Unit 6. The Hanoverians

• Queen Anne:

  • Second daughter of James II
  • War of the Spanish Succession
  • Treaty of Utrecht (1713): France recognise Anne'stittle and England's possession of Gibraltar.
  • Act of Union (1707)
• Act of Union (1707): England and Scotland became one sigle entity, Kingdom of Great Britain. Unified Parliament in Westminster. Queen Anne became the first sovereign of Great Britain.
• George I: allowed Whighs to form his government . Banks and credits developed.
• George II: defeat Jacobite Rebellion in 1745. Pass realm securily to his heirs.
• George III:

  • Interced to stop war with France (Seven Years' War)
  • Represented values of Enlightement (sponsor arts, novelties in agriculture...)
  • Insane: Son was the regent (Regency period)
• Regency Period: besides historical importance, it is associated with literature, architecture (neoclassical style) and arts (Jane Austen).
• George IV: extravagant king. Sponsor architecture projects such as the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
• William IV:

  • Laws regulating child labour
  • Reform Act, 1832
  • Slavery Abolition, 1833
• Robert Walpole:

  • First British Prime Minister (George I and George II)
  • Act skillfully: "South Sea Buble", saving country form Scandal.
  • Policy of peace abroad reducing the national debt through taxation
  • Importance of keep Parliament on his side and kept Crown under control.
  • Develop a "Cabinet"
  • George III: gift 10 Downing Street that became permanent London residence of British Prime Minister.
• Agriculture Revolution (Enclosure Movement):

  • 16th century, enclosure of land through mutual agreement of landowners.
  • 18th century, enclosure regulated by Parliament. An Act of Enclosure was required for each village to enclose its land.
  • 1801: General Enclosure Act: enable villages to enclose its land if three quarters of the landowners agree.
• Three main impacts of the agriculture revolution:

  • Better machinery
  • Better farming techniques (crop rotation)
  • Increase land productivity
• Before Agriculture Revolution:

  • Open Field System: common land used by all peasants and was divided in strips that were unfence.
  • Three Crop Rotation System: one field empty each year, so they could not grow as much food and there were only one field for livestock.
  • Hand Sowing Seeds: plough to create ditches, then scattered seeds and finally covered with dirt. Ineffective because birds eat seed easily.
• After Agriculture revolution:

  • Enclosure land: process of making land into private land, owned by farmers. The land was fenced or enclosed.
  • Norfolk 4-course rotation: what - turnips - barley - clover. More crops because all fields are used every year.
  • Jethro Tull's Seed Drill (1701): horse drawn seed drill (holes 3 rows, planted seeds and covered in dirt in one action).
• Canals: first canals were built in the 1700s. Transportation for goods such as coal by these canals was cheaper than transportation by land. Canal-building projects continued and later on railway construction also improved transportation within Britain, particularly from the main industrial areas. Example: Bridgewater Canal opened in 1761.
• Seven Years' War:

  • Involve all great powers in Europe.
  • Great Britain and France the struggle was for overseas colonial control of North America and India.
  • Britain took Quebec and Montreal (North America) and most India.
  • In 1763, George III end the war and France have weak colonial influences.
• Atlantic triangular slave trade:

  • Britain's international trade increased rapidly.
  •  They formed one corner of a profitable trade triangle.
  • Cloth, Knifes and swords are taken to West Africa and exchanged for slaves. The slaves are taken to West Indies to work and then, the ships returned to Briatin carrying goods grown by the slaves.
• Jacobite Raising Rebellions:

  • Revoult's objective: restored exiled Stuarts (catholics)
  • Leader: Charles Edward Stuart - "Bonny Prince Charlie
  • Initial victories with his army
  • Battle of Culloden: they were defeated. Jacobites were outnumbered.
  • Punishment for treason: hunted down and killed.
• American Revolution / Loss of American colonies:

  • 1770 - Boston Masacre: incident between colonists and British. Example of British cruelty.
  • 1773 - Boston Tea Party: colonists disguised as Amerindians throw tea from ships.
  • 1774 - Increase restrictions on the colonists
  • War from 1775-1783: disastrous defeat for British. They lost everything except Canada.
• Industrial Revolution (1750-1850)

  • Period of profound economic, technological an social transformation.
  • Born ideas such as "mass production" "division of labour" because of greater demand of goods due to the increase in population.
  • Major industries: textile. rion, mining, pottery...
  • Wood was replaced by coal, so they could produce larger quantities of iron to build machinery
  • Result: Britiain became workshop of the world (British Industrial Supremacy)
  • Consequences: disfigurement of countryside and harsh working conditions.
• Technological advances during the Industrial Revolution:

  • 1764 - Spinning Jenny (James Hargreaves): contributed to the development of textile industry.
  • 1769 - Steam engine (James Watt): became main power source.
• Important figure during the Industrial Revolution: John Wilkinson, total belief in iron, vital for the Industrial Revolution. He built the largest ironworks in the country.

  • Iron Bridge (1781)
• Luddites: Workers were relaced by machinery and unemployed rioted to the extent that they destroyed machinery (known as luddites). The government supported the factory owners and established harsh punishements. Lord Byron supported Luddites.
• Life in the cities during the 1700s:

  • Sanitary conditions made the cities centre of disease. There were projects to make cities healthier that included street cleaning and lighting.
  • Poor people were easily driven into gin drinking and criminal activity.
  • Emerging consumer culture: buy/sell leisure goods and services.
• Periodicals: Wider reading public and regular periodicals in the 18th century. Periodicals are associated with the formation of public opinion. 

  Periodical press developed from religious and political pamphleteering.

  Richard Steele and Joseph Assion edited periodicals. Linked to The Tatler and The Spectator.