U.5.2

Overview of the Period: The 17th and 18th Centuries

• Political Transition: A pivotal shift from the House of Stuart to the House of Hanover following the death of Queen Anne, ensuring a Protestant succession.

• Age of Revolutions: This era was marked by the American, French, and Industrial Revolutions, fundamentally altering global governance, social hierarchies, and economic production.

Contents

• Part 1: The Rise of the Hanoverians and Constitutional Monarchy

• Part 2: Detailed Profiles of the Georgian Monarchs

• Part 3: Significant Social, Political, and Cultural Turning Points

The Hanoverians: Meet the Georges!

Key Monarchs of the Hanoverian Era

• George I ($1714-1727$)

• George II ($1727-1760$)

• George III ($1760-1820$)

• George IV ($1820-1830$)

• William IV ($1830-1837$)

• Queen Victoria ($1837-1901$)

George I

• Reign: $1714-1727$

• Political Development: Because George I spoke little English and spent much time in Hanover, the power of the cabinet increased.

• Robert Walpole: In $1721$, Walpole was appointed First Lord of the Treasury, effectively becoming the first Prime Minister. He stabilized the nation following the South Sea Bubble economic collapse of $1720$.

George II

• Reign: $1727-1760$

• Military and Culture: The last British monarch to lead troops into battle (Battle of Dettingen, $1743$).

• The Jacobite Rising ($1745$): A major threat to his throne occurred when Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) attempted to restore the Stuarts, culminating in the Battle of Culloden ($1746$).

• Literary Milestone: Henry Fielding published Tom Jones ($1749$), often cited as the first great English novel for its complex plot and satirical look at eighteenth-century society.

George III

• Reign: $1760-1820$

• Major Conflict: The American War of Independence ($1775-1783$) resulted in the loss of the thirteen colonies, formalized by the Treaty of Paris in $1783$.

• Political Expansion: The Acts of Union ($1800$) merged the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on January 1, $1801$.

• Health Challenges: Known as 'The Madness of King George,' his intermittent mental illness (now suspected to be porphyria) led to the Regency of his son beginning in $1811$.

George IV

• Reign: $1820-1830$ (Prince Regent from $1811-1820$)

• Extravagance: Known for his patronage of the arts and the building of the Royal Pavilion in Brighton, his reign was also plagued by personal scandal and massive debt.

• Catholic Emancipation ($1829$): Reluctantly granted civil rights to Catholics, a major shift in British sectarian policy.

William IV

• Reign: $1830-1837$

• The Reform Act ($1832$): A landmark piece of legislation that abolished 'rotten boroughs' and expanded the electorate, signaling the start of more democratic representation.

• Legacy: Often called the 'Sailor King,' he was the last monarch to appoint a Prime Minister against the will of Parliament.

Major Historical Events During Georgian Britain

The French Revolution ($1789$) & Napoleonic Wars ($1803-1815$)

• The revolution in France sparked fear of similar uprisings in Britain.

• Timeline of Conflict:

  • $1789$: Fall of the Bastille.

  • $1793$: Execution of Louis XVI; Britain enters the war against France.

  • $1805$: Admiral Nelson’s victory at the Battle of Trafalgar ensured British naval supremacy.

  • $1815$: Final defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo by the Duke of Wellington.

The Industrial Revolution

• Technological Shift: Transition from hand production to machines, the development of steam power (perfected by James Watt), and the rise of the factory system.

• Social Impact: Massive urbanization as people moved from the countryside to growing industrial cities like Manchester and Birmingham.

Peterloo Massacre ($1819$)

• Date: August 16, $1819$

• Context: Approximately $60,000$ peaceful protesters gathered in St Peter's Field, Manchester, to demand parliamentary reform and the repeal of the Corn Laws.

• Outcome: The local magistracy ordered the cavalry to charge, resulting in $15$ deaths and over $600$ injuries.

Creation of the Metropolitan Police ($1829$)

• The 'Bobbies': Named after Home Secretary Robert Peel.

• Structure: Established a professional, uniformed force of $1,000$ constables to maintain order in London without resorting to lethal military force.

Abolition of Slavery ($1807-1833$)

• Slave Trade Act ($1807$): Prohibited the slave trade in the British Empire.

• Slavery Abolition Act ($1833$): Abolished slavery itself throughout most of the British Empire, providing compensation to slave owners (but not the enslaved).

• Key Figure: William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect led the moral and political campaign for decades.

Transition from Enlightenment to Romanticism

The Enlightenment (Age of Reason)

• Focused on logic, science, and the social contract.

• Key Thinkers:

  • John Locke: Natural rights and government by consent.

  • Adam Smith: Defined modern economics in The Wealth of Nations ($1776$).

  • Mary Wollstonecraft: Argued for women's rights in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman ($1792$).

Romanticism

• A reaction against the cold rationalism of the Enlightenment, emphasizing emotion, nature, and the sublime.

• Gothic Literature: A sub-genre featuring dark themes and the supernatural. Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto started the trend, later refined by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein ($1818$).

• Lord Byron: The prototypical 'Byronic Hero' influenced European literature with his rebellious, moody, and talented persona, seen in works like Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.