Elites, Enterprise, And The Making Of The British Overseas Empire, 1688-1775

## Contexts and Contours to explore the subtleties of the commercial and political relationships between the core and the periphery of the empire, but also detailed work on the development of the state after 1688 has enabled historians to reassess the fiscal and administrative arrangements which allowed Britain to develop the capacity to wage war and deploy resources on a global scale. Indeed, Britain in the eighteenth century has recently been described as a 'fiscal-military state' . 26 The characteristics of this state that emerged after 1688 were such that the metropolitan authorities were more often than not able to offer significant levels of support and protection to those operating in overseas territories and possessions. At the very heart of the processes which transformed England, and then Britain, into a relatively powerful state were the fiscal and government funding arrangements constituting the core of what is commonly referred to as the 'financial revolution'. By drawing on domestic and foreign resources, and by establishing mechanisms for the management of short-term debt and long-term borrowing, ministers were able to meet the sustained challenge posed by the Bourbon powers over more than a century of intermittent warfare and conflict. 27 Upon these foundations were built the administrative and military structures which heralded the emergence of a reasonably effective central government bureaucracy and this was to be of the greatest importance for the development of overseas colonies and territories. More and more ministerial and parliamentary time was spent dealing with various problems of empire, particularly after 1750, and, although the general quality and speed of decision-making often left much to be desired, recent historical work has stressed the considerable amount of attention and effort devoted to imperial affairs by officials and ministers in key positions of responsibility. 28 Because of the way in which some parts of the empire developed within terms of reference defined by commercial enterprise rather than by the imperatives of the Crown or state, many imperial problems were dealt with beyond the formal bureaucratic machinery of government in organizations which held primary responsibility for key areas of overseas activity. These organizations, or groups of individuals, often acted in a quasi-official capacity and as such they represented informal extensions of central government. There were, for example, Between 1688 And 1775 Britain Developed And Expanded A Large Territorial Empire In North America, India And The West Indies. Instead Of Concentrating On The Factors Which Led To The Eventual Dissolution Of The 'first British Empire', This Book Examines The Cultural, Economic And Social Forces That Gave That Empire A Sense Of Coherence And Structure Before The American Revolution. By Focusing On The Part Played By Elites In Shaping The British Overseas Presence, And By Considering The Implications Of Economic And Social Developments In Britain Itself, The Eighteenth-century Empire Is Placed In A Broad Historiographical Context Informed By Important Recent Work On The 'fiscal-military State', 'gentlemanly Capitalism', And Identities. This Allows The Empire To Be Seen Not As A Series Of Unconnected Territorial Possessions Scattered Across The World, But As A Commercial, Cultural And Social Body Of Reasonably Sharp Definition With Its Roots Very Firmly Planted In Metropolitan Society. 1. Historians And The Eighteenth-century Empire -- 2. The Dynamics Of Expansion -- 3. Gentlemen And Entrepreneurs: Landowners, Merchants And Bankers -- 4. Investment In Empire -- 5. Imperial Ties And The Anglicization Of The Overseas Empire -- 6. Merchants, Planters And The Gentlemanly Ideal -- 7. The End Of The English Empire -- 8. Enterprise And Expansion: Drawing A Line. H.v. Bowen. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 197-251) And Index. Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Front Matter....Pages 1-1 Historians and the Eighteenth-Century Empire....Pages 3-21 The Dynamics of Expansion....Pages 22-44 Front Matter....Pages 45-45 Gentlemen and Entrepreneurs: Landowners, Merchants and Bankers....Pages 47-78 Investment in Empire....Pages 79-100 Front Matter....Pages 101-101 Imperial Ties and the Anglicization of the Overseas Empire....Pages 103-124 Merchants, Planters and the Gentlemanly Ideal....Pages 125-146 Front Matter....Pages 147-147 The End of the English Empire....Pages 149-170 Enterprise and Expansion: Drawing a Line....Pages 171-193 Afterword....Pages 194-196 Back Matter....Pages 197-257 This book examines the cultural, economic, and social forces that shaped the development of the British empire in the eighteenth century. The empire is placed in a broad historiographical context informed by important recent work on the 'fiscal-military state', and 'gentlemanly capitalism'. This allows the empire to be seen not as a series of discrete, unconnected geographical regions scattered across the world, but as a commercial, cultural, and social body with its roots very firmly planted in metropolitan society