Spitalfields, England

In 1685. Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes which meant that French Protestants were no longer safe. This resulted in about 200,000 Huguenot refugees leaving France and moving, among other places, to England. One of the places they landed was in Spitalfields. One of the things the Huguenot’s were good at was silk production. They produced silk in Spitalfields for the next 200+ years, with peaks from 1690-1760, and again from 1800-1820, but after that, the industry rapidly declined.

Paris, France

While Paris itself is mentioned only briefly when Henry is sent away, the spirit of Paris is ever-present in the story. The Swiss Peasant takes place as "the spirit of the French Revolution [is] awakening," and the revolutionary ideals of Louis are at the very heart of the tale. Not only do Louis' politics evoke the tumult in Paris, but the tone of the story is increasingly tense as class relations grow more contentious.

Albaro, Italy

Before returning to Juliet, Guido sells his final remaining estate in Albaro, a neighborhood in Genoa. With the funds from the sale, Guido buys fancy luxury goods with which to impress Juliet, including "furniture of regal splendor" and "caparisons flamed with jewels and cloth of gold" for his horse. This is representative of Guido's mindset; while the estate itself would certainly be more valuable, Guido squanders this for petty luxuries that make him appear wealthier than he is.

Brunnen (Lake of Uri)

In the second paragraph the narrator tells us "I am beside the waters of Uri - where Tell lived - in Brunnen, where the Swiss patriots swore to die for freedom" (107). Lake Uri most likely referred to Lake Lucerne. Brunnen is pictured below.

Switzerland-Brunnen | Blick zur Seegemeinde Brunnen und zum … | Flickr

Genoa (Cathedral of San Lorenzo)

According to Wiggins and Gourley, Shelley spent a year in Genoa after Percy's death and might have been to Genoa's Cathedral of San Lorenzo. 

The latin inscription reads "Jan(us) P(ri)mu(s) rex italie * De Progenie Gigantiu(m)" which shows that Janus was the founder of the citry. 

The Cathedral is picture below, as well as the Latin inscription

Cathedral of San Lorenzo | Visitgenoa.it

Kozhikode, India

Calicut, now known as Kozhikode, is a city in India that has a particularly interesting relationship with the British Empire. Originally the city played a large part in trade for Arab traders, but eventually become a central player in the British East India Company. The reason this city become so important is primarily due to the material Calico, whose name comes from the city itself.

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