Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1969. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 1973. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 458-475).

Thesis (doctoral)--State University of New York at Buffalo, 1973. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 458-475).

No description available.

This thesis is concerned primarily with the political organization of the Tory party within the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire between the death of Queen Anne in the summer of 1714 and the General Election of 1747. I was attracted to the subject in the first place "by the work done of late on the period 1688-1714; because the northwest was a traditional stronghold of Royalist and Tory sentiment; and because it was also an area with which I am personally acquainted* By demonstrating the reality of party differences at both the national and provincial levels for the years immediately prior to the Hanoverian Succession, Geoffrey Holmes, W«A« Speck and others had called into question the validity of Sir Lewis Namier f s model as a satisfactory explanation of the structure of politics during the early part of the eighteenth century* It seemed a worthwhile exercise, therefore, to seek to illuminate the political developments of the first half of that century by means of a detailed local study, clearly set against the background of national events ... [see pdf file for full abstract].

Lancashire redefined popular politics and national identity in its own image. The perceived threat of invasion by Napoleon, together with the Irish Rebellion, sustained the evolution in extra-parliamentary politics that had begun in reaction to the American and French revolutions. The meanings and principles of 'radicalism,' 'loyalism' and 'Britain' continued to be debated and contested in 1798-1812. Elite loyalism became even more exclusive, developing into the Orange movement. Radicals remained silent until the Napoleonic invasion scares had faded and opportunities arose for renewed vocal criticisms of government foreign and economic policy from 1806. Conflicts re- emerged between radicals and loyalists in the middle classes and gentry which provided the training for a new generation of postwar radical leaders and the popularity of the free trade campaign. Inhabitants of Lancashire felt British in reaction to the French and Irish, but it was a Lancashire Britishness. Political identities and actions followed national patterns of events but were always marked with a regional stamp. This was in part because most political movements were held together by a shared 'sense of place' rather than vague notions of class-consciousness or shared class identity. A sense of place manifested itself in the regional organisation of strikes, petitions and the Orange institution. Furthermore, it could also entail a common bitter or defiant provincialism against the government or monarchy. In an atmosphere of anti-corruption and a growing desire for peace, this provincial frustration ironically brought professed loyalists closer to radicalism in campaigns against the Orders in Council and other government policies. Provincialism and other elements of regional identity ensured that any ideas of Britishness were tempered through local concerns and allegiances, but an identity with the nation that was not an acquiescent acceptance of national tropes and stereotypes. Lancashire Britishness was commercial, manufacturing, and above all, independent from homogenisation and the impositions of government.