London to Edinburgh by
stage coach, and the journey was absolutely uncomfortable.
- Canal was the second alternative for transportation. Britains
first long canal was 18,5 miles long in Northern Ireland. It took
13 years to build. It was opened in 1742.
20. The Industrial Revolution continued
- By the end of the 18 thcentury, Britains canal system was
growing rapidly.
- The investor was Josiah Wedgewood.
- To travel by water was faster than by roads.
21. Rebellion in America
- The population in Britain in the 18 thcentury was about 7
million.
- Many things had happened since 1620 when the Pilgrim Fathers
stepped ashore at Plymouth Rock.
- Although London was 3,000 miles away across the Atlantic, the
American colonies had to pay taxes to the British government. Goods
to and from the colonies had to be carried in British ships, and
all American exporters no matter where they might be going had to
pass through England.
- Unsurprisingly, the settlers were objected to this.
- In 1770 there were riots in Boston.
- Consequently the British government cancelled all taxes except
the duty on tea.
22.
- On 16 December 1773 an East India Company ship docked at Boston
with a consignment of tea.
- Suddenly a party of settlers disguised as Red Indians swarmed
aboard the vessel and threw the cargo into the harbour.
- The British government immediately demanded that the company
must receive15,000 as compensation. Otherwise, the port would be
closed for shipping.
- By the following year, the colonists were practising drill and
hiding supplies of arms.
- When a British force marched out of Boston to destroy a secret
arsenal in the village of Concord, it was ambushed at Lexington on
the way back. It triggered the American War of Independence.
- On 17 October 1781, British troops, under the command of
Cornwallis surrendered. So, it delivered the United States to
become the land of its own.
23. The State of the Empire
- After the North America got its independence, King George III
felt that it was a must to seek for the dumping ground for British
criminals.
- James Cook discovered New Zealand and explored the east coast
of Australia, New South Wales and colonized it.
- Then, in 1788 the first shipload of convicts was disembarked at
Botany Bay, and a penal settlement was established.
- The purpose of an empire was not, however, to reduce the
population of British gaols/ jails. Just as wars were fought to
make money, so were these scattered possessions intended to produce
wealth.
24.
- In matters of law and order, the colonists were allowed to run
things their own way.
- E.g. the East India Company ruled its territories with its own
officials and even had its own army and navy. But so far as trade
was concerned, everything belonged to Britain.
- No matter whether the colonists were buying, selling or
shipping, the British Government and British businessmen
profited.
- In short, these overseas provided Britain with invaluable cheap
raw materials.
25. Bloodshed in Europe
- After many years, people began questioning: Was it the right
way to do things in this way and in that way?
- An economist, Adam Smith, argued that customs duties should be
abolished and nations should trade freely with one another.
- In religion, a preacher named John Wesley questioned the Church
of Englands teaching. Ministers banned him from their pulpits
(podium).
- During the next 50 years, Wesley traveled long distance,
delivered 40,000 sermons and built 350 Methodist chapels (small
church).
26.
- In 1784, the son of William Pitt (now Earl of Chatham) became
Prime Minister at the age of 24.
- The younger Pitt was strong, wise and ready to accept new
ideas.
- King George III was going mad. He mistook an oak tree in
Windsor Park for the King o Prusia.
- King of France, Louis XVI, was an absolute monarch. Seeing the
rebellion such as in America, France finally decided to have one
colony only.
- On 14 July, 1789, mobs broke into the Bastille prison in Paris;
released the inmates and helped themselves to supply of arms. Led
by fanatics, the new regime declared the country a republic and
condemned anyone who opposed it to die on the guillotine.
- In 1793, the King and his wife Marie Antoinette were both
beheaded.
27. The bloodshed continued
- That was not the end of bloodshed in France. The new government
declared war on England.
- British troops were defeated in Holland.
- Even worse to come. In 1796, a former corporal in the French
army named Napoleon Bonaparte took charge. By allying himself with
Spain and occupying Italy, he forced the British out of the
Mediterranean.
- In Britain things were bad. There were mutinies in the navy.
Harvests failed so it created great hardship.
- However, the misfortune suddenly turned. On 14 February 1979, a
force of British ships led by Admiral John Jervis smashed the
Spanish fleet off Cape St Vincent. The hero was a young captain
named Horatio Nelson.
- Because of his courage and achievement he was trusted to break
back into the Mediterranean. In 1798 he came across the French
ships that had carried Napoleons troops into Egypt. His guns opened
fire and the French was defeated. It was known as the Battle of the
Nile.
28. The Napoleonic Wars
- Napoleon Bonaparte, supreme general and ruler of France, was
determined to invade England.
- In Europe, Napoleon conquered one country after another. In
1808 he proclaimed his brother, Joseph, as King of Spain.
- The conquest of Europe by France had been a serious blow to
British trade. The only market left for British goods was
Russia.
- Napoleon also wanted to stop the British trade with
Russia.
- Napoleon and his troops arrived in Moscow but he was
defeated.
- The fatal battle happened in Leipzig in 1813, when the French
troops were in retreat and defeated by combined force of Austrians,
Prussians and Russians.
29. The end of Napoleonic Wars
- In Spain, things were going badly. The British troops defeated
Napoleons brother, Joseph. By 1814 the British poured into
France.
- The war was over and Napoleon went into exile on the
Mediterranean island of Elba. He remained there for about 3 months.
He escaped, returned to Paris in triumph and assembled another
army.
- On 18 June, 1815, it clashed with an army led by the Duke of
Wellington assisted by Prussian forces commanded by Marshal
Blucher.
- Finally, Napoleon was exiled to St Helena in South Atlantic,
where he died six years later.
30. Fear of Poverty
- At the early 19 thcentury there were a number of efforts which
aimed at abolishing slavery.
- In 1807 the Parliament passed an act suppressing the trade of
slaves.
- In Britain, the practice of slavery had not been completely
removed.
- The French Revolution created fear to British people.
- Because of the inventions of steam engine there was a large
number of unemployed people in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and
Nottinghamshire.
- Those who remained in jobs were paid miserable wages and made
to work unreasonably long hours.
31.
- Some people were angered by the invention on machineries that
put people out of work (replaced humans labour). E.g.: Ned
LudLuddites
- The luddites were active in 1816. Other riots emerged, such as
in Spa Fields, London in 1817. Workers from Manchester marched
towards London. They were clad in blankets therefore their name was
Blanketeers
- The most tragic event took place in 1819 when Manchester
factory workers gathered in St Peters Field to hear an orator named
Henry Hunt. In the event, eleven people were killed and hundreds
were injured.
- Afterwards, Six-Acts were passed by Parliament.
- - Seditious meetings should be dispersed
- - Any publication that could be used for propaganda against
the
- - Justice had to be administered promptly
- - Civilians werent allowed to be trained in the use of
arms
- - Justices of Peace were authorized to seize arms in counties
where
- disturbances were likely to take place.
32. Factory Walls
- The early Industrial Revolution already showed the symptom of
the widening gap between the rich and the poor.
- The building of machineries required more iron.
- In the Midlands more and more green fields were transformed
into Black Country. But, the blackest areas were Yorkshire,
Lancashire, and South Wales.
- Peace of living in the country side (rural areas) decreased
considerably.
- The end of the Napoleonic wars also showed that it was not
necessary to have large army any more. Consequently, a large number
of soldiers were disbanded and they sought for jobs.
33. Pros and Cons
- In cotton mills, women and children provided the cheapest
labour.
- In coal mines women and children (some aged five) could be seen
dragging trucks.
- In the potteries, young boys laboured for fifteen hours a
day.
- A Welsh-man named Robert Owen became manager of some cotton
mills.
- He refused to employ youngsters under the age of ten.
- He forbade his foremen to beat the workers with leather
straps.
- He shortened working hours; even established school for little
children.
34. The Birth of Factory Act
- In 1802, Robert Peel the elder (father of the statesman who
founded Britains police force) succeeded in passing the first
Factory Act.
- One of its items stated that workers were not allowed to work
more than 12 hours a day.
- The development of Factory Acts in the following years showed
positive improvements.
35. The Arrival of Railways
- In the early 19 thcentury, steam engines were already used in
several factories, but they were not used in transportation
yet.
- Later on, steam engine was adopted to be used in locomotive
engineering.
- It was firstly experimented by Robert Trevithick between
Holborn and Paddington.
- Then he built a circular track and offered rides to the public
at 2.5p a head.
- Indeed, the early steam locomotives were built to transport
coal from the pits (mining areas).
36. The advent of railways
- The fame of road and canal as means of transportation had been
over after railways became more perfect in their construction.
- They were no longer used to transport coals and other goods but
people, linking between or amongst towns and cities in the whole
Britain.