Entrance to the Fleet River from the Thames.School of Samuel Scott
Welcome to London in the 17th and 18th centuries. A city which was rapidly developing into the most influential city in the world. Culture flourished and the city was the centre of a revolution in science. However, there was also a darker side. Poverty, diseases, crime and prostitution were widespread and the expansion of the country and the wealth of the nation rested upon colonial trade including the slave trade.
Introduction
You will be playing the role of time travelling reporters. You will travel back to Restoration London and explore various aspects of the city and society at that time such as: Crime and punishment, the Great Fire, Newton and the Royal Society, Christopher Wren and the rebuilding of London, William Hogarth, the transatlantic slave trade and Georg Friderich Händel.
Before you start on your specific tasks, you should familiarize yourself more generally with the place and the times. The following links should give you some background information on London in the 17th and 18th centuries and enable you to answer the questions below:
Old Bailey Online: 17th and 18th centuries .
Maps: Cityscapes of London and the Interactive map
Answer the following questions:
What happened in London 1666?
What was the size of the population in 1700? and in 1800? Where did the many new inhabitants come from?
How much of the city was rebuilt after the Great Fire? Describe the spread of the city in the 18th century.
Describe the social structure of the city. Where did the different social classes live and under what conditions?
In the late 17th century a lot of the so called coffee houses sprung up. What were they and what was their political effect?
Tasks:
Investigate one of the topics below more closely using the links. When you return from your journey, you should write a newspaper report on your findings (approximately 600 words). The report should, if possible, include a few illustrations. It is up to you how you want to approach the topic, whether you want to write an objective and informative article or a more personal and entertaining account. Some of the topics probably rend themselves more readily to one or the other form of treatment.
Crime and punishment
Write a newspaper report on an imagined execution and the whole journey from Newgate to Tyburn.
Executions: Capital punishment in the 18th and 19th centuries
Hogarth: The Rewards of Cruelty 1750-51
Isaac Newton and the Royal Society
Isaac Newton 1643-1727
Write a newspaper article about the Royal Society and its most famous member, Isaac Newton. The article should focus on Newton’s discoveries and his contribution to modern science
The BBC on the rise of science
What if Newton... Newtons contribution to modern science
The Great Fire
Write a newspaper report on the Great Fire. The report should include a description of the actual scope of the fire, its origin, its aftermath, and the Parliamentary investigation.
Christopher Wren, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the rebuilding of London
Write a newspaper article about Christopher Wren and his importance for the rebuilding of London after the Great Fire. Make sure to include something about his masterpiece, St. Paul’s Cathedral.
William Hogarth
Write an article about the artist William Hogarth and his portrayal of London. Apart from biographical information about the artist, you should include a more thorough description of one or two of his engravings.
William Hogarth: Beer Street 1751
London and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Write a newspaper article about the British slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries.
A Negro Hung Alive By the Ribs to a Gallows. Engraving by William Blake
Georg Friderich Händel and London
Write an article portraying Georg Friderich Händel and his music.
Essentials of music: Bigraphy and sound clips
Evaluation
Your article/report should be well organized and without serious grammatical errors and spelling errors.
You must use your own language and not copy the text directly from your sources.
The information should be correct and relevant.