Britain in the Long Eighteenth Century: Politics and Society, 1688-1832

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The long eighteenth century was a time of profound change for the British Isles. England, Scotland and Ireland would be unified, society revolutionised and the political system altered forever. This course will explore how and why this remarkable transformation occurred.

The eighteenth century is often thought of as the ‘forgotten century’ fitting between the English Civil War and the Victorians. It was however a time of remarkable change, with the beginnings of a free press, the modern boom and bust economy, industrialisation, parliamentary government and Britain’s emergence as a great power. For the purpose of this course, the historical period of the eighteenth century is considered to start with the Glorious Revolution, an event which defined the next century, when basic liberties would be enshrined in law - and ending with the Great Reform Act of 1832 when Britain arguably began on its path towards our present form of parliamentary democracy. By looking at some key themes throughout this period we will be able to see how modern Great Britain emerged in the early nineteenth century, a society and political system transformed.

Date created:

2017-04-24 09:56

Subjects:

History by period

Course type:

Weekly class

Course: Further details, online booking

Resources for this course

Displaying 1 - 30 of 30

Resource	Description	Full details
Week 1 - Declaration of William of Orange.	An abridged version of William III's declaration. A full version can be found at An http...	view
Week 1 - The Bill of Rights	Abridged version of the English Bill of Rights. Also see http://avalon.law.yale.edu...	view
Week 1 - Act of Settlement 1701	Abridged version of the Act of Settlement. See also http://www.jacobite.ca/documents...	view
Week 2 - A Jacobite Ballad	A Jacobite ballad ridiculing George I and his mistress the Duchess of Munster	view
Week 2 - Craftsman No. 172	The Craftsman was created in opposition to the premiership of Sir Robert Walpole. Read No. 172 which discusses the 'Robinocracy', this can be...	view
Week 2 - Idol-Worship or the way to preferment	Satirical Image on the rule of Sir Robert Walpole from around 1740	view
Week 3 - Excise in Triumph	Satire on Walpole's excise scheme of 1733.	view
Week 3 -Death of General Wolfe	Painting by Benjamin West, painted in 1770	view
Week 3 The Idea of a Patriot King	The Idea of A Patriot King was written in 1738 but on published in 1749. by Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke His section on the military...	view
Week 4 - Principles of Population	Thomas Malthus: An Essay on the Principle of Population Part 1. Read pages 397-400. This is Malthus' breif 'sketch of the state of society in...	view
Week 4 - Thoughts on the Education of Daughters Part 1	Mary Wolstonecraft - Thoughts on the education of daughters, read pages 144-147 'On Card=Playing'. This gives an indication of some of...	view
Week 4 - Thoughts on the Education of Daughters - Part 2	Read the chapters on 'Reading' and 'Boarding Schools' pages 48-60 (only 12 pages).	view
Week 5 - The Act of Union	An abridged version of the Act of Union 1707. For the full document see ...	view
Week 5 - Portrait of George III	Image of George III, popular monarchism was at its height during the early 1800's.	view
Week 5 - A Poem by Robert Burns	'Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation' was written in 1791 (highlighting a lingering hostility towards the union almost a century later), it...	view
Week 6 - Proceedings of the Old Bailey	28th of August 1723, a record of the indictments and punishments for a range of crimes in the early 18th century. Note the lack of Prison...	view
Week 6 - The Panopticon	Read pages 5-12, a description of Bentham's prison the 'Panopticon'. Also look at this image of the design...	view
Week 6 - The Nine Principles of Policing	Probably composed by Charles Rowan and Richard Mayne, these principles set out a set of principles for Peel's new Metropolitan Police force	view
Week 7 -The North Briton No. 45	Read the extract from John Wilkes' North Briton No.45 where he attacks the Prime Minister the Earl of Bute	view
Week 7 - The Tories and Whigs Pulling for a Crown	An example of a cartoon from the Regency Crisis of 1788-9.	view
Week 7 - The Wealth of Nations	Read chapter two of book one (pages 16-20) of the Wealth of Nations. Pay particular attention to the idea of 'self-love' and 'interest' mentioned...	view
Week 8 - Common Sense	Read this short extract from Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Read pages 17-21 (from 'I have heard it asserted by some')	view
Week 8 - The Life of Olaudah Equiano	Read 'The Life of Olaudah Equiano' pages 36-42	view
Week 8 - Clive of India	A picture by Benjamin West, commemorating the granting of the 'diwani' to Robert Clive	view
Week 9 - Rights of Man	Read the short extract from Thomas Paine's 'The Rights of Man' p. 16-24 (this makes up just four paragraphs)	view
Week 9 -Edmund Burke	Read pages 20-22 'the harm the French Revolution has done'.	view
week 9 - James Gillray Cartoons	See the 'Birmingham Toast' ridiculing the English Jacobins. Although taking a conservative stance Gillray often ridiculed Pitt as well see ...	view
Week 10 - Cartoon 'The System Works'	Cartoon by Cruikshank in 1831. A mill representing the notorious 'rotten boroughs' churns out money and sinecures.	view
Week 10 - Speech by Sir Robert Peel	An (abridged) speech by Sir Robert Peel against the cause of reform. A full version can be found here ...	view
Week 10 - Lord Macaulay's speech in favour of Reform	Lord Macaulay's speech in favour of reform (abridged).	view

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Britain in the Long Eighteenth Century: Politics and Society, 1688-1832

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Britain in the Long Eighteenth Century: Politics and Society, 1688-1832

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