Historical Connections to the Romantic Period

The 18th century was a time of scientific and technological innovation. With the Industrial Revolution, Britain saw new inventions that made work more efficient. The development of steam power, coal for energy, and heavy machinery eventually gave rise to mills and factories that pulled laborers from the land and into growing cities. But the benefits of technology were not shared by all. Factory workers labored for long hours and very little pay in deplorable and often dangerous conditions. At the turn of the 19th century, the Romantic movement rebelled against this treatment and celebrated the rights and integrity of the "common man." Romantic writers longed for the natural landscapes that became increasingly lined with the smoke stacks of factories.

Meanwhile in France, a revolution to replace the monarchy with democracy soon turned into a blood bath. While the American colonies accomplished a successful revolution, the inspiring call for liberty in France gave way to the Reign of Terror in which thousands lost their lives. The emerging leader was Napoleon Bonaparte, a military man who would crown himself emperor of the territories he invaded. Although he would fail to conquer Britain, his calls for equality for all as well as his threat of invasion made leaders in Britain uneasy. When reformers gathered at St. Peter's Field in Manchester, the center of the thriving textile industry, cavalrymen charged the crowd of peaceful, unarmed demonstrators. The Peterloo Massacre would have a profound effect on Romantic writers, representing both the hopes and the problems that characterized the period of Romanticism.