Island in an Empire

The first half of the nineteenth century brought two major revolutions, the British Industrial Revolution and the French political revolution, which devastatingly heralded the modern world. In Newfoundland, an important strategic outpost island within the powerful British Empire, the period brought the start of religious, educational, and class identifications and divisions, particularly in the capital, St Johns. It also marked the beginning of the growth of a popular culture: citizens of St Johns enjoyed amateur and professional theatre, on par with that in London, as well as horse-racing, the Regatta, circuses, concerts, and exhibitions of art and natural history, opening the eyes of residents to worlds they would never have experienced. Overall, argues historian Phillip McCann, the years 1800 to 1855 can be seen as a crucible in which Newfoundland society and identity was born.