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Slavery and abolition could be contentious platform issues in 18th-century England [15-minute read] Understandings of Slavery In eighteenth-century political discourse, ‘slavery’ was a potent but often imprecise term, used across the century to describe many kinds of personal, political or religious oppression rather than specifically the ownership of people as property, as we now generally […]
‘Minors’, under 21 years old, were not allowed to vote. But did they? [15-minute read] Today, the minimum age for voting in parliamentary elections is set at 18. This was lowered from 21 only in 1969. What is less well known is when limitations on voting age were first introduced. Going back to the early […]
The Bedford election of 1830 provides an example of both riot and respectability [20-minute read] Hotly contested elections in the long eighteenth century were public participatory events that were often turbulent, and occasionally violent. While the reasons for election riots varied widely, and the riots themselves frequently resulted in little more than torn clothing and […]
Learn how dress and decoration, made and worn by women, was part of campaigning [20-minute read] Paying heed to eighteenth-century women’s use of fashion for political ends, calls attention both to an understudied aspect of women’s political involvement as well as to the importance of material culture, visual impact, and the use of space in […]
In the long eighteenth century, a wide range of objects and accessories (from ceramics to metalwork) were available for appropriation and deployment at election time. Whether they were worn, seen, used, made, sold, purchased, presented, or exhibited, these items afforded voters and non-voters opportunities to express support for specific candidates and parties; encouraged broad engagement […]
Read More… from Displaying Partisan Identity: The Material Culture of Elections
Long eighteenth-century elections were noisy and frequently musical affairs. This exhibition recreates some of the music of elections, from the reign of Queen Anne to shortly before the Reform Act; from Liverpool to London; and from the worlds of street campaigning to the ‘polite’ ballroom. In these varied settings, songs and music fuelled the electoral […]
Read More… from The Soundscapes of Eighteenth-Century Elections
Disorder was endemic in 18th-century elections, among voters and non-voters alike [15-minute read] Georgian elections were often noisy, contentious, and sometimes even violent civic occasions. Voters and non-voters alike were active, engaged participants, sometimes using whatever they could get their hands on to express their pleasure or displeasure. Liberal treats of alcohol made violence and […]
Find out how dancing was used to mobilize voters and their families. [5-minute read] In eighteenth-century elections, candidates were not just assessed on their speeches and campaign promises, they were also measured by the way they carried themselves, whether on the hustings or in the ballroom. While dancing may seem like an activity designed solely […]
One of the most curious and ludic phenomena of 18th-century popular politics [5-minute read] June 1768. Fifes, French horns, drums, and marrow bones can be heard in the streets of Wandsworth, now in south-west London but then still largely rural. A crowd has gathered, lining the high street in the tiny village of Garratt. Men […]
