Tag: John Wilkes

Georgian, 18th Century history, Parliamentary Life

‘A blank in the History of the country’: The ‘Unreported Parliament’ 1768-74

Today Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 section continues with our Named Parliaments blog theme… Throughout the early part of the 18th century Parliament periodically enforced its jealously guarded right of secrecy by prosecuting printers for publishing details of debates and occasionally turning out ‘strangers’ from the galleries. The response was, though, inconsistent and there were periods during which publishers were … Continue reading ‘A blank in the History of the country’: The ‘Unreported Parliament’ 1768-74

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Georgian Lords, 18th Century history, Georgian, Legal history, Social history

“More the air of an assassin than of a gentleman”: Duels and attempted murder in eighteenth-century England

The recent BBC adaptation of John Preston’s book – A Very English Scandal – about the trial of the former Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe for conspiracy and incitement to murder, prompted us at the HPT to think about other parliamentarians with links to murder, conspiracy and scandal. Today’s blog from our Lords 1715-1790 project Editor, Dr Robin Eagles considers duels between MPs and their political connections… Politics could … Continue reading “More the air of an assassin than of a gentleman”: Duels and attempted murder in eighteenth-century England

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Social history, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Electoral Reform, Georgian, Victorian

Why political history still matters

Dr Katrina Navickas from the University of Hertfordshire was the keynote speaker at the History of Parliament Trust and Durham University’s Parliaments and Popular Sovereignty conference, which was held at the People’s History Museum in Manchester in November 2017. She offers a blog on the importance of political history today… There is lively public interest in the origins of popular representation in the British political … Continue reading Why political history still matters

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Georgian, 18th Century history, Elections, Parliamentary Life

Edmund Burke and the Brexit debates

For the second week in a row, parliamentary business is dominated by the government’s ‘Brexit bill’. For many, this bill rekindles the dilemma – put so famously by Edmund Burke – of what an MP should do when their opinion differs from that of their constituents; an issue discussed here by our Director, Dr Paul Seaward… It didn’t take long for Edmund Burke to be … Continue reading Edmund Burke and the Brexit debates

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Georgian Lords, 18th Century history, Diplomacy and International Relations, Economic history, Georgian

“Contrary to the fundamental laws of nature”? The passage of the Declaratory Act, March 1766

250 years ago this week Parliament passed the ‘Declaratory Act’, aimed at limiting the damage of the earlier repeal of the Stamp Act. In the second of two blogs on the issue, Dr Robin Eagles, Senior Research Fellow in the House of Lords 1660-1832 section, discusses the debates on the issue – whether the British parliament could, in principle, tax its colonies when they did … Continue reading “Contrary to the fundamental laws of nature”? The passage of the Declaratory Act, March 1766

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Social history, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Georgian, Victorian

The ‘Story of Parliament’: Parliament and the press

Earlier this year the History published ‘The Story of Parliament: Celebrating 750 years of parliament in Britain’ to mark the anniversary of Simon de Montfort’s parliament in 1265. The book is a brief introduction to the full 750 years of parliamentary history, aimed at the general reader, and available to purchase from the Houses of Parliament bookshop – a great Christmas present for the parliamentary … Continue reading The ‘Story of Parliament’: Parliament and the press

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Georgian, 18th Century history, 19th Century history, Legal history, Parliamentary Life, Victorian

The long-lived charter: Magna Carta’s 800 year legacy

800 years ago today, Magna Carta was sealed at Runnymede. In the last of our series celebrating the anniversaries of Magna Carta and Simon de Montfort’s Parliament, Dr Alexander Lock, Curator of Modern Historical Manuscripts at the British Library and lead researcher for the Library’s acclaimed Magna Carta exhibition, discusses how Magna Carta came to become an important symbol of the parliamentary system… Though Magna … Continue reading The long-lived charter: Magna Carta’s 800 year legacy

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Georgian, 18th Century history, Social history

‘You have behaved like a man of honour’: the duel between John Wilkes and Samuel Martin

Last night the London Record Society held a launch event for ‘The Diaries of John Wilkes, 1770-1797‘ edited by our own Dr Robin Eagles. Here, Dr Eagles relates one of Wilkes’s extra-parliamentary duels… The St James’s Chronicle of 15-17 November 1763 carried a story of a duel fought between two unnamed persons of distinction. The account confined itself to reporting the fact that the duel … Continue reading ‘You have behaved like a man of honour’: the duel between John Wilkes and Samuel Martin

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Conferences, Seminars and Events, 18th Century history, Georgian

John Wilkes: A friend to liberty?

Last week Dr Robin Eagles, Senior Research Fellow on the Lords 1660-1832 project gave a lecture in Parliament on ‘John Wilkes: A friend to liberty?’. Dr Eagles’s lecture is part of a programme to mark the 250th anniversary of Wilkes’ expulsion from the House of Commons for seditious libel, and was accompanied by an exhibition on Wilkes using materials from the Parliamentary Collections. Dr Eagles’s … Continue reading John Wilkes: A friend to liberty?

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Georgian, 18th Century history, History of Parliament Trust, John Stuart, 3rd earl of Bute, Legal history, Parliamentary Life

The Treaty of Paris, John Wilkes and North Briton Number 45

On 23 April 1763, John Wilkes published his famous ‘North Briton No.45’, attacking George III and his Prime Minister, the Earl of Bute. Dr Robin Eagles tells us more… George III came to the throne in 1760 determined to bring to fruition plans for a fundamental change in the political balance of power within Britain. Emulating the programme of his father’s opposition court based at … Continue reading The Treaty of Paris, John Wilkes and North Briton Number 45

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