Page:The grand tour in the eighteenth century by Mead, William Edward.djvu/131



to this point the traveler himself has necessarily been crowded into the background, but from now on he must be the center of interest. In order to understand the fondness of Englishmen for travel in the eighteenth century, we must, however, glance for a moment at the growing prosperity of England in the period we are studying and endeavor to realize the conditions that in some sense made touring a social obligation.

The eighteenth century wrought a vast transformation in England, though, owing to the lack of startling events on English soil, the casual reader of English social history too often thinks of the eighteenth century as a time of stagnation. Yet the War of the Spanish Succession, the great religious revival, the Seven Years' War, the conquest of India, the long war with the American colonies, the development of colonies in the four quarters of the globe, and the vast increase in commerce — these, and scores of other things that might be cited, are enough to prove that Englishmen were constantly receiving new impressions from every side.

More than ever before Englishmen were interested in foreign lands and travel, and, particularly after the Seven Years' War, they flocked to the Continent in great numbers. There were, indeed, few places so remote that one could safely count on finding no English tourists there. But in general they tended to follow conventional routes and to flock together in great numbers in a few centers.

First and last, the number of English travelers in Italy was considerable. Baretti, who published his "Manners