Politics and Opinion in in Hanoverian Britain Course Tutor: Sarah Richardson
Context of Module This module may be taken by students on the MA in Eighteenth Century Studies, the MA in History, or any taught Master's student outside the History Department. Module Aims This module examines the richness and variety of eighteenth-century political culture in England. Students will be introduced to recent historical interpretations of eighteenth century England which have demonstrated the interconnections between society, culture, the economy and politics in this important period of transition. A wide range of contemporary sources will also be used including political and theoretical works, novels, personal records and visual sources. As a result students will be able to engage with existing literature and to develop their own research skills. Intended Learning Outcomes to develop further skills (including ICT mediated skills) in communication, writing and research. to analyse and evaluate at an advanced level the contributions made by a wide range of interdisciplinary scholars to the field of eighteenth century political culture. to locate, consider and analyse a range of primary source materials to further an appreciation of political culture in the eighteenth century the opportunity, through the independent preparation and writing of 5,000 word essays, to choose and frame for themselves a topic worthy of analysis in the light of the advanced literature in the relevant area of study; to construct their own bibliographies from books, articles and websites; to gather evidence and use it to shape a cogent and coherent extended analytical discussion; and where appropriate to deploy evidence from primary sources Assessment 1 assessed essay of 5,000 words. The course is taught in weekly 2-hour seminars 2
Week 1: Introduction to Eighteenth-century Politics For this general introduction I suggest you dip into one or more of these 'iconic' monographs on 18th century politics: JCD Clark, British Society, 1688-1832 Linda Colley, Britons Kathleen Wilson, The sense of the people For general text books see: Frank O'Gorman, The Long Eighteenth-century H T Dickinson (ed.), A Companion to Eighteenth-Century Britain Boyd Hilton, A Mad, Bad and Dangerous People? England 1783-1846. You may wish to consider the following questions: What was the pattern of politics in the Hanoverian period? How representative was politics? What were the major engines of change? Why do historians disagree about the nature of Hanoverian politics? But please feel free to frame questions of your own and to use the introductory session to raise any questions you have about the period 3
Week 2: War and the State This seminar will analyse the domestic political implications of Britain's engagement in warfare in the long eighteenth century (Nine Years War; War of Spanish Succession; War of the Quadruple Alliance; War of Jenkin's Ear; War of Austrian Succession; Seven Years War; War of American Independence; French Revolutionary Wars; Napoleonic Wars). In particular the focus will be on the development of the 'fiscal-military' state; the importance of war in forming national identities; the effects of war on the civilian population (growth of patriotism versus opposition to troops; press system; taxation; 'big' state) Key texts Stephen Conway, 'War and national identity in the mid eighteenth-century British Isles', English Historical Review, 116 (2001) Philip Harling and Peter Mandler, 'From fiscal-military state to laissez-faire state, 1760-1850', Journal of British Studies, 32 (1993) Linda Colley, Britons Lawrence Stone (ed.), An Imperial State at War H. V. Bowen, War and British Society John Brewer, The sinews of Power: War, Money and the British State, 1688-1783 Key sources B. R. Mitchell and Phyllis Deane, Abstract of British Historical Statistics [for economic impact of wars] British Museum Prints and Drawings [satirical views on wars] Sample Militia List: http://www.cottinghamhistory.co.uk/1777%20militia%20list.htm See also Lois Schwoerer, 'The Grenville Militia List for Buckinghamshire, 1798-9', Huntington Library Quarterly, 68 (2005) and W. G. Hoskins (ed.), Exeter Militia List, 1803 4
Week 3: Reactions to the French Revolution I This seminar will consider radical responses to the French Revolution. In addition to the texts below you should search Eighteenth-century Collections Online for relevant material on the radical response to the French Revolution. Thomas Paine, Rights of Man Gregory Claeys, Political writings of the 1790s : French Revolution debate in Britain and The French Revolution Debate in Britain Robert M. Maniquis, 'British radical culture of the 1790s', Huntington Library Quarterly, 63 (2000) [Special issue] Gary Kelly, Women, writing, and revolution 1790-1827 Robert Poole, 'French Revolution or Peasants' Revolt? : petitioners and rebels in England from the Blanketeers to the Chartists', Labour History Review, 74 (2009) 5
Week 4: Reactions to the French Revolution II The range of popular loyalist reactions to the French Revolution will be considered this week, with special reference to the Priestley riots of 1791. In addition, the representation of loyalism via print, images, language and violence will be analysed. In addition to the texts below, published loyalist writing can be viewed via ECCO. Richard Clay, 'Riotous images: representations of Joseph Priestley in British prints during the French Revolution', History of Education, 37 (2008) R. B. Rose, 'The Priestley Riots of 1791', Past and Present, 18 (1960) John Money, Experience and Identity: Birmingham and the West Midlands, 1760-1800 ODNB entry for Priestley Alan Booth, 'Popular Loyalism and public violence in the North-West of England, 1790-1800', Social History, 8 (1983) Jennifer Mori, 'Languages of loyalism: patriotism, nationhood and the state in the 1790s', English Historical Review, 118 (2003) Mark Philip, 'Vulgar conservatism, 1792-3', English Historical Review, 110 (1995) 6
Week 5: Masculinity and Politics How do notions of masculinity change in the Hanoverian period? What impact does this have on the 'political man'? Are there key dates/events which shape such views? You may wish to use the Oxford DNB and British Museum print collection to research some key male political figures and discuss how their masculinity is represented in the popular imagination. Matthew McCormack, The Independent Man: Citizenship and Gender Politics in Georgian England Matthew McCormack, 'Citizenship, nationhood and masculinity in the affair of the Hanoverian soldier, 1756', Historical Journal, 49 (2006) Hilda Smith, All Men and both sexes: gender, politics and the false universal in England, 1640-1832 Dror Wahrman, 'Percy's Prologue: from Gender Play to Gender Panic in Eighteenth- Century England', Past and Present, 1998 John Styles and Amanda Vickery (eds), Gender, taste, and material culture in Britain and North America, 1700-1830 Philip Carter, Men and the emergence of polite society : Britain 1660-1800 7
Week 6: Reading Week Week 7: Women and the Public Sphere Were there opportunities for women to participate in public life in Hanoverian Britain? In which areas? Was it easier for elite or plebeian women to particpate in the public sphere? Did the rhetoric of separate spheres work in reality? Elaine Chalus, Elite Women in English Political Life Linda Colley, Britons Paul Custer, 'Refiguring Jemima: gender, work and politics in Lancashire', Past and Present, 195 (2007) Kathryn Gleadle and Sarah Richardson (eds), Women in British Politics: The Power of the Petticoat Gary Kelly, Revolutionary Feminism Sarah Knott and Barbara Taylor (eds), Women, Gender and Enlightenment Judith S. Lewis, Sacred to Female Patriotism, Gender, Class and Politics in Georgian Britain Amanda Vickery, Power, Privilege and Politics 8
Week 8: Print Culture and the Press This seminar will consider the role of the press and print culture in politics during the Hanoverian period looking at issues such as the development of 'public opinion', circulation and readerships, the varieties of print culture and restrictions on the press and other media. James Bradley, 'Parliament, print culture and petitioning', Parliamentary History, 26 (2007) Jason Peacey, 'The print culture of parliament, 1600-1800', Parliamentary History, 26 (2007) Hannah Barker, Newspapers, politics and English society; Newspapers, politics and public opinion; and with Simon Burrows, Press, politics and the public sphere Karl Schweizer, 'Newspapers politics and public opinion in the later Hanoverian era', Parliamentary History, 26 (2007) E.Hellmuth, The palladium of all other English liberties: reflections on the liberty of the press in England during the 1760s and 1770s in Hellmuth (ed.), The Transformation of Political Culture R. Kropf, Libel and Satire in the Eighteenth Century, Eighteenth Century Studies, 1975 Tedra Osell, Tatling women in the public sphere, Eighteenth Century Studies, 2005 Key Sources The Times Burney Collection of 17th and 18th century newspapers British Library Collection of Nineteenth-century newspapers Spectator/Tatler (1711-14) John Johnson Collection of Early Ephemera Bodleian Collection of broadside ballads British Museum collection of prints and drawings 9
Week 9: Empire and Politics This seminar considers the importance of the Empire in British politics - both at a policy level and for the mass of the population. There will be a focus on America and India as two contrasting case studies. Kathleen Wilson (ed.), A new imperial history: culture, identity and modernity in Britain and the Empire, 1660-1840 and The sense of the people : politics, culture and imperialism in England, 1715-85 J. Bradley, Popular Politics and the American Revolution in England P. Lawson, 'The Missing Link : The Imperial Dimension in Understanding Hanoverian Britain', Historical Journal, 1986 P. J. Marshall, Taming the Exotic. The British and India in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in Rousseau and Porter (eds), Exoticism in the Enlightenment P. J. Marshall, The Oxford History of the British Empire Week 10: Essay Discussions 10