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Helen Berry (Université de Newcastle), “Problems with philanthropy in eighteenth-century Britain: industry, empire and the fate of London’s foundlings”. Jeudi 18 avril 2019 de 17h30 à 19h. Maison de la Recherche, 28 rue Serpente, Paris 6e , salle D421«  Helen Berry’s new  book Orphans of Empire: the Fate of London’s Foundlings (Oxford: OUP,  2019) tells the story of what happened to the thousands of children who  were raised at the London Foundling Hospital, Coram's brainchild, which  opened in 1741 and grew to become the most famous charity in Georgian  England. It provides vivid insights into the lives and fortunes of  London's poorest children, from the earliest days of the Foundling  Hospital to the mid-Victorian era, when Charles Dickens was moved by his  observations of the charity's work to campaign on behalf of orphans.  Through the lives of London's foundlings, this book provides readers  with a street-level insight into the wider global history of a period of  monumental change in British history as the nation grew into the  world's leading superpower. Some foundling children were destined for  Britain's 'outer Empire' overseas, but many more toiled in the 'inner  Empire', labouring in the cotton mills and factories of northern England  at the dawn of the new industrial age. Through extensive archival research, Helen Berry uncovers previously  untold stories of what happened to former foundlings, including the  suffering and small triumphs they experienced as child workers during  the upheavals of the Industrial Revolution. Sometimes, using many  different fragments of evidence, the voices of the children themselves  emerge. Extracts from George King's autobiography, the only surviving  first-hand account written by a Foundling Hospital child born in the  eighteenth century, published here for the first time, provide  touching insights into how he came to terms with his upbringing.  Remarkably he played a part in Trafalgar, one of the most iconic battles  in British Naval history. His personal courage and resilience in  overcoming the disadvantages of his birth form a lasting testimony to  the strength of the human spirit. »    Répondant : Isabelle Robin, Sorbonne Université