American revolution: American War of Independence (1775-83) and Declaration of Independence from British rule (1776)

French revolution (1789): new ideas of freedom and social justice spread all over Europe

Need for more efficient production. England changed from a farming to an industrial country

improvements in farming techniques such as crop rotation and mechanisation

The enclosure of ‘open fields’ and common land aimed at making larger, more efficient farms

Mushroom towns: small towns built near the factories to house the workers

Terrible living conditions: People lived in slums, Lack of elementary public services, air and water pollution, overcrowding...

Working conditions: women and children were exploited, long working hours, rational division of labour

Causes: New taxes to the American colonies. One tax was on the importation of tea

all men have a natural right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness

governments can claim the right to rule if they have the consent of the governed

the period in which new ideas and attitudes arose in reaction to the dominant 18th-century ideals of order, calm, harmony, balance, rationality

Romanticism in England expressed itself especially in poetry. Novels were mainly of two kinds: realistic/ fantastic (the Gothic novels). No Drama

Nature for the Romantics: Opposed to reason, A way to discover the inner self, A source of sensations

The Romantic imagination: A creative power superior to reason, A dynamic, active, rather than passive power,