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Peasants in the Ancien Regime
This painting is called "Peasants Merry-Making Before a Country House" by the Flemish partists, Lucas van Uden and David Teniers the Younger. This is significant because it depicts the third estate of old regime society--impoverished agrarian peasants. -
Slaves in Colonial Britain
This painting is called "The Slave Trade" by George Morland, an English artist. This is significant because it shows one of the reality of colonialism--the explotation of the natives of European colonies. -
Patois in the French Nation-State
This document is the "Rapport sur la nécessité et les moyens d’anéantir les patois et d’universaliser l’usage de la langue française." It was presented by Abbé Henri Grégoire at the National Convention during the French Revolution. This shows how some people in society did not fit within the construct of a nation. -
Women in the Revolutions of 1848
The Revolutions of 1848 were inspired by many ideas--nationalism, socialism, anarchy and even feminism. This drawing which appeared in Harper's Weekly, entitled "Women of Paris" depcits women's participation in the Commune of Paris. The drawing captures the different realities for women participating in uprisings as opposed to men, namely, the reaction reaction they receive for doing so. -
Working Class of the Industrial Revolution
"Iron Rolling Mill" by the German artist Adolph Menzel shows the harsh realities of the Industrial working class--unsanitary working conditions, long work hours, low wages and physical labour. -
Soldiers in the Trenches of the Great War
William Ivor Castle's photograph entitiled "A trench on the Canadian front showing "funk holes"" shows the horrible conditions soldiers endured in trench warfar of the First World War. The photograph was captured in France in 1917.
