Article #983-2 | Gutenberg Articles

Excerpt

Excerpt from Tour through the Eastern Counties of England, 1722, by Daniel Defoe

INTRODUCTION.

DEFOE’S “particular and diverting account of whatever is curious and
worth observation” in his native country, told in a series of letters,
was founded upon seventeen separate tours in the counties, and three
larger tours through the whole country. He said he had “viewed the north
part of England and the south part of Scotland five several times over,”
and he thought it worth while to note what he saw, because, “the fate of
things gives a new face to things; produces changes in low life, and
innumerable incidents; plants and supplants families; raises and sinks
towns; removes manufactures and trade; great towns decay and small towns
rise; new towns, new palaces, and new seats are built every day; great
rivers and good harbours dry up, and grow useless; again, new ports are
opened; brooks are made rivers; small rivers navigable pools, and
harbours are made where there were none before, and the like.” We are
endeavouring, by little books published from time to time in this
“National Library,” to secure some record of the changes in our land and
in our manners as a people, and of what was worth record in his day we
can wish for no better reporter than Defoe.

Here, therefore, is Defoe’s first letter, which describes a Tour through
the Eastern Counties as they were in 1722. It opens his first volume,
published in 1724, which was entitled, “A Tour through the whole Island
of Great Britain, Divided into Circuits or Journies. Giving a Particular
and Diverting Account of whatever is Curious and worth Observation, viz.,
I. A Description of the Principal Cities and Towns, their Situation,
Magnitude, Government, and Commerce. II. The Customs, Manners, Speech,
as also the Exercises, Diversions, and Employment of the People. III.
The Produce and Improvement of the Lands, the Trade and Manufactures.
IV. The Sea Ports and Fortifications, the Course of Rivers, and the
Inland Navigation. V. The Public Edifices, Seats and Palaces of the
Nobility and Gentry. With Useful Observations upon the Whole.
Particularly fitted for the Reading of such as Desire to Travel over the
Island. By a Gentleman.” The Second Volume of the Tour was published in
June, 1725; and the Third Volume, giving a Tour through Scotland with a
Map of Scotland by Mr. Moll, followed in August, 1726, completing the
record of what Defoe called “a tedious and very expensive five years’
Travel.” However tedious the travel may have been, Defoe’s account of it
is anything but tedious reading.

Explanation

**Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from A Tour Through the Eastern Counties of England (1722) by Daniel Defoe**

1. Context of the Source

Daniel Defoe (1660–1731) is best known as the author of Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Moll Flanders (1722), but he was also a prolific journalist, pamphleteer, and travel writer. A Tour Thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1726) is a three-volume work documenting his extensive travels across England, Wales, and Scotland. Unlike traditional travelogues of the time, which often focused on grand landscapes or aristocratic estates, Defoe’s Tour is a meticulous, almost sociological account of Britain’s economic, social, and geographical transformations in the early 18th century.

The excerpt provided is the introduction to the first volume (1724), which covers the Eastern Counties (including Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire). Defoe frames his work as a series of observational letters, blending personal experience with broader historical and economic analysis. His stated purpose is to record the "new face of things"—the rapid changes in trade, infrastructure, urbanization, and social life that defined Britain during the early stages of the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions.

2. Key Themes in the Excerpt

The introduction establishes several major themes that recur throughout Defoe’s Tour:

A. The Mutability of Human Affairs

Defoe emphasizes the impermanence of landscapes, economies, and societies. He observes:

"the fate of things gives a new face to things; produces changes in low life, and innumerable incidents; plants and supplants families; raises and sinks towns; removes manufactures and trade..."

This reflects:

Economic flux: The rise and fall of industries (e.g., wool trade declining in some areas, new manufactures emerging).
Urban shift: Some towns grow (like Norwich, a major textile hub), while others decay (e.g., Dunwich, a once-prosperous port now eroded by the sea).
Social mobility: Families rise and fall in status due to trade, inheritance, or misfortune.
Environmental change: Rivers silt up, harbors become useless, and new trade routes emerge.

Defoe’s focus on change aligns with the early Enlightenment interest in progress, empiricism, and the idea that society is not static but evolving.

B. The Rise of Commerce and Infrastructure

Defoe’s Tour is deeply concerned with trade, manufacturing, and transportation, reflecting Britain’s transition toward a market economy. Key observations include:

"New ports are opened; brooks are made rivers; small rivers navigable": This highlights canal-building and river improvements, crucial for internal trade (e.g., the Navigation Acts and early turnpike roads).
"Manufactures and trade" shift locations based on resources and labor, foreshadowing the Industrial Revolution.
"Great towns decay and small towns rise": A nod to urbanization and the decline of older medieval towns in favor of new commercial centers.

Defoe’s work is thus a snapshot of pre-industrial capitalism, documenting the mechanisms of economic growth and decline.

C. The Role of Observation and Empiricism

Defoe presents himself as an eyewitness reporter, emphasizing:

"I have viewed the north part of England and the south part of Scotland five several times over... and thought it worth while to note what I saw."

This reflects:

Enlightenment empiricism: Knowledge comes from direct observation, not just classical texts or tradition.
Journalistic style: Defoe’s Tour is written in a conversational, letter-like format, making it accessible to a growing middle-class readership.
Practical utility: The work is "particularly fitted for the Reading of such as Desire to Travel over the Island", serving as both a guidebook and a social record.

D. National Identity and Progress

Defoe’s project is implicitly patriotic, celebrating Britain’s economic and cultural dynamism. By documenting:

"The Customs, Manners, Speech... of the People"
"The Produce and Improvement of the Lands"
"Public Edifices, Seats and Palaces"

He contributes to a sense of national self-awareness, showing how different regions contribute to the whole. This aligns with the Union of England and Scotland (1707) and the growing idea of Britain as a unified, commercial nation.

3. Literary Devices and Style

Defoe’s introduction employs several key techniques:

A. Cataloguing and Enumeration

The passage is structured as a list of changes, creating a sense of accumulation and inevitability:

"great towns decay and small towns rise; new towns, new palaces, and new seats are built every day; great rivers and good harbours dry up..."

This anaphoric repetition ("new," "great," "small") reinforces the theme of constant transformation.

B. Contrast and Juxtaposition

Defoe frequently pairs opposites to highlight change:

"raises and sinks towns"
"plants and supplants families"
"dry up" vs. "new ports are opened"

This antithesis underscores the cyclical nature of progress.

C. Authorial Persona: The "Gentleman" Observer

Defoe adopts the voice of a curious, well-traveled gentleman, which:

Lends authority (he is not just a theorist but an eyewitness).
Appeals to middle-class readers who aspired to such knowledge.
Masks his controversial past (Defoe was imprisoned for sedition and had a checkered career as a spy and political writer).

The pseudonymous "By a Gentleman" also adds a sense of objectivity, though Defoe’s opinions often seep through.

D. Rhetorical Questions and Direct Address

The introduction implies a dialogue with the reader:

"of what was worth record in his day we can wish for no better reporter than Defoe."

This engages the audience, making them feel part of the project of preserving national memory.

4. Significance of the Excerpt

A. Historical Value

Defoe’s Tour is one of the earliest detailed social histories of Britain, providing:

A record of pre-industrial life before the full impact of the Industrial Revolution.
Insights into regional economies, such as the wool trade in Norfolk or the decline of Dunwich.
Firsthand accounts of infrastructure (roads, rivers, ports) that shaped Britain’s commercial expansion.

B. Literary Influence

Pioneered the travelogue genre: Unlike earlier works (e.g., Celestina’s The Voyages and Travels, 1704), Defoe focuses on everyday life rather than exoticism.
Influenced later writers: His observational, fact-based style prefigures 19th-century realism (e.g., Dickens’ social novels) and modern journalism.
Blended fiction and nonfiction: Defoe’s narrative techniques (e.g., the "gentleman observer" persona) would later appear in his novels.

Defoe’s work reflects key 18th-century debates:

Mercantilism vs. free trade: His descriptions of manufacturing and ports align with Britain’s rising global trade empire.
Urbanization and labor: He notes how trade shifts affect employment, foreshadowing industrialization’s social upheavals.
Class mobility: The idea that "low life" (common people) is subject to change challenges static feudal hierarchies.

D. Defoe’s Personal Motives

Financial necessity: Defoe was often in debt, and the Tour was a commercial venture (published in installments).
Rehabilitation of his reputation: After his political controversies (e.g., The Shortest Way with the Dissenters, 1702), the Tour positioned him as a respectable chronicler of Britain.
Intellectual curiosity: Defoe was genuinely fascinated by how societies function, a trait that also defines his novels.

5. Close Reading of Key Passages

A. "The fate of things gives a new face to things..."

"Fate" suggests an inevitable, almost providential force behind change, though Defoe’s work is otherwise secular and empirical.
"New face" implies surface-level transformation, but also deeper structural shifts (economy, demographics).
The parallel structure ("raises and sinks," "plants and supplants") creates a rhythmic, almost mechanical sense of change, mirroring the clockwork universe ideas of the time.

B. "We are endeavouring... to secure some record of the changes in our land and in our manners..."

"Endeavouring" suggests an ongoing, collective project—Defoe sees himself as part of a larger historical documentation.
"Changes in our land and in our manners" links physical geography to cultural habits, a hallmark of early sociology.
The nationalistic "our" reinforces the idea of a shared British identity, despite regional differences.

C. "However tedious the travel may have been, Defoe’s account of it is anything but tedious reading."

This meta-commentary (likely by the editor) highlights Defoe’s engaging style.
"Tedious" contrasts with the vibrancy of his prose, which mixes dry facts with vivid anecdotes.
It also humanizes Defoe, acknowledging the physical hardship of his journeys (he was in his 60s during these travels).

6. Conclusion: Why This Excerpt Matters

Defoe’s introduction to A Tour Through the Eastern Counties is more than a preface—it is a manifesto for a new kind of writing: one that is empirical, commercially minded, and deeply engaged with social change. By framing his work as a record of flux, Defoe captures the spirit of early 18th-century Britain—a nation on the cusp of industrialization, imperial expansion, and modern capitalism.

His literary techniques (cataloguing, contrast, the "gentleman observer" persona) make the Tour both informative and entertaining, bridging the gap between scholarship and popular reading. Today, the work remains invaluable for historians, literary scholars, and anyone interested in how societies transform—and how those transformations are documented.