Life in the Regency Era Pride and Prejudice Ch

What is the Regency Era? The Regency era in the United Kingdom is the period between 1811 and 1820, when King George III was deemed unfit to rule and his son, the Prince of Wales, ruled as his proxy as Prince Regent.

Excess and Uncertainty A time of excess for the aristocracy: for example, it was during this time that the Prince Regent built the Brighton Pavilion.

Excess and Uncertainty An era of uncertainty caused by several factors including: the Napoleonic wars, periodic riots, and the concern (threat to some, hope to others) that the British people might imitate the upheavals of the French Revolution.

A Time of Excess Upper class society flourished in a sort of mini-Renaissance of culture and refinement. The Regent, and later, King's exuberance often outstripped his pocket, at the people's expense. “This entertainment will cost 120,000 pounds. Nor will it be the last bauble which the nation must buy to amuse this overgrown bantling of Regency.“ --Percy Bysshe Shelley

A Time of Uncertainty The squalor that existed beneath the glamour and gloss of Regency society provided sharp contrast to Prince Regent's social circle. Poverty was addressed only marginally. In the dingier, less affluent areas of London, thievery, womanizing, gambling, the existence of rookeries, and constant drinking ran rampant.

Caught Between Excess and Uncertainty The gap in the hierarchy of society was so great that those of the upper classes could be viewed by those below as wondrous and fantastical fiction, something entirely out of reach yet tangibly there.

Timeline for the Regency Era 1811George, Prince of Wales begins his nine- year tenure as regent and becomes known as The Prince Regent. The Duke of Wellington holds off the French at Fuentes d'Onoro and Albuhera in the Peninsular War. Luddite uprisings. Glasgow weavers riot Shipping and territory disputes start the War of 1812 between England and the United States. The British are victorious over French armies at the Battle of Salamanca. The waltz is introduced from Europe into England. 1813William Hedley's Puffing Billy, an early steam locomotive, runs on smooth rails. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is published. 1814Invasion of France by allies leads to the Treaty of Paris, ending one of the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba. British soldiers burn the White House. Gas lighting introduced in London streets Napoleon I of France defeated by the Seventh Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo. John Loudon Macadam's road construction method adopted.

Timeline for the Regency Era 1816A "year without a summer" follows a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Mary Shelley writes Frankenstein Antonin Carême creates a spectacular feast for the Prince Regent at the Royal Pavilion in Brighton Manchester cotton spinners' strike. 1819Sir Stamford Raffles, a British administrator, founds Singapore. First steam-propelled vessel (The SS Savannah) crosses the Atlantic and arrives in Liverpool from Savannah, Georgia. Ivanhoe by Walter Scott is published Death of George III. Accession of The Prince Regent as George IV. Royal Astronomical Society founded.