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The American Revolution
The American Revolution was a political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America. They first rejected the authority of the Parliament of Great Britain to govern them from overseas without representation, and then expelled all royal officials. -
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Literary Events
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William Blake publishes Songs of Innocence
Songs of Innocence is a collection of illustrated lyrical poetry. A few first copies were printed and illuminated by William Blake himself in 1789. Its companion volume is Songs of Experience. Blake believed that innocence and experience were "the two contrary states of the human soul", and that true innocence was impossible without experience. Songs of Innocence contains poems either written from the perspective of children or written about them. -
The French Revolution
The French Revolution, was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France that had a lasting impact on French history and more broadly throughout the world. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed within three years.French society underwent an epic transformation, as feudal, aristocratic and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from radical left-wing political groups, masses on the streets, and peasants in the countryside. -
Charles and Mary Lamb publish Tales from Shakespeare
Tales from Shakespeare is an English children's book written by Charles Lamb with his sister Mary Lamb in 1807. It was illustrated by Arthur Rackham in 1899 and 1909,by Walter Paget in 1910,and by D. C. Eyles in 1934.The book reduced the archaic English and complicated storyline of Shakespeare to a simple level that children could read and comprehend. -
United States declares war on Great Britain
On June 12, 1812, the United States declared war on Great as a result of numerous disputes between the two countries. The British continuously engaged in impressment and forced US citizens to serve in the Royal Navy. The British also attacked the USS Chesapeake and this nearly caused a war two year earlier. -
Brother's Grimm begin to publish Grimm's Fairytales
The first volumes were much criticized because, although they were called "Children's Tales", they were not regarded as suitable for children, both for the scholarly information included and the subject matter.Many changes through the editions – such as turning the wicked mother of the first edition in Snow White and Hansel and Gretel (shown in original Grimm stories as Hansel and Grethel) to a stepmother, were probably made with an eye to such suitability. -
Jane Austen publishes Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London. -
Mary Shelley, daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft, publishes Frankenstein
Shelley had travelled in the region of Geneva, where much of the story takes place, and the topics of galvanism and other The storyline emerged from a dream. Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, and John Polidori decided to have a competition to see who could write the best horror story. After thinking for weeks about what her possible storyline could be, Shelley dreamt about a scientist who created life and was horrified by what he made. She then wrote Frankenstein. -
Victor Hugo publishes The Hunchback of Notre Dame
The story begins on Epiphany, 1482, the day of the Feast of Fools in Paris, France. Quasimodo, a deformed hunchback who is the bell-ringer of Notre Dame, is introduced by his crowning as the Pope of Fools.Esmeralda, a beautiful Gypsy with a kind and generous heart, captures the hearts of many men, including those of Captain Phoebus and Pierre Gringoire, a poor street poet, but especially those of Quasimodo and his adoptive father, Claude Frollo, the Archdeacon of Notre Dame. -
Slavery is abolished in British Empire
It was only by 1833, with the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act, that the purchase, sale and ownership of slaves became illegal throughout the British Empire. On 1 August 1834, the practice of slavery in its entirety was abolished, and was replaced by the four year apprenticeship of slaves. This was to enable slave owners to retain their workforce and for slaves to learn a trade.