18th Century Newspaper

18th

THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY

THE GREAT EVENTS

LITERATURE ART FASHION

THE NAPOLEONIC WARS

1800

Art in the Enlightenment

In 1700 Britain was an artistic backwater. A century later British art was as innovative as any in Europe. Two generations of painters became widely admired, among them Hogarth, Reynolds, Gainsborough and the Welsh-born Richard Wilson.

The foundation of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1769 showed that artists were beginning to establish themselves as professionals, with intellectual weight and creative skills. During a century of conflict with France, the idea of a British School of painting gained ground.

The Assembly at Wanstead House. Earl Tylney and family in foreground

The aristocracy and gentry were expected to have an appreciation of the arts. Many upper-class men visited Italy where they developed a taste for Old Master paintings and classical antiquity. British artists complained about this obsession with foreign art, but successfully developed specialisms of their own, such as the ‘conversation piece’ or the ‘grand style’ portrait.

Self-Portrait by Hogarth, ca. 1735, Yale Center for British Art.

Britain also developed a recognizably modern art market. Commentators wrote about art. Pictures were seen in exhibitions and became valuable commodities. While the art world remained centred on London, artists made careers in some English provincial centres, as well as in Dublin and Edinburgh. By the 1790s they could also find clients in the larger Welsh towns.

A Rake's Progress, Plate 8, 1735, and retouched by Hogarth in 1763 by adding the Britannia emblemv

The Ladies Waldegrave (1780)

The Thames from Richmond Hill (1788)

The Restoration and the 18th Century

During this time, a premium was placed on the importance of human reason and on an empirical philosophy that held that knowledge about the world was through the senses and by applying reason to what we take in through our senses. Reason was an unchanging, uniquely human characteristic that served as a guide for man. Thus this time is often also called the Age of Reason or Enlightenment. Characteristics of this period included observing human nature and nature itself which were considered unchanging and constant.

The age is also known as the Neoclassical period. Writers of the time placed great emphasis on the original writings produced by classical Greek and Roman literature. The literature of this period imitated that of the age of Caesar Augustus, writers such as Horace and Virgil, with classical influences appearing prevalent in poetry with the use of rhyming, and in prose with its satirical form. The Augustans deemed classical literature as natural, that these works were the idealized models for writing.

Jonathan Swift

John Dryden

The Neoclassical “ideals of order, logic, restraint, accuracy, ‘correctness,’ decorum,. . . would enable the practitioners of various arts to imitate or reproduce the structures or themes of Greek or Roman originals” (Victorian Web). Alexander Pope furthers this idea as he says “Learn hence for ancient rules a just esteem; To copy Nature is to copy them” (Essay on Criticism). The way to study nature is to study the ancients; the styles and rules of classical literature. Closely allied with the emphasis placed on the classics and the unchanging rules of nature was the belief that reason was an unchanging and unique human quality that served as a guide for man.

Alexander Pope

Samuel Johnson

Samuel Johnson

Thomas Gray

Henry Fielding

British fashion during the Georgian period

Man’s Day Clothes about 1738 This gentleman wears a smart summer suit, with the coat more tightly fitting than at the end of the 17th century. It is made of plain cloth embroidered on edges and pockets, which are raised to hip level. The waistcoat is plain and the breeches are tighter and fasten below the knee. The shirt is frilled at the cuff and around the neck is a knotted muslin or lace cravat. He wears his own hair. For formal occasions a powdered wig tied back with a bow would be worn and his coat and waistcoat would be of patterned silks.

Lady’s Day Dress about 1750 This lady (left) wears a ‘sackback’ dress developed from the flowing undress gowns of 17th century. Beneath are a stiff corset and cane side hoops supporting the skirts. The frills of her shift show at the neck, veiled in a muslin ‘kerchief’ and at the opening of her wing-like cuffs, which are typical of the 1750’s. She wears a round muslin cap, the central pleat recalling the ‘fontange’ (1690 – 1710). For formal dress she would wear richly brocaded or embroidered silks.

Man’s Day Clothes about 1770 This gentleman wears a plain coat, tightly fitting and cut away, forming curving tails. The waistcoat is shortened to just below the waist and the breeches are longer and tighter than before. His coat has a band collar and he wears a rather stiff stock instead of a cravat. He wears his own hair, but for formal occasions he would have a powdered wig, dressed high and tied at the back. Embroidery and trimming were no longer fashionable except for formal wear.

Lady’s Day Dress about 1780 This dress is typical of the simple countrified styles which became fashionable towards the end of the century. It is a ‘redingote’ or riding coat, modelled on a man’s coat. The waist has become shorter and the bosom is padded by a muslin ‘buffon’ neckerchief and the hips by a ‘false rump’. The hair is dressed in a mass of loose curls and the lady wears a huge hat inspired by a mid-17th century riding hat. Woollen cloth, cotton and linen had become fashionable materials, while silks were worn for evening, as were small hoops since wide ones were only worn for court.

Learn about the most important events of the 18th century

The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 (MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 (MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian revolutions. During the century, slave trading and human trafficking expanded on a global scale.

War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714)

The war went in favor of the Grand Alliance, but events suddenly took an unexpected course. The Grand Alliance supported Charles, the Archduke of Austria. When his brother Joseph died, Charles became emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Empire of Spain held vast overseas possessions in both North and South America.

Undoubtedly, this century was the century of wars

War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748)

In the end, around 300,000-400,000 lost their lives in another attempt to gain power and maintain the balance of power.” Once again, peoples in distant places found themselves at war simply because their imperial government had a squabble about inheritance laws.

Una vez más, murió un rey y hubo una controversia considerable sobre quién tomaría su puesto.

The Seven Year’s War (1756-1763)

In 1754, the young George Washington attacked a tiny force of French Canadians with his own tiny force of Virginian soldier.

Over the course of the conflict, between 800,000 – 1,300,000 people died.

The American Revolution (1775-1783)

Across the sea, colonists of British America were increasingly frustrated. They felt as if they were treated as ‘second class citizens,’ and they had no representation in Parliament.

The American Revolution was truly revolutionary, for it aimed to throw off the British monarch and establish a government of the people. It was based on Enlightenment ideals, and it drew from the idea that America was to be a special nation, a kind of ‘light to the nations’ which – from the bloodsoaked plains of Europe – would be seen as a haven of peace, prosperity, and piety.

The war was conducted with perhaps 100,000 – 150,000 deaths total. In comparison to recent wars it had been relatively small, but its influence was disproportionately large.

The French Revolution (1789-1799)

On July 14, 1789, insurgents stormed the Bastille as a symbol of French despotism. As the situation become more radical, the king and his family was forced to move to Paris.

The situation spiraled out of control in the bloody September massacres of 1792, as mobs of citizens murdered and plundered openly.

The period of the Revolution was marked by nearly continuous wars, as well as civil war.

Louis xvi was executed at the guillotine

Louis XVI was finally executed at the guillotine on January 21, 1793 – the guillotine being the most famous symbol of the revolution. Because it was (assumed to be) instantaneous, it was viewed as a ‘democratic’ capital punishment, suitable for any individual, aristocrat or commoner.

The French Revolution was world Revolution. As G. V. Prinsterer says, “The Revolution is a unique event. It is a revolution of beliefs; it is the emergence of a new sect, of a new religion; In the end, the French Revolution was undoubtedly the most significant event of the eighteenth century; it was also perhaps the second most significant event of the second millennium, after the Reformation.

The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815)

France was in political chaos, and everyone knew it. But no one was strong enough to single-handedly change the situation, except one man. Napoleon Bonaparte had successfully commanded French troops during the revolutionary wars, and he staged a coup to take authority. He then faced off against a series of five coalitions of European allies. These allies were primarily headed by Great Britain.

This was a Newspaper prepared by Alin Zuñiga and Alexandra Aguilar.