The Inner Life of Empires

An Eighteenth-Century History

Nonfiction, History, Modern, 18th Century, British
Cover of the book The Inner Life of Empires by Emma Rothschild, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Emma Rothschild ISBN: 9781400838165
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: May 9, 2011
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Emma Rothschild
ISBN: 9781400838165
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: May 9, 2011
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

They were abolitionists, speculators, slave owners, government officials, and occasional politicians. They were observers of the anxieties and dramas of empire. And they were from one family. The Inner Life of Empires tells the intimate history of the Johnstones--four sisters and seven brothers who lived in Scotland and around the globe in the fast-changing eighteenth century. Piecing together their voyages, marriages, debts, and lawsuits, and examining their ideas, sentiments, and values, renowned historian Emma Rothschild illuminates a tumultuous period that created the modern economy, the British Empire, and the philosophical Enlightenment.

One of the sisters joined a rebel army, was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle, and escaped in disguise in 1746. Her younger brother was a close friend of Adam Smith and David Hume. Another brother was fluent in Persian and Bengali, and married to a celebrated poet. He was the owner of a slave known only as "Bell or Belinda," who journeyed from Calcutta to Virginia, was accused in Scotland of infanticide, and was the last person judged to be a slave by a court in the British isles. In Grenada, India, Jamaica, and Florida, the Johnstones embodied the connections between European, American, and Asian empires. Their family history offers insights into a time when distinctions between the public and private, home and overseas, and slavery and servitude were in constant flux.

Based on multiple archives, documents, and letters, The Inner Life of Empires looks at one family's complex story to describe the origins of the modern political, economic, and intellectual world.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

They were abolitionists, speculators, slave owners, government officials, and occasional politicians. They were observers of the anxieties and dramas of empire. And they were from one family. The Inner Life of Empires tells the intimate history of the Johnstones--four sisters and seven brothers who lived in Scotland and around the globe in the fast-changing eighteenth century. Piecing together their voyages, marriages, debts, and lawsuits, and examining their ideas, sentiments, and values, renowned historian Emma Rothschild illuminates a tumultuous period that created the modern economy, the British Empire, and the philosophical Enlightenment.

One of the sisters joined a rebel army, was imprisoned in Edinburgh Castle, and escaped in disguise in 1746. Her younger brother was a close friend of Adam Smith and David Hume. Another brother was fluent in Persian and Bengali, and married to a celebrated poet. He was the owner of a slave known only as "Bell or Belinda," who journeyed from Calcutta to Virginia, was accused in Scotland of infanticide, and was the last person judged to be a slave by a court in the British isles. In Grenada, India, Jamaica, and Florida, the Johnstones embodied the connections between European, American, and Asian empires. Their family history offers insights into a time when distinctions between the public and private, home and overseas, and slavery and servitude were in constant flux.

Based on multiple archives, documents, and letters, The Inner Life of Empires looks at one family's complex story to describe the origins of the modern political, economic, and intellectual world.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book The Hungarians by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book Of Empires and Citizens by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book Arendt and Heidegger by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book Numerical Analysis by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book Insomniac Dreams by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book The Hebrew Bible by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book Lost Enlightenment by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book Wildlife of Southeast Asia by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book Pollination and Floral Ecology by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book The Economics of Enough by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book The Worst of Times by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book He Runs, She Runs by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book From Economic Crisis to Reform by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book The Wisdom of Frugality by Emma Rothschild
Cover of the book Where Economics Went Wrong by Emma Rothschild
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy