Romanticismo e tre rivoluzioni

American Revolution

The American Declaration of independence from British rule of 1776 saw George Washington became the first president of the United States of America.
1783 - Treaty of Versailles: Britain recognized the independence of USA.
1787 - Federal constitution
1773 - the Americans helped British army to fight against French troops in Canada. The British government wanted to to raise new taxes to pay for the war. Americans responded by saying: No taxation without representation.
The American colonies asked to participate to the British parliament to make decisions.
1773 - Boston tea party: A group of American dressed as Indians threw English tea into the harbor. In the same years-war of independence: the patriots didn't have an army but they knew the territory and they were supported by people. The British had an organised army but they were to far from the mother country. The French supported the Americans rebels especially against the royal navy: they stopped the ship to America full of food, soldiers, weapons (a decisive factory for the American victory).
1776 - Declaration of Independence written by Jefferson: the natural right to life freedom and the persecution of happiness.

Industrial Revolution

The terms generally refers to England's economic development from 1760 to the middle oh 19th century which transformed Britain from an agricultural to an industrial country. The industrial revolution involved to use of new sources of power (coal and steam) and also important technological inventions: transportation and communication in general improved greatly in this period.
A revolution is usually a sudden and bloody change of society/situation, the industrial revolution is one the contrary a slow process, raw materials (coal and steel),new source of power,technological inventions thanks to the royal society, transportation and communication,capitals to invest,Puritan mind (the desire to improve economically),new organisation of work: factory system which allows the mass-production.
The consequence of industrial revolution: new machines, both agriculture and industry, meant a drastic reduction in the number of people employed : unemployed - many people had to leave their native places to look for work and were reduced to starving. The increase of production called for more workers: masses of laborers, badly-paid, badly-clothed and badly-fed, worked in factory for up sixteen hours a day, in appalling conditions of hygiene and safety. Women were paid less than man, and children were paid even less. Children were especially used for work in mines where their size meant they cloud crawl through very small tunnels. Workers lived in slums where alcoholism and illness were common and death rate was high. In 1824 the first Trade Unions were founded. Socialism-Owen improved working and living conditions for his workers and their families in his factories in Scotland. Women were less free. Many of them worked with men in workshop and factories, but they were subject of discrimination and also had to work at home. Even elementary schooling was thought to be superfluous for women. In the higher classes also enjoyed less freedom because of the rigid code of sexual and social behavior gradually imposed by the bourgeoisie. Toward the end of 18th century women began to demanded the emancipation, or equal rights.
Laissez-faire: Adam smith- it's an economic policy when a government doesn't put many laws and rules to control buying and shelling of goods and services.

French Revolution

Inaugurated an age of political and social change which spread throughout Europe and which was to definitely transform the political culture of most of Europe. In Britain, the revolution,at least in its early phases, had many supporters in particular Blake, Coleridge,Wordsworth. Later, many thinkers began to fear that the terror might spread to Britain. The principles of French revolution were freedom, equality, brotherhood.

Romantic Age: the age of revolutions.
Romance: it is a poetic form about khightood,country love,magical elements.
Romantic spirit:
1. Nature-sublime: it's an aestetic and philosophical concept by Burke. A natural phenomenon goes beyond a rational explanation arising a sense of Astonishment.
2. The nature is lively.
3. New sensibility of the poet, he becomes a teacher, a guide, a prophet. And they lived in humble life.
4. Sense of peace.
5. A new taste for the past.(middle age: magic, supernatural)
6. New taste for exotic places.
Imagination is a particular faculty of the poet like ad 'inward eye' which can understand better reality and can go beyond it.

Sublime: it is a concept associated with vastness, awe,natural magnificence and strong emotions. One of the key texts is Burke's essay Enquiry of Sublime and Beautiful which examines the experience of natural phenomena. Burke associated the sublime with obscurity, power,darkness,solitude,vastness and uniformity in comparison with beautiful, which is connected with notions of smallness and variegation. His theory was extremely popular and contributed to a passion for extreme sensation that culminated in the Gothic novel and influence several romantic painters like Fussli.