THE NEWCAMBRIDGE MODERN

HISTORY

VOLUME VIII

THE AMERICAN ANDFRENCH REVOLUTIONS

1763-93

EDITED BY

A.GOODWIN

CAMBRIDGE

AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS

1965

CONTENTSCHAPTER I

INTRODUCTORY SUMMARYBy A. GOODWIN, Professor of Modern History in the pages 1-24

Victoria University of Manchester

CHAPTER II

POPULATION, COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC IDEASBy H. J. HABAKKUK, Fellow of All Souls College and Chichele Professor

of Economic History in the University of Oxford

I. POPULATION GROWTH

The rapidity of population growth in the second half of the eighteenth centuryconfined to certain areas of northern Europe 25-6

Malthus' distinction between the 'preventive* and 'positive' checks on popula-tion 26-7

The variation in the rates of population increase mainly attributable to differentlevels of the birth-rate 28-30

The effects of epidemics, war and famine 30Changes in age-structure consequent on high mortality as a cause of the sub-

sequent rapid population growth 30-1The causes of lower mortality in the second half of the eighteenth century still in

dispute 31The influences sustaining the birth-rate 32-3

2. TRADE

The concentration of trade in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Baltic . . . 33The mechanism of trade with the Americas 34Exchange difficulties with the Far, Middle and Near East 34-5The Baltic trade 35The economic effects of the monopolies of colonial trade 36-7The decline of the Dutch carrying trade 38The growing relaxations of restraints on trade 39British and international trade expansion 40-1Its effects on industrial development 41The reasons for Britain's lead in the Industrial Revolution 42The expansion of French external trade 43The resort to new methods of industrial production 44

3. ECONOMIC IDEAS

The rise of systematic economic analysis 45The concept of a self-regulating natural order 45-6The Physiocrats—agrarian and fiscal problems 47Economic liberalism—Adam Smith 48The derivative character of Spanish economic thought 49The divergent trends in Italian economic thought 50German and Austrian Cameralism contrasted with Western economic liberalism 50-3The effects of economic speculation on national policy 53-4

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CONTENTS

C H A P T E R II I

LITERATURE AND THOUGHT: THE ROMANTICTENDENCY, ROUSSEAU, KANT

By W. STARK, Professor of Sociology, Fordham University, USA.

Old orthodoxies, the Enlightenment and the growth of pre-Romanticisrn . . page 55Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-78) 5^His views on the corrupting influence of modern society 57-8His social ideals derived from Geneva and republican Rome . 58-60Discours sur les Sciences et les Arts 6 l

Discours sur l'Inégalité (1755) 6 2 ~ 3

Du Contrat Social (1762) · 64-6Considérations sur le Gouvernement de Pologne 66Projet de Constitution pour la Corse 67La Nouvelle Héloïse (1761); Emile (1762) 67Rousseau's break with Geneva and the coterie Holbachique . . . . 68Comparison of English Methodism with Rousseauism 69-70English pre-Romantic literature—the Ossianic poems 7OThe Sturm und Drang movement in Germany 7*-3The return to rationalism. Immanuel Kant (i 724-1804) 73The permanent significance of Kantian philosophy 74The synthesis of rationalism and empiricism in the Critique of Pure Reason (1781) 74-5Transcendental philosophy 76Kant as moral philosopher—the categorical imperative 76-8T h e C r i t i q u e of P r a c t i c a l R e a s o n ( 1 7 8 8 ) . . . . . . . . 7 8Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) 79Bentham's Utilitarianism 79-80

CHAPTER IV

MUSIC, ART AND ARCHITECTURE

I. MUSIC

By F. W. S T E R N F E L D , University Lecturer in Music in the University of Oxford

The origins of the modern sonata-form—Johann Stamitz at Mannheim and theViennese classical school 81-2

Musical dictionaries and monographs 83Haydn's musical predecessors 84The opéra comique—Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona (1752) 85Rousseau's Le Devin du village (1752) 86The historical importance of Gluck's Orfeo (1762) 86-7The influence of Stamitz at Mannheim 87C. P. Emanuel Bach 87_8Gottfried Van Swieten as musical patron 88Haydn's musical career 88-90

Symphonies coString quartets 90-1Vocal music giLater instrumental compositions—the Salomon concerts ( 1791 -2) . . 91-2

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C O N T E N T S

Mozart's youthful performances page 92His independence of patronage and indifference to contemporary taste . . 92-3Musical compositions in his Vienna period (1781-91)

Piano concertos (1782-6); Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Le Nozzedi Figaro 94-5

Don Giovanni (1787) 95-6Die Zauberflöte (1791) . . . 95-6

2. ART AND ARCHITECTURE

By PETER MURRAY, Witt Librarian, Courtauld Institute of Art,University of London

Neoclassicism 96-7Rome as an artistic centre—the Grand Tour 97The etchings of Giambattista Piranesi 98J. J. Winckelmann as exponent of Neoclassicism 98-9The excavation of Herculaneum and Pompeii 99Α. R. Mengs (1728-79) and the early phase of Neoclassical painting . . . ioo-iThe sculpture of Houdon and Canova 102Rationalist theories of architecture—de Cordemoy, Lodoli and M. A. Laugier . 102-3The reaction against Greek architectural styles 104

Piranesi's Della Magnificenza ed Architettura de' Romani (1761) . . . 105Sir William Chambers' Treatise on Civil Architecture (1759) . . . . 105

The Gothic revival 105-6The Picturesque movement and English landscape gardening . . . . 106-7Influence of Sir Joshua Reynolds as President of the Royal Academy. . . 107-8History painting—Benjamin West and J. S. Copley 108-9Alderman Boydell's Shakespeare Gallery 109-10T h e ' Adam revolution' in architecture n oNeoclassicism in France n oSoufflot's Pantheon iio-iiC. N. Ledoux and E. L. Boullée as Neoclassical architects 111-12J. L. David's Oath of the Horatii (1785) and the transition to revolutionary

Neoclassicism 113-14

CHAPTER V

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

By D. McKiE, formerly Professor ofthe History and Philosophy of Sciencein the University of London

Mathematics and mechanics—J. L. Lagrange's Mécanique analytique (1788) . 115Astronomy—Herschel's discovery of Uranus (1781) ï 16-17Buffon's Époques de la Nature (1778) ii8Improvement in scientific instruments . . . 118Joseph Black and the science of heat 118-20The phlogiston theory of combustion 121-2Priestley's isolation of oxygen 122-3Lavoisier's discovery of the chemical composition of air and water 123-5The scientific classification of chemical substances 125-6Lavoisier's Traité élémentaire de chimie (1789) and the foundations of modern

chemistry 127Lavoisier and Laplace and the study of respiration 128-9

ix

C O N T E N T S

The law of reciprocal proportions page 130Priestley, Galvani and Volta—the study of electricity 130-1

Quantitative research in meteorology 131-2Geology—the controversy between the Neptunists and the Vulcanists . . 132-4French and English cartography *34~5Scientific societies, academies and journals I35~7Progress in technology 137-8James Watt and the evolution of the steam engine 138Berthollet and the industrial use of chlorine for bleaching 139

Mechanical inventions 139~4<>The supremacy of French science in the later eighteenth century . . . 140-2

CHAPTER VI

EDUCATIONAL IDEAS, PRACTICE AND INSTITUTIONSBy A. V. JUDGES, Professor ofthe History of Education in the University of London

The educational implications of eighteenth-century rationalism . . . . 143-4The French Encyclopaedia and the notion of adult education . . . . *45The search for an alternative to religious education 146International co-operation in educational reform—the Masonic movement. . 147-8The importance of biological studies in educational experiment . . . . 148The role of the universities in Scotland, North America and Germany . . Ι49~5°German, French and Russian academies of learning 151—3The reaction against Locke's sensationalist psychology in Germany . . . I53~4

The impact of the psychological treatises of the abbé de Condillac . . . 155David Hartley and the origins of Utilitarian behaviourism 156The biological trend in French educational theory 156-7Education and social reconstruction—Helvetius and Owen 158-9The English dissenting academies 160-1'Modern ' schools in America and Germany—Basedow's Philanthropinum at

Dessau 161-2Rousseau's educational theory 163-5The effects of the dissolution of the Society of Jesus 166-8Educational reform in revolutionary France 169-70Condorcet's scheme for national education (April 1793) 170-1Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau's primary-school draft 171-2The Écoles Centrales of 1795 173Institutions of advanced study—École Normale Supérieure and École Poly-

technique 173

CHAPTER VII

ARMED FORCES AND THE ART OF WAR

I. NAVIES

By CHRISTOPHER LLOYD, Professor of History, Royal Naval College, Greenwich

The inferiority of British naval strategy in the American War of Independence . 174The defects of eighteenth-century naval tactics 175The deficiencies of the British naval signalling system 175-6The peace and war establishment of the British navy 176-7Recruitment and impressment Ï77

χ

CONTENTS

The incidence of disease page 178The attractions of naval service for officers 179Lord Sandwich as First Lord 179-80Naval administration 181Shortages of timber and naval stores 181-3Choiseul as the restorer of the French navy 183The failure to reform French officer structure—the rivalry between 1a plume and

l'épée 184-5The superiority of French naval architecture 186The effect of the revolution of 1789 on the French navy 186-7The American Continental navy 187Paul Jones and privateering in the war of American Independence . . . 187-8The Russian navy 189Comparative statistics of European navies in 1792 190

2. ARMIESBy J. R. W E S T E R N , Lecturer in History in the Victoria University

of Manchester

The indecisiveness of eighteenth-century warfare 190-1The improvement of small arms 192The increased mobility and fire-power of artillery 193Tactical use of irregular light infantry 194-5Guibert's Essai Général de Tactique (1772) and the use of the column . . 196-8New principles of offensive strategy 198-200Supply problems 201Cartography and the rise of General Staffs 201-2Military reform and political advance 202-3The vested interests of the lesser nobility in continental armies . . . . 203-4The Chevalier d'Arc's La Noblesse Militaire (1756) 205French and Prussian cadet schools 206Auxiliary forces and militia service 206-7The army reforms of Saint-Germain (1775-7) and the ordonnance of 1781 . . 207Recruitment of rank and file 208Foreign mercenaries 209National militias and armies of reserve 210-11Military discipline 212The improvement of soldiers* living conditions 212-13The achievements of military reformers in European states 214-15The effects of the revolution on the French army . . . . . . 216-17

CHAPTER VIII

EUROPEAN RELATIONS WITH ASIA AND AFRICA

I. RELATIONS WITH ASIABy Κ. Α. ΒΑLLHATCHET, Reader in Indian History in the University of Oxford

Main aspects of European relations with Asia (1763-93) 218Grant of the diwani of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa to the British East India Company 219The Regulating Act of 1773 220The Company's modifications of Clive's 'dual system' 220Establishment of civil and criminal courts in Bengal 221

xi

CONTENTS

The Maratha wars pages 221-3Pitt's India Act (1784) 2 2 3

The impeachment of Warren Hastings 2 24Cornwallis as Governor General 2 25His judicial reforms 22*>Permanent revenue settlement in Bengal 2 2 7Weakening of the Maratha confederacy 228-9The French in India (1763-93) 229-30Expansion of British trade with the Far East 230-1The China tea trade and Macartney's mission to Peking (1793) . . . . 232The Dutch East India Company (1765-99) > 233~4European interest in the culture and civilisation of China and India . . . 234-6

2. RELATIONS WITH AFRICA

By J. D. H A R G R E A V E S , Professor of History in the University of Aberdeen

Scientific and commercial interest in Africa 236-7Economic and social structure of the Dutch colony at the Cape . . . . 237-8Anglo-French rivalry in South Africa 238Boer expansion and the'Kaffir wars ' 238-9The Portuguese and French in East Africa 239English and French relations with Egypt 239-40European trade interests in North Africa 240West Africa and the Atlantic slave-trade 241French colonial policy in Africa 243Contact with the interior in West Africa 244The restricted cultural impact of Europe in Africa 245-6African imports in exchange for slaves 246-7Causes of the degradation of African societies 247The growth of the movement for the abolition of the slave-trade

in France 248in Britain 249

The search for a new economic relationship between Europe and Africa—thecolonisation of Sierra Leone 249-50

Earlier schemes and the limits of achievement in Sierra Leone . . . . 250-1

CHAPTER IX

EUROPEAN DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS, 1763-1790By M. S. ANDERSON, Reader in International History in the London School

of Economics and Political Science

International problems in Europe after the peace treaties of 1763 . . . 252-3The resurgence of French maritime and colonial ambitions under Choiseul . 254British diplomatic isolation 255Panin's projected* Northern System* 256Anglo-Spanish disputes over the Falkland Islands and the fall of Choiseul

(1770-1) 257The Russo-Prussian alliance of 1764 and the election of Poniatowski as king of

Poland 258The decline of French influence in Poland and the outbreak ofthe Russo-Turkish

war (September 1768) 258-9Russian war aims and Austro-Russian antagonism in the Balkans . . . 260-1

xii

CONTENTS

Prussia, Russia and Austria agree to partition Poland page 262Coup d'état of Gustavus III in Sweden (1772) 263Russo-Turkish peace-treaty of Kutchuk-Kainardji (1774) 264-5The League of Armed Neutrality (1780) 266The divergent policies of France and Spain in the American War of Independence 266-7British concessions to the European powers in the Treaty of Versailles (January

1783-May 1784) 268Austro-Prussian friction and war over the Bavarian Succession (1778-9) . . 269-72The Austro-Russian alliance of 1781 and the Russian annexation of the Crimea

(1783) 272The defeat of Joseph II's plans for the opening of the Scheldt and the exchange

of the Netherlands 272-4Catherine IPs 'Greek ' project and the Russo-Turkish war of 1787 . . . 274The Dutch crisis of 1787 and the Anglo-Prussian alliance of 1788 . . . 275Anglo-Prussian tension over Hertzberg's exchange schemes . . . . 276Catherine II 's difficulties with Britain and Prussia 276-7The Convention of Reichenbach (July 1790) 277Changes in the structure of international relations since 1763 . . . . 278

CHAPTER X

THE HABSBURG POSSESSIONS AND GERMANY

By E. WANGERMANN, Lecturer in Modern History in theUniversity of Leeds

The continuing need for administrative and financial reconstruction in theHabsburg dominions after 1763 279

Maria Theresa's efforts to break down the fiscal immunities of the privilegedorders and to restrict the feudal obligations of the peasantry . . . 280-2

The ecclesiastical reforms of Maria Theresa and the origins of ' Josephism' . 283-5Joseph's plans, as co-Regent, for territorial aggrandisement (1772-9) . . . 285-6The motivation of reform under the Emperor Joseph II (1780-90) . . . 286-7Joseph II's schemes for the introduction of a uniform land-tax (1784-9) . . 288-9His plans for agricultural and industrial expansion and the Patent of Toleration 290The abolition of serfdom (November 1781-July 1782) 291The ecclesiastical policy of Joseph II 291-3The repercussions of Joseph II's foreign policy on his domestic difficulties . . 293-6Enlightened despotism in the smaller German states 296The spurious reputation of Frederick II of Prussia as an 'enlightened' ruler . 297The political awakening of the non-privileged orders in the Habsburg dominions

and Germany 298-9Popular demands for further toleration and modern representative government . 299-300The repressive policies of German governments after 1785 301-2Joseph IPs retreat from Enlightened Despotism 302-3Leopold IPs successful efforts to terminate Austrian isolation in external affairs. 303Leopold II as arbitrator between the privileged and unprivileged orders and his

reforms of the criminal code 304His plans for the reform of the provincial Estates . . . . 305

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER XI

RUSSIABy I. Y O U N G , formerly Lecturer in Slavonic Studies in the

University of Cambridge

Russia from Peter the Great to Catherine II pages 306-7The insecurity of Catherine's position as Czarina 307-8State control of ecclesiastical revenues and Catherine's confirmation of noble

privileges 308-9The Legislative Commission of 1767 309-12Catherine's encouragement of educational reform and of social satire. . . 312-13Pugachev's rebellion (1773) 3*3-*4The local government statute of 1775 3 J5Catherine's charter of the nobility and the city statute (1785) . . . . 316Jankovic's educational programme (1786) 3 J8Nikolai Novikov and Russian Freemasonry 319-20Alexander Radishchev's Journey from St Petersburg to Moscow (1790) . · 321Underlying principles of Catherine's foreign policy 321-2Panin's 'Northern Accord' 322-3Difficulties arising from the Russo-Prussian alliance of 1764 . . . . 323War with Turkey (1768) and the Russian naval victory at Chesme (1770) . . 323-4Russian agreement to partition Poland 324~5The treaty of Kutchuk Kainardji (June 1774) 325Catherine's policy of non-commitment in the Bavarian Succession and the League

of Armed Neutrality 326The influence of Potemkin on Russian foreign policy (1776-89) . . . . 327Bezborodko's 'Greek project' and the Russo-Turkish war of 1787-92 . . 327-8The second and third partitions of Poland (1793-5) 328-9Catherine's indifference to budgetary problems and commercial and industrial

trends in Russia 330Catherine's aims and achievements 331-2

CHAPTER XII

THE PARTITIONS OF POLANDBy L. R. LE WITTER, Fellow of Christ's College and Lecturer in Slavonic

Studies (Polish) in the university of Cambridge

T h e e r a o f p a r t i t i o n i n P o l i s h h i s t o r i o g r a p h y 3 3 3 - 4P a r t i t i o n a s a se t t l ed t r a d i t i o n o f e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y d i p l o m a c y . . . . 3 3 4 - 5P a r t i t i o n a s a d e v i c e fo r t h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f t h e b a l a n c e o f p o w e r . . . 335T h e i n t e r n a l a n d s t r a t e g i c w e a k n e s s o f P o l a n d 3 3 5 - 6S t a n i s l a s A u g u s t u s ( P o n i a t o w s k i ) a s k i n g o f P o l a n d . . . . . . 3 3 7T h e a t t i t u d e s o f C a t h e r i n e I I , F r e d e r i c k I I a n d M a r i a T h e r e s a t o p a r t i t i o n . . 3 3 8R e l i g i o u s d i s s e n t i n P o l a n d a n d t h e g r a n t o f t o l e r a t i o n ( 1 7 6 7 - 8 ) . . . . 3 3 8 - 9T h e C o n f e d e r a c y o f B a r a n d t h e G e n e r a l C o n f e d e r a c y (1769) . . . . 3 3 9 - 4 0T h e first p a r t i t i o n ( A u g u s t 1772) 3 4 0T h e s p r e a d o f W e s t e r n E n l i g h t e n m e n t a n d t h e w o r k o f t h e N a t i o n a l E d u c a t i o n a l

C o m m i s s i o n 341

C o n s t i t u t i o n a l , a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a n d fiscal r e f o r m i n P o l a n d a f t e r 1764 . , . 3 4 2 - 3T h e G r e a t S e y m ( 1 7 8 8 - 9 2 ) . . . 3 4 3 - 4

xiv

C O N T E N T S

The Polish constitution of 3 May 1791 pages 344-6Prussian economic blockade of Poland after 1775 347Limited progress of Polish industrial development 348-9Catherine's refusal to sanction political reform in Poland and the conclusion of

the Prusso-Polish treaty of March 1790 349-50The failure of the projected co-operation between Britain, Poland and Prussia to

restore the status quo in Turkey (1791) 351-2The Prussian attitude to constitutional change in Poland and the Austro-Prussian

treaty of July 1791 353The origins ofthe second partition (23 January 1793) 353The insurrection of Kosciuszko (1794) 354-5The third partition (October 1795) 356Kosciuszko's schemes for the emancipation of the peasants . . . . 356-7The failure of his strategic plans for Franco-Polish collaboration . . . 357-8The 'causes' ofthe partitions 359

CHAPTER XIII

THE IBERIAN STATES AND THE ITALIAN STATES, 1763-1793

I. THE IBERIAN STATES

By J. LYNCH, Leverhulme Lecturer in Hispanic and Latin AmericanHistory, University College, London

Charles III and his ministers 360The utilitarian objectives of 'enlightened' reform in Spain 361The anti-government riots of 1766, the expulsion ofthe Jesuits and the restriction

of the powers of the Spanish Inquisition 361-5The central agencies of reform—the Council of Castile, the ministers and the Junta

de Estado 365-6The limited success of local government and agrarian reform . . . . 366-8Commercial and industrial expansion 369-70The maritime and colonial conflict with Britain 371-2The political, economic and cultural revival of Spain under Charles ΠΙ . . 372-3The political ineptitude of Charles IV 373Floridablanca's repressive policy after the outbreak of the French revolution . 373-4Manuel Godoy asprivado and First Secretary (November 1792) . . . . 375

War with France 793-5) 375The administration of the Marquis de Pombal in Portugal 376His ecclesiastical policy 376The incoherence of his economic legislation and the futility of his educational

projects 377The reversal of his policies by Queen Maria I 378

2. THE ITALIAN STATES

By J. ROBERTS, Fellow of Merton College, Oxford

The political, economic and topographical diversity of the Italian peninsula inthe eighteenth century 378-9

The structural fragmentation of the Italian states 379~8oThe stability of political conditions after 1748 380The insignificance of industrial development in Italy at this period . . . 381The regional diversity, immobility and backwardness of agriculture . . . 381-4

XV

C O N T E N T S

The regional differences in social structure pages 3^4-5The Enlightenment of the settecento in its historical context . . . . 385-6The concept of felicita pubblica in the writings of Palmieri, Filangieri, Pietro

Verri, Beccaria and Galiani 386-7Lombardy and Tuscany as centres of administrative and economic reform . . 388-9The general problems of church-state relations in Italy 389-90Conflicts over clerical landholding, celibacy and sanctuary 390The dissolution of the Society of Jesus (i773) and the subsequent intransigence

of Pope Pius VI 391The influence of Italian Jansenism inside the church and in alliance with the

reforming monarchies 392~4The limited effects of the French revolution in Italy down to 1793 . * - 394-6

CHAPTER XIV

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE AMERICAN COMMUNITIESOUTSIDE BRITISH RULE

By R. A. H U M P H R E Y S , O.B.E., Professor of Latin American History in theUniversity of London

The resurgence and modernisation of Spain under Bourbon rule . . . 397The territorial and economic expansion of the Spanish American empire . . 39^-9Administrative and commercial innovations under the early Bourbons . . 399-4°°The liberalisation of Spanish colonial trade (1765-90) 401-2Charles Ill's administrative reforms in South America and the adoption of the

intendancy system 402-3The formation of a colonial militia, the restriction of ecclesiastical privilege and

the encouragement of scientific investigation 404The balance-sheet of reform in South America under Charles III . . . 404-5The growth of creole self-consciousness in the eighteenth century . . . 406The Enlightenment in Spanish colonial America 407The decline of the colonial empire under Charles IV 408American and British contraband trade in the Caribbean and South America

during the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars 409The influence of Rousseau and of the French revolution 410The creole defeat of the British filibustering invasion of the Rio de 1a Plata in 1806 4 ΠThe westward and southward expansion of the Portuguese colonial empire in

South America 411—13The Pombaline reforms 413The decline of the mining settlements and the revival of agriculture in Brazil . 414Brazilian society and culture 415The Inconfidência Mineira (1788) 415-16The stagnation of French Guiana (Cayenne) . 416The Dutch Guiana colonies and the origins of British Guiana . . . . 4 1 6 - 1 7The French West Indian colony of Saint Domingue 417-18The effect of the French revolution—the mulatto and Negro risings of 1790

and 1791 4 i 8Toussaint Louverture and the occupation of Spanish Santo Domingo . . 419The declaration of the independence of Haiti (1804) . . . . 420

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER XV

SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONSOF THE REVOLUTIONARY ERA

By R. R. PALMER, Dean ofthe Faculty of Arts and Sciences,Washington University; St Louisy U.S.A.

The late eighteenth century as an era of revolutionary change . . . . page 421Aristocratic, bourgeois, peasant and popular movements in the French revolution 421-2Abortive revolutionary movements in other areas of Europe . . . . 422-3The social structure of Europe east of the Elbe and its counterpart in certain

areas of North and South America 424-7The social structure of Western Europe and its counterpart in the northern

colonies of British America 427-9The 'administrative' and commercial bourgeoisie in Europe . . . . 429-31The European and American aristocracies 431-2The institutional framework of aristocratic predominance 432-3The dynamics of social and political change in Europe (1763-89) . . . 433-4The growing exclusiveness of aristocratic groups 434-5The rivalry of bourgeois and aristocrat in government, the army and the church 435-6Aristocratic resistance to the fiscal demands of European governments after the

Seven Years War 436-7American resistance to the fiscal demands of the British Imperial parliament . 438The American rejection of British authority and the Declaration of Independence 439The political and psychological impact of the American revolution in Europe . 440-3European emigration to the United States 443The improvement in communications and the expansion of the press as factors in

the growth of 'public opinion 443~5The ambivalent attitudes of the lower classes in Europe to political radicalism in

the revolutionary period 445Crowd psychology in France before and during the revolution . . . . 446-7The origins and significance of French revolutionary fanaticism . . . . 447

CHAPTER XVI

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE IN ITSCONSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS

By MAX BELOFF, Fellow of All Souls College and Gladstone Professor of Governmentand Public Administration in the University of Oxford

The structure of representative institutions in the British North American colonies 448-9The uneasy relations between the colonial executives arid the colonial assemblies 450The machinery and institutions of Imperial control 451-2The increasing role of the Imperial parliament in colonial affairs . . . 452-3The difficulty of compromise 454Grenville's efforts to tighten Imperial control after 1763 454-5The Stamp Act crisis of 1765 455-6The Declaratory Act and the Townshend duties . . . . . . . 456-7The growth of inter-colonial co-operation 457-8Colonial resistance to the Tea Act of 1773 and the Coercive Acts . . . 458-9The first Continental Congress 459-61The clash at Lexington (19 April 1775) and the second Continental Congress . 461

b xvii

C O N T E N T S

War-time efforts at conciliation on the basis of federal union . . . -page 462The radical-conservative conflict in Congress and Franklins plan for

confederation 4 6 3

The Declaration of Independence 464The drafting of the state constitutions 464-5American historiography and the emergence of the federal constitution . . 465-6The Dickinson Draft and the Articles of Confederation (1781) . . . . 466-7The defective powers of Congress under the Articles 467-8

Shays's rebellion (1786) and the conservative reaction 469

The North-West Ordinance (July 1787) · 469Constitutional revision: the Convention at Annapolis and the federal Convention

at Philadelphia 47<>-iThe Randolph, Paterson and Hamilton plans 471-3The final compromises 473The executive branch and the federal judiciary . . . . . . . 474~5The struggle for ratification 475-6Early constitutional amendments and the Bill of Rights 477The federal government and the President's cabinet' 478Hamilton and the emergence of the federalists and anti-federalists . . . 479

CHAPTER XVII

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE IN ITS IMPERIAL,STRATEGIC AND DIPLOMATIC ASPECTS

By M. A. JONES, Senior Lecturer in American History and Institutions inthe Victoria University of Manchester

The problem of Imperial reorganisation after 1763 480British efforts to raise a revenue in America and mounting colonial resistance

(1764-75) 481-5The outbreak of hostilities and the appointment of Washington as commander-in-

chief of the Continental army 485-6Operations round Boston from the battle of Breed's Hill to the British withdrawal

to Halifax (June 1775-March 1776) 486-7The repulse of the American invasion of Canada (September 1775-June 1776) . 487-8The moves towards separation and the Declaration of Independence . . . 488-9Divided loyalties—the American Loyalists and British critics of the war . . 489-90British strategical and tactical difficulties in America 490-1Lord George Germain and the conduct of military operations . . . . 491Clinton's failure in the southern colonies (1776) 491-2The British capture of New York and New Jersey (September-November 1776). 492Washington's tactical successes in the winter campaign of 1776-7 . . . 493British strategical plans for the isolation of New England in 1777 and Burgoyne's

surrender at Saratoga 493-4The winter at Valley Forge and the criticism of Washington as commander . 495Vergennes' policy of secret aid to the Americans and the Franco-American

alliance (February 1778) 496-7The rejection of North's Conciliatory Propositions 497-8The British reconquest of Georgia (March 1779) 499American privateering and commerce destroying 499-500The initial ineffectiveness of French naval assistance to the Americans and Spain's

reluctance to enter the war 500-1Growing British isolation in Europe and the League of Armed Neutrality . 501

xviii

C O N T E N T S

The treason of Benedict Arnold and the mutinies of the Pennsylvania and NewJersey lines page

Clinton's offensive against the Southern states (1780) 503-4The decisive defeat at Yorktown (October 1781) 504-5The peace negotiations and the peace of Versailles (September 1783) . . . 505-6The failure of Shelburne's schemes for Anglo-American rapprochement . . 506-7American difficulties with Britain and Spain under the peace settlement . . 507-8

CHAPTER XVIII

AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE IN ITS AMERICAN CONTEXT:SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ASPECTS:

WESTERN EXPANSION

By ESMOND WRIGHT, Professor of Modern History in theUniversity of Glasgow

Nova Scotia and the Floridas as military outposts in British North America . 509-10The diversified pattern of government in the mainland colonies . . . .510-11The social structure of colonial America 511-12The economic and political consequences of westward expansion . . . 512-13The population explosion 513The economic and social sectionalism of the northern, middle and southern

colonies 513-16The emergent polyglot nationalism of colonial America 516-17The relevance of seventeenth-century concepts of English constitutional liberty

in America 517-18The legend of British monarchical despotism 518The regional framework of economic and social discontent . . . . 519The vital role of propaganda in the American revolution 519-20The revolution as the sequel of the Seven Years War 520Absence of general discontent in America with the Navigation Acts . . . 521The special economic and commercial grievances of New England . . . 521-2The financial dependence of the southern colonies on British commercial houses 522The problem of the western lands and the breakdown of the royal proclamation

of October 1763 522-3Frontier radicalism in Pennsylvania and the Carolinas (1763-75) . . . 524-6The revolutionary leaders and social unrest 527The limited concessions to political democracy in the new state constitutions . 527-8Social and economic reforms in the revolutionary era 528-9Criminal-law reforms and the progress of the anti-slavery movement . . . 529Profit and loss in the American revolution—the gains of the small farmers and

the disappearance of the colonial aristocracy 530The surrender of the western land claims of the separate states and the ratification

ofthe Articles of Confederacy 530-1The economic and diplomatic problems of the United States (1783-7) · · 53i~2The far-sighted statesmanship of the North-West ordinances (1784-7) - . . 532-3The obstacles to settlement in the old south-west . . . . . . 533-5The historical importance of the western frontier 536

XIX

CONTENTS

CHAPTER XIX

THE BEGINNINGS OF REFORM IN GREAT BRITAIN:IMPERIAL PROBLEMS: POLITICS AND ADMINISTRATION,

ECONOMIC GROWTH

By W. R. W A R D , Senior Lecturer in History in the Victoria University of Manchester

The fiscal and constitutional problems of Imperial defence in North America

after 1763 pagesEnglish political factions and the East India Company 53$Economic growth after the Seven Years War 538George III and the administration of Bute 53^-9Grenville, Wilkes and the issue of general warrants 54°George Ill 's alienation from and dismissal of Grenville 540The administrations of Rockingham and Chatham 5 4 1 - 2

Grafton's ministry, the Middlesex election and 'City Radicalism' . . . 543~4The sources of political stability in the administration of Lord N o r t h . . . 544-5The crisis in the affairs of the East India Company and North's Regulating act

of 1773 545-6Imperial problems in America, India and Ireland 547-8The growth of the movement for parliamentary reform and for the relief of the

Protestant Dissenters 549The fiscal burdens of the American war and the county associations in Yorkshire

and Middlesex (1779-80) 549~5OThe campaign for 'economical' reform and its limited success under the second

Rockingham ministry 550-2The fall of Shelburne's administration and the Fox-North Coalition . . . 553Fox's India Bill: the government of the Younger Pitt and the General Election

of 1784 553-4The insecurity of Pitt's tenure of office and the Regency crisis of 1788-9 . . 555Fiscal and administrative reform (1784-9) 556-9The repercussions of the French revolution on British domestic politics (1789-94) 559-60The Evangelical movement and the problems of Dissent 561-2Economic growth and the movement of real wages 562-3The legacy of reform in Imperial and domestic politics . . . . . 564

CHAPTER XX

FRENCH ADMINISTRATION AND PUBLIC FINANCEIN THEIR EUROPEAN SETTING

By J. F, Β o s Η E R , Associate Professor of History in the Universityof British Columbia

T h e g r o w t h o f c e n t r a l a u t h o r i t y i n E u r o p e i n t h e l a t e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y . . 565C h a n g e s i n t h e s t a t u s , d u t i e s a n d e m o l u m e n t s o f p u b l i c s e r v a n t s . . . 566C h a n g e s i n t h e f o r m a n d f u n c t i o n s o f a d m i n i s t r a t i o n 5 6 7C a m e r a l i s t a n d P h y s i o c r a t i c c o n c e p t i o n s o f t h e r o l e o f t h e s t a t e . . . . 5 6 7 - 8T h e c o n c i l i a r s t r u c t u r e o f c e n t r a l g o v e r n m e n t i n F r a n c e b e f o r e 1789 . . 5 6 8 - 9M i n i s t e r i a l o r g a n i s a t i o n a n d i ts de fect s 5 6 9 - 7 0T h e r e f o r m s of C h o i s e u l , S a i n t - G e r m a i n , S a r t i n e a n d C a s t r i e s . . . . 5 7 0 - 1T h e c e n t r a l i s e d c o n t r o l of l o c a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t h r o u g h t h e intendants . . 5 7 1 - 2T h e Controle Général des Finances a n d i t s spec ia l i sed agenc i e s . . . . 5 7 2 - 3

XX

C O N T E N T S

The admin i s t ra t ion of t rade a n d industry unde r the ancien régime . . pages 573-4G o v e r n m e n t technical assistance t o t rade , industry and agricul ture . . . 575T h e reform of the F rench customs-tariff (1664-1790) 576-8T h e admin i s t r a t ion and reform of the indirect a n d direct taxes . . . . 578-80T h e collection of indirect a n d direct taxes unde r the ancien régime . . . 580-2T h e gove rnmen t ' s dependence o n shor t - a n d long-term credit a n d the p rob lem

of the a n n u a l deficit 583-4The need for a na t iona l centra l bank a n d the establ ishment of the Caisse de

V Extraordinaire 584-5The emergence of a modern budgetary system in France 585-6Treasury control in the later stages of the ancien régime 586-7The organisation of a unified Treasury during the revolution . . . . 588Fundamental reforms in the system of auditing and accounting (1763-93) . . 589-90The final emergence of a system of public finance in France . . . . 591

CHAPTER XXI

THE BREAKDOWN OF THE OLD RÉGIME IN FRANCEBy D, D Α K I N , Reader in History, Birkbeck College, University of London

Contemporary acceptance of monarchical absolutism under the ancien regime . 592The enlightened bureaucracy of Louis XV and its limited horizons . . . 592-3The foreign and domestic policies of the duke of Choiseul 594-5Maupeou's judicial reforms (1771) 596-7The financial expedients of the abbé Terray 597-8The increase of the public debt and the annual deficit under Louis XVI . . 598The inequitable incidence of direct and indirect taxation 598-9The fiscal and feudal burdens of the peasantry 599-600The backwardness of French agriculture and the limited expansion of industry . 600The changing social structure under the ancien régime 601-2The causes of agrarian discontent 602-3The critics and defenders of the ancien régime 604-5The utilitarian and non-revolutionary character of French liberal thought . . 605-6Louis XVI and the dismissal of the Triumvirate 606-7The theories and practical objectives of Turgot as Controller General . . 607-8The restoration of the powers of the Parlement of Paris 608Turgot's initial financial measures 608-9The freedom of the internal grain trade and the guerre des farines . . . 609-10The Six Edicts and the dismissal of Turgot 610-11The financial and administrative reforms of Necker 612-13Calonne's radical reform programme 614His reasons for the convocation of an assembly of Notables . . . . 615The opposition of the Notables and the disgrace of Calonne . . . . 615 -16The administration of Brienne, the failure of the judicial reforms of Lamoignon

and the summons of the Estates General 616-17

CHAPTER XXII

THE HISTORIOGRAPHY OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONBy the Rev. J. M C M A N N E R S , Professor of Modern History in the University of Sydney

The sources of historical controversy in the interpretation of the French revolution 618-19Early contemporary works and post-Thermidorian histories . . . . 619-20The abbé Barruels conspiracy theory* of the origins of the revolution . . 620-1

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The right-wing diagnosis of the period of the Emigration and its links with thehistoriography of the Left pages 621-2

T h e N a p o l e o n i c L e g e n d a n d t h e b i a s o f p a t r i o t i s m 6 2 3T h e d e b a t e o n t h e r o l e o f i d e a s i n t h e g e n e s i s o f t h e r e v o l u t i o n . . . . 6 2 3 - 4T h e h i s t o r i c r o l e o f t h e F r e n c h bourgeoisie i n t h e w o r k s o f G u i z o t a n d B a l z a c . 6 2 4 - 5T h e h i s t o r i c a l d e t e r m i n i s m o f T h i e r s a n d M i g n e t . . . . . . 6 2 5 - 7B a b e u f a n d t h e t h e o r y o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p 6 2 8

C o m t e a n d t h e r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f D a n t o n 6 2 8 - 9L a m a r t i n e ' s p o l i t i c a l r o m a n c e — L ' H i s t o i r e des Girondins ( 1 8 4 7 ) . . . . 6 2 9T h e h i s t o r i c a l d i s t o r t i o n s a n d i n s i g h t s o f M i c h e l e t a n d C a r l y l e . . . . 6 3 0 - 3T h e e a r l y d o c u m e n t a t i o n o f t h e r e v o l u t i o n — B u c h e z a n d M i c h e l e t . . . 6 3 4T o c q u e v i l l e a n d t h e s t u d y o f t h e s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e a n d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e

ancien regime 634~7The theme of continuity in Sorel's L'Europe et la révolution française . . . 637-8Taine's fantastic diatribe—Les origines de la France contemporaine (1876-93) . 638-41The rise of scientific method in revolutionary studies . . . . . . 641-3Aulard and the documentation of the ' theory of c i r c u m s t a n c e s * . . . . 643-5Jaurès and the socialist interpretation of the revolution 645-6Mathiez and the political and economic background of the Terror . . . 646-8Right-wing popular expositions after the First World War 648Cochin's studies in the propagation of revolutionary doctrines in Brittany . . 649-50Statistical analysis in modern research and the magisterial synthesis of Lefebvre. 650-2

CHAPTER XXIII

THE OUTBREAK OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONBy G. E. R U D E , Senior Lecturer in History in the University of Adelaide

The importance of social and economic forces in the outbreak of the revolut ion. 653The scarcity and high cost of bread as a source of popular discontent . . 654The guerre des farines (1775) and the sporadic bread riots of the period 1775-87 655Calonne's reform programme and the révolte nobiliaire of 1787 . . . . 656The opposition of the Parlement of Paris and the demand for the summons of the

Estates General 657Lamoignon's suspension of the Parlements and the provincial revolts of 1788 . 658The re-alignments of political forces in the winter of 1788-9 . . . . 659-60Pamphlet warfare in support of the claims of the Third Estate and the royal

concession of double representation, December 1788 661The elections to and social composition of the Estates General . 662The emergence of the ' pa t r io t ' party 663The cahiers de doléance of the separate orders . . . . . . . 663-5Disorder in the provinces and the Réveillon riots in Paris 665-6The opening of the Estates General at Versailles and the procedural conflict

over the verification of powers 667The Third Estate's revolutionary decrees of 17 June 1789 668The failure of the royal session of 23 June 669The emergence of a revolutionary leadership in Paris 669The sources of disaffection in the army 670-1The royal at tempt at counter-revolution and the fall of the Bastille . . . 672-4The municipal elections in the provinces 675The Grande Peur and the 'destruct ion ' of the feudal regime . . . . 675-6The Declaration of the Rights of M a n and the Citizen . . . . . 676

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CONTENTS

The split in the patriot party over the royal veto and the second Chamber . pages 676-7The political and economic context of the Parisian insurrection of October . 677-8The October days and the ascendancy of the constitutional monarchists . . 678-9

CHAPTER XXIV

REFORM AND REVOLUTION IN FRANCE:OCTOBER 1789-FEBRUARY 1793

By A. GOODWIN, Professor of Modern History in the VictoriaUniversity of Manchester

The October crisis and the prospects of constitutional reform . . . . 680The restriction of the executive authority of Louis XVI 680-1The abbé Sieyes as constitutional theorist 681The restrictive electoral franchise and the omnicompetence of the Legislative

Assembly 682Administrative decentralisation and the new system of elected local authorities . 682-4The reform of agrarian feudalism 685-6The disillusionment of the peasantry with the Assembly's agrarian and economic

policy 687The civil constitution of the clergy and the origins of religious schism . . 687-9The renewed cleavage in the political leadership of the Constituent Assembly . 690The proliferation of popular clubs and the emergence of an organised working-

class movement in Paris 690-1The assembly's measures to check popular radicalism 691The flight to Varennes as a turning point in the revolution 692The 'massacre* of the Champ de Mars and the schism in the Jacobin club. . 693Barnave's secret entente with the court and constitutional revision . . . 694The attitude of the Emperor Leopold and the declaration of Pillnitz . . . 695The problems inherited by the Legislative Assembly and the growth of faction . 696-7The decrees against the refractory priests and émigrés 697-8Ministerial changes: Narbonne as war minister 698The Brissotin war policy 699Austrian provocation and Kaunitz's efforts to intimidate the Legislative Assembly 699-701The Brissotin ministry of Dumouriez and the war with Austria . . . . 701La Fayette's schemes for a military dictatorship 702The failure of the Legislative Assembly in national defence . . . . 703The intervention of the Parisian sections and the provincial fédérés . . . 703-4The political strategy of Robespierre 704-5The insurrectionary Paris Commune and the assault on the Tuileries . . . 705-6The domestic and diplomatic consequences of the fall of the monarchy . . 706-7The National Convention and the establishment of the republic . . . . 707Political factions in the National Assembly 708The trial of Louis XVI 708-9Revolutionary idealogy in foreign policy. Lebrun and the November decrees . 710-11The decree of 15 December 1792 and the policy of annexation . . . . 7 1 1 - 1 2The final issues of war and peace and the outbreak of hostilities with Britain and

the united Provinces 712-13

A P P E N D I X : Estimated growth of population in Europe and North America in

the eighteenth century 7*4

I N D E X 717