The British Colonial Empire: Growth, Administration, and Literary Voices
LIT 45 gb in the 18 c.
soc & econmc dev & poli lif. Devlpts in cul & tech. The grea novlts of th tm 1 int 2 hist backg 2.1 soc & eco dev 2.2 politcl articultn 2.3 cul & tec 2.4 lit
3 gre nov of th tm 3.1 daniel defoe 3.2 jona swif 3.3 samu richardson 3.4 henry fielding 3.5 laurence sterne 4 d 5 c 6 b // 2 2.1 englan ws mainly rurl by the mid 18 c; howe, tow & cit experi an imp growth due to sev fact. A whol new socie strd to emerg in what was the begi of capitalism. In gen, it ws a tm of eco gro & this prosp led to a demogr explos: eng’s pop nearly doubld ivr the cour o th 18c / in the fi of agri the enclosure syst ws estab. Thank to th, new tech ws implmntd & agricltrl productvy incre. Thou of peasnts wr dispossessd of thei lan & forcd to migrat to urb ar & find jobs as facto wrkrs / this ws th begi of th Ind Re; in fa, eng ws the fir indus nati. Th technical innov applied to indus (steam engi in th 1760s) favrd th industion of th cou/ alth the 18c ws a prospe tm, thr ws soci discntent. Wealth didn spre to the wrkg clsse &, altho thr ws a gradu spre of litercy amg th lwr cla, stll mst ppl wr illiterate
2.2 th 18c ws a tm of poli stab & peace w the Restor of the mona aftr Cromwell’s Commonw. The parliamty sys incrsd its pow & the Pr Min exertd the Exec po. Thr wr 2 part: the Tori, wh we conserv, in fav of the Cro & th Angli Chu; & the Whigs, a gro suppo by sm nobles, merchnts & financiers of Lon & Low Chu clergymen, in fav of supprtng commrce / as 4 the Cr, Que Anne, the las Stu, died in 1714, & ws succeede by George I. A well-kn pri min of th tm ws robert walpole, who promtd the ministerial govern systm & presided ovr many years of pea & prosp but als of corrupt & bribery / georg III’s rei (1760 1820) had 2 main concerns: the establ of bri as a colonial pow, & the foundtn of a nw soc ordr basd on librty & radicl economic reform
2.3 the intellctl tren of the 18c is kn as the enlightenment (sear fr an abso knowld of the wo w preci throu scie & resea)/ samu johnson publ his “dict of the e lan” 1755 & murray wrot his “En Grammr” in ord to gv stabi to lan / th art of th tm, calld Neocl, lookd 4 ordr & harmo & promtd a return to the Classcl mdls. In archi/ in gen, thr ws a prefer 4 reason ovr feel. How, by th en of th cen, sm mvmts reac agai this excess of rationlsm (the gothic novel, the precursors of romanticsm)
2.4 the 18 c witnssd the ris of the nvl as a popu genre, the growth of journalsm & magzns & the increas of literary criti. The lit of th tm has 3 main feat: *simplicty, clarity & precision in sty. Lang is plain, rejctng metaphrs & rhetoricl flourishes *notion of universl poetics *conception of the writr as a craftsman / hvg analy th main histrcl asp of the 18c, I w nw gv a brief acc on th mst imp nvlsts of th tm 3 it ws in this per that the nvl consoldtd as a genre in brit. Cnsidrd infer in qual by lit crit, the nvl bc the dominant frm & genre /
sm o the gre nvlsts of E li cm frm this c. Let st w defoe
3.1 defo 1660 1731ws the prototyp of th practicl Engma & he is consi the fath of th E nvl. His nvs sho th 18c ways of thinkg: hums hv to cope w a harsh real withou questiong soc ordr / robi cru 1719 is his ms fam nv. Its the sto of a castaway who spnds 28y on a desrt isl. Crus is a heroic fig & the firs great individualist as a charatr. He is also a colonsr, & the isl bcms a modl of his own socie / moll flanders 1722 is ano outs wrk by dafo. Its the sto, tld in 1st per, of a woman’s dissolute lif who is accptd back into soci aftr imprvg hr beha
3.2 swi 1667 1745 ws an anglo-iri authr, famous 4 hs satircl woks. 4i, A Tale of a Tub 1704 is a satir on the corrup in diff churchs, & in “a modest proposal” 1729 he suggests w grotesq logic the marktg of poor Irish childrn to feed the Eng rich as a solution 4 th Iri problm / his masterp is gulli’s travls 1726. Its the sto of gulli’s jornys to imagi wors. Its a pessimstc, sharp satircl wo that criticses the natu of hm beigs. Lilliputians, who r only 6 inches tall, r full of vanities & immersd in disputes w the enor brobdingnagians (who repr the chur)
3.3 richa 1688 1761 was fam 4 his stors of lv & morls. He ws a Tory so in his nvls thr is no criticsm of soc class struc. Rich is the master of the epistolry nvl, in whi the sto is tld by mea of lttrs / “pamela, or virtue rewarded” 1740, is ab a poor virtuous maid who suffrs the trials of Mr B., culmintg in atemmptd rape. Th nvl is made up of pame’s lettrs to her parets / “clarissa” 1748 is ab a you wealthy lady that is obliged to marry an old rich man. The libertine Lovelace drugs & rapes her, so this novl is a trgdy of sex as clarissa loses reason & dies seeing her virtue dishonrd / richa, as a nvlts, introduc the analy of emot & instrospction, & prsent charctrs as thnkg & feelg entits
3.4 fieldg 1707 1754 ws a satiric dramatist who criti tyrannicl powr & brutality. His styl is humorous & ironc & theres an omniscient narrtr who cntrls the destinies of all char / “joseph andrews” 1742 attempts to mock rich’s works, since jose is a chaste man who fights a lady’s attempts to sedu him / maybe his bes wo is “the histo of tom jones” 1749, whr he cratd a new kin of hero: tom is a yoman wh enjoys his freed & hs many relatns w wmn, but whn he maturs he marri the wmn he has alw lvd
3.5 sterne 1713 1768 had an innov & free frm linerity stylle, his mos fam nv is “the lif & opis of tristram shandy, gentleman” 1759-67. It is a fant narrtd in 1s per & in the frm of an extnded monol full of interrup wit lots of puns. Hen, ster is a precur of the “stream of conscionss”, inflecg modernst wri such as joy or woolf 6–
Abrams, m. H 2012 the norton anthology of eng lit, norton: lon -novak, m.E. 1983. MacMillan his of lan. Eighteenth-cen eng lit. macmil: lon -sanders, a 2000 the short oxfo his of eng lit. oxf uni press: oxf -encyclopaedia britanni. 2022. Encycl britannica onli
LIT 47 th eng ind rev. Its infl as a mod of historicl trnsfrmtn. Soc & pol chan in the lit of th per. Char dick. 1 int 2 the ind rev in gb: its infl as a mdl of historcl trans 2.1 main feat 2.2 main conseq 3 soc & pol chan in th lit of th per 3.1 benjamin disraeli 3.2 elizabeth gaskell 3.3 charles kingsley 4 char dick 4.1 dick’s works 5 d 6 c 7 b // 2 th suddn accel of techncl & eco devlpmt tht begu in br in the 2d hal of the 18c hd changd the lvs of a larg prport of the pop by the 19c / the ind revo, def as th ‘proc of chang frm an agrarian eco to one domi by indus & machi manufactre”, made ppl move frm lvng & wrkg on farms to wrkg in facto & lvg in citi
2.1 first, new technlgies wr applied to the production of goods & srvices. As a res, we fin changs in the us of basic materls (iron, steel); the us of new energy sourcs to prodc power (coal, electrcty, petrleum); or th discovri of the tm: the spinning-jenny; the waterframe; Crompton’s mule intrdcd in1779, the self-acting mule; & the power-loom; togwthr w imp devlpmts in trans & commu mean (cars, aeroplane, radio) / secoly, new production unis wr devlopd & markd the diffe betw old agrar farm production/ thirl, work productvity increasd at a high rate, gvg way to the factory system; & the divisn of labr, frm which 2 soci classes emr, capitalists (empoyers) & workrs (empyees) /this eco dev made the industl productve rate be higher than th agrarian prod
2.2 the effe of the indus rev ws felt on both soc & poli conditi / on the contin, althou th Sevn Yeas’ War ws costly, Bri ws seen as a world pwer. Also, th Fre rev in 1789 opnd an era of librl rev / in 1824 , workrs askd 4 fair wages & reasonbl condit to their capitalist emplyrs. This mov favored the legalz of the firs Trade Unions. In 1832, willi iv secured the passag of the fir Reform Bill by agreein to creat new peers to overcom the hostile majority in the Hou of Lords & to mk the Parli a mr democrtc bdy. The Refor Act aimd to extend the vtng rigts & redistrib Parliamntry seats / nex yea, the Parli statd a legisltv accomplishment rgrdg the emanc of slav in the Bri colonies, & the Factory Act 1833 to regu child labor in facto setting the mini ag (9) / reg soc conseq we cn tlk ab a demogr rev in thi per. The grow of pop ws due to the improv of foo suplies, bettr hygiene conditions & the reduct in the mortlty rate/ economc, 3 diff fields wr affctd: agricul, indus, & trade. Thanks to indus, urbanizatn took pla in the 19c. Als, due to the growth of the factry systm, trade expnded as the canal sys ws being dvlpd througho the country & the roads wr imprvd / the 18c cultu back is refle in evens su as the foun of th Bri Mu; the overseas explortn & the nam of james cook in the Pacif (th fir Bri to rea Antarc). Reg the litery backg, this per saw a wid vari of au & classics, 4e, dafoe’s robin cru & hume’s treatise on human natu. Yet, the turn of the cent saw arti such a austen’s sens & pre, & shelley’s frankenst
3 withn thi ctx its imp to highl the nvls labeled by critics as “the soci nvls” whi incl works by disraeli, mrs gaskell & chrls kingsley/ it’s worth strssng the imp of willi godwin 1756 1836 & his 2 major works: political justice 1793, wher hum happins & soci well-b r presetd as th purp of exist; & caleb williams 1794, whi is full of consciousnss of class divi
3.1 he ws bth a statesman & novlst. Disra ws twic prim minis & provded the Conserv Party w a twofold policy of Tory democrcy & imperialsm / his trilogy – coningsby, sybil, & tancred 1844-47 – ws plnnd w a specf poltcl purp to illum & srve the caus of Tory democ & the Young Engld Mov/ it is in sybil that disra considrs the totl social situ. In this nvl all Eng is repre: the aris, the industrialists, the rurl poor & the proletariat
3.2 she ws a nvlst, a short-sto wri & the firs biogrphr of charlott bron. Her litrty career strtd at the mddle of hr lf, whn the death of hr son intensifid her sens of commnty w the poor/ her 2 mr famou piecs of wo r mary barton & north and south / MB is consi her masterp, it depicts a humane picture of workg-cl life in a large industrial town in the 40s / in N&S she pres a pic of Engsh lif frm th pov of the mid cl, reprstg a contras betw ru & ind En
3.3 his nvls influ soc devl in Bri. He ws one of the fir churchmn to suppo dick’s theor & to seek reconci betw sci & Chr doctrn / his nvl Alton Locke 1850, is the sto of a wo-cl boy who bcms a Chartist but is disillusind by the crudity of the ‘mob 4 born in 1812, dick’s wo is usu dvd into ear nvls & matu nv. The nv of th 1 per incl oli tw, nicolas nickleby & the old curiosity shop. The ltr wors r dombey and son, david copprfield, bleak house, hard times, little dorrit, a tale of 2 cities, GE, & our mutual fri / his ear wo had lots of improvisations, but his ltr wo r more tightly controlld. The main fea of di’s sty r: *his descr of cit & relatnshps betw ppl *th namg of char to evok basc feat of thei charac *the thms of hi nv r denunciatory
4.1 his main conc ws th desc of soc in En & the stud of econ measurs opprsg th poor. The settgs of hi nvs wr dvstatd surro / amo hi wor we cn fi: autobiog nvs su as dav coppe 1850, whos majr thms r disci & maturi. Als, GE 1861 is semi-autobio. Dic’s majr thems r affectn, loyalt, conscience, wealt & class / throughou GE, di explo the clash of soc class. Henc, tha main char, Pip realizs that weal & class r less imp than loylty/ historcl nvls lk a tale of 2 cities 1859 narrate the years leadg to Fr rev & the settg alternts betw E & F / als, we enco soc nvls such as oli tw 1837 & a christmas carol 1843 in whi dick portr social evls as child lab / to conc, we mus high his state-of-th-nat nvl HT 1854. Dic contrasts the lif of imagtn w th lif of utilty whl crtizicg the schoolg sys & the utilitarn doct 7–
Abrams m h 12 th nortn anth of E lit. Nor: lon -novak m e 83 macmillan his of lit. Eighteenth-cen E lit. Macm: lond -sanders a 00 th short oxf his of E lit. Ox: oup
LIT 49 growth & admin of the bri colo empi in the 18th & 19th c. Joseph conrad & rudyard kipling. 1 int 2 the bri empi 2.1 origins of the bri empi: 16th-17thc 2.2 devlopmnt of the bri empi in the 18th cen 2.3 expan & consolidt in the 19th c 3 voices of the empire in lit 3.1 rudyard kipling 1865-1936) 3.2 joseph conrad 1857-1924) 4 d 5 c 6 b // 2 the BE was a worldwide systm of dependencies such as colonies, protectorates & other territories which, ovr a span of ab 3 centu, remaind under the sovereignty of the Bri Cro. The policy of gradually granting colonies diffrnt degrees of self-gov led to the devel of the Bri Commnwe in the 20c / let us now analys the main stages in the format & dev of the BE
2.1 the fir Bri attempts to estab overseas settlemnts took plc in the 16c, which ws an era of great voyags & exploration aftr the discov of Am in 1492. How, it ws in the 17c that the process of maritime expansion accelerated, mainly due to commrcl ambitions. This way, the Bri startd their expansion w the establishmnt of their fir settlemnts in Nor Am (Jamestown, 1602) & the West Indies / finally, in Afri the fir permanent settlement was James Island; later on other territories like Sierra Leone or the Cape of Good Hope would be annexd
2.2 in the 18c, the Br Cr strtd to exert a closer control over the colon. The mercantilist philosphy of the tm regrded colonies as a sou of raw matrials 4 Eng. In return, colonies wr expectd to conduct all their trade throu Bri ships & serve as markets 4 the Bri manufactrd prodts / the slave trade bcm very imp 4 the Bri colonial econmy, since it invlvd both free labour force & an extra sourc of incme. Howe, slvry ws abolishd in the BE long befo it did in a former Bri possession, the USA / in the 18c, the Bri militry & naval superiority enabld them to gain the territories of Cana & Indi against the Fr. The BE ws expandg quickly &, despite the loss of th Ame colo 1776-1783, it continued grwg amazgly / there wr new settlmts in Aus & Uppe Cana, while the terrirs of Trini, Tobag & Mal wr gained aftr beatg the Fr at war. Befo the begi of the 19c, further are would b annxd: in ame, mr Cana territors wr tkn; in Asi, Malacca & Singa wr acqui; & nume territrs in the Far East, such as Agra & East Bengal, wr also colonsd
2.3 the 19c markd the full pwr of the BE. Durg this cen thr ws a change in the adminis & colonial policy: thr ws a move towards a sophistictd systm of contrl exerted through the Colonial Offic. This organsm, creatd in 1802, becam a separate governmentl depart in charge of exerting pressure ovr the colonies & their governmts/ mercantilism ws gradually abandond to embrace free trade, & colo wr regard as occupied terri cntrlld by the European minority instead of settlemnts formg a new socie / in the Pacif, the Empi already had the territ of Aus, but the real extension began w the acq of new zea in 1840, whi inaugurtd a procss
of colonisation in the Paci Isl (fiji, tonga, papua) / the acq of Ind took plc in 1857 & led to furthr expan ovr the ares of burma & punjab. Moreo, the constr of the suez canl in 1869 invlvd not only a shortr sea rout to Ind but also an exce oppo to expan ovr the ar of somalia & extend the Br influ throughout southern Arab & the Persian Gulf / in the Far East, the Bri influ expanded to the Malay states, the protectort of Brunei ws founded & Hng-K beca Bri too/ how, the grtst expan of th BE in the 19c too pl in Afr. Bri ws the ruling force in Egyp & Sudan at the en of the c, & their colonstion would soon reach the interio of th contine too. By means of divrse companies, the Bri extended their influ ovr nige, ghana & gambia at fir, & latr on over kenya, ugan, zimbabwe, zambia & malawi. Finally, the Bri victory in the Sou Afr war gave them pow to exert their contrl ovr SoAf too / th BE extnded ovr around one quarter of the wor’s land surface. In the nex sect we’ll anal how this realty ws portryd in E lit through the works of 2 auths: kip & conrad 3
3.1 born in bombay in 1865, kipl spent hi childhoo in E & returnd to Ind whr he wrkd as a journlst, which permittd him to hav a first-hand knowledge of lif in the Bri colonies /in hi wos, kip presents a vision in whi Bri has the duty to civilise “backward” races, the mission to bring Europn civilisatn to uncivlsd colonies. That is what he clld “the white man’s burden”. Opinions rang frm seeing kip as a chronicler of the Br expansion to considrg him as a vulgar imperialist / amo his wo, we mus stan out his folk legens & animl myths in The Jungle Books 1894-95, the sto of mowgli, brought up by wolves & the panther bagheera. Kim 1901, his majr nvl, is a dramtc picture of th cmplx lf of Indian ppl, told through the eyes of a poor boy/ in 1907 won the NPL
3.2 th Poli con joind the Br Navy & trvlld extensively throughout the clonies, whi gv him plen of mate 4 his nvls / he shrd w kip his fascination w other cult, especially thos of the Far West & Afr, but, as we’ll see, his views on colonisation wr vry diff / his settgs r normll isoltd plcs, such as the jung, the sea or remote areas, since con ws concern w portrayg the tragedy of life & isol. The basis 4 his fic is the adven stor, yet his works r full of psychlgcl interst. In his ltr nvls he would focus on human moral dilemmas (man vs imself) / amg his wo, ther r 2 wo stand out: heart of darkness 1902, his mos fam nov, & nostromo 1904, his bes nv / as 4 his sty, con usd a vry elab lan to crea a perfectist prose whl introdg inno such as flashb/ heart of daknss narrts the jour to a remo plc insid th congo (contr betwe Westrn civilstn & what it has don to Af) / nostromo is set in an imagnry cou in SouAm. The forces shpng the modrn wo r presn: nationlsm, capitl, colon..
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Abrams m 18 th nort anth of e lit. Lon: nor -carter r 17. Th routle his of en li. Lon: rou -ford b 83 the new pelican guid to eng lit. Lon: pen