BRITAIN AND THE WORLD IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY: IV, THE TURNING OUTWARDS OF BRITAIN

Abstract

THESE addresses have tried to chart Britain’s rise by the end of the eighteenth century to a position as a worldwide power that eclipsed all her European rivals. In particularthey have traced the vicissitudes of an empire of rule over territory and peoples that grew greatly inthe aftermath of the Seven Years War, suffered huge amputations in 1783, but was seton further expansion in the 1790s. In this final address I want to turn to Britain itselfand the engagement of the British people with their empire.