Returning to the Continent – British Travelers to France, 1814
Returning to the Continent – British Travelers to France, 1814

Summary/Abstract: Denied access to most of the European continent for over a generation because of the French Revolution and Napoleonic regime, Britons were eager to flood to France with the newly established peace in 1814. This was a new type of traveler as a jaunt to Paris was now affordable to the shopkeeper, preacher and writers as well as members of the upper class. Both men and women took this opportunity to see the changes in France. Though influenced by previous travel accounts, this group was surprisingly willing to see the French as dupes of Napoleon and, therefore, possible future allies. This presented a small window of opportunity to readjust the British public’s thinking regarding one of its closest neighbors. Yet previously held prejudices ultimately triumphed and were validated with the French acceptance of Napoleon upon his return for the Hundred Days.

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