The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries have long been seen as a foundational period for modern Irish political traditions such as nationalism, republicanism and unionism. The Case of Ireland offers a fresh account of Ireland's neglected role in European debates about commerce and empire in what was a global era of war and revolution. Drawing on a broad range of writings from merchants, agrarian improvers, philosophers, politicians and revolutionaries across Europe, this book shows how Ireland became a field of conflict and projection between rival visions of politics in commercial society, associated with the warring empires of Britain and France. It offers a new perspective on the crisis and transformation of the British Empire at the end of the eighteenth century, and restores Ireland to its rightful place at the centre of European intellectual history.

Explores Ireland's central role in European debates about empire and commerce in the global age of revolutions.

About the Author
James Stafford studied history at Oxford and Cambridge, completing his doctoral research in 2016. After postdoctoral work in Oxford and Bielefeld he is now Assistant Professor of History at Columbia University. He is a frequent commentator on contemporary British and European politics for a range of outlets, and was co-editor of Renewal: A Journal of Social Democracy from 2015-20.


Book Information
ISBN 9781316516126
Author James Stafford
Format Hardback
Page Count 340
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 594g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 156mm * 22mm