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The XVIII century in general, until 1785, had been considered the Age of Reason in a lot of parts of Europe. That changed to the Age of Passion and Revolution. The change was not drastic. Some of the main events in the history of Europe that influenced this new movement were the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution in England and the Independence of the USA.


  • The Industrial Revolution in England (1760)


    • It had a lot to do with the textile factories and the steam engine (la m�quina del vapor). In 1830, the first train in Europe connected Liverpool and Manchester. These two cities were the centre of the English industry although the coals were in Newcastle.

    Lot of people left the land and the work of the land and went to the cities to live and work. In consequence, many lands and farms were abandoned. Those people who left the country were not landowners. Agriculture suffered because of that and in the factories there were not enough jobs for everybody so poverty aroused and this carried many epidemics. That was the beginning of the separation of the two main classes: the working class and the middle-high class. The difference was immense. That happened in other countries later. Some novels reflected this despair that some people suffered.

    For more information: http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture17a.html


  • Independence of the USA (1776)


    • The USA were just a number of colonies. They became independent at the end of the XVIII and they wrote down their own constitution implying liberty, freedom and the rights of men up to a point. It was advanced and modern but there were a lot of black citizens, which were slaves so the constitution was not really democratic. Losing the colonies was a blow for the English. Spain lost its colonies in South-America about 40 years later.

    For more information: http://www.usinfo.pl/aboutusa/history/revolutionary.htm


  • The French Revolution (1789)


    • It took place in Europe so it was the beginning of the European liberties. The separation of the Estate and the Church was very advanced for the times. Most of the English romantic writers thought this revolution was very progressive and admirable at least at the beginning.

    This was a topic of some of the poems and we also have the disappointment of some of the writers when they saw the revolution had not been as revolutionary as they had thought it would.

    For more information: http://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution