18th Century (1700s)

Question 1

What were the Acts of Union (1707)?

Answer 1

• What They Were:
  
  • Unified the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single state known as Great Britain.
• Significance:
  
  • Marked the beginning of a united British state and paved the way for the expansion of the British Empire.

Question 2

Who was Queen Anne, and what was her significance? (r.1702-1714)

Answer 2

• Who She Was:
  
  • The last monarch of the House of Stuart and the first sovereign of Great Britain following the Acts of Union.
• Significance:
  
  • Her reign saw the end of the War of the Spanish Succession and the beginning of the rise of the British Empire.

Question 3

Who was Robert Walpole and what is he known for? (c.1676-1743)

Answer 3

• Who He Was:
  
  • The first de facto Prime Minister of Great Britain (1721-1742).
• Significance:
  
  • Known for his long tenure and influence in shaping early parliamentary government.

Question 4

What was the Industrial Revolution, and why did it start in England? (c.1760-1840)

Answer 4

• What It Was:
  
  • A period marked by significant technological and industrial advancements, that transformed industry and society.
• Why England:
  
  • England had abundant natural resources, a stable political environment, and a strong economy, making it a prime location for industrial innovation.

Question 5

What was James Watt’s contribution to the Industrial Revolution? (c.1736-1819)

Answer 5

• Contribution:
  
  • Improved the steam engine by adding a separate condenser.
  • Greatly enhanced its efficiency..

Question 6

Who became king of England in 1760, and what were some significant events during his reign? (r.1760-1820)

Answer 6

• King George III.
• Significant Events:
  
  • The American Revolution, the Napoleonic Wars, and the Industrial Revolution.
  • His reign was marked by challenges to royal authority and significant British economic growth.

Question 7

What was the impact of the American Revolution on Britain? (1775-1783)

Answer 7

• Impact:
  
  • Led to the loss of the Thirteen Colonies, a significant blow to British colonial power.
  • Forced Britain to refocus its colonial ambitions and strategies.

Question 8

What role did the Enlightenment play in 18th-century England?

Answer 8

• Role:
  
  • An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority.
  • Influenced political thought, science, literature, and philosophy.

Question 9

Who was Edmund Burke, and what were his contributions to political thought? (c.1729-1797

Answer 9

• Who He Was:
  
  • Statesman and philosopher.
• Contributions:
  
  • Opposed the French Revolution, in his Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), a foundational text of modern conservatism.
  • Supported the American Revolution.

Question 10

What was the Longitude Act of 1714, and why was it important?

Answer 10

• What It Was:
  
  • Offered a reward for a method to determine a ship’s longitude at sea.
• Importance:
  
  • Led to John Harrison’s invention of the marine chronometer.
  • Demonstrates their love of science.

Question 11

What was the Scottish Enlightenment, and what was its impact?

Answer 11

• What It Was:
  
  • An intellectual movement in 18th-century Scotland.
• Impact:
  
  • Produced key thinkers like Adam Smith and David Hume
  • Significantly influenced philosophy, economics, and social sciences.

Question 12

What was the significance of the War of Spanish Succession for Britain? (1701-1714)

Answer 12

• What It Was:
  
  • Fought to prevent the unification of the French and Spanish crowns under a single Bourbon monarch.
• Significance:
  
  • Britain, allied with Austria and the Dutch Republic, sought to maintain the balance of power in Europe.
  • Britain won Gibraltar from Spain, establishing its strategic naval dominance.

Question 13

What was the Treaty of Utrecht, and what were its implications for England? (1713)

Answer 13

• What It Was:
  
  • Ended the War of the Spanish Succession.
• Implications:
  
  • Granted England territorial gains, including Gibraltar and Newfoundland.
  • Established England’s dominance in European trade.

Question 14

What was the Seven Years’ War and England’s role in it? (1756-1763)?

Answer 14

• What It Was:
  
  • A global conflict involving most of the great powers of the time.
• England’s Role:
  
  • Allied with Prussia, fought against France, Austria, and Spain.
  • Ended with a British victory and the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1763).

Question 15

What impact did the Treaty of Paris (1763) have on Britain?

Answer 15

• What It Was:
  
  • The treaty ended the Seven Years’ War with a British victory.
• Significance:
  
  • Britain gained control over Canada, Florida, and various territories in the Caribbean and India, expanding its empire.
  • The treaty laid the groundwork for British dominance in global trade but also led to increased tensions with American colonies.

Question 16

Who was Jonathan Swift, and what did he author? (c.1667-1745)

Answer 16

• Who He Was:
  
  • Anglo-Irish author and satirist.
• Notable Works:
  
  • Gulliver’s Travels (1726) and A Modest Proposal (1729).
  • Both works are critical social commentaries.

Question 17

Which royal house has ruled England since 1714, and who was its first monarch?

Answer 17

• The German House of Hanover.
• First Monarch:
  
  • George I, son of Sophia of Hanover, named heir by the Act of Settlement (1701).
  • The house became the House of Windsor in 1917.

Question 18

Who was Edward Jenner and what is he known for? (c.1749-1823)

Answer 18

• Who He Was:
  
  • Physician and scientist known for incoluating people with small viral dosages build up an immunity to pathogens.
  • Developed the smallpox vaccine, the first successful vaccine.
  • His work laid the foundation for modern immunology.

Question 19

Who was Joseph Priestley and what is he known for? (c.1733-1804

Answer 19

Who He Was:
Chemist and theologian.
Known For:
Discovering oxygen (1774).
Contributing to the development of carbonated drinks, like soda water.

Question 20

Who is Adam Smith and what did he author?

Answer 20

Who He Was:
Brilliant Scottish economist.
Notable Works:
The Wealth of Nations (1776), which laid the foundations for classical economics and free-market theory.
The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759).

Question 21

Who was David Hume, and what is he known for? (c.1711-1776)

Answer 21

Who He Was:
Scottish Enlightenment philosopher.
Known For:
His work in empiricism and skepticism.
A Treatise of Human Nature and An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding challenged the nature of human knowledge.

Question 22

Who were three of the most influential people of the Scottish Enlightment?

Answer 22

Influential Figures:
Adam Smith: Pioneering free-market economist.
David Hume: Empiricist philosopher.
James Watt: Engineer and inventor.

Question 23

Who was Edmund Burke, and what was his significance? (c.1729-1797)

Answer 23

Who He Was:
Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher.
Significance:
Known for his defense of constitutionalism and support for the American Revolution.
Author of Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), a foundational text of modern conservatism.

Question 24

Who is often referred to as the father of conservatism?

Answer 24

Who He Was:
Edmund Burke.
Why:
Known for his defense of tradition, social order, and opposition to the radicalism of the French Revolution.
Famous Quote: “People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.”

“People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.”

Question 25

How did the Seven Years’ War (1757-1763) and the Treaty of Paris affect the American colonists?

Answer 25

How did the Seven Years’ War (1757-1763) and the Treaty of Paris affect the American colonists?

A:

Impact:
The costs of the Seven Years’ War led England to tax the American colonies.
This fueled resentment and ultimately foreshadowed the American Revolution (1775-1783).

Question 26

What were the causes of the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763)?

Answer 26

What were the causes of the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763)?

A:

Causes:
Colonial rivalry and dispute between England and France over the Ohio River Valley in America.
European power struggles and balance.

Question 27

Who was George II, and what was his significance? (r. 1727-1760)

Answer 27

Who He Was:
Succeeded following his father George I’s death.
Significance:
Last British monarch to lead troops in battle.
Oversaw military victories during the War of Austrian Succession and the early part of the Seven Years’ War.

Question 28

Who was George I, and how did he succeed to the throne? (r. 1714-1727)

Answer 28

Who He Was:
The first British monarch from the House of Hanover.
Succession:
Selected by the criteria of the Act of Settlement (1701) due to his Protestant faith, succeeding after his cousin Queen Anne’s death.

Question 29

Who was William Blackstone, and why is he significant? (c.1723-1780)

Answer 29

• Who He Was:
  
  • An English jurist, judge, and professor, best known for his influential work, (1769) Commentaries on the Laws of England.
  • His Commentaries became the foundational text for the understanding of English common law, influencing legal education in Britain and the U.S.