Diplomatic Correspondence, 1763-1765


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George III


Book Description

This electronic version has been made available under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND) open access license. The eighteenth-century was long deemed 'the classical age of the constitution' in Britain, with cabinet government based on a two-party system of Whigs and Tories in Parliament, and a monarchy whose powers had been emasculated by the Glorious Revolution o. This study furthers the work of Sir Lewis Namier who argued in 1929 that no such party system existed, George III was not a cypher and that Parliament was an administration comprising of factions and opposition. George III was a high-profile and well-known character in British history whose policies have often been blamed for the loss of Britain's American colonies, around whom rages a perennial dispute over his aims: was he seeking to restore royal power, or merely excercising his constitutional rights?. The first chronological survey of the first ten years of George III’s reign through power politics and policy-making.




Three Victories and a Defeat


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In the eighteenth century, Britain became a world superpower through a series of sensational military strikes. Traditionally, the Royal Navy has been seen as Britain's key weapon, but in Three Victories and a Defeat Brendan Simms argues that Britain's true strength lay with the German aristocrats who ruled it at the time. The House of Hanover superbly managed a complex series of European alliances that enabled Britain to keep the continental balance of power in check while dramatically expanding her own empire. These alliances sustained the nation through the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession, and the Seven Years' War. But in 1776, Britain lost the American continent by alienating her European allies. An extraordinary reinterpretation of British and American history, Three Victories and a Defeat is a masterwork by a rising star of the historical profession.




Catherine the Great


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Neither a comprehensive 'life and times' nor a conventional biography, this is an engaging and accessible exploration of rulership and monarchial authority in eighteenth century Russia. Its purpose is to see how Catherine II of Russia conceived of her power and how it was represented to her subjects. Simon Dixon asks essential questions about Catherin'es life and reign, and offers new and stimulating arguments about the Englightenment, the power of the monarch in early modern Europe, and the much-debated role of the "great individual" in history.




The Emergence of the Eastern Powers, 1756-1775


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This book shows how the European states-system was transformed by the military rise of Prussia and Russia.




The Making and Unmaking of Empires


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In The Making and Unmaking of Empires P. J. Marshall, distinguished author of numerous books on the British Empire and former Rhodes Professor of Imperial History, provides a unified interpretation of British imperial history in the later eighteenth century. He brings together into a common focus Britain's loss of empire in North America and the winning of territorial dominion in parts of India and argues that these developments were part of a single phase of Britain's imperial history, rather than marking the closing of a 'first' Atlantic empire and the rise of a 'second' eastern one. In both India and North America Britain pursued similar objectives in this period. Fearful of the apparent enmity of France, Britain sought to secure the interests overseas which were thought to contribute so much to her wealth and power. This involved imposing a greater degree of control over colonies in America and over the East India Company and its new possessions in India. Aspirations to greater control also reflected an increasing confidence in Britain's capacity to regulate the affairs of subject peoples, especially through parliament. If British objectives throughout the world were generally similar, whether they could be achieved depended on the support or at least acquiescence of those they tried to rule. Much of this book is concerned with bringing together the findings of the rich historical writing on both post-Mughal India and late colonial America to assess the strengths and weaknesses of empire in different parts of the world. In North America potential allies who were closely linked to Britain in beliefs, culture and economic interest were ultimately alienated by Britain's political pretensions. Empire was extremely fragile in two out of the three main Indian settlements. In Bengal, however, the British achieved a modus vivendi with important groups which enabled them to build a secure base for the future subjugation of the subcontinent. With the authority of one who has made the study of empire his life's work, Marshall provides a valuable resource for scholar and student alike.




Russian Overseas Commerce with Great Britain During the Reign of Catherine II


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On the basis of newly-discovered Russian and British archival sources, Prof. Kaplan makes important scholarly contributions to 18th-cent. economic history. He demonstrates that there was not only a symbiotic economic relationship between Russia and Great Britain, but also that Russia contributed greatly to Britain's industrial revolution and its imperial strategic military and political power during the second half of the 18th cent. Kaplan is the first to estimate the real balance of payments between the two countries. Kaplan's meticulous analysis of Anglo-Russian commercial treaties as well as Russian tariffs, which were intended to undermine them, reveals policies that both countries undertook to advance their respective maritime and mercantile power. Charts and tables.




Late Georgian and Regency England, 1760-1837


Book Description

A guide to historical literature on England between 1760 and 1837, emphasising more recent work.