THE 18TH CENTURY
ABOUT THE 18th CENTURY The Industrial revolution The 18th century saw the widespread replacement of manual labour by new inventions and machinery. The 18th century began the first Industrial Revolution. Modern manufacturing began with steam engines replacing animal labour. The 18th century saw the widespread replacement of manual labour by new inventions and machinery (Hooker.R). Europe also moved from a primarily agricultural and rural economy to a capitalist and urban economy, from a household, family-based economy to an industry-based economy. Cottage industries were replaced by technology based industry, however, the industrial revolution was more than technology—impressive as this technology was (Lamberth.T).What drove the industrial revolution were profound social changes, as the 18th century began the first Industrial Revolution.
IMPORTANT HISTORICAL EVENTS
 IMPORTANT & INFLUENCIAL PEOPLE OF THE 18th CENTURY
(About.com) MAJOR TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
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FOOD INDUSTRY IN THE 18th CENTURY (Culture and recreation) BREAD At one point, eighteenth-century English bread was thought to contain bone fragments (this was proved not true).A key element of bread in eighteenth-century British bread was alum, which is a bleaching ingredient that also makes bread look bigger . MEAT Meat made up a large portion of the diets of residents of eighteenth-century England. The consumption of meat was hardly restricted to the upper classes however the upperclass usually had more variety whilst the poor were restricted to two types of meat per person. Venison was the meat which was a symbol of the highest social status. If a person could serve venison, it meant that he/she was the owner of a vast property, or knew someone who was. SEASONING'S In the 1790s, the typical English individual consumed about four kilograms of sugar each year. FRUIT & VEGETABLES Not very many English people in the eighteenth century had fruit at all, only a very select, minuscule group of wealthy people had access to fruit. In the 1700s the British feared uncooked fruit; they thought it would give the person who consumed it indigestion or even the plague. INTERESTING FACT One interesting use of fruit in eighteenth-century England was that of blackberries, which were marketed for dying clothes such colours as navy blue and indigo. Also Upper-class women could spend over an hour dressing for dinner because it was customary for women to change their entire outfit for the evening meal. The elaborate dinner dress consisted of a corset, a bodice, stockings, a petticoat, a gown, ruffles and shoes. (umich)  IMPORTANT ABORIGINAL HISTORY OF THE 18th CENTURY
When the First Fleet arrived in 1788 Governor Arthur Phillip was under instruction to treat the 'native peoples' well and not to harm them in any way. The Aboriginal people had never seen white men before and initially believed them to be ghosts or demons, but they eventually became less afraid of them and began to make cautious contact. At the start, relations between the two groups were good - there was still fear on both sides and misunderstandings did happen, but some close relationships were formed(Aboriginal art). In an attempt to increase interaction between the new colony and the Aboriginal people, Governor Phillip ordered that some of them be taken hostage and brought to live in the Port Jackson settlement. Phillip also believed that in bringing Aboriginal people into closer contact with white culture, they could be made to accept European ways. The settlers believed that the Indigenous people were little more than savages, who had to be educated in the 'proper' ways of living. Two of the most famous Indigenous hostages were Bennelong and Colebee. They were encouraged to wear clothes, learn table manners and attend Christian church services. The hope was that they would bring these ideas back into their own community - the reality was when they went back to their own community, they would leave the white man's trappings behind them (Sydney city).
 ABOVE -This watercolour by Lieutenant William Bradley is entitled 'First interview with the Native Women at Port Jackson in New South Wales' and was painted soon after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788 |
