I did a doctorate in British history in the late 70s at Fordham
University, and we were taught that the "long 18th century" went from
1688 to 1815 - - - that is, from the Glorious Revolution to Waterloo.
You can make a pretty good case for it in England, at least. After all,
the English start and end the period fighting France for European and
then global supremacy, it's the period surrounding the rise and fall of
the first British Empire, and internally, the Parliamentary/Crown
relationship is remarkably stable, particularly when you consider how
many foreigners end up on the throne.
Of course, periodicity only gets you so far. There was a wonderful
cartoon in "Punch" many years ago, showing two tired soldiers walking
away from Bosworth Field, and one says to the other, "Mind you, I'm not
sorry to see the end of the Middle Ages."
Steve Greenberg
NLM
-----Original Message-----
From: Kevin Joel Berland [mailto:bcj@PSU.EDU]
Sent: Thursday, December 21, 2006 10:11 AM
To: EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU
Subject: Re: [EXLIBRIS-L] Selected Readings, No. 96
Since we dixhuitiemistes often deal with historical and cultural
currents that began before the arbitrary century marker of 1700 (for
England the beginning point is 1660) and currents that continue after
1800 (usually 1815 or 1830), we call our field the long eighteenth
century. This means we poach on other people's turf. Of course
"Romantic" boffins begin their period variously, say 1770 or
1790. Centuries--bah.
Cheers -- Kevin
On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 08:56:40 -0500 Rare book and manuscripts wrote:
Actually, given the switch from Old Style to New Style calendars, wasn't
the 18th century really 'the SHORT eighteenth century'.....?
Kurt A. T. Bodling
Rare Books Librarian
State Library of Pennsylvania
"The State Library of Pennsylvania ... Serving and Preserving a
Written Cultural Heritage ... For, By, and About Pennsylvania"
-----Original Message-----
From: Rare book and manuscripts
[mailto:EXLIBRIS-L@LISTSERV.INDIANA.EDU]On Behalf Of Philip Smith
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 10:10 PM
Though I'll admit I'm not sure what exactly is meant by 'the long
eighteenth century'...
--Philip Smith