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The rule of law, an ideology of equality and universality that
justified Britain's eighteenth-century imperial claims, was the
product not of abstract principles but imperial contact. As the
Empire expanded, encompassing greater religious, ethnic and racial
diversity, the law paradoxically contained and maintained these
very differences. This book revisits six notorious incidents that
occasioned vigorous debate in London's courtrooms, streets and
presses: the Jewish Naturalization Act and the Elizabeth Canning
case (1753-54); the Somerset Case (1771-72); the Gordon Riots
(1780); the mutinies of 1797; and Union with Ireland (1800). Each
of these cases adjudicated the presence of outsiders in London -
from Jews and Gypsies to Africans and Catholics. The demands of
these internal others to equality before the law drew them into the
legal system, challenging longstanding notions of English identity
and exposing contradictions in the rule of law. -- .
The rule of law, an ideology of equality and universality that
justified Britain's eighteenth-century imperial claims, was the
product not of abstract principles but imperial contact. As the
Empire expanded, encompassing greater religious, ethnic and racial
diversity, the law paradoxically contained and maintained these
very differences. This book revisits six notorious incidents that
occasioned vigorous debate in London's courtrooms, streets and
presses: the Jewish Naturalization Act and the Elizabeth Canning
case (1753-54); the Somerset Case (1771-72); the Gordon Riots
(1780); the mutinies of 1797; and Union with Ireland (1800). Each
of these cases adjudicated the presence of outsiders in London -
from Jews and Gypsies to Africans and Catholics. The demands of
these internal others to equality before the law drew them into the
legal system, challenging longstanding notions of English identity
and exposing contradictions in the rule of law. -- .
Islands and Empire: A History of Modern Britain situates the United
Kingdom within a local, European, and global historical context. It
examines the forces of imperialism, emphasizing the dynamic
interaction between the colonies and the metropole. The book
addresses questions of race, ethnicity, class, and gender and gives
voice to the diversity of people who shaped and were shaped by
Britain and its empire. The text is divided into three key time
periods: 1688 - 1815; 1815 - 1914; and 1914 - 2021. Part One
examines the historical trends and patterns that began with the
Revolution of 1688 and continued through the Napoleonic Wars. Its
chapters explore the demographics of the British Isles, the
creation of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, the beliefs,
ideas, and attitudes that comprised the eighteenth-century world
view, the development of political structures, the expansion of the
empire, and the accompanying economic transformations. Covering the
time period from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the start of
World War I, Part Two discusses population growth, evolving gender
roles, the Industrial Revolution and urbanization, and political
and social reform. It also examines the further expansion of the
British Empire, settler colonialism, and the relationships between
Britain and its overseas possessions. Part Three introduces readers
to contemporary Britain, an era that saw two world wars, and the
dissolution of the empire. It examines the emergence of
contemporary British society, economics, diplomacy, art, culture,
and post-colonial life and ideas. Islands and Empire provides
students with a comprehensive, engaging, and complete overview of
modern British and imperial history eminently suited to
introductory courses.
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