A nation of politicians : gender, patriotism, and political culture in late eighteenth-century Ireland / Padhraig Higgins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Higgins, Padhraig.

Series:

History of Ireland and the Irish diaspora

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Militia.

History.

Political participation.

Ireland--History--1760-1820.

Ireland.

Ireland--Politics and government--1760-1820.

Politics and government.

Political participation--Ireland--History--18th century.

Ireland--Militia--History--18th century.

Physical Description:

x, 333 pages : illustrations, map ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Madison, Wis. : University of Wisconsin Press, [2010]

Summary:

Between the years 1778 and 1784, groups that had previously been excluded from the Irish Political sphere-women, Catholics, lower-class Protestants, farmers, shopkeepers, and other members of the laboring and agrarian classes-began to imagine themselves as civil subjects with a stake in matters of the state. This politicization of non-elites was largely driven by the Volunteers, a local militia force that emerged in Ireland as British troops were called away to the American War of Independence. With remarkable speed, the Volunteers challenged central features of British imperial rule over Ireland and helped citizens express a new Irish national identity.

In A Nation of Politicians, Padhraig Higgins argues that the development of Volunteer-initiated activities-associating, petitioning, subscribing, shopping, and attending celebrations-expanded the scope of political participation. Using a wide range of literary, archival, and visual sources, Higgins examines how ubiquitous forms of communication-sermons, songs and ballads, handbills, toasts, graffiti, theater, rumors, and gossip-encouraged ordinary Irish citizens to engage in the politics of a more inclusive society and consider the broader questions of civil liberties and the British Empire. A Nation of Politicians presents a fascinating tale of the beginnings of Ireland's richly vocal political tradition at this important intersection of cultural, intellectual, social, and public history.

Contents:

1 "Alehouse Politicians": The Culture of Print and the Political Nation 28

2 "Paddy Shall Rise": Celebration, Commemoration, and National Identity 56

3 Shopping for Ireland: Consumption, Gender, and the Politics of Free Trade 82

4 The New Magna Carta: Voluntary Association, the Crowd, and the Uses of Official Political Culture 106

5 A Rage Militaire: The Volunteers 128

6 "Playing the Man": Invasion, Masculinity, and the Citizen- Soldier 151

7 Petticoat Government: Women and Patriotism 178

8 "A Democraticalo Spirit": Reform, Protectionism, and Popular Politics 202.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780299233341

0299233340

9780299233334

0299233332

OCLC:

318672842