Linda Colley

Filling a crucial void in our understanding of world history, Linda Colley reconfigures the rise of the modern world over three centuries through the advent of written constitutions. Her absorbing work challenges accepted narratives, focusing on rulers like Catherine the Great, who wrote her enlightened Nakaz years before the French Revolution; African visionaries like Sierra Leone's James Africanus Beale Horton; and Tunisias's soldier-constitutionalist Khayr-al-Din, who championed constitutional reform in the Muslim world. Demonstrating how constitutions repeatedly evolved in tandem with warfare, and how they were used to free, but also exclude, people (especially women and indigenous populations), this handsomely illustrated history--with its pageant of powerful monarchs, visionary lawmakers, and insurrectionist rebels--evokes The Silk Roads in its range and ambition. Whether reinterpreting the lasting influence of Japan's 1889 Meiji constitution or exploring the first constitution to enfranchise women in tiny Pitcairn Island in 1838, this book is one of the most original and absorbing histories in decades.

Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World

The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen

Presents a portrait of one of the eighteenth century's most remarkable women, Elizabeth Marsh, a Jamaica-born explorer, adventurer, and writer, detailing her world travels, her personal relationships, and her exploits in light of the dramatic changes of the period.

How a Remarkable Woman Crossed Seas and Empires to Become Part of World History

The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh

a woman in world history

The ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh

Re-examines the history of the British empire from the unusual perspective of the British men and women held captive--literally and figuratively--by those they were sent to conquer, exploring the complex dynamics between invader and invaded, the character of cross-cultural conflicts and collusions, and the meaning of empire, both in the past and present. Reprint. 15,000 first printing.

Britain, Empire and the World, 1600-1850

Captives

The United Kingdom; Great Britain; the British Isles; the Home Nations: such a wealth of different names implies uncertainty and contention - and an ability to invent and adjust. In a year that sees a Scottish referendum on independence, Linda Colley analyses some of the forces that have unified Britain in the past. She examines the mythology of Britishness, and how far - and why - it has faded. She discusses the Acts of Union with Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and their limitations, while scrutinizing England's own fractures. And she demonstrates how the UK has been shaped by movement: of British people to other countries and continents, and of people, ideas and influences arriving from elsewhere. As acts of union and disunion again become increasingly relevant to our daily lives and politics, Colley considers how - if at all - the pieces might be put together anew, and what this might mean. Based on a 15-part BBC Radio 4 series.

Acts of Union and Disunion

In this prize-winning book, Linda Colley interweaves political, military, and social history to recount how England, Wales, and Scotland joined together to form a new British nation and how heroes and politicians, artists and writers, and ordinary men and women helped forge a British identity. 82 b&w illustrations.

Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

Britons

In this book Linda Colley explores the fate of the tory party which has dominated both Parliament and the constituencies throughout of the reigns of William III and Anne.

The Tory Party 1714-60

In Defiance of Oligarchy

The United Kingdom; Great Britain; the British Isles; the Home Nations: such a wealth of different names implies uncertainty and contention - and an ability to invent and adjust. In a year that sees a Scottish referendum on independence, Linda Colley analyses some of the forces that have unified Britain in the past.She examines the mythology of Britishness, and how far - and why - it has faded. She discusses the Acts of Union with Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and their limitations, while scrutinizing England's own fractures. And she demonstrates how the UK has been shaped by movement: of British people to other countries and continents, and of people, ideas and influences arriving from elsewhere. As acts of union and disunion again become increasingly relevant to our daily lives and politics, Colley considers how - if at all - the pieces might be put together anew, and what this might mean.Based on a 15-part BBC Radio 4 series.

Acts of Union, Acts of Disunion

Re-examines the history of the British empire from the perspective of those held captive, exploring the dynamics between invader and invaded, the character of cross-cultural conflicts, and the meaning of empire.

Ranging Over A Quarter Of A Millennium And Four Continents, Captives Uncovers The Experiences And Writings Of Those Tens Of Thousands Of Men And Women Who Took Part In Britain'S Rise To Imperial Pre-Eminence, But Who Got Caught And Caught Out. Here Are The Stories Of Sarah Shade, A Camp Follower Imprisoned Alongside Defeated British Legions In Southern India; Of Joseph Pitts, White Slave And Pilgrim To Mecca; Of Florentia Sale, Captive And Diarist In Afghanistan; Of Those Individuals Who Crossed The Cultural Divide And Switched Identities, Like The Irishman George Thomas; And Of Others Who Made It Back, Like The Onetime Chippewa Warrior And Scot, John Rutherford. Linda Colley Uses These Tales Of Ordinary Individuals Trapped In Extraordinary Encounters To Re-Evaluate The Character And Diversity Of The British Empire. She Explores What They Reveal About British Responses To, Relations With, And Frequent Dependence Upon Different Non-European Peoples. She Shows How British Attitudes To Islam, Slavery, Race, And American Revolutionaries Look Different Once The Captive'S Perspective Is Admitted. And She Demonstrates How These Individual Captivities Illuminate The Limits Of Britain'S Global Power Over Time - As Well As Its Extent. Richly Illustrated And Evocatively Written, Captives Is Both A Magnificent And Compelling Work Of History, And A Powerful And Original Reappraisal Of The Significance And Survivals Of Empire Now.

En la sobrecubierta: "[This book] traces the global history of written constitutions from the 1750s to the twentieth century, modifying accepted narratives and uncovering the close connections between constitutions and war."

Warfare, Constitutions and the Making of the Modern World

Vivid and magisterial, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen reconfigures the rise of a modern world through the advent and spread of written constitutions. A work of extraordinary range and striking originality, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen traces the global history of written constitutions from the 1750s to the twentieth century, modifying accepted narratives and uncovering the close connections between the making of constitutions and the making of war. In the process, Linda Colley both reappraises famous constitutions and recovers those that have been marginalized but were central to the rise of a modern world. She brings to the fore neglected sites, such as Corsica, with its pioneering constitution of 1755, and tiny Pitcairn Island in the Pacific, the first place on the globe permanently to enfranchise women. She highlights the role of unexpected players, such as Catherine the Great of Russia, who was experimenting with constitutional techniques with her enlightened Nakaz decades before the Founding Fathers framed the American constitution. Written constitutions are usually examined in relation to individual states, but Colley focuses on how they crossed boundaries, spreading into six continents by 1918 and aiding the rise of empires as well as nations. She also illumines their place not simply in law and politics but also in wider cultural histories, and their intimate connections with print, literary creativity, and the rise of the novel. Colley shows how—while advancing epic revolutions and enfranchising white males—constitutions frequently served over the long nineteenth century to marginalize indigenous people, exclude women and people of color, and expropriate land. Simultaneously, though, she investigates how these devices were adapted by peoples and activists outside the West seeking to resist European and American power. She describes how Tunisia generated the first modern Islamic constitution in 1861, quickly suppressed, but an influence still on the Arab Spring; how Africanus Horton of Sierra Leone—inspired by the American Civil War—devised plans for self-governing nations in West Africa; and how Japan’s Meiji constitution of 1889 came to compete with Western constitutionalism as a model for Indian, Chinese, and Ottoman nationalists and reformers. Vividly written and handsomely illustrated, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen is an absorbing work that—with its pageant of formative wars, powerful leaders, visionary lawmakers and committed rebels—retells the story of constitutional government and the evolution of ideas of what it means to be modern.

The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World

L'odissea di Elizabeth Marsh. Sogni e avventure di una viaggiatrice instancabile

Lewis Namier

Linda Colley's comprehensive study of national identity is a major work that contributes to our understanding of Britain's past and to the growing debate about the shape and survival of Britain and its institutions in the future.

"Controversial, entertaining and alarmingly topical ... a delight to read."Philip Ziegler, Daily Telegraph

A Wealth of Nations, Britain 1707-1815 The

Penguin History of Britain

Ranging over a quarter of a millennium and four continents, Captives uncovers the experiences and writings of those tens of thousands of men and women who took part in Britain's rise to imperial pre-eminence, but who got caught and caught out. Here are the stories of Sarah Shade, a camp follower imprisoned alongside defeated British legions in Southern India; of Joseph Pitts, white slave and pilgrim to Mecca; of Florentia Sale, captive and diarist in Afghanistan; of those individuals who crossed the cultural divide and switched identities, like the Irishman George Thomas; and of others who made it back, like the onetime Chippewa warrior and Scot, John Rutherford. Linda Colley uses these tales of ordinary individuals trapped in extraordinary encounters to re-evaluate the character and diversity of the British Empire. She explores what they reveal about British responses to, relations with, and frequent dependence upon different non-European peoples. She shows how British attitudes to Islam, slavery, race, and American Revolutionaries look different once the captive's perspective is admitted. And she demonstrates how these individual captivities illuminate the limits of Britain's global power over time - as well as its extent. Richly illustrated and evocatively written, Captives is both a magnificent and compelling work of history, and a powerful and original reappraisal of the significance and survivals of empire now.

Linda Colley

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