Introducing the Georgians

This chapter focuses on eighteenth-century Britain. It highlights that the ‘Georgian’ era and the ‘Georgians’ population has no ‘foreign’ connotations, noting that it simply acknowledges the unusual sequence of four successive monarchs of the same name between 1714 and 1830. The chapter then argues that eighteenth-century Britons were great innovators and travellers, both mentally and physically. It looks at the notable diaspora of population from all quarters of the British Isles in which there were plenty of ‘stayers’ as well as ‘movers’. The chapter also discusses the individual pioneers who helped to develop future-projected actuarial calculations of risk, as well as accurate astronomical predictions, and the new and entertaining genre of science fiction. The chapter then glances at how the imperial glory of Britain would be seen many millennia into the future. It emphasizes that the passage of time has considerably changed many aspects of Britain's role. But, as the chapter reveals, the resulting legacies—for both good and ill—are much more substantial than mere brick-dust.