Thomas Coram in the Enlightenment period - Essay Example

THOMAS CORAM IN THE ENLIGHTENMENT PERIOD Introduction The period of enlightenment was a time during which the European intellectual movement was at its best. It was during the 17th and 18centuries, and at this time there were ideologies concerning the people’s beliefs of God, nature, different reasoning that were being synthesized into a world context. By and by, it gained a wide ascent to from the west, which was key in instigating revolutionary systems in the political, art, and philosophical arenas. Ideally, the main goal that drove the enlightenment thinkers were progressiveness, tolerance, liberty, reason, and putting an end to the abuses of the church and the state. In France, most of the thinkers were driven by religious tolerance and individual liberty, and they were very much against the absolute monarchical government system and the rigid dogmatic principles of the Catholic Church. Key to the drivers of enlightenment were the ability to use and celebrate the ability to reason, and the power by which human beings could understand the universe and improve the conditions under which they lived. They worked towards the achievement of rational humanity goals which they considered to freedom, knowledge and freedom. To achieve this, different people played different roles the best way they knew how. Philosophers were at their best speaking out their philosophical ideas, artists trying their best to pass different messages through their works of art, and other great thinkers as well. One Thomas Coram was a philanthropic captain, and he played a big role in shaping the young children who were suffering under abject poverty and their parents could not maintain them. He started a charitable foundation whose storyline is inspirational as to how big his heart was, and a how big a dream he had. A Brief History During the eighteenth century, London was full of dualism. It comprised of a hedonistic and gullible crowd that always collided with men who were keen on doing good and constructive work1. At that time, one of the greatest social problems ailing was the mind boggling number of children that had been abandoned by their parents for good, and those who had been left at the mercies of the parish. It had always happened that illegitimate children would be taken to the parish to take care of them. These included children whose parents were too poor to support them, or others who had become negligent enough not to care for them. The city was therefore supposed to be responsible enough to come up with a strategy that could have helped such children have a stable life. But London was late in this, while cities like Rome had the Conservatorio Della Ruota, which had been established by Pope Innocent III in the late 1200s. Then Venice also had La Pietà, which was a girls’ institution for caring for the orphan, having been established in the fourteenth century. The common causes of deserted children like the disapproval of illegitimacy, puritan morality and apathy were the main reasons for the inaction observed in Britain. The only institution that took care of foundlings and legitimate orphans by that time was Christ’s Hospital, where the illegitimate were later on in 1676 prohibited from admission.2 An unfortunate trend in the early 18th century was that poor children started dying at a very fast rate. Medicine was not working to effectively cure diseases that the children were suffering from, and they suffered through pain and death over decades. The adult population had also been weakened as a result of taking the Gin Craze spirit that ended up in disastrous consequences3. Generally, the situation was that the parish poorhouses and the workhouses were the only provision for illegitimate babies, of which they still largely died out of neglect. Child mortality rate was exceedingly high, whereby about three quarters of the total children born in London did not live to celebrate their fifth birthday. It was even worse in workhouses, hitting at above 90%. The only medical hospitals in London in the 18th century were the St Thomas and St Bartholomew Royal hospitals. There were also, however, some more hospitals for special category patients like the Bethlem for the mentally ill, the Marine Society for Educating Poor Destitute Boys, and the Greenwich for Sailors and Refugees. By mid that century, a total of fourteen hospitals had been built. They were meant for the sick, but the institutions meant to cater for the poor and destitute were also referred to as hospitals, like in the case of Foundling Hospital. These were not adequate to deal with the crisis that had already manifested itself in the country. It therefore made the social reform efforts to be geared towards the reduction of the terrible wastage of life witnessed. The foundling hospital emerged as a result of philanthropic work that swept through England at that time4. The philanthropic wave can well be attributed to the growing liberal beliefs of the Church of England’s latitudinarian branch. It had laid much emphasis on people to engage in more benevolent deeds and not to just worship in church. This was supplemented with John Locke’s writings that were about the utility of virtue. Further, the people were being compelled by the cult of sensibility to focus on their individual sacrifice out of moral, compassion or spiritual duty towards helping the less fortunate in the society. Thomas Coram's Struggle He was a ship captain and he retired in 1719 in Rotherhithe, after he made successful achievements in the new dispensation. He had established a shipwright business in Massachusetts and in Boston as well. Thomas had experienced opposition by Anglican prejudices in both towns, which had ended up in lawsuits. As such, it is possible that these encounters are what made him able to stand strongly against opposition and gain the perseverance that would be his strength later on in his life.5 His reputation in England ad so much risen, and people referred to him as being the most honest and disinterested person that they ever interacted with. Often, he used to walk through the city on winter mornings, and he became very disturbed by the sight of already dead and almost dying children that had been left alone on the streets. He was 54 years of age by that time, and this provoked him to take an action to help. It is then that he embarked on a 17 years as he pleaded on behalf of the foundlings. He focused on his main interest, which was to petition the king to allow him to hold a charter to enable him create a non-profit organization that would be supported by subscriptions. At first, it was frustratingly unsuccessful. He faced a huge challenge e of finding a person influential enough to approach the king. The mere idea of establishing a foundling hospital was also faced with opposition as many said it would be encouraging immorality, especially prostitution6. Support from George and Caroline King George I passed on in 1727 and subsequently, King George II took over leadership. Luckily enough, his wife, Caroline, also had a big heart and was very empathetic about the plight of the foundlings that were being rescued. She even went ahead to write a pamphlet on the hospital, which was published later on after her death. With time, Coram realized that women played a very important role in the Paris hospital and therefore started soliciting the support of the noble and fashionable ladies. By 1739, Coram had presented the king with several petitions that were backed up by the interest shown for their subsequent education to turn them into beneficial citizens. Subscriptions came in torrents as the king signed a Royal Charter in October that year. Many important figures of the time, together with the top leadership comprising of appointed guardians and governors of the new institutions went to be given the charter a couple of months later at Somerset house. It was then made publicly official that the Fondling hospital had been chattered, and that it was established to take care of the education and at the same time to maintain the exposed, vulnerable and deserted children. The hospital received its first of its children for admission on the 25th day of March in 1741 in a temporary house in Hatton Garden, amid cries of poor others leaving their children and children crying back. The governors found a piece of land on which they would build the hospital in Bloomsbury Fields. However, there was increased pollution in the area due to the pollution effect of upcoming railway station and it had to be relocated elsewhere. At first, it relocated temporarily to Red hill, Surrey, and then moved permanently to Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Later on the school purchased a piece of land for the children’s playground, and it was named in Thomas honor as Coram’s fields. The new hospital then built the 40 Brunswick Square in 1937, and it served as the administration head offices of the hospital. It was also to be the place set aside for the collections, after which the Children’s center was created in 1939. It is then that the new institution started afresh as the Thomas Coram Foundation for children.7 The hospital also received noble gifs from the London artists like William Hogarth. He volunteered to design the children’s uniform and the coat of arms. With his wife, they also fostered the foundling children. This institution became a spectacular monument erected in the 18th century benevolence. Consequently, it became London’s most popular charity. Conclusion It takes the action of one man to save very many lives. Thomas Coram became this man when he led to the establishment of the Foundlings hospital. It is through his work and sacrifice that other philanthropists and British artists also rose to support the initiative. Out of this, his ideologies can be seen and have proved to have had better results than the prejudicial opposition that he was facing. In light of his works, one can clearly see that he actively and productively contributed to enlightenment, where he enabled destitute children to have a safe place to live in and get education. This was the very essence of the age of enlightenment, of which England boasts of its fruits. Clearly then, through the example of Coram, people should be motivated to be selfless and resilient in pushing for what they think is right. One day, one way or the other, it will be someone’s blessing and generations will remember and thank you for it. Bibliography Coram, Thomas. 1979. The Story Of The Thomas Coram Foundation For Children ... [London]: [The Foundation]. Corbett, Mary Jean. 2008. ':Bastards And Foundlings: Illegitimacy In Eighteenth‐Century England'.MOD PHILOLOGY 106 (2): 289-293. doi:10.1086/598553. Harris, Rhian. 2015. 'BBC - History - British History In Depth: The Foundling Hospital'. Bbc.Co.Uk. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/foundling_01.shtml. Hogarth, William, Rhian Harris, and Robin Simon. 1997. Enlightened Self-Interest. London: Draig Publications and the Thomas Coram Foundation for Children. Nicolson, Benedict, and John F Kerslake. 1972. The Treasures Of The Foundling Hospital. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Pugh, Gillian. 2011. London's Forgotten Children. New York: History Press. Pugh, Gillian. 2015. 'London’S Forgotten Children: Thomas Coram And The Foundling Hospital | Gresham College'. Gresham.Ac.Uk. http://www.gresham.ac.uk/lectures-and-events/london%E2%80%99s-forgotten-children-thomas-coram-and-the-foundling-hospital. Read More