Cultural, social and economic change including the growth of towns: and overview

Towns and trade

• Towns grew in size to become more overcrowded

• Trade increased as mines opened in the north-east and coal was shipped to London

• By 1750, large quantities of sugar and tobacco came to Britain from America and the Caribbean duet o the British Empire, the East India Company and the transatlantic slave trade

Farming and Goods

• Bad harvests led to hunger however by 1750, improvements in farming methods allowed more people to be fed

Religion

• In 1500 the country was Catholic with rich monasteries, by 1750, it was protestant and all the wealth of the Church was taken by the state

New discoveries and technology

• In 1660s, Robert Hooke developed a powerful microscope amongst others who searched for a scientific way to understand the world

Parliament and Government

• By 1750, Parliament was more powerful than the monarch and began to make laws that affected people’s lives