1727

=1727 in Great Britain=


 * Tens of thousands of Spanish soldiers siege the garrison of Gibraltar on February 11 1727, outnumbering the mere 1,500 British soldiers. This is in response to the British attempted Blockade of Proto Bello in Panama the year earlier.[[image:Gibraltar_aerial_view_looking_northwest.jpg width="352" height="283" align="right" caption="Gibraltar"]]
 * On March 24 the Spaniards pillage the Villa Vieja, which was British Colombian territory at the time.
 * In June 1727, under a new monarch, the British Soldiers in Gibraltar grew in numbers Spaniards retreated, marking their second failed attempt at sieging the garrison, although the Anglo-Spanish War wou[[image:george_ii_of_great_britain-01.jpg width="276" height="336" align="left" caption="George II"]]ld continue for another two years.
 * On March 19 1727, Sir Isaac Newton, a wealthy and famous scientist in England, fell into a coma due to gout complications. His death was officially reported on March 31st 1727.
 * On June 91727, King George I suffered a stroke while on a trip to Hanover, his birthplace. The death of King George came on June 11, while visiting Hanover, his birthplace. His passing concluded his thirteen year reign as monarch of Great Britain.
 * George II, previously Prince of Wales, takes over as king, and continues to relinquish power to the parliament, having unwillingly given Prime Minister Walpole more power than George I had, and thereby accelerating the transition of power from monarch to prime minister which exists today.
 * On, August 14 1727, the parliamentary elections begin, following the induction of the new monarch.
 * In the village of Burwell, in Cambridgeshire, a puppet show held on Septem[[image:restorationand18thcenturydrama/20130224_53iPiccy.jpg width="222" height="295" align="right"]]ber 8 attracted such a large audience that the doors of the barn had to be nailed shut to prevent exceeding maximum capacity. A fire, believed to be an arson, spread quickly since the barn was laden with dry straw, and many persons had perished by the time the door had been broken open. On September 10the reported fatalities was 78, many of which were children.
 * On October 17 1727, the elections conclude, with the Whig party retaining most of the seats in the Parliament

Theatre in 1727
There were several plays in 1727 that were shown once or twice, but some of the most popular plays were: The Miser, King Henry VIII, The Fall of Saguntum, The Rape of Proserpine, Admetus, The Harlequin Triumph. Plays such as The Country Wife were performed occasionally, as was The Conscious Lovers. Most of the plays focused on aspects of virtue, cuckoldry, marriage, adultery, rape, royalty, and love. August through December saw an increase in conservative plays, and a move away from comedies of manners. This can be attributed to the crowning of George II who was passive enough to allow the Whig party to acquire more control. Double Falsehood premiered in December and was instantly a hit.

Double Falsehood/The Distrest Lovers
Double Falshood/ The Distrest Lovers (premiered December 17 2013) is a play by Lewis Theobold, who sparked controversy among critics who questioned the originality of the work. Theobold claimed it was based off of lost Shakespearean manuscripts and may have been telling the truth. Part of the play is thought to be inspired by Cardenio, a play by Shakespeare and John Fletcher that was performed in the early seventeenth century, but had since been lost. Like many others, they were influenced by an episode of Cervante’s Don Quixote.

Double Falsehood & The Distrest Lovers is very interesting for its time and deals with inner conscience and psychological issues that are absent in many other plays. It begins like many eighteenth century plays—set in the court— <span style="color: #252525; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">when Duke Angelo receives a letter from his younger son, Henriquez, requesting money. Since Henriquez informed the Duke that he would be sending his friend Julio to retrieve the money, which they do not feel he deserves in his absence from the court, they scheme to capture Julio and use him to learn of Henriquez’s activities. Julio is reluctant to go because he wants to spend his time courting Leonora, daughter of Don Bernardo, who he is set to marry. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Bernardo, however, wants Leonora to marry Henriquez to enter his family into the court. <span style="color: #252525; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Henriquez desires the virgin Violante, who he violently rapes after she rejects his advances. He tries to justify the rape in his own head. He also pursues Leonara, but she is disgusted by him, to her father’s dismay. It is not until she threatens suicide that he concedes.

<span style="color: #252525; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">Violante, obviously disturbed by the early instances, is now living in disguise and working as a servant for shepherd. However, he can see through her disguise and makes sexual advances towards her. Leonara lives in a nunnery. Henriquez plans to rescue Leonara from the nunnery, and Roderick accompanies him on the journey keeping Julio in mind, and wanting Leonara to make her own decision and not be pressured. They rescue her and the three of them join in the court with Julio and Violante. Julio and Leonara marry. Henriquez further justifies his rape by marrying Violante. The fathers agree and the play ends on a positive note.

Media in 1727
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Evening Post holds the British Monarchy in very high esteem. Theatre is advertised in Classifieds in a very nonchalant way. The Evening Post uses careful language and informs from a fairly unbiased lens. Papers like The Evening Post ran for a very long time because of their general acceptance. More personalized journals, such as The Ladies Journal, which was printed only in 1727, explores issues of love and sexuality while providing advice and comedy. This particular journal was written by a man who responded to curious (mostly) female readers although this journal was hardly libertine. It explored topics of love and passion but encouraged virtuousness amongst females through various fables. Many of the plays performed in 1727 agree with this virtuousness, but the plays explore rape in ways that were never published in journals such as The Ladies Journal. The journal focused on several of the same themes from the plays, like finding a husband and keeping him happy.