Britain and the Seventy Years War, 1744-1815: Enlightenment, Revolution and Empire

Description

Eighteenth-century Britons were frequently anxious about the threat of invasion, military weakness, possible financial collapse and potential revolution. Anthony Page argues that between 1744 and 1815, Britain fought a 'Seventy Years War' with France. This invaluable study: - Argues for a new periodization of eighteenth-century British history, and explains the politics and course of Anglo-French war - Explores Britain's 'fiscal-naval' state and its role in the expansion of empire and industrial revolution - Highlights links between war, Enlightenment and the evolution of modern British culture and politics Synthesizing recent research on political, military, economic, social and cultural history, Page demonstrates how Anglo-French war influenced the revolutionary era and helped to shape the first age of global imperialism.

Anthony Page is Senior Lecturer in European History at the University of Tasmania, Australia.

Book focuses on what he terms the 'Seventy Years War', an almost-continuous series of conflicts between Britain and (mostly) France, which started with the shambolic response to the Jacobite rebellion and culminated in the triumph of Waterloo, paving the way for a century of imperial dominance under the Pax Britannica ... Given the focus on war, this is necessarily an international account of British history ... New book makes a striking claim for the continued relevance of Georgian Britain. * Matthew McCormack, The Journal of the Historical Association * The prose is clear and readable, the analysis is enlivened with well-chosen examples, and Page offers much helpful contextual material ... The book will be valuable to researchers and teachers who will find here a scholarly, up-to-date introduction to the "war and society" theme in eighteenth-century British history. * John Shovlin, Journal of British Studies, Vol. 55 (1) *