Britain and Ireland in the eighteenth-century crisis of empire /
This study utilizes a wealth of archival research and synthesises existing secondary material to produce a major reassessment of Anglo-Irish politics in the second half of the eighteenth century. The author examines the British government's policy towards Ireland during a period of imperial cri...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Palgrave Macmillan,
2003.
|
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | This study utilizes a wealth of archival research and synthesises existing secondary material to produce a major reassessment of Anglo-Irish politics in the second half of the eighteenth century. The author examines the British government's policy towards Ireland during a period of imperial crisis, 1750-83, focusing on its attempts to reassert control over Ireland's increasingly hostile Protestant parliament and populace. Anglo-Irish relations are placed in a wider imperial framework, taking account of British policy towards its colonies, particularly India and America. This book also challenges the characterization of eighteenth-century Ireland as 'an age of undertakers' when political life was static and politics were conducted without a serious purpose. In addition, this study reassesses the importance of Townshend and constant residency, the status and role of the lord lieutenant and chief secretary, the impact of the North ministry on Irish policy, the significance of legislative independence and the influence of Irish public opinion. Ultimately it is argued that there was a remarkable degree of unanimity amongst British politicians, whatever their party interests, on the issue of Britain's parliamentary supremacy over Ireland. |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | x, 280 pages ; 22 cm. |
| Bibliography: | Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| ISBN: | 0333994027 9780333994023 |