Introduces students, teachers and general readers to the developments that led to Britain becoming a great world power, the leading European imperial state, and, at the same time, the most economically and socially advanced, politically liberal and religiously tolerant nation in Europe.

List of Maps x List of Contributors xi Introduction xv Maps xix Part I Politics and the Constitution 1 1 The British Constitution 3 H. T. Dickinson 2 The British State 19 Eckhart Hellmuth 3 Finance and Taxation 30 Patrick Karl O’Brien 4 Local Government and Local Society 40 David Eastwood 5 Parliament, Parties and Elections (1688–1760) 55 Brian Hill 6 Parliament, Parties and Elections (1760–1815) 69 Stephen M. Lee 7 The Jacobite Movement 81 Daniel Szechi 8 Popular Politics and Radical Ideas 97 H. T. Dickinson 9 The Crisis of the French Revolution 112 Emma Vincent Macleod Part II The Economy and Society 125 10 Manufacturing and Commerce 127 John Rule 11 Agriculture and Rural Life 141 Gordon Mingay 12 The Landed Elite 158 Richard G. Wilson 13 The Middling Orders 172 Nicholas Rogers 14 The Labouring Poor 183 John Rule 15 Urban Life and Culture 196 Peter Borsay 16 Women and the Family 209 John D. Ramsbottom Part III Religion 223 17 The Church of England 225 Jeremy Gregory 18 Religious Minorities in England 241 Colin Haydon 19 Methodism and the Evangelical Revival 252 G. M. Ditchfield 20 Religion in Scotland 260 Stewart J. Brown 21 Religion in Ireland 271 Sean J. Connolly Part IV Culture 281 22 Print Culture 283 Bob Harris 23 Political Ideas from Locke to Paine 294 Pamela Edwards 24 The Making of Elite Culture 311 Maura A. Henry 25 Literature and Drama 329 J. Alan Downie 26 Popular Culture 344 Bob Bushaway 27 Crime and Punishment 358 James A. Sharpe Part V Union and Disunion in the British Isles 367 28 Integration: Patriotism and Nationalism 369 Colin Kidd 29 Scotland and the Union 381 Alexander Murdoch 30 Wales in the Eighteenth Century 392 Geraint H. Jenkins 31 Ireland: The Making of the ‘Protestant Ascendancy’, 1690–1760 403 Paddy McNally 32 Ireland: Radicalism, Rebellion and Union 414 Martyn J. Powell Part VI Britain and the Wider World 429 33 Britain’s Emergence as a European Power, 1688–1815 431 H. M. Scott 34 Britain and the Atlantic World 447 W. A. Speck 35 Britain and India 460 Bruce P. Lenman 36 The British Army 473 Stanley D. M. Carpenter 37 The Royal Navy 481 Richard Harding 38 Britain and the Slave Trade 489 John Oldfield Bibliography 499 Index 516

This authoritative Companion to eighteenth-century Britain includes essays by nearly forty experts from the UK, Europe, the United States and Canada. It introduces students, teachers and general readers to the developments that led to Britain becoming a great world power, the leading European imperial state, and, at the same time, the most economically and socially advanced, politically liberal and religiously tolerant nation in Europe. The volume examines political developments including the founding of the constitution and political system in 1688 and the development of the party political system. It describes economic and social developments in the towns and country which signalled the advent of ‘modern’ society and the cultural advances in the arts, philosophy and the press which greatly interested other European nations. The book also reminds readers that religion remained a powerful force and preoccupation throughout this period and covers the discussions over religious tolerance. There is also a section on the creation of the United Kingdom from England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland and the serious divisions that still remained. Finally, the book reveals how Britain became a world power, developing and then losing one empire in America but soon acquiring another in India. This Companion is based on recent research and clearly presents the current state of knowledge and interpretation, demonstrating why this period has recently attracted new scholarly initiatives and historical enquiries.

"This superb work by leading historian of the period provides a series of introductions to the most important themes for study. The authors bring the most up to date scholarship to bear in their work. Readable, sensible, perceptive and intelligent. If there is one book to use for this century, this is it." Archives Book Reviews "The accounts are succinct, very up-to-date and based upon regional as well as national evidence." Northern History "If this volume is any indication, the series will be successful. Dickinson has collected an array of prominent historians to digest and briefly discuss the trends in their respective fields. This is a collection of essays that most students will find exceptionally useful, and most faculty members will appreciate: Highly recommended." Choice

List of Maps and Map Acknowledgements. List of Contributors. Maps. Introduction. Part I: Politics and the Constitution. Part II: The Economy and Society. Part III: Religion. Part IV: Culture. Part V: Union and Disunion in the British Isles. Part VI: Britain and the Wider World. Consolidated Bibliography. Index.