Politics and the Nation
Britain in the Mid-Eighteenth Century
1st Edition
Published on 3. January 2002
408 pages
978-0-19-155438-4 (ISBN)
Description
The author presents a new picture of political life in mid-eighteenth century Britain, a period of history which is poorly understood. Written in a clear, accessible style, and drawing on much original material, this book argues that British politics and political culture in the mid eighteenth century have often been poorly understood through over-emphasis on 'stability'. Using a thematic approach, it reconstructs a political world in which vital issues continued to exercise the minds and emotions of those who made up the contemporary 'political nation', a group which included far more than the handful of politicans who competed for national political office. This is a book which interprets its subject broadly, and which seeks to tell the stories of politics in this period through the words and projects, hopes and fears, of contemporaries . It also represents an important contribution to the difficult, but important, project of writing the history of the British Isles. Development in Scotland and Ireland are given careful attention along with those of England.
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Oxford University Press
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Content
- Intro
- Title Page
- Contents
- List of Maps
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: The Political World
- Ministries and the Whig Interest
- Opposition to Whig Oligarchy
- Pitt and the Politics of Unity
- Chapter 2: Virtue, Liberty, and the 'Country Interest'
- Country Ideology
- Patriotism and the Course of Politics
- Two Patriot Writers: James Burgh and John Shebbeare
- Chapter 3: Britain and France and the 'Empire of the Seas'
- War, the Press and Public Opinion
- Attitudes and Images
- 'Public Spirit' and Military Valour
- Merchants, Profits, and War
- Patriotic Spirit
- Chapter 4: Scotland: Expunging the Memory fo the '45
- 'Loyal Scotland' and the '45
- Extinguishing the Taint of Disloyalty
- Defeating Highland Jacobitism
- The Implementation of Policy
- Patriotism and Commerce
- Chapter 5: 'True English Genius': Patriots and Patriot Clubs in Ireland
- The Money Bill Dispute: Background and Nature
- Patriotism and Popularity
- The Money Bill dispute: Repurcussions and Significance
- Chapter 6: Trade and the National Interest
- The Cause of Commerce: Perceptions and Analyses
- Parliament, Nova Scotia, and the Fisheries
- Chapter 7: Morals and the Nation
- Morals in the Mid-Eighteenth Centure: Perceptions and Background
- Reforming Morals (1): Parliament, Magistrates, the Law
- Reforming Morals (2): Industry and Virtue
- Scotland's Morals
- Religion and Morals
- Conclusion
- Appendix I. Irish Patriot Addresses, 1754
- Appendix 2. Irish Patriot Toasts
- Appendix 3. The Free British Fishery Society
- Bibliography
- Index
