War, State, and Society in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Britain and IrelandThis book explores the impact of the wars of 1739-63 on Britain and Ireland. The period was dominated by armed struggle between Britain and the Bourbon powers, particularly France. These wars, especially the Seven Years War of 1756-63, saw a considerable mobilization of manpower, materiel and money. They had important affects on the British and Irish economies, on social divisions and the development of what we might term social policy, on popular and parliamentary politics, onreligion, on national sentiment, and on the nature and scale of Britain's overseas possessions and attitudes to empire.To fight these wars, partnerships of various kinds were necessary. Partnership with European allies was recognized, at least by parts of the political nation, to be essential to the pursuit of victory. Partnership with the North American colonies was also seen as imperative to military success. Within Britain and Ireland, partnerships were no less important. The peoples of the different nations of the two islands were forced into partnership, or entered into it willingly, in order to fightthe conflicts of the period and to resist Bourbon invasion threats. At the level of 'high' politics, the Seven Years War saw the forming of an informal partnership between Whigs and Tories in support of the Pitt-Newcastle government's prosecution of the war. The various Protestant denominations -established churches and Dissenters - were brought into a form of partnership based on Protestant solidarity in the face of the Catholic threat from France and Spain. And, perhaps above all, partnerships were forged between the British state and local and private interest in order to secure the necessary mobilization of men, resources, and money. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
1 WorldWide War and Home Defence | 11 |
2 War and the State | 33 |
3 The Growth of the Armed Forces | 56 |
4 War and the Economy | 83 |
5 War and Society | 115 |
6 War and Politics | 143 |
7 War and Religion | 170 |
Other editions - View all
War, State, and Society in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland Stephen Conway Limited preview - 2006 |
War, State, and Society in Mid-Eighteenth-Century Britain and Ireland Stephen Conway No preview available - 2006 |
Common terms and phrases
allies American colonies Anon Archives armed forces Austrian Succession Berkshire Britain Britain and Ireland British and Irish British army Britons Cambridge captured Catholic Century colonists conflict continental Cork Cumberland defeat Diary Dublin Duke Dutch Earl Economic Edinburgh Eighteenth Eighteenth-Century Empire enemy England English Europe European France French George Germany Government Hanoverian Highland History hostility House of Commons impact imperial increased invasion Irish Jacobite James John Journal King’s land large numbers less Letters Lieutenant London Lord Louisbourg manpower merchant mid-century wars military militia mobilization N. A. M. Rodger naval Newcastle Nicholas Rodger North America overseas Oxford Papers parliamentary peace period Pitt’s political Protestant raised rebellion Record Office Record Society recruitment reform regiments Royal Navy Scotland Scots Scottish seen Seven Seven Years War ships soldiers Spain Spanish Thomas tion Tories trade troops victory vols Walpole wartime Whig William wrote