The Age of Oligarchy: Pre-Industrial Britain, 1722-1783 (Foundations of Modern Britain)

"Foundations of Modern Britain", presents a history of "Britain" from the point at which she first became a recognisable entity down to modern times, and traces the earlier foundations of the British state in the development of England from the late 14th to the early 18th century. A general history of mid-Georgian Britain, exploring all aspects of domestic and foreign affairs on the threshold of the Industrial Revolution. It shows how the newly-united and politically-stable nation exploited its expanding wealth, its hard-won social cohesion at home, and its increasing influence abroad. It traces Britain's rise to imperial greatness and examines the repercussions of the spectacular disaster - the loss of the American colonies - with which the book closes. It deals with social, economic, religious, cultural and intellectual history, as well as politics. It is the independent and self-sufficient sequel to Geoffrey Holmes's The Making of a Great Power: Later Stuart and Early Georgian Britain 1660-1772 (published simultaneously). Together they fill the last remaining gap in this key series. The eighteenth century has become one of the most active areas of current historical research: this book takes into account the findings of the new revisionist historiography while retaining what still seems valid from the old. It has a student-friendly presentation with good reference apparatus: covers every aspect of the period in 22 essay-focused chapters, with full chronological "frameworks of events", a compendium of factual information at the end, and extensive bibliographies. A book for fellow accademics as well as the student and general reader.