HIST 383 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift, Italians
Document Summary
Lecture 10 - the beggar"s opera and the art of politica. Robert walpole was britain"s first and longest serving prime minister. Robert harley was part of an artists club. Members included jonathan swift, and the author of the beggar"s opera. Writers were impoverished and did a lot of political writing for hire. Patronage played a huge rule, john gay felt bitter and resentful about this. Harley"s library was donated and would become the british library. He was a patron of the arts (gave money) Opposition to writers were coalesce around other figures. Unequal world of commercialization while many writers were impoverished. Excise crisis - tried to get rid of land tax, taxing the aristocracy and replace it with taxes on consumption which reflected a new society. Taxes on consumption hit the middle and poor parts of society on stuff like salt. People had to examine what was coming in and out of specific areas to be able to tax them.
