The Restoration and Enlightenment

Or, How the Return of the Monarchy Paved the Way for Renewed Learning

and Luxury as Well as Relative Stability

1660-1798

The End of the Renaissance

• Things went downhill after Queen Elizabeth I died in 1603.

• After James I died, his son Charles I inherited the throne.– It didn’t matter, though, because the Puritans and

their parliamentary power took over.• 1642 Civil War between Puritans and Royalists

Continued

• Charles I was beheaded by Parliament.• Oliver Cromwell took over, but he was a

terrible leader who became a dictator.• Meanwhile, people continued to head over to

North America.– Freedom of religion– Opportunities to make money

Boring Ol’ England

• Basically, life sucked for the people under the puritan government rule.– No entertainment– Sunday = day of prayer and nothing else

Meanwhile in France…

• Glamour!

• Elegance!

• Intrigue!

• Culture!

All of this good stuff was made possible by King Louis XIV.

Keep in mind that Charles I’s son, Charles II, spent his exile in France.

He enjoyed his time there.

Winds of Change

• By 1660, England caved in and reinstated Charles II as King.

• Naturally, he brought some French customs with him in an attempt to emulate the French court’s sophistication and splendor.

• The court, now under Stuart rule, set the example for upper-class social and political life.

#Upgrade

• Those who had remained loyal to the king were rewarded. – In fact, lots of Britain’s upper aristocracy members

trace their lineage of earldoms and dukedoms to the Restoration period.

• Lords and ladies now dressed in finery made of silk and lace.

• They also wore wigs and jewels.

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Good Times

• People were dancing in new styles at extravagant ballrooms.

• London theatres were open once more.• Charles II became an advocate for arts and

sciences, like Louis XIV.• Charles appointed England’s first official poet

laureate and chartered the scientific organization known as the Royal Society.

Continued

• Anglicanism became the state religion.• People realized that future monarchs would

have to share their authority with parliament.– Charles at first = friend to all– Great Plague of 1665 and Great Fire of London

• But, as usual with most governments, the unity came to an end.

Two factions became the nation’s chief political parties:

• The Tories – Pro-Royalty– Aristocrats– Conservative – Anglicans– No tolerance for

Protestant dissenters– Didn’t want war with

France

• The Whigs– Limit Royal Authority– Noblemen–Merchants– Bankers– Suspicious of king’s

Catholic advisers and Pro-French sympathies

– French are a threat!

William and Mary

• Charles didn’t have kids of his own, so his Catholic brother James took his place as king in 1685.

• James II lost a lot of support from the Tories.– Wanted to make Roman Catholicism state religion– Terrible statesman

• Whigs wanted James’ Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange instead.

Continued

• 1688: James was forced to abdicate– William and Mary took his place peacefully.– This move was known as the Glorious (or

Bloodless) Revolution, meaning that Parliament ruled over the divine right of kings.

• 1689: Parliament passed the English Bill of Rights; this limited royal authority.

William the Dutchman

• As a Dutch Protestant, William was an enemy to Catholic France and its expansion threats to Holland.

• With Whig support, he opposed the ambitions of Louis XIV with English military power, beginning a series of wars with France.– Second Hundred Years’ War

• A year before William died, Parliament passed the Act of Settlement. – Permanently kept Catholics from the throne.

Anne, Mary’s Protestant Sister

• 1702: Anne became queen.• Scotland united officially with England to form

Great Britain. • War with France continued.– Anne sided with the Tories, who opposed it, unlike

William who was for it.• A peace treaty between France and the British

was arranged by her Tory advisers in 1713.

House of Hanover and Other Stuff

• Anne, the last of the Stuart monarchs, died in 1714; her distant cousin became king.

• George I was the ruler of Hanover in Germany.– Didn’t speak English and the Tories didn’t like him– The Whigs were his fans, though.

• The language barrier caused George to rely on his Whig ministers.– Robert Walpole = first “prime minister”

Continued• George II became king in 1727.• Towards the end of George II’s reign, William

Pitt (the Elder) became the new prime minister.– Pitt helped win the Seven Years’ War a.k.a. the

French and Indian War– This resulted in Britain’s acquisition of French

Canada.

George III

• Grandson of George II and first British-born monarch of the House of Hanover

• Became king in 1760• More active monarch, but caused problems– Very difficult to work with, possibly due to what

was believed to be a mental illness.• Possible case of porphyria

– Lots of political blunders = loss of the American colonies

“New Classicism”

A Old and New Style

• Neoclassical writers modeled their work after the ancient Greeks’ and Romans’ works.– Restraint, Rationality, and Dignity

• Neoclassicists stressed balance, order, logic, sophisticated wit, and emotional restraint.

• They focused on society and the human intellect, avoiding personal feelings.

Dramatic Arts

• Influenced by the French theatre• Witty Restoration comedies portrayed and

often satirized the artificial, sophisticated society centered in the Stuart court.

• Heroic dramas, tragedies or tragicomedies featuring idealized heroes, dastardly villains, exciting action, and spectacular staging were also very popular.

Reason in the Midst of Wars

• Thinking was influenced by the Enlightenment, a philosophical movement.– John Locke, political philosopher• Social contract between a government and its people,

guaranteeing the “natural rights” of life, liberty, and property and that any government that disagreed should be changed or overthrown

– Sir Isaac Newton provided a rational explanation of gravity and motion.

Order, Balance, Logic, and Reason

• 18th century is often called the Age of Reason.• Methods of scientific inquiry were applied to

everything from farming to politics.– Fun fact: By producing larger animals, breeding

experiments helped improve people’s diets.• Religion wasn’t as much of an issue– Evangelical revival, new Methodist groups

Living the British Life• Many British citizens lived comfortably.– The wealthier ones lived extravagantly, building

lavish country estates with the best furnishings and beautifully tended lawns and gardens.

This 9,600 square foot manor could be yours for $3,500,000.1.6 acres of land, a self-contained cottage, four garages, and a heated pool. What else do you want?

Continued

• Parliament members would go to London townhouses on spacious new streets.

• Writers, artists, politicians, and other educated people gathered daily in London’s coffeehouses to exchange ideas, conduct business, and gossip.

• Educated women sometimes held salons, or private gatherings, to do the same.

#Winning #MoreUpgrades

• Lots of improvements for living conditions• Development of smallpox vaccination• Advances in agriculture– Wealthy landowners developed more productive

ways to harvest and cultivate food.• Breeding experiments = doubling weight of

sheep and cattle

Take the Bad with the Good

• These improvements drove thousands of peasant farmers off the land.

• Open fields were closed off for agricultural purposes. – The enclosures improved farming productivity, but

they ended the traditional way of life in the English villages.

The Industrial Revolution

• More factories with new inventions meant less handmade goods and more manufactured products.

• This created jobs and provided a solid commercial and industrial base, but with a price.

• Workers, many of them impoverished women and children, labored for long hours for low pay in dangerous conditions.