Concetti Chiave
- George of Hanover succeeded Queen Anne in 1714, with a kingdom concentrated in the South East of the U.K., and faced a Jacobite rebellion in Scotland.
- Walpole's government saw the rise of the Cabinet system, with the Prime Minister leading, facilitating trade by removing customs duties.
- The Seven Years' War (1756) established England's dominance in trade, gaining territories in India, Quebec, and monopolies in Africa.
- 18th-century English society was hierarchically divided, with aristocracy at the top, a wealthy middle-class, and a struggling urban proletariat.
- Enclosures forced peasants to urban areas, contributing to the growth of the urban proletariat, while coffee houses became social hubs in London.
The succession of George of Hanover
When Queen Anne died in 1714, was succeeded by her nearest relative, George of Hanover. His kingdom was populated by 5.5 millions of people, concentrated in South East of U.K. the only large town was London. Parliament had become more powerful but less representative than the Crown because its members, not chosen by people, were nominated in the pay of great noble families. Moreover, elections were controlled by landowners. In 1715 in Scotland broke out a Jacobite rebellion (the jacobites were the supporters of James II the catholic), but it was cut by an English army. This weakened the idea of restoring the Stuart of the Tory party.
Walpole's government and trade
The future belonged to the Whigs, according with them the ministers can meet without the king. Their meeting developed in government of Cabinet, in which all ministers are equal and in this period was created a Head of the Cabinet, the Prime Minister. 
The first prime minister was R. Walpole. In period of his power he kept England out of foreign conflicts so trade could flourish well. In order to facility that Walpole removed customs duties on exports and imports of raw material. George II gave Walpole the house of Westminster, so it became forever the residence of Prime Minister.
Walpole much favoured English economy for the advent of the Industrial and Agrarian Revolutions.He made England the main State of cloth-making, coal was mined and an iron-melting process was invented. PITT wanted England to become the economically strongest State and to enlarge his trade dominion in world. His policy led the establishment of wealth favouring the middle class and the bourgeois, with introducing of new values.
The Seven Years' War
In 1756 The Seven Years’ War broke out. England became loyal with Prussia against France, Russia, Austria and Spain. The aim of this war was the supremacy between England and France in control of trade in America and in the South-East of Asia. Finally England kept a big part of India and Quebec and all the trade of fish. In Africa, Dakar was taken together the monopoly of gum and slaves trade.
English society in the 18th century
The division of categories in England is in this method: in the top there was the old aristocracy, Then there was a rich social class that comprehends the gentry and the wealthy, composed by little country aristocracy which lived in high conditions. They form the Bath Society. Down there was the middle-class and the bourgeois. Artisans and merchants were contaminated by puritan influence and they filled the gap between the upper class and poor. They worked as apprentices and receive a low wage. Below them, in deepest of society there is the mass of urban proletariat that lived in terrible conditions with illnesses such as smallpox and typhus. Life in countryside was affected by the enclosures of common lands by the gentry's landowners. So the poor peasants, denied by the lands, went in big number in towns and this mass forms the urban proletariat. In London born the coffee houses, which are place full of news and gossip and provided entertainment between people.
Domande da interrogazione
- How did George of Hanover come to succeed Queen Anne?
- What significant changes did Walpole's government bring to England?
- What was the outcome of the Seven Years' War for England?
- How was English society structured in the 18th century?
- What impact did the enclosures have on rural and urban populations in England?
George of Hanover succeeded Queen Anne in 1714 as her nearest relative. His succession marked a period where the Parliament, though powerful, was less representative due to its members being nominated by noble families and elections controlled by landowners.
Walpole's government introduced the concept of the Cabinet government and the role of the Prime Minister. He kept England out of foreign conflicts, allowing trade to flourish by removing customs duties on exports and imports of raw materials, thus favoring the English economy during the Industrial and Agrarian Revolutions.
The Seven Years' War, which began in 1756, resulted in England gaining significant territories, including parts of India and Quebec, and securing trade dominance in America and the South-East of Asia. England also took control of Dakar and monopolized the gum and slave trade in Africa.
English society was hierarchically structured with the old aristocracy at the top, followed by a wealthy class including the gentry and the Bath Society. Below them were the middle-class and bourgeois, with artisans and merchants influenced by puritan values. At the bottom was the urban proletariat, living in poor conditions.
The enclosures of common lands by the gentry's landowners forced poor peasants off the land, leading many to migrate to towns. This migration contributed to the growth of the urban proletariat, who lived in dire conditions, while the countryside saw a decline in traditional peasant life.
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