1700

"London in 1700 was a capital on the verge of a new century and at the dawn of the modern age, a place of untold potential, caught on the cusp between England's medieval past and a fabulous future. After the Revolution of 1688, England could look forward to a new century with boundless optimism and ebullience, as the unprecedented riches of commerce and colonialism appeared on the horizon.". "But there was a less glittering side to London's success. Life was precarious, drink, gambling and cruel sports were the people's palliatives. As men, women and children poured into the metropolis,…