Page 1. Becoming colonial in Dearly America Edited by Robert Blair St. George Page 2. Page 3. &am... more Page 1. Becoming colonial in Dearly America Edited by Robert Blair St. George Page 2. Page 3. "Thi. s One 7B6G-TAF-29DJ Page 4. This book was developed in association with the McNeil Center for Early American Studies ...
Note on terms Acknowledgments Introduction 1 The American Case for War 2 The British Empire's... more Note on terms Acknowledgments Introduction 1 The American Case for War 2 The British Empire's Case for War 3 Declaring War 4 America on the Offensive 5 The British Empire at War 6 Wartime Opposition in the United States 7 British Opposition to the War 8 Ending the War and Constructing the Peace Conclusion: Who Won the War of 1812? Abbreviations Notes Index
In 1795, Britain’s Parliament passed the “Seamen’s Families Bill” which enabled sailors to allot ... more In 1795, Britain’s Parliament passed the “Seamen’s Families Bill” which enabled sailors to allot half of their monthly pay to either their mothers or wives for the duration of their service. This article examines the significance of the bill from a number of perspectives. First is the unprecedented level of national and local bureaucratic organization needed to implement pay allotments successfully. Second, and most extensively, the article examines the records produced by the bill’s implementation, which include such information as place of residence, number and gender of children, rank, wages, and relationship to the recipient. Drawing from a considerable sample of sailors who served from 1795 to the end of the French wars in 1815, the authors created a database of 7,514 sailors, who volunteered to allot half of their pay, as means to better understand the ordinary men who made up the rank and file of the Royal Navy. Among several findings is a strong challenge to the notion of th...
Because this work is in part about individual, communal, and national identities, and because cur... more Because this work is in part about individual, communal, and national identities, and because current scholarship tends to identify these groups largely in terms of what they were not, perhaps it is best to begin by explaining what this book is not. It is not a history of the ...
... Troy Bickham is an assistant professor at Southeast Missouri State University. ... 1 New Engl... more ... Troy Bickham is an assistant professor at Southeast Missouri State University. ... 1 New Englanders were often portrayed in Britain as the most radical proponents of independence from the outset. For examples, see Public Advertiser, July 29, I774; Morning Chronicle, Mar. ...
European Review of History: Revue europeenne d'histoire, 2010
guided by public opinion, but is governed by the knowing proviso, ‘insofar as the Lords could und... more guided by public opinion, but is governed by the knowing proviso, ‘insofar as the Lords could understand it’ (p. 180); and several of his rather brief analytical passages are given to what might be seen as periods of parliamentary self-education, if not self-help (p. 185). Dr Davis is at pains to argue that, in practice, the Commons and the Lords worked in concert to achieve aims that now seem unfashionably undemocratic – such as protecting Protestant property, keeping powers of police justice under the Crown, and limiting the self-government of cities. Seeming paradoxes emerge, only to dissolve on closer inspection – such is the history of Lord Lyndhurst as a champion of colonial rights, who also upheld the proprietary rights of slave owners (p. 246). It is not always obvious, as Dr Davis acknowledges, that, to quote the Earl of Ripon, the Lords ‘had always shown themselves to be the real friends of freedom’ (p. 218). Indeed, governed by such friends, who needs enemies? On this score, Wellington had few doubts. The mob must be resisted, if only in the interests of the mob. As Edward Pearce has written, ‘the Great Reform Act deserves its ardent Victorian adjective’; in fact, for all its limitations, the nation had earned it. By 1832, we are shown, the Lords knew they had to bow to public opinion. (p. 341). In Dr Davis’s view, ‘what they did not believe was that the Whig Commons represented public opinion’. What Britain had was a House that, like the Government, rarely appealed to the common people. Indeed, it was the Conservatives and the Lords that threw out or reshaped measures on Irish tithes, municipal government, access to Oxbridge, support of elementary education, and the abolition of colonial slavery. Perhaps Dr Davis is right in concluding that such behaviour, however unattractive to modern eyes, ‘did not seriously disturb the British public at the time’ (p. 342). In which case, the House may indeed be said to reflect the triumph of what Alexandra Kelso calls ‘historical institutionalism’. Wellington’s regime, both in Government and in the Lords – and the legislative victories that, in Dr Davis’s words, he famously scored ‘for the church and against the government’ (p. 198) – might never be repeated; but his views about the proper function of the Lords could be taken as wise counsel for future peers. ‘We have only now to follow,’ he said in 1834, ‘a plain course with moderation and dignity in order to attain a very great, if not a preponderating influence over the affairs of the country’ (p. 198). The lesson was well taken. For Macaulay, observant as ever, the monarchy and the aristocracy (including the Lords) were (and perhaps are still) ‘valuable and useful as means, not as ends.’ With luck, those who come to fashion the next chapter in the history of the House will keep this in mind.
During the second half of the eighteenth century, American Indians, as well as many of the people... more During the second half of the eighteenth century, American Indians, as well as many of the peoples that the British Empire was fast absorbing, moved from the fantastical to the relevant in the British imagination. Global conflict, particularly the Seven Years' War, had seen unprecedented ...
In examining how children engaged with the British Empire, broadly defined, during the long eight... more In examining how children engaged with the British Empire, broadly defined, during the long eighteenth century, this article considers a range of materials, including museums, printed juvenile literature, and board games, that specifically attempted to attract children and their parents. Subjects that engaged with the wider world, and with it the British Empire, were typically not a significant part of formal education curricula, and so an informal marketplace of materials and experiences emerged both to satisfy and drive parental demand for supplementary education at home. Such engagements were no accident. Rather, they were a conscious effort to provide middling and elite children with what was considered useful information about the wider world and empire they would inherit, as well as opportunities to consider the moral implications and obligations of imperial rule, particularly with regard to African slavery.
Page 1. Becoming colonial in Dearly America Edited by Robert Blair St. George Page 2. Page 3. &am... more Page 1. Becoming colonial in Dearly America Edited by Robert Blair St. George Page 2. Page 3. "Thi. s One 7B6G-TAF-29DJ Page 4. This book was developed in association with the McNeil Center for Early American Studies ...
Note on terms Acknowledgments Introduction 1 The American Case for War 2 The British Empire's... more Note on terms Acknowledgments Introduction 1 The American Case for War 2 The British Empire's Case for War 3 Declaring War 4 America on the Offensive 5 The British Empire at War 6 Wartime Opposition in the United States 7 British Opposition to the War 8 Ending the War and Constructing the Peace Conclusion: Who Won the War of 1812? Abbreviations Notes Index
In 1795, Britain’s Parliament passed the “Seamen’s Families Bill” which enabled sailors to allot ... more In 1795, Britain’s Parliament passed the “Seamen’s Families Bill” which enabled sailors to allot half of their monthly pay to either their mothers or wives for the duration of their service. This article examines the significance of the bill from a number of perspectives. First is the unprecedented level of national and local bureaucratic organization needed to implement pay allotments successfully. Second, and most extensively, the article examines the records produced by the bill’s implementation, which include such information as place of residence, number and gender of children, rank, wages, and relationship to the recipient. Drawing from a considerable sample of sailors who served from 1795 to the end of the French wars in 1815, the authors created a database of 7,514 sailors, who volunteered to allot half of their pay, as means to better understand the ordinary men who made up the rank and file of the Royal Navy. Among several findings is a strong challenge to the notion of th...
Because this work is in part about individual, communal, and national identities, and because cur... more Because this work is in part about individual, communal, and national identities, and because current scholarship tends to identify these groups largely in terms of what they were not, perhaps it is best to begin by explaining what this book is not. It is not a history of the ...
... Troy Bickham is an assistant professor at Southeast Missouri State University. ... 1 New Engl... more ... Troy Bickham is an assistant professor at Southeast Missouri State University. ... 1 New Englanders were often portrayed in Britain as the most radical proponents of independence from the outset. For examples, see Public Advertiser, July 29, I774; Morning Chronicle, Mar. ...
European Review of History: Revue europeenne d'histoire, 2010
guided by public opinion, but is governed by the knowing proviso, ‘insofar as the Lords could und... more guided by public opinion, but is governed by the knowing proviso, ‘insofar as the Lords could understand it’ (p. 180); and several of his rather brief analytical passages are given to what might be seen as periods of parliamentary self-education, if not self-help (p. 185). Dr Davis is at pains to argue that, in practice, the Commons and the Lords worked in concert to achieve aims that now seem unfashionably undemocratic – such as protecting Protestant property, keeping powers of police justice under the Crown, and limiting the self-government of cities. Seeming paradoxes emerge, only to dissolve on closer inspection – such is the history of Lord Lyndhurst as a champion of colonial rights, who also upheld the proprietary rights of slave owners (p. 246). It is not always obvious, as Dr Davis acknowledges, that, to quote the Earl of Ripon, the Lords ‘had always shown themselves to be the real friends of freedom’ (p. 218). Indeed, governed by such friends, who needs enemies? On this score, Wellington had few doubts. The mob must be resisted, if only in the interests of the mob. As Edward Pearce has written, ‘the Great Reform Act deserves its ardent Victorian adjective’; in fact, for all its limitations, the nation had earned it. By 1832, we are shown, the Lords knew they had to bow to public opinion. (p. 341). In Dr Davis’s view, ‘what they did not believe was that the Whig Commons represented public opinion’. What Britain had was a House that, like the Government, rarely appealed to the common people. Indeed, it was the Conservatives and the Lords that threw out or reshaped measures on Irish tithes, municipal government, access to Oxbridge, support of elementary education, and the abolition of colonial slavery. Perhaps Dr Davis is right in concluding that such behaviour, however unattractive to modern eyes, ‘did not seriously disturb the British public at the time’ (p. 342). In which case, the House may indeed be said to reflect the triumph of what Alexandra Kelso calls ‘historical institutionalism’. Wellington’s regime, both in Government and in the Lords – and the legislative victories that, in Dr Davis’s words, he famously scored ‘for the church and against the government’ (p. 198) – might never be repeated; but his views about the proper function of the Lords could be taken as wise counsel for future peers. ‘We have only now to follow,’ he said in 1834, ‘a plain course with moderation and dignity in order to attain a very great, if not a preponderating influence over the affairs of the country’ (p. 198). The lesson was well taken. For Macaulay, observant as ever, the monarchy and the aristocracy (including the Lords) were (and perhaps are still) ‘valuable and useful as means, not as ends.’ With luck, those who come to fashion the next chapter in the history of the House will keep this in mind.
During the second half of the eighteenth century, American Indians, as well as many of the people... more During the second half of the eighteenth century, American Indians, as well as many of the peoples that the British Empire was fast absorbing, moved from the fantastical to the relevant in the British imagination. Global conflict, particularly the Seven Years' War, had seen unprecedented ...
In examining how children engaged with the British Empire, broadly defined, during the long eight... more In examining how children engaged with the British Empire, broadly defined, during the long eighteenth century, this article considers a range of materials, including museums, printed juvenile literature, and board games, that specifically attempted to attract children and their parents. Subjects that engaged with the wider world, and with it the British Empire, were typically not a significant part of formal education curricula, and so an informal marketplace of materials and experiences emerged both to satisfy and drive parental demand for supplementary education at home. Such engagements were no accident. Rather, they were a conscious effort to provide middling and elite children with what was considered useful information about the wider world and empire they would inherit, as well as opportunities to consider the moral implications and obligations of imperial rule, particularly with regard to African slavery.
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