British Parliamentary and Electoral Politics, 1688-1832
This series builds on a knowledge of eighteenth century Europe and complements an understanding of British social, cultural, economic and political history.
Introduction to Eighteenth century politics
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Introduction to Eighteenth century politics
DownloadElections and Voting Behaviour in the First Age of Party
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Elections and Voting Behaviour in the First Age of Party
DownloadThe Age of Oligarchy, Jacobites and Opposition Politics
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
he Age of Oligarchy, Jacobites and Opposition Politics
DownloadGeorge III and the Politicians
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
The Age of Oligarchy: stability or strife?
DownloadPrint and Politics
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Any analysis of print culture should consider the reach, audience and reception of the printed word. National literacy rates were steadily rising throughout the 18th century. By 1800 around 60% of men and 30% of women were signing their own names in marriage registers although there were wide regional variations. Literacy can be measured in a more qualitative manner by looking at the demand for reading materials. Reading aloud to others was common in the 18th and 19th centuries. Reading rooms, Coffee Houses in the towns and public houses in towns and villages were important agencies for the dissemination of news.
DownloadThe French Revolution and British Politics
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
This lecture considers the impact of the French Revolution on parliamentary politics in the 18th century – the broader context will be evaluated in the next lecture.
DownloadBurke, Paine and Wollstonecraft
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Events in France did much to revive the fortunes of the reform movement after it had declined in the mid 1780s and hostile reactions to the course the revolution was taking stimulated the rapid growth of militant loyalism as public opinion turned against the radicals. The French revolution did produce some changes: * movement spread further down the social scale * was influential in a wider geographical area, not merely confined to the capital. * some radicals were pursuing a new Liberal ideal The debate began in 1789, when Dr. Richard Price, a Unitarian minister in England, preached a sermon "On the Love of Country." In this sermon he congratulated the French National Assembly, for the Revolution had opened up new possibilities for religious and civil freedom. He developed his doctrine of perfectability -- that the world can be made better through human effort. This doctrine was the theological and philosophical justification for social reform, for striving in this world for social change.
DownloadWhigs and Tories 1780-1832
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
The fall of Pitt in 1801 after his failure to carry through a measure of Catholic Emancipation brought the Foxites back to Westminster. The political stalemate that had characterised the years 1794-1801 was evaporating with the fall of Pitt. A new opposition group emerged after the loss of Pitt based around Lord Grenville and William Windham opposed to Addington, the new leader, and the peace negotiations. It was a small group, only 20-30 strong in the Commons and 12-15 in the Lords but contained men of immense talent and reputation.
DownloadElectoral Politics in the Age of Reform
12:25 Mon 05 Jan 2009
Historians have emphasised the unsavoury nature of electoral politics in the decades before 1832. Four charges were levelled at the electoral system by these critics * that very few voters were free to vote as they wished * the electorate was thoroughly venal and regarded the vote as a piece of personal property upon which they expected to make a profit every 7 years * elections were an exclusive proceeding concerning only political and social elites * political issues were unimportant in election contests and ideology had little part to play. Assumptions have been challenged, most notably by Frank O’Gorman in Voters, Patrons and Parties and J A Phillips in Electoral Behaviour in Unreformed England and The Great Reform Bill in the Boroughs. They argue electoral system was controlled by local elites, but with difficulty.
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