Early Modern Political Petitioning and Public Engagement in Scotland, Britain and Scandinavia, c.1550-1795

Bowie, K. and Munck, T. (Eds.) (2020) Early Modern Political Petitioning and Public Engagement in Scotland, Britain and Scandinavia, c.1550-1795. Routledge. ISBN 9780367630003

Full text not currently available from Enlighten.

Publisher's URL: https://www.routledge.com/Early-Modern-Political-Petitioning-and-Public-Engagement-in-Scotland-Britain/Bowie-Munck/p/book/9780367630003

Abstract

This book assesses the everyday use of petitions in administrative and judicial settings and contrasts these with more assertive forms of political petitioning addressed to assemblies or rulers. A petition used to be a humble means of asking a favour, but in the early modern period, petitioning became more assertive and participative. This book shows how this contrasted to ordinary petitioning, often to the consternation of authorities. By evaluating petitioning practices in Scotland, England and Denmark, the book traces the boundaries between ordinary and adversarial petitioning and shows how non-elites could become involved in politics through petitioning. Also observed are the responses of authorities to participative petitions, including the suppression or forgetting of unwelcome petitions and consequent struggles to establish petitioning as a right rather than a privilege. Together the chapters in this book indicate the significance of collective petitioning in articulating early modern public opinion and shaping contemporary ideas about opinion at large. The chapters in this book were originally published in the journal Parliaments, Estates & Representation.

Item Type:Edited Books
Additional Information:Contents previously published as a special issue of Parliaments, Estates and Representation 38:3 (2018)
Keywords:Petition, early modern Scotland, early modern Denmark, early modern England, Scottish history, popular politics.
Status:Published
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Munck, Professor Thomas and Bowie, Professor Karin
Authors:
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities
College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
Publisher:Routledge
ISBN:9780367630003
Published Online:28 December 2020

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record