The Eighteenth Century: A Time of War, Society, and Culture in Britain, Appunti di Inglese

Scarica The Eighteenth Century: A Time of War, Society, and Culture in Britain e più Appunti in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! The Eighteenth Century ( History) Queen Anne (1702-14), the Protestant daughter of James II, the last of the Stuarts, ruled Great Britain after the union of the English and Scottish Parliament in 1707(Act of Union). England had entered the War of the Spanish Succession under pressure from the Whig party wanting to protect English commercial interests abroad. In this war Great Britain sided with Holland and Prussia against France, Spain and Portugal. Peace was made with France and Spain and the Treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713. It was favorable to Great Britain. With the death of Queen Anne the Protestant branch of the Stuart family was extinguished. According to the Act of Settlement the British throne could not go to a Catholic, the nearest Protestant relation was George I (1714 - 27) from the House of Hanover of Germany. The Parliamentary monarchy was founded. The Whigs the allies of the new Hanoverian king were in power for most of the first half of the century. Their leader was Sir Robert Walpole who was Britain's Prime Minister from 1715 to 1717 and from 1721 to 1742. George II (1727-60) was the son of George I. The fall of Walpole (1742) during his reign was due to the country's dissatisfaction with the inefficiency and corruption of the administration. William Pitt the Elder became Prime Minister in 1756 and he soon proved capable of giving new enthusiasm to the nation. A new European war broke out in 1756 Frederick II of Prussia and England against all the rest of Europe. The war lasted seven years and was so called the Seven Years ' War (1756-63). It was initially disappointing for Britain, but British ships destroyed French fleet and France was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris (1763) by which Great Britain gained important new lands. The Treaty of Paris meant the end of French influence in India. At the beginning of the 18th century Britain controlled only Madras, Calcutta and Bombay by the East India Company. The Company gradually linked itself economically and politically to the major Indian states. it was the foundations of the British Empire. When George III (1760-1820) came to the throne Great Britain controlled the seas and was enjoying a period of internal peace. This, however, ended with the rebellion of the American colonies and the War of American Independence lost by Great Britain. Society The middle class has been increasing in importance since the 16th century and it gradually merged with the aristocracy. There was no violent conflict between the aristocracy and the middle class but the interests of both classes were the same, to join forces in commercial, agricultural or industrial ventures. The middle- class embodied a religious belief in work and a strong sense of the importance of the family. They lacked a proper education and they tried to acquire it especially from the pages of the newspapers and magazines that became very popular in England from the beginning of the 18th century. Clubs and coffee-houses were also important for the middle-class, people went there not only to drink coffee, tea or chocolate, but to meet each other, discuss current events and write. Culture The term "Augustan" indicates a classical outlook modeled on those of ancient Rome. Neo-classicism became a style of life, not simply a literary or artistic theory, it was reflected on poetry, architecture, sculpture, painting and even in gardening and town planning. The great Augustan writers shared a belief in reason as capable of imposing some order on a chaotic world. They all believed in the superiority of intelligence and good sense over fancy and impulse. The most profoundly innovative genre in 18th century was the novel that was the expression of the rising middle class. Description of voyages around the world were very popular, especially those of "Grand Tour"(the tour of Europe centered in Italy).