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| List of illustrations | |
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| List of contributors | |
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| Introduction: time and space | |
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| Posterity and the eighteenth century | |
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| The new historiography | |
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| Contemporary perspectives: outsiders | |
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| Contemporary perspectives: insiders | |
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| Insular unities | |
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| Beyond the British Isles | |
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| Contested kingdoms, 1688-1756 | |
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| Crown, parliaments, and the demands of warfare | |
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| The rage of party | |
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| The Walpolean ascendancy | |
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| The end of the 'Robinocracy' and its consequences | |
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| Enlightenment and faith | |
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| Time, space, and religion | |
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| Established churches and the rise of pluralism | |
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| Popular religion | |
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| Catholics and enthusiasts | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Governing diverse societies | |
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| Ruling classes | |
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| Local government in national--and international--context | |
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| Social issues: case studies | |
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| The wealth of the nation | |
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| The Malthusian race | |
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| The growth of population | |
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| Agriculture | |
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| Specialization and commerce | |
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| From an organic to a mineral economy | |
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| Towns, industries, and services | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| The culture of improvement | |
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| Forms of improvement | |
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| Inculcation and imposition | |
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| Improvement in context | |
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| Alternative cultures | |
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| Contested empires, 1756-1815 | |
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| The objects of imperial warfare | |
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| The extent of the national war effort | |
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| Impulses to the national commitment | |
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| Political reactions to the wars | |
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| Problems of empire | |
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| The quest for a national leader | |
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| Causes of the final victory | |
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| Epilogue | |
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| Further reading | |
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| Chronology | |
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| Maps | |
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| The turnpike road network in 1741 | |
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| The turnpike road network in 1770 | |
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| The canal system in the early nineteenth century | |
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| England's empire in 1689 | |
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| The British empire in 1815 | |
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| Index | |