War and British Society 1688–1815

This 1998 book discusses the considerable influence of war on the development of Britain's society and economy in the 'long eighteenth century'.

H. V. Bowen (Author)

9780521572262, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 March 1998

116 pages
21.6 x 14 x 1.1 cm, 0.3 kg

"H.V. Bowen's contribution to Cambridge's series New Studies in Economic and Social History is a very readable and fairly reliable introduction to the rich literature on the impact of war. It provides convenient one-stop shopping for scholars who are preparing to encounter this literature for the first time, and a useful overview for graduate students searching for a broader context in which to place important mongraphs such as John Brewer's Sinews of Power and Linda Colley's Britons....Bowen's is a useful volume." Philip Harling, Canadian Journal of History

Drawing on a large volume of research, this 1998 book considers sustained warfare as a powerful agent of change which transformed a wide range of institutions, structures, and processes in Britain between 1688 and 1815, a period when Britain was at war for much of the time. Stressing the positive as well as the negative, and the long term as well as the short term, the effects of war are brought to bear upon questions of central importance in the study of eighteenth-century British history. How effectively did the emerging state cope with the financial and logistical demands of war? How severe were the economic and social strains imposed upon the population at large, and how did they respond to the call to arms? What effect did war have upon the industrialising economy? A balanced overview is presented of Britain as a nation at war during an important phase of her development as an imperial, industrial and military power.

Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
2. Eighteenth-century warfare: the British experience
3. Taking the strain: state and society
4. A nation in arms: the armed forces and British society
5. The wartime economy
Afterword
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural history [HBTB]