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THE XVIIIth CENTURY (SOCIAL BACKGROUND (THE AGE OF REASON (MATERIALISTIC…

- - - - gave importance to money and material possessions: It was a worldly and pragmatic society, responsive to economic pressure.
        
        BENTHAM'S UTILITARIANISM
        
        For Benthan, An action is useful and morally right only if it has consequences that lead to MATERIAL happiness, that is the human happiness.
        
        MILL'S OPPOSITION
        
        Another thinker, Mill, opposed to him saying that happiness is a state of the mind and the spirit, not a selfish pleasure
        
        Mill also believed in the development of cooperatives, the extension of representation to all citizens and the emancipation of women.
    - - promote the exercise of one's goals and desires.
        
        Indeed, people's main concern was to understand how they could dominate the natural world in an effective and efficient way . in order to reach a good social position and make good profit, using the best resources possible.
        
        ROUSSEAU
        
        as they had to work hard, they didn't have so much time to grow in their spirituality and to keep in touch with God and "stay" near him, becoming in that way beasts.
    - - centered on the sovereignty of reason and the evidence of the senses as the primary sources of knowledge .
    - - Education was seen as a social feature needed to work in cities and led to demands for political representation.
        
        many Acts and Unions took part in sponsoring of improving the schools in Britain, in that way also the poorer people could learn how to read and write
    - - The society offered few chances for women to express themselves. In the middle ranks women were denied access to the universities and the professions, being confined to trivial offices.
        
        Their only "best chance" was a good marriage.
- - - - thanks to the glorious revolution, the forced abdication of James II Stuart in favor of a bloodless replacement, that brought at the bill of rights and a revised constitution.
        
        .In that way the power of the monarch had been limited in favor of the parliament
    - - he was in power for 20 years from 1721 to 1742 and he managed to keep England out of conflicts
        
        in that way trade could flourish and taxes could be kept down
    - - the parliament , formed by 523 members for England and Wales and 45 for Scotland, was les representative and most of the members were in pay of the great noble families.
        
        Election were controlled by the local landowners, that have too much power, since voting was not secret.
    - - two partly political system established in parliament: Tory ( old aristocracy) and Whig (middle class). Whigs held a majority for 60 years from the reign of George I
    - - Between Britain, Africa and America.
        
        1. British ships carried to west Africa cotton cloth, metal goods, arms, which were used to buy slaves from African masters.
        2.Then the slaves were carried to the Caribbean islands and to north and south America.
        3.Then the ships, loaded with sugar, tobacco, cotton and coffee, turned back to Europe
    - - The south sea company, founded in 1711, was an alternative to the bank of England. The government borrowed money from the bank of England and the loan was known as the National debt .
        
        Robert walpole overcome the problem after the price of the shares fell and the "bubble" burst. he bring back public confidence and save the face of the court that fell in a political scandal
    - - He undestood that the main area of attention layed overseas
        
        Mercantilistic policy
- - - - From a £2.000 worth of cottons woolens, metal goods and gun, they carried to the colonies a £4.000 worth of slaves (1 slaves=£22). They returned in england with a £10.000 worth of tobacco, sugar, raw cotton and furs. One ships made about £8.000 profit per trip.
    - - factories were built and new machines were invented, thanks to the plenty supply of coal and iron, that provided the energy and the tools, and of wool, the raw material, in order to meet the greater demands for goods.
        
        mass production started to spread. even if goods became cheaper, the sale of these products increased much more even in the poorer classes and in the colonies
    - - William pitt entered in the parliament in 1735 and he understood that in a merchantilist age wealth came from trade
        
        Britain established its supremacy in North America as well as in India. Won the title of European champion of commercial expansion.
    - - Thanks to the partecipation to the war of spanish succession England made significant commercial and colonial gains as nova scotia, Gribaltar and Minorca.
        
        They won control over Canada, West Africa and the West Indies from which England received a large number of taxes
      - Thanks to the seven years' war , England had the opportunity to enlarge its colonial possessions by wresting from France several territories in North America.