Politics and Society in Great Yarmouth 1660–1722
Perry Gauci
Abstract
This book studies the political development of a major English town during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The book examines the activities of the local oligarchy over a period which begins in upheaval, in the aftermath of civil war, and ends in the relative stability of early Georgian England. It considers important episodes as the borough regulation of the 1680s, and the ‘rage of party’ after 1689, by broadening the sphere of ‘politics’ to encompass provincial experiences. The book examines the role of the town corporation, a little-studied organ of local government, whose membership ... More
This book studies the political development of a major English town during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The book examines the activities of the local oligarchy over a period which begins in upheaval, in the aftermath of civil war, and ends in the relative stability of early Georgian England. It considers important episodes as the borough regulation of the 1680s, and the ‘rage of party’ after 1689, by broadening the sphere of ‘politics’ to encompass provincial experiences. The book examines the role of the town corporation, a little-studied organ of local government, whose membership reveals much about the relationship between social and political change in this period. It challenges accepted views on these corporations, showing them to be much more dynamic, and less self-interested, than is usually supposed. The book's analysis of the structures of local politics transcends local history and reveals a great deal about the influence of national authorities over provincial life.
Keywords:
political development,
local oligarchy,
civil war,
Georgian England,
borough regulation,
rage of party,
provincial,
town corporation
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 1996 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198206057 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198206057.001.0001 |