Great Britain in the 18th Century

Flashcards covering key vocabulary from a lecture on 18th Century Great Britain.

Age of Reason

A period in the 18th century characterized by gradual changes and a general search for rationality.

Cabinet System

A system created because George I had little interest in the kingdom and didn’t speak English, increasing the influence of government ministers and paving the way for parliamentary dominance.

Robert Walpole

Often regarded as Britain’s first Prime Minister, he was determined to keep the crown under the Parliament's control and to limit the power of the king by the constitution.

The Sugar Act

An act that caused a serious quarrel over taxation between the British government and its American Colonies in 1764.

Tea Boston Party

A group of colonists threw a shipload of tea into the sea at the port of Boston in 1773 because they did not want to pay taxes.

The American War of Independence

A war from 1775 to 1783 where Britain lost everything except Canada.

Enclosure

The process in which common lands were privatized, driving many rural families off their land and into the rapidly growing cities.

Industrial Revolution

A pivotal period of changes in agriculture, textile and metal manufacturing, economic policies, social structures, and transport that took place in Britain.

The Enlightenment

An intellectual and cultural movement that emphasized reason, scientific inquiry, skepticism, religious tolerance, and individual freedom.

Encyclopedia

A comprehensive work that embodied Enlightenment principles and spread knowledge widely.

Coffeehouses

Informal meeting places in 18th-century London that promoted social interaction and intellectual exchange.

Novels

Literary works written in prose consisting of narrative fiction.

Robinson Crusoe

One of Daniel Defoe's best-known novel that became an instant success, particularly among the middle and lower classes and revolves around individual survival in extreme circumstances, the relationship between nature and civilization, and the balance between physical and spiritual endurance.

Moll Flanders

Daniel Defoe's novel that explores the relationship between an individual's circumstances and their moral choices and shows how social conditions and a fear of poverty may lead to a life of crime.

Gulliver's Travels

Jonathan Swift's best-known work and a powerful example of his mastery of satire; tells the voyages of Lemuel Gulliver to various fantastical lands, each of which serves as a satirical representation of different aspects of society and human nature.

Laputa

The flying island in Book III of Gulliver's Travels inhabited by people who are obsessed with abstract theories and intellectual pursuits and detached from reality; symbolizes England's oppression and control over Ireland.

Houyhnhnms

Characters in Gulliver's Travels in Book IV which are pure reason and have no feelings; have the body of a horse but the intelligence of a man.

Yahoos

Characters in Gulliver's Travels in Book IV which have the body of a man and no intelligence, only instinct passions.

Tom Jones

Henry Fielding's masterpiece where the book introduces a new kind of hero into English literature with the character of Tom Jones who is good-looking, courageous and full of the best intentions but he is also an ordinary being who fails his own values sometimes.

Picaro

The central character in picaresque, typically a lowborn individual who relies on their wits and cunning to survive, existing outside societal norms.

Pamela or Virtue Rewarded

Samuel Richardson's best work published in 1740 which became the most-read novel in the country, unfolding entirely through Pamela’s letters and diary entries and giving readers direct insight into her thoughts, feelings, and experiences without the intervention of an external narrator.

The Life and Opinions of Tristan Shandy Gentleman

Laurence Sterne's most known novel which of all 18th-century novels, is the one that most attempts to escape from the models established by epic or history.