First Botanical Garden in The UK

Portrait of Henry Danvers, Earl of Danby, Founder of Oxford Botanic Garden

Oxford Botanic Garden is the first botanical garden in the UK. It was founded on July 25th, 1621 when the founding stone of the garden was laid by the University of Oxford's Vice Chancellor. The founder of the garden is the first Earl of Danby, Henry Danvers KG.

Beginnings of the Temperance Movement

John Wesley, who founded the Methodist Churches, stated that “buying, selling, and drinking of liquor, unless absolutely necessary, were evils to be avoided.” This followed a period known as the “Gin Craze” where the production and consumption of gin skyrocketed in England. This is one of the earlier instances of religious figures vocalizing against alcohol use, which allowed it to gain traction in Britain. 

Slave revolts in Surinam(e)- that was recorded by John Gabriel Stedman in "Narrative, of a Five Years' Expedition Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana on the Wild Coast of South America; From the Year 1772 to 1777"

While Stedman only chronicles 1772- 1777, Slave revolts were common in the region and almost chronic to the colony of Surinam. The treatment in the area was considered notoriously brutal. It's also said that revolts by Maroons were to acquire more goods and to free more slaves.  The revolt also included Marron peoples.

"Narrative, of a Five Years' Expedition Against the Revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana on the Wild Coast of South America; From the Year 1772 to 1777... Volume 1 (of 2), by John Gabriel Stedman"

Stedman came with the role to suppress the rebellion against the Dutch colony. Stedman's preface highlights the perspective he and what he assumes the contemporary reader perceives of the affair. The preface is surprising in comparison to the introduction states that he wants to observe the war truthfully.  

The Narrative was widely shared to British people, The narrative's preface was written to:
GEORGE, PRINCE OF WALES, 

from:

INSCRIBED,
BY HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS’s
MOST DEVOTED,
AND MOST OBEDIENT,
HUMBLE SERVANT,

J. G. Stedman.

The last sentence in the preface says:

"Let it however not be understood, that I ever laid claim to excellence in writing or drawing; but if the plain and manly truth, so often spoken of, and so seldom found, are of any avail—I presume to hope, that these Volumes are not entirely unworthy the attention of a British Public." (vii)

The Book was used in the Abolitionist movement, the reaction to it's publishing in Britan was, " After its publication in Britain, the Critical Review reflected that 'we have never opened any work which is so admirably calculated to excite the most heart-felt abhorrence and detestation of that grossest assault on human nature—domestic slavery' (January 1797). " (British Library).

Stedman was introduced to William Blake through Joseph Johnson, an 18th-century Bookseller. Johnson was Blake's benefactor. Johnson's intervention is integral to the commercial success of the Narrative globally. 

" Through his connections, however, the bookseller could handle all details of publication from choice of paper and type to advertising and wholesale distribution. But more importantly he could exercise the personal interest a patron might take in a protege, offer- ing more than the copyright payment. Of all the booksellers in the second half of the century none surpasses Joseph Johnson for business acumen and literary taste" ( Tyson 1).

Content warning: the section shared may be deeply offensive to some readers. 

Excerpts from Narrative:

"At this place I was not a little shocked, to see the captive rebel negroes and others clanking their chains, and roasting plantains and yams upon the sepulchres of the dead; they presented to my imagination, the image of a number of diabolical fiends in the shape of African slaves, tormenting the souls of their European persecutors. From these gloomy mansions of despair, on this day, seven captive negroes were selected, who being led by a few soldiers to the place of execution, which is in the Savannah, where the sailors and soldiers are interred, six were hanged, and one broken alive upon the rack, with an iron [108]bar; besides which a white man was scourged before the court house, by the public executioner, who is in this country always a black." 

British Library. (n.d.). John Stedman's Narrative of a five years expedition against the revolted Negroes of Surinam, with engravings by William Blake. British Library. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/john-stedmans-narrative-of-a-five-yea...

Tyson, G. P. (1975). Joseph Johnson, an Eighteenth-Century Bookseller. Studies in Bibliography, 28, 1–16. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40371608

(1744–1797), J. G. S. (2022, November 29). Narrative, of a five years' expedition against the revolted negroes of surinam, in Guiana on the Wild Coast of South America; from the year 1772 to 1777... volume 1 (of 2). External link. Retrieved December 7, 2022, from https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/65715/pg65715-images.html#ch6

American "Declaration of Independence" Issued

This document was written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by The Second Continental Congress. There were twenty-seven colonial abuses that were outlined against King George III. This unanimous declaration of the thirteen colonies enabled them to ally with France and secure their aid against Great Britain. This pivotal formal statement is perceived as the birth of The United States of America. The document itself was a model and inspiration for other areas of the world such as Europe, Latin America, Africa and New Zealand during the 19th century. 

Execution of King Louis XVI

On January 21, 1793, King Louis XVI of France was executed. Image: Isidore-Stanislas Helman, The Death of King Louis (1794), Bibliothèque nationale de France. This work is in the public domain in the United States.

1793 was a key juncture in the revolution, beginning with this execution on 21 January. The increasing violence prompted Britain to cut its ties to France, leading to declarations of war by the two countries. Violence peaked during the Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 – 27 July 1794), which resulted in the execution of the Queen (16 October) as well as of many suspects of treason and members of the Girondins, the more moderate faction that the radical Jacobins brought down on 2 June 1793

Articles

Diane Piccitto, "On 1793 and the Aftermath of the French Revolution"

John Keats' Life

John Keats

John Keats was born in Moorgate London, England on October 31, 1795. He became fully dedicted to writing poetry in 1817, and wrote When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be in January of 1818. And on February 23, 1821, John Keats passed away in Rome, Italy.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Keats/The-year-1819

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keats

https://erling.yoga/john-keats-isle-of-wight/

https://www.christies.com/features/Joseph-Severn-portrait-of-Keats-11258-1.aspx

Lord Elgin begins his excavation and removal of the sculptures of the Parthenon to England

A sample of sculptures from the collection

Disclaimer 

In this passage, I will be using language such as “acquired” and “acquisition” in order to maintain a neutral stance on the matter of Lord Elgin and the collection of marbles he acquired from the Parthenon.  The debate about the ethics of taking artifacts from their homeland and people is a very complicated one.  I highly encourage you to read up on the subject and reach your own conclusion about how the acquisition of the Elgin Marbles falls on this debate.  I highly recommend watching Chip Colwell’s TED Talk as a starting point to launch your journey into the ethics of possession and repossession within museums: Museums have a dark past, but we can fix that | Chip Colwell | TEDxMileHigh 

The Art 

The Parthenon has stood in Athens, Greece since its construction in the fifth century BCE. The famous marble sculptures within the temple were most likely produced between the years 447BCE and 432BCE, roughly two thousand four hundred and fifty-two years ago. These sculptures depict the triumphs of Greece’s great heroes and gods. The British Museum’s collection includes fifteen of flat, two-dimensional wall reliefs called metopes and seventeen figures and sculptures in varying degrees of intactness. 

The Man 

Thomas Bruce, the seventh earl of Elgin, served as the English Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1799-1803. He spends the first ten years of the nineteenth century removing and shipping Ancient Greek sculptures and art to London. He describes his pillages as necessary to advance and refine English aesthetic and art. It is no secret that the modern Western world reveres and romanticizes Ancient Greek society, art, and academia—the new British Museum’s exterior is based on Grecian architecture, after all. In 1801, Elgin received permission from the current Ottoman authorities in place during the Ottoman occupation of Greece (or claimed that he receives permission, more information on that to come), and so began his excavation and removal of over half the intact sculptures found at the Parthenon. He and his team also removed art from surrounding sites of historical significance, such as the Acropolis. He exhibited these expeditionary trophies as part of his own private collection until the Marbles were bought by the British government. The display of the Parthenon Marbles debuted in 1816, and with the exception of construction in the middle of the nineteenth century, these marbles have been on display in the museum ever since. These sculptures were the inspiration for poet John Keats’s 1816 sonnet “On Seeing the Elgin Marbles for the First Time,” in which he describes the awe-inspiring experience with an emotional depth I’m sure has graced visitors for the last two hundred and six years— “Such dim-conceived glories of the brain/ Bring round the heart an undescribable feud;/ So do these wonders a most dizzy pain,”  

The Debate 

It remains unclear to historians whether or not the actions of Lord Elgin were entirely legal. According to the British Museum’s official trustee statement concerning the matter, they claim before the museum acquired the sculptures in 1816, an extensive investigation on the earl’s actions was conducted to ensure that his legal standing was cleared. Parliament’s vote decided his innocent in any shifty actions. No English investigations have been done since. Though Elgin may have had the permission of Greek and Turkish authorities, some historians worry that the vague language of any diplomatic agreements made between the earl and Ottoman authorities may not clear Elgin’s name after all. On July 6, 1801, Selim III, the sultan who ruled the land upon which the Parthenon stood issued a firman, or royal decree, stating that the Ottoman government would have no problem if Elgin and his expeditioners, “take away some pieces of stone with old inscriptions and figures...” While that was permission enough for Elgin and his crew, some historians interpret this phrasing to mean that the sultan meant for certain sculptures and inscriptions to be taking away only temporarily by the Englishmen so that replications could be produced. Some even argue with the merits of this firman. This is because that the Ottoman authorities occupying Greece at the time never communicated directly with the British government at the time to confirm this agreement. It was Elgin who claimed that the document existed, and Reverend Phillip Hunt, a young clergyman who was a part of Elgin’s excavation team claimed that he had a hard copy of the document but had conveniently left it at home when being interrogated by Parliament. The only physical documents Parliament was ever offered as evidence were copies translated to English, which very easily could have been faked. The actual firman itself, if the document existed at all, has since been lost to history. The current director of the Acropolis Museum Dimitrios Pandermalis claiming that the document issued between the sultan and the earl was not an official firman but more of an administrative letter. The research conducted by the Acropolis Musuem has found that this permit was not even issued to Elgin himself— the document was meant to give Ottoman authorities permission to excavate around the Parthenon. Since Elgin’s artistic treasures first hit English sources, they have been the cause of much debate. However, in recent years, the call that these priceless artifacts be returned to their homeland has increased. Greek authorities and museum professionals continue to seek compromises and agreements with the British Museum, and while this Museum claims it is open to making compromises and listen to requests, they hold that there is nothing inherently wrong with their possession of the Marbles. 

This is an important debate to have, as a disturbing number of artifacts in museums all across the Western world have been pillaged, stolen, or cheated out of their homelands. The British Museum itself has an extensive collection of Ancient Greek and Egyptian art— all acquired by the museum during this time when having a hard copy of an issued firman was not of any concern to Parliament. All across the world, objects of religious, spiritual, cultural, historical, and ancestral significance have been taken from the people to whom they are significant. This question, with no right answer, has been plaguing museum professionals for the last twenty years or so—who is the rightful caretaker of an artifact: a museum, where it can be carefully preserved for people to look at it for years to come, or the people who created and revere the object?  

Content sourced from: 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Bruce-7th-earl-of-Elgin 

https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/parthenon-marbles-british-museum-restitution-1234605904/ 

https://dalnetprimo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/sicv3p/TN_cdi_proquest_miscellaneous_231548682 

https://www.greece-is.com/news/ottoman-archives-reveal-elgin-took-marbles-illegally-expert-claims/ 

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Elgin_Marbles#Acquisition 

https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/parthenon-sculptures/parthenon 

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/feb/03/the-parthenon-marbles-had-a-time-and-a-rightful-place-for-keats#:~:text=Keats%20wrote%20a%20sonnet%20in,magnitude%E2%80%9D%20projected%20by%20the%20sculptures. 

https://www.britishmuseum.org/about-us/british-museum-story/contested-objects-collection/parthenon-sculptures 

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52305/on-seeing-the-elgin-marbles 

A New Era of Stories

Kinder- und Hausmärchen

Giving up on their career in law the Grim brothers began pursuing literary research. Although this was a completely different field from their political experience they still approached literature from a thinking of social change. They were unable to relate to the current Romantics of their time and sought out methods of the past and different cultures. They looked towards other cultures traditions from Spain, to Scotland, to Finland, to Serbia, and Scandinavia. They started with folk songs and tales and started to feel the difference in folk literature and poetry was the realism of the human state. They wanted to see fears, and hopes expressed in their writing. On December 20th, 1812 The Grimm brothers published a series of tales called Kinder- und Hausmärchen (House-march-en) which translates to Children's and Household tales, later coined "Grimm's Fairytales". A catalog of oral stories passed through generations based on peoples cultural beliefs. 

Kinder- und Hausmärchen remains the earliest collection of folktales and gave us classics such as: Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Snow White and The Seven Dwarves, Rumplestilskin, Beauty and The Beast, The Tortoise and The Hare, etc.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Brothers-Grimm

John Keats Writes "When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be"

The Isle of Wight

John Keats wrote When I Have Fears That I May Cease to Be between January 22 and 31 of 1818, lkely on the Isle of Wight. The poem includes imagery of the narrator, who is presumably John Keats himself, standing on a shore, much like he would have on the Isle of Wight. Keats also writes about how while his impending death allows his imagination to run wilder than any other as he looks up at the starry sky, he cannot help but lament the fact that he will never learn any of the greater truths about these celestial bodies. The 19th Century is filled with major advances in astronomy, but Keats never gets to see the discoveries of the asteroid belt, Neptune, spectroscopy, or the Transit of Venus. He passes away only a year after the founding of the Royal Astronomical Society, and the world was robbed of his teeming brain, filled with the desires for knowledge and love.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Keats/The-year-1819

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Keats

https://erling.yoga/john-keats-isle-of-wight/

https://www.christies.com/features/Joseph-Severn-portrait-of-Keats-11258-1.aspx

Peterloo Massacre

In the three years leading up to the Peterloo Massacre, members of the working-class repeatedly tried and failed to convince their government to improve their standard of living. The most prominent demand was to repeal the Corn Laws. Marches and gatherings were often "dispersed without injury" and petitions were rejected entirely. From the beginning of 1819, mass meetings were becoming more frequent. In response, "the government worked to find a legal justification for the magistrates to send in troops to disperse a meeting when riot was expected but not actually begun." In the end, approval was given privately, rather than officially, to turn to military action if needed and then receive forgiveness after the fact.

After being delayed for two weeks, a crowd of about 60,000 people from the surrounding region met in St. Peter's Square. Shortly after 1pm, the order was given by the local magistrate to arrest Henry Hunt, the main speaker at the meeting. The first death of the massacre was that of a two year old child who was knocked out of his mother's arms by a rushing horseman on his way to deliver the warrant. About 40 minutes later, the first of the cavalry made their way into the crowd to arrest the speakers, got stuck, and subsequently bagan hacking at the crowd with sabers. Eventually, this turned into indescriminate "dispersal" of the crowd through force of violence. Modern estimates hold that between 11 and 18 people were killed and over 600 wounded.

Death of King George III

King George III died on January 29th, 1820. The first official meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society was moved from February 8th to February 24th to respect his death.

Joseph Livesey Founded the First Temperance Hotel

Joseph Livesey was an advocate for temperance, a politician, social reformer, and writer. Temperance hotels essentially provided the same amenities as a regular hotel, except for the alcohol. This was an early attempt by Livesey to spread abstinence, which would become a popular aspect of 19th Century England and would result in the formation of temperance hotels in Scotland and other places across Britain. 

Chartism

The Houses of Parliament In Course of Erection by John Wilson Carmichael

Chartism was a British working class reform movement that emerged amid the economic depression between 1837-1838. The name comes from the People’s Charter, a bill drafted by a radical in London named Willian Lovett in 1838. The People’s Charter had six demands, universal manhood suffrage, equal electoral districts, vote by ballot, annually elected parliaments, payments of members of Parliaments, and abolition of property qualifications for membership. William Lovett was a secretary and one of the original founders of an organization called the London Working Men’s association, an organization created in 1836 that primarily appealed to skilled laborers and championed for general education. The organization also aligned itself with Owenite Socialism, a form of utopian socialism named after British social reformer Robert Owen. The core philosophy in which Owen’s essays, “ A New View of Society; or, Essays on the Principle of the Formation of the Human Character,” is based on is the belief that  human character is formed by circumstances over which individuals have no control.”

The Chartist movement wasn't very successful, in 1839 A Chartist convention had met in London in February to prepare a petition to present to Parliament. “Ulterior measures” were threatened should Parliament ignore the petition, but the delegates disagreed on how much militant action should be used and the convention failed. Later that year in May the movement had moved to Birmingham where riots had led to the arrest of the movement's leaders William Lovett and John Collins. In the following month the convention returned to London and presented its petition in July which Parliament had rejected. This was followed in November by an armed uprising of Chartists at Newport, which was quickly suppressed. Its principal leaders were banished to Australia, and nearly every other Chartist leader was arrested and sentenced to prison. The Chartists then started to organize under more moderate tactics. Three years later a second national petition was presented achieving more than three million signatures, but again Parliament refused to consider it. The movement began to lose momentum in the 1840s as the economy had started to return. 

Source: 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-Owen#ref5434

https://www.britannica.com/event/Reform-Bill

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Parliament

Charles Dickens Publishes "A Christmas Carol"

A Christmas Carol Original Novel

Charles Dickens was born in 1812 and grew up in poverty himself with a family that was victim to debtor's prison, which was a prison for those who could not pay their debts in the 19th century. He was forced to drop out of school and work in a factory at a very young age of 12. He has become a very successful author of numerous Christmas novels with "A Christmas Carol" being one of the most iconic and well-known, especially in today's industry as it is a popular play, has been made into different novel adaptations, and numerous movies. It was published on December 19th, 1843 and was sold out by Christmas Eve. Although Dickens could have made a large sum of money, his profit was deducted due to his devotion for adding details and perfection in the design of his books (how the book was bound together, endpapers, overall materials, etc.).

"A Christmas Carol" focusses on the main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, who hates Christmas and overall is an unpleasant person. He is an owner of a business in a Cornhill warehouse where he was business partners with Jacob Marley. Jacob Marley was also known to be an insensitive and hated man: "Scrooge was his sole executor, his sole administrator, his sole assign, his sole residuary legatee, his sole friend, and sole mourner" (Dickens 1). Marley's ghost visits Scrooge one night and warns him that he will be visited by three ghosts/spirits that will teach him how to become a better person and care about others, especially during the Christmas season. Marley warns that if he doesn't learn from the three ghosts which include the ghost of the past, the ghost of the present, and the ghost of the future, then he will die in chains with each link representing a time where he was a horrible human being to others. In Jacob Marley's death, he returns as a ghost to fulfill his quest to help Scrooge before it’s too late for him like it is for Jacob.

By transporting readers through the past, present, and future, they are invited on a journey to understand the reason Scrooge is the way he is and witness a change in Scrooge as each spirit teaches him to learn from the past, live in the present, and fear the future. The first spirit is of the past and is described as having a glow appearance, similar to a candle, and represents the mind or memory: “But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible” (Dickens 27). The first spirit takes him to his old boarding school where his father abandoned him. It also depicts his relationship with his younger sister who was sick but he loved her so much. Readers then witness his old boss Fezziwig who is a kind employer but Scrooge’s greed lead him to work for Marley. There is also a glimpse of Belle, his ex-fiancé, whom he loves and she loves him but he loses her because he is so consumed in making money.  Similar to Mary Barton displaying Esther's reasons for being a prostitute or John's background of being a murderer, Scrooge's upbringing is used as a transportation tool to ask the question of why? 

He then meets the second spirit which is that of the present which is described as the Christmas spirit filled with joy, generosity, compassion, and kindness: “and on its head it wore no other covering than a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles. Its dark brown curls were long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air” (Dickens 46). On this trip, he is transported to the house of the Cratchits where even though they live in such poverty due to Scrooge underpaying the father, they still thank him for what they have. He also witnesses Tiny Tim, one of Cratchit’s children, who is ill. A common theme observed in the Victorian era is using children as an innocent display of sympathy. The ghost of Christmas present then transports him to his own nephew’s house where even though every person scoffs when they hear his name, his nephew vouches for him and claims that he loves him.

The final spirit is the ghost of the future who represents fear, darkness, hopelessness, and death. He shows Scrooge his outcome at his own funeral where people celebrate his death, dance on his coffin, and he has his things taken for him which are all disrespectful acts for a corpse. This spirit didn’t speak at all and “Scrooge feared the silent shape so much that his legs trembled beneath him” (Dickens 68).  He is also taken to Tiny Tim’s grave where he realizes that he could have prevented his death if he paid the Cratchit family what they deserve so he could get cured. The appearance of this ghost is described as “shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand” (Dickens 68).

While Scrooge develops empathy for those around him, readers also empathize with Scrooge and advocate for his change in perspective. Charles Dickens used Scrooge's characterization and storyline to stage an apparatus that critiques society's politics, especially during the Victorian era, and extends compassion from those in power to those in poverty. While Dickens' childhood catalyzes this storyline, it is also evident that many of Dickens' experiences as a child parallel with that of Scrooge's, for example, both men have a father in debtors prison and both had to work to support their families beginning at a very young age. The social problems of Britain in the 19th century highlighted poverty in various parts of London which Charles Dickens witnessed as a result of moving around a lot. When the British empire expanded as Queen Victoria took the throne, the impacts of the industrial revolution had been made clear. With high levels of crime and overcrowded/poor working conditions, many people were subject to poverty. Although The Poor Law in 1834 tried to address this issue, it was discovered that it just further punished those in need of labour. Dickens cleverly introduces these issues of social injustice within his novel using not only a ghost story represented in 5 staves (Marley’s ghost, the ghost of Christmas Past,  the ghost of Christmas present,  the ghost of Christmas future, and the happy revolution) but he used the season of Christmas to create vivid imagery and relatable characterization. While Scrooge’s final realization is that he doesn’t want people to celebrate his death and he wants to save Tiny Tim, he pleads that he will honour Christmas and change his ways from now on. Scrooge states, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach. Oh, tell me I may sponge away the writing on this stone!” (Dickens 83).

Dickens, Charles. “Charles Dickens’ Christmas Books Including 'A Christmas Carol'.” July 1998, Oxford, Oxford University Press.

George Frederick Watts exhibits "The Good Samaritan," inspired by Thomas Wright

The painter George Frederick Watts exhibited The Good Samaritan in the 82nd exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1850. The painting was inspired by the Manchester prison philanthropist Thomas Wright. Later novelist Elizabeth Gaskell was part of a successful plan to purchase the painting for the city of Manchester, where it is now part of the permanent collection of the Manchester Art Museum.

Exhibit catalogue

Les Misérables

In 1862 Victor Hugo Published the book Les Miserable. This novel is considered to be one of the longest ever written with 48 books and 350+ chapters. This novel was very important for its time period and was considered one of the greatest ever written. 

Founding of The British Women’s Temperance Association

The BWTA aimed to educate the public about the effects of using tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and even gambling. One of the ways in which the BWTA would impede alcoholism is by creating public water fountains next to bars or places that served alcohol to provide an alternative. Later on, the organization would also establish treatment centers for women who had alcohol issues as they saw a rising trend in inebriated women.