Humanities & Social Sciences

Ideas of monarchical reform

Fénelon, Jacobitism, and the political works of the Chevalier Ramsay

by Joseph Bergin, Andrew Mansfield, Penny Roberts, William G. Naphy

Description

This book examines the political works of Andrew Michael Ramsay (1683-1743) within the context of early eighteenth-century British and French political thought. In the first monograph on Ramsay in English for over sixty years, the author uses Ramsay to engage in a broader evaluation of the political theory in the two countries and the exchange between them. At the beginning of the eighteenth century, Britain and France were on divergent political paths. Yet in the first three decades of that century, the growing impetus of mixed government in Britain influenced the political theory of its long-standing enemy. Shaped by experiences and ideologies of the seventeenth century, thinkers in both states exhibited a desire to produce great change by integrating past wisdom with modern knowledge.

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Reviews

This book examines the political works of Andrew Michael Ramsay (1683-1743) within the context of early eighteenth-century British and French political thought. In the first monograph on Ramsay in English for over sixty years, the author uses Ramsay to engage in a broader evaluation of the theory in the two countries and the exchange between them. After the Glorious Revolution (1688) Britain had rejected James II's absolutist pretensions in favour of a monarch that governed through Parliament, while in France Louis XIV ruled a seemingly absolute state. Yet in the first three decades of that century, the growing impetus towards mixed government in Britain influenced the political theory of its long-standing enemy. Shaped by experiences and ideologies of the seventeenth century, thinkers in both states expressed a desire to stimulate change by integrating past wisdom with modern knowledge. A Scottish Jacobite émigré living in Paris, Ramsay employed a synthesis of British and French principles to promote a Stuart restoration. He offered a daring vision of European co-operation that would allow Britain to claim its place as the 'capital of the universe.' Adapting a range of philosophies, including his mentor Archbishop Fénelon's opposition to Louis XIV, Ramsay created a compelling image of the future that grappled with key political ideas extant in Britain and France. Mansfield reveals that Ramsay was an important intellectual conduit for the two countries, whose contribution to the history of political thought has been greatly under appreciated. With extensive analysis of Britain and France between the 1660s and 1730s in Britain and France, this book will be of interest to scholars, students and those with an interest in the history of political thought, religious, intellectual, political and cultural history, as well as the early Enlightenment.

Author Biography

Joseph Bergin is Professor Emeritus of History at the University of Manchester, Fellow of the British Academy and Correspondant Étranger, Institut de France.; Andrew Mansfield is a lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London, and a member of the Sussex Centre for Intellectual History; ; William G. Naphy is Senior Lecturer in History and Head of Department at the University of Aberdeen

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Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Manchester University Press
  • Publication Date January 2020
  • ISBN/Identifier 9781526144492 / 1526144492
  • Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
  • Pages272
  • ReadershipGeneral/trade
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Dimensions234 X 156 mm
  • SeriesStudies in Early Modern European History
  • Reference Code12621

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