Concetti Chiave
- The Augustan Age began with George I's reign, marking a period of political stability and cultural flourishing akin to Roman history's golden age.
- Society was characterized by materialism, pragmatism, individualism, and opportunism, with a shift from Puritan values to a belief in progress.
- Virtue in this era was associated with benevolence and sensibility, reflecting the changing social values of the time.
- The Whigs and the Tories emerged as Britain's first political parties, with the Whigs leaning liberal and the Tories conservative.
- Coffee-houses in London became cultural hubs similar to theatres in the Elizabethan era, serving as spaces for social interaction and intellectual exchange.
Indice
The beginning of the Augustan age
When Queen Anne died (1714), George of Hanover became king under the name of George I (1714-1727), and the Stuart dynasty ended. This event marked the beginning of the Augustan Age, also known as a golden age: in this period there was a political stability and a flourishing of the arts, just like the period of Roman history!Moreover, it was a materialistic, pragmatic and reactive society and it was the cradle of individualism and opportunism.
Enlightened thinkers (starting from John Locke) rejected the strict values of Puritanism and they trusted in progress.
In Augustan society, “virtue” meant a disposition of benevolence, but also a growing emphasis on sensibility!
In this period, the Whigs and the Tories were the first political parties in Britain; we can summarily say that the Tories were the “Conservative Party” and the Whigs the “Liberal Party”.
The Augustan Age: a definition
The Augustan Age is called in this way because it seemed to echo the golden age of literature that was developed under Emperor August with Virgil, Horace, Ovid and Livius. All this authors were considered the pinnacle of style, rationality, balance and refinement.Hence, English intellectuals wanted to be inspired by them as well as imitate them so that Classical literature started to circulate again in the XVIII century.
For this reason, this age was full of creative energy, stinging satire and public polemics that opened the door to embrace the Enlightenment.
Prime Ministers and Economic Policies
The first Prime Minister was Robert Walpole a Whig in power from 1721 to 1742 and, in this period England didn’t make war, so trade flourished and taxes didn’t increase.
He was the first tenant in Westminster, 10 Downing Street.
In 1766 another Whig, William Pitt became Prime Minister and started a mercantilist policy, to make England a world power and he especially helped the middle-class, so merchants controlled many trades while craftsmen worked long hours and they often fell ill.
The role of the coffee-houses
In London many coffee-houses developed and their role was like the theatre in the Elizabethan age. These coffee-houses usually were attended by men but women sometimes went there to show their emancipation.
Coffee-houses were developed from a different conception that coffee had during the 17th century.
As a matter of fact, coffee were not considered only as beverages for the aristocracy but also a way to gather together the most important personalities and intellectual of time.
It was a pretest used both to discuss the main social and political topics and elaborate new thoughts and theories.
Socialization was also a relevant aspect that was taken into consideration in that context.
Coffee-houses were built in different shapes depending on the place they were in (a garden for example) and the solar exposition.
For this reason they could have been a pavilion or an actual housing structure.
Generally speaking, it was a structure made with lot of stained glass windows in order to let the sunlight in.
The interiors were characterised by big saloons and next to them sometimes could have been found little sitting room or refreshment areas as well as bedrooms.
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