A Review of Linda Colley's "Britons"

Paper Summary:

This paper points to effects that the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars had in shaping British national identity. It also shows the effect French culture had in dividing British culture, the differences in the monarchy and government between the two countries, and how these threats of French influence united the British people.

From the paper:

"Linda Colley?s book is entitled 'Britons', yet her intellectual history of the era between 1707-1837 it contains a sizeable amount of information about the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. One of her book?s central contentions is that it was England?s relationship with and against France that enabled to England to fully define itself as a nation and for the concept of the British people as ?Britons? to be developed. The French Revolution both threatened the ?Briton?s? safety as a nation and its ideology. It was this threat and this challenge that enabled all of these new ?Britons? to form a more cohesive sense as a people. Furthermore, the fear that the French Revolution sparked in the hearts of the British elites and the British government enabled the monarchy to be reformed without being overthrown."

More papers on A Review of Linda Colley's "Britons":

• Book Review # 116152 : "Linda Colley's "Briton Forging the Nation: 1707-1837"
• Book Review # 122888 : "Britons: Forging the Nation 1707 to 1837" - A Review"
• Book Review # 75771 : "Captives, Britain, Empire and the World 1600-1850"

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