London

The year 1794—during which Songs of Experience was published—was marked by political and social upheaval, not only in Blake’s England but in other parts of the globe. In January of that year, King George III of Great Britain delivered a speech to Parliament suggesting that Britain’s war with France should continue. In March, British troops would capture Martinique from the French. In May in France, Robespierre established the Cult of the Supreme Being as the religion of the French First Republic. The Reign of Terror also began, after chemist Antoine Lavoisier was tried, convicted, and executed by guillotine. Twenty-seven co-defendants of the ferme generale were also convicted. The French Revolution spurred the English government to begin legislating oppressive laws that drastically reduced personal freedoms. In June, British troops captured Port-au-Prince in Haiti, and at the Battle of Mykonos, the British Royal Navy captured Sybille, a French frigate. In July, Robespierre, along with Maximilien and Saint-Just, were arrested after orders from the French National Convention. They were executed the same day. In August, British troops captured Corisica, and in September, Austria, Britain, and Russia would ally against France.

Other uprisings and social revolutions would occur elsewhere in the world. Andrew Thaddeus Bonaventure Kosciuszko would make his proclamation, beginning the Kosciuszko Uprising.