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London Theaters reopen; Actresses appear on stage for the first time.
With the reopening of the theatres after the Restoration, women were for the first time allowed to act on the stage. The advent of women actors opened up a world of titillation and scandal, appreciated by audiences from all levels of society. Nell Gwynne is the first female actresses and her rival Moll David. While Nell and Moll may have been perceived as sex objects more than respectable actresses, their accomplishments marked the beginning of the role of actresses that still continues today. -
Charles II is proclaimed king of England (crowned in 1661)
Charles II was born in St James's Palace, London and lived with his father during Civil War. The victory of Cromwell's Parliamentary forces Charles II was in exile in France. Charles escaped then the death of Cromwell and the collapse of the English Commonwealth lead to Charles opening.In April 1660 Charles issued the Declaration of Breda, promising a general amnesty and freedom of conscience. Parliament accepted the Declaration and he was proclaimed King on 8 May 1660. -
Plague claims more than 68,000 people in London
London’s plague began to spread in earnest eastwards in April 1665 from the destitute suburb of St. Giles through rat-infested alleys to the crowded and squalid parishes of Whitechapel and Stepney on its way to the walled City of London. By September 1665, the death rate had reached 8,000 per week. The Great Plague killed between 75,000 and 100,000 of London’s rapidly expanding population of about 460,000. It died out during the Great Fire that same year and never returned. -
Great Fire destroys much of London
In the early morning hours, the Great Fire of London breaks out in the house of King Charles II’s baker on Pudding Lane near London Bridge. It stated to spread quickly which destroy four-fifths of London. Miraculously, only 16 people were known to have died. What cause the fire to spread quickly was the poor houses with tar, narrow street, crowded houses, and the firefighter methods with bucket. The Great Fire was extinguished on September 6. -
Glorious (Bloodless): Revolution James II is succeeded by Protestant rulers of William and Mary (1688-1689)
The Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 replaced the reigning king, James II, with the joint monarchy of his protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. The tension between king and parliament ran deep throughout the seventeenth century. Unlike his brother, Charles, James was a tyranny. By 1688, Tories, worried about the Church of England, and Whigs, worried about the independence of Parliament, agreed that they needed to unite against James II. -
Alexander Pope puliches part of The Rape of the Lock
In 1710 or 1711, a minor British noble, Lord Petre, cut off a lock of Arabella Fermor's hair. Arabella was the daughter of another family of minor nobility. The purloining of the lock caused a falling-out between the two families. A friend of both, John Caryll, invited the young Alexander Pope to write a humorous poem to try to ease the bad feelings. Alexander had not yet established himself as a poet but the book had become the most perfect of the several European attempts to keep alive. -
Swift publishes A Modest Proposal, protesting English treatment of the Irish poor.
Swift published the Modest Proposal in 1729 as a pamphlet. He is well-known as the author of the satirical political fantasy. The Modest Proposal begins by describing the very real poverty of people in Ireland. Swift presents this quite sympathetically but sets out facts and details, showing that there is a “surplus” of children who cannot be fed. Irish people had been driven to cannibalism. At this time, and for many years afterward, Ireland was far poorer than England. -
Voltaire publishes Candide
François-Marie abandoned the secretary for the French Ambassador to devote himself to writing. As a writer, François-Marie became legendary throughout France for his sharp epigrams. After returning to Paris, François was imprisoned in the Bastille for satirizing the government. While in prison, François assumed the pen name “Voltaire.” Candide is considered Voltaire’s signature work, and it is here that he levels his sharpest criticism against nobility, philosophy, the church, and cruelty. -
George III is crown king of England; becomes known as the king who lost the American Colonies
George III was the first Hanoverian king born in England rather than Germany. The Acts causes the American Revolution to began with the Battles of Lexington and Concord. The next year, the Declaration of Independence laid out the Americans’ case for freedom, portraying George III as an inflexible tyrant who had squandered his right to govern the colonies. Even though he was not the one responsible for all the Acts. -
British Parliament passes Stamp Act for tacing American Colonies.
The Stamp Act or the new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used, here are some example ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. The Stamp Act was viewed as a direct attempt by England to raise money in the colonies without the approval of the colonial legislatures. Without resistance, the door was open for far more troublesome taxation in the future. -
African American poet Phillis Wheatley's Poems on Various Subject, Relisious and Moral is published in London
Phillis Wheatley was brought to America in 1761 and sold into slavery to John Wheatley. The Wheatley family took great care of her and she learn English in six months and learn to write on her own. A friend published thirty-nine of Wheatley’s poems in England under the title Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral. Phillis Wheatley, at age twenty, was the first African American and, notably, only the second woman in America, to publish a book. -
Boston Tea Party occurs.
The Tea Act of 1773 was a bill designed to save the faltering East India Company by greatly lowering its tea tax and granting it a virtual monopoly on the American tea trade. Many colonists viewed the act as another example of taxation tyranny. The colonists demanded that the tea be returned to England when it arrived. After Massachusetts Governor refused, the “tea party” with about 60 members of the Sons of Liberty dress in Indians and dump 342 chests of tea into the harbor which cost $18,000. -
Mary Wollstonecraft publishes A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman was the first great feminist treatise. She says "humanity's greatest gift is its ability to reason." Since men and women are born with the same ability to reason, women should enjoy just as much education, power, and influence in society as men do. Some writers who claimed that women's education should focus solely on making young women pleasing to men. She tears these arguments to shreds. For example, women can not raise her child well without reason. -
Napoleon heads revolutionary government in France.
The French Revolution began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens razed and redesigned their country’s political landscape. The French Revolution was influenced by Enlightenment ideals, particularly the concepts of popular sovereignty and inalienable rights. Although it failed and lead to chaotic bloodbath, the movement played a critical role for world.
