The eighteenth century

Chapter 16: The political world

Wilkes and liberty

John Wilkes was a radical MP and journalist whose activities caused political crises in
the 1760's. He was renowned in 18th century political circles as a rake and hedonist. Yet
despite this his actions would lead to legal and parliamentary reform.
Wilkes was born in London in 1725 and elected as MP for Aylesbury in 1757. In 1763
Wilkes published a satirical pamphlet called 'The North Briton'. His attacks on the Government
in that publication, particularly in the 45th edition, led to his arrest under a general warrant. In
January 1764 Wilkes was expelled from the House of Commons but the concern aroused by the
general warrants affair led to them being no longer used for the arrest of persons.
Wilkes returned to London in 1768 and was elected as MP for Middlesex at the General
Election. In 1769 he was expelled from the House of Commons on grounds of seditious and
obscene libels. Despite the fact that Wilkes was re-elected at three by-elections the Commons
overturned the results. Eventually Wilkes was elected for Middlesex in 1774 and represented
the county until 1790. Whilst in Parliament Wilkes made the first ever motion for Parliamentary
reform.
Wilkes' activities generated significant interest by newspapers in Parliament's
proceedings at a time when the reporting of debates was not allowed. In 1771 Wilkes was able
to use his influence in the City of London to force the Government to relax the restrictions,
thereby establishing the freedom of the press to report Parliament.

Radicalism and the loss of American colonies

Eighteenth-century middle-class English radicalism represented a rebirth. The earlier
seventeenth-century English radicalism, achieving a full flowering during the English Revolution,
became a thin intellectual connection after the Restoration. The stout advocates of the "Old
Cause"—the liberty-loving Commonwealthmen—are more significant in the history of ideas than
in the political movements of their time. However, with the Bill of Rights of 1689 and the Whig
ascendency, English radicalism was free to reemerge. There was much for the Middle Class to
be radical about.
The loss of the American colonies was sealed with the end of the American War of
Independence. When the Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, England
acknowledged the existence of the United States of America and their separation from Britain.
The colonies were lost. Not only the then recently acquired new territories in the south but also
the rich eastern colonies, the cradle of English colonization in North America.
Scotland
In Scotland the political impetus that carried the polity into union with England came from
an old-fashioned dynastic crisis. When her only surviving child, William, duke of Gloucester, died
in 1700 it became clear the future Queen Anne was going to be the last of the Protestant
Stuarts. The English Parliament promptly passed an Act of Succession consolidating existing
legislation that decreed that Anne was to be succeeded by her nearest Protestant collateral
heirs, the Guelf Electors of Hanover, and belligerently wrote the legislation to include Scotland
and Ireland. Some Scots politicians were genuinely angered at English presumption and others
joined them for a mix of reasons, some to increase their personal price, others to advance party
agendas. In consequence, when the only Scottish Parliament of Anne's reign met in 1703 it
quickly slipped out of ministerial control and in 1704-5 passed a raft of legislation designed by
some to bolster Scotland's independence, and by others to force the English to seek a union of
the two kingdoms. This provoked confrontation between the legislatures and a policy decision in
London by the Marlborough-Godolphin administration that the only way to secure the
Hanoverian succession was a constitutional union of England and Scotland. That way the then
overwhelmingly anti-Jacobite English political nation could outweigh Scots constituencies who
might favour a restoration of the Catholic Stuarts after Anne's death. There was already a body
of opinion in Scotland that favoured union with England, but since 1688 they had faced hostility
at home and indifference/sneers at Westminster.9 From 1705-6, however, they enjoyed the full
support of the English state.

Ireland
Ireland's encounter with the eighteenth century British polity was profoundly different.
They began in the same place: at the beginning of the eighteenth century the English generally
regarded the Irish with the same contempt they viewed the Scots. Ireland, however, also began
the century with a great deal less bargaining power. Ireland had its own Parliament and
government, but both were ultimately controlled from London, in that all Irish legislation was
subject to review and alteration by the English Privy Council, and English administrations used
government offices in Ireland as political patronage in England. Ireland's ruling elite had been
reinstalled by English military force (1689-91) and was in consequence very aware of its
dependence on English support. English/British control of Ireland was thus relatively solid in the
early eighteenth century and did not require extraordinary measures such as a union to secure
it.

Chapter 17: Life in town and country

Town life

Many 18th-century towns were grimy, overcrowded and generally insanitary places.
London in particular suffered badly from dirt and pollution, so much so that candles were
sometimes required at midday in busy shops owing to the smoggy conditions outside. Many
travellers noted the ‘smell’ of London as they approached from far away, and letters received
from the capital city were often said to have a ‘sooty’ odour.
 Alongside the stinking rivers and choking pollution of cities, open sewers ran through the
centre of numerous streets. Gutters carried away human waste, the offal from butchers’ stalls
and the tonnes of horse manure that were left daily on the streets. The roads of most towns and
cities were unpleasantly dusty in the hot summer months, and many became virtually
impassable in the winter owing to their muddy and flooded condition.

In the later 18th century bodies of men called Paving or Improvement Commissioners
were formed in many towns. They had the power to pave and clean the streets and sometimes
to light them with oil lamps. Some also arranged collections of rubbish. Since most of it was
organic it could be sold as fertilizer.

The rich

In the 18th century, a tiny minority of the population lived in luxury. The rich built great
country houses. A famous landscape gardener called Lancelot Brown (1715-1783) created
beautiful gardens. (He was known as ‘Capability’ Brown from his habit of looking at land and
saying it had ‘great capabilities’). The leading architect of the 18th century was Robert Adam
(1728-1792). He created a style called neo-classical and he designed many 18th-century
country houses

In 18th century Britain the wealthy owned comfortable upholstered furniture. They
owned beautiful furniture, some of it veneered or inlaid. In the 18th century, much fine furniture
was made by Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779), George Hepplewhite (?-1786), and Thomas
Sheraton (1751-1806). The famous clockmaker James Cox (1723-1800) made exquisite clocks
for the rich.

Owning land was the main form of wealth in the 18th century. Political power and
influence were in the hands of rich landowners. At the top were the nobility. Below them was a
class of nearly rich landowners called the gentry. In the early 18th century there was another
class of landowners called yeomen between the rich and the poor. However, during the century
this class became less and less numerous. But other middle-class people such as merchants
and professional men became richer and more numerous, especially in the towns.

The countryside

Most people lived in the countryside and made their living from farming.

Under the 3 field system, which still covered much of England, all the land around a
village or small town, was divided into 3 huge fields. Each farmer owned some strips of land in
each field. During the 18th century, land was enclosed. That means it was divided up so each
farmer had all his land in one place instead of scattered across 3 fields. Enclosure allowed
farmers to use their land more efficiently. Also in the 18th century farmers like Robert Bakewell
began scientific stock breeding (selective breeding). Farm animals grew much larger and they
gave more meat, wool, and milk.
 Many people living in the countryside were poor. Craftsmen and laborers lived in 2 or 3
rooms. The poorest people lived in just one room. Their furniture was very simple and plain.

Family life

The family lives of people were separated by two distinctions: roles for men versus roles
for women, and social class. In general, men were the breadwinners, providing income for the
family, whereas the mothers were in charge of the household. This role grew more prominent
with more wealth, as with that came more estate to manage. Marriage was also very closely tied
to social class; women were seldom married into lower social rungs. It also came with heavy
social implications for the family’s legacy and reputation among their peers.

They were responsible for running the household, and for more affluent families,
managing the servants. Women, or mothers, were also responsible for raising and educating
their children. In addition, they were responsible for cooking and feeding the family. This
required women to be well-educated in medicinal and culinary uses of herbs and plants,
needlework, reading, and writing. In general, women had very few rights and experienced
oppression at the hands of the patriarchy.

The mother of the household would often have many children because not many children
were able to survive early childhood. Typically, most mothers had up to eight children, in hopes
that some would survive and be able to work for the family. High infant mortality rates was a
major issue during this time. The average life expectancy in England was about 39-40 years old.
It was assumed that if a man or a woman reached the age of 30, they would probably only live
for another 20 years.

Men were usually in charge of all the finances involved in the household and did most of
the work to financially support the family. It was common for a man to be well educated and
have work outside of the household.

He was the owner of all the property and monetary values in the household and women
rarely spoke against or divorced their husband. Children were taught to obey the patriarch. The
early half of the 18th century was a tumultuous time for women’s rights.

Though women could work, they did not enjoy nearly all of the luxuries and rights as
men. Women could not vote, own land while married, go to a university, earn equal wages, enter
many professions, and even report serious cases of domestic abuse. Women who were found
to be too argumentative or radical could deal with cruel and humiliating public penalties.
Chapter 18: The years of revolution

Industrial revolution
The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great
Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around
1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going from hand production methods to
machines, new chemical manufacturing and iron production processes, the increasing use of
steam power and water power, the development of machine tools and the rise of the
mechanized factory system.
The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain, and many of the technological and
architectural innovations were of British origin. By the mid-18th century, Britain was the world's
leading commercial nation, controlling a global trading empire with colonies in North America
and the Caribbean.

Society and religion

The Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in history. Comparable only to
humanity's adoption of agriculture with respect to material advancement, the Industrial
Revolution influenced in some way almost every aspect of daily life. In particular, average
income and population began to exhibit unprecedented sustained growth. Some economists
have said the most important effect of the Industrial Revolution was that the standard of living
for the general population in the western world began to increase consistently for the first time in
history, although others have said that it did not begin to meaningfully improve until the late 19th
and 20th centuries.
The Industrial revolution brought with it many significant changes in society. At the
beginning of the century there was conflict inside the Church of England between the “High
Church”, supported by the (conservative) Tory party, and the “Low Church”, supported by the
(liberal) Whig party and more tolerant towards the non-conformists. The debate was over
whether or not the non-conformists could be allowed to hold official positions.

Revolution in France
On 16 July 1789, two days after the Storming of the Bastille, John Frederick Sackville, serving
as ambassador to France, reported to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Francis Osborne,
5th Duke of Leeds, "Thus, my Lord, the greatest revolution that we know anything of has been
effected with, comparatively speaking – if the magnitude of the event is considered – the loss of
very few lives. From this moment we may consider France as a free country, the King a very
limited monarch, and the nobility as reduced to a level with the rest of the nation." Yet in Britain
the majority, especially among the aristocracy, strongly opposed the French Revolution. Britain
led and funded the series of coalitions that fought France from 1793 to 1815, and then restored
the Bourbons.

The Napoleonic Wars

During the War of the Second Coalition (1799–1801), Britain occupied most of the
French and Dutch overseas possessions, the Netherlands having become a satellite state of
France in 1796, but tropical diseases claimed the lives of over 40,000 troops. When the Treaty
of Amiens ended the war, Britain agreed to return most of the territories it had seized. Napoleon
continued to provoke the British by attempting a trade embargo on the country and by
occupying the city of Hanover, capital of the Electorate, a German-speaking duchy of the Holy
Roman Empire which was in a personal union with the United Kingdom. In May 1803, war was
declared again.
Napoleon's plans to invade Great Britain failed, chiefly due to the inferiority of his navy,
and in 1805 a Royal Navy fleet led by Nelson decisively defeated the French Imperial Navy and
Royal Spanish Navy at Trafalgar, which was the last significant naval action of the Napoleonic
Wars.
In 1806, Napoleon issued the series of Berlin Decrees, which brought into effect the
Continental System. This policy aimed to eliminate the threat from the British by closing
French-controlled territory to foreign trade. The British Army remained a minimal threat to
France
Napoleon expected that cutting Britain off from Continental Europe would end its
economic hegemony. On the contrary Britain possessed the greatest industrial capacity in the
world, and its mastery of the seas allowed it to build up considerable economic strength through
trade to its possessions and the United States.