The Making of an Imperial Polity: Civility and America in the Jacobean Metropolis

Lauren Working

doi:10.1017/9781108625227

Bringing to life the interaction between America, its peoples, and metropolitan gentlemen in early seventeenth-century England, this book argues that colonization did not just operate on the peripheries of the political realm, and confronts the entangled histories of colonialism and domestic status and governance. The Jacobean era is reframed as a definitive moment in which the civil self-presentation of the elite increasingly became implicated in the imperial. The tastes and social lives of statesmen contributed to this shift in the English political gaze. At the same time, bringing English political civility in dialogue with Native American beliefs and practices speaks to inherent tensions in the state's civilizing project and the pursuit of refinement through empire. This significant reassessment of Jacobean political culture reveals how colonizing America transformed English civility and demonstrates how metropolitan politics and social relations were uniquely shaped by territorial expansion beyond the British Isles. This title is also available as Open Access.

Joint winner, RHS Whitfield Prize - British and Irish History, Royal Historical Society

‘… this book contributes to the body of scholarship on early modern civility.’

Janine Boldt Source: H-Nationalism

‘This is an important book, well researched and clearly written that will spark many scholarly conversations.’

Abigail L. Swingen Source: Early American Literature

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Contents

The Making of an Imperial Polity
pp i-i
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Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History - Series page
pp ii-ii
Series Editors
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The Making of an Imperial Polity - Title page
pp iii-iii
Civility and America in the Jacobean Metropolis
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Copyright page
pp iv-vi
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Dedication
pp vii-viii
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Contents
pp ix-ix
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Figures
pp x-x
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Acknowledgements
pp xi-xiii
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Note on Conventions
pp xiv-xiv
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Introduction
pp 1-29
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Chapter 1 - Cultivation and the American Project
pp 30-63
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Chapter 2 - Colony as Microcosm
pp 64-97
Virginia and the Metropolis
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Chapter 3 - Cannibalism and the Politics of Bloodshed
pp 98-130
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Chapter 4 - Tobacco, Consumption, and Imperial Intent
pp 131-159
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Chapter 5 - Wit, Sociability, and Empire
pp 160-198
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Conclusion
pp 199-215
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Bibliography
pp 216-243
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Index
pp 244-254
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The Making of an Imperial Polity

Civility and America in the Jacobean Metropolis

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Contents

The Making of an Imperial Polity
pp i-i

Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History - Series page
pp ii-ii

The Making of an Imperial Polity - Title page
pp iii-iii

Copyright page
pp iv-vi

Dedication
pp vii-viii

Contents
pp ix-ix

Figures
pp x-x

Acknowledgements
pp xi-xiii

Note on Conventions
pp xiv-xiv

Introduction
pp 1-29

Chapter 1 - Cultivation and the American Project
pp 30-63

Chapter 2 - Colony as Microcosm
pp 64-97

Chapter 3 - Cannibalism and the Politics of Bloodshed
pp 98-130

Chapter 4 - Tobacco, Consumption, and Imperial Intent
pp 131-159

Chapter 5 - Wit, Sociability, and Empire
pp 160-198

Conclusion
pp 199-215

Bibliography
pp 216-243

Index
pp 244-254

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The Making of an Imperial Polity

Civility and America in the Jacobean Metropolis

Book description

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