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William Beckford : first prime minister of the London empire / Perry Gauci.
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Gauci, Perry.
- Series:
- Lewis Walpole series in eighteenth-century culture and history.
- The Lewis Walpole series in eighteenth-century culture and history
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Beckford, William, 1709-1770.
- Beckford, William.
- Mayors--England--London--Biography.
- Mayors.
- Merchants--England--London--Biography.
- Merchants.
- Great Britain--Politics and government--1727-1760.
- Great Britain.
- Physical Description:
- 1 online resource (303 p.)
- Edition:
- 1st ed.
- Place of Publication:
- New Haven : Yale University Press, 2013.
- Language Note:
- English
- Summary:
- This first-ever biography of William Beckford provides a unique look at eighteenth-century British history from the perspective of the colonies. Even in his own time, Beckford was seen as a metaphor for the dramatic changes occurring during this era. He was born in 1709 into a family of wealthy sugar planters living in Jamaica, when the colonies were still peripheral to Britain. By the time he died in 1770, the colonies loomed large and were considered the source of Britain's growing global power. Beckford grew his fortune in Jamaica, but he spent most of his adult life in London, where he was elected Lord Mayor twice. He was one of the few politicians to have experienced imperial growing pains on both sides of the Atlantic, and his life offers a riveting look at how the expanding empire challenged existing political, social, and cultural norms.
- Contents:
- Front matter
- Contents
- Preface
- Map
- Introduction
- CHAPTER ONE. The Torrid Zone
- CHAPTER TWO. Transatlantic Man
- CHAPTER THREE. Fitting In
- CHAPTER FOUR. Empire and Patriotism
- CHAPTER FIVE. The Friend of Liberty
- CHAPTER SIX. The Cultural Chameleon
- CHAPTER SEVEN. Apotheosis
- CODA. Reputations
- Appendix 1: The Alderman's Immediate Family
- Appendix 2: The London Beckfords
- Notes
- Bibliography of Manuscript Sources
- Index
- Notes:
- Description based upon print version of record.
- Includes bibliographical references and index.
- Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)
- ISBN:
- 9780300195163
- 0300195168
- OCLC:
- 842385183
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