{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/397592"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/397592","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Party conflict and foreign crisis at Cambridge University, 1745 to 1806","abstract":"The research looks at Cambridge University’s politics during the second half of the eighteenth-century through the lens of foreign crises, from the Jacobite Rising in 1745 to the death of William Pitt the Younger in 1806. Cambridge University has frequently been a partisan and ideological battleground in British political history. The university’s leaders and ideas have been featured in a wide range of studies of eighteenth-century Britain, but few have focused exclusively on the university and the dynamics behind its politics, particularly within the context of international affairs. Flowing throughout the thesis will be the application of ‘Actor-Network Theory’. Although, originally rooted in sociology, this approach has been used by historians in various fields, from economics to religion. This means discovering how political networks formed, propagated ideas, and interacted with local institutions, centres of power, and other networks. There should be no assumption that because someone belonged to a particular network that they should share all the same principles and beliefs as the rest of their network. Instead, individuals will be scrutinised through their specific relationships with others in their network and externally, shaping their behaviour and the responses from others to their actions. In terms of studying these political networks, the research will focus on three particular aspects. First, how voters communicated political ideas and messages with each other within the context of their time. The university seats were distinctive in having highly intellectual electorates that were very active in public debate. Second, how voters networked, creating incentives for supporting or opposing a political cause, whether it be through patronage or social pressure. Third, how voters responded to external events, especially foreign crises. The outbreak of war, impact of revolution, or the consequences of peace can have a dramatic impact on people’s views and their priorities.","abstract_html":"The research looks at Cambridge University’s politics during the second half of the eighteenth-century through the lens of foreign crises, from the Jacobite Rising in 1745 to the death of William Pitt the Younger in 1806. Cambridge University has frequently been a partisan and ideological battleground in British political history. The university’s leaders and ideas have been featured in a wide range of studies of eighteenth-century Britain, but few have focused exclusively on the university and the dynamics behind its politics, particularly within the context of international affairs. Flowing throughout the thesis will be the application of ‘Actor-Network Theory’. Although, originally rooted in sociology, this approach has been used by historians in various fields, from economics to religion. This means discovering how political networks formed, propagated ideas, and interacted with local institutions, centres of power, and other networks. There should be no assumption that because someone belonged to a particular network that they should share all the same principles and beliefs as the rest of their network. Instead, individuals will be scrutinised through their specific relationships with others in their network and externally, shaping their behaviour and the responses from others to their actions. In terms of studying these political networks, the research will focus on three particular aspects. First, how voters communicated political ideas and messages with each other within the context of their time. The university seats were distinctive in having highly intellectual electorates that were very active in public debate. Second, how voters networked, creating incentives for supporting or opposing a political cause, whether it be through patronage or social pressure. Third, how voters responded to external events, especially foreign crises. The outbreak of war, impact of revolution, or the consequences of peace can have a dramatic impact on people’s views and their priorities.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Cowan, David"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Thompson, Andrew"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-10-04","date_published":"2024-10-04","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:11Z","subjects":["Cambridge University","Eighteenth-Century","William Pitt","Political History","British Elections"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/80f1e656-1387-48c0-8c46-39910d21027f/download","http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.126685","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Thompson, Andrew"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.sponsor","label":"Sponsor","values":["Grants from the History Faculty's Prince Consort Fund; Grants from the History Faculty's Conference Attendance Fund; Grant from Christ's College's Levy-Plumb Fund; Grant from Christ's College's Emily & Gordon Bottomley Travel Fund; Travel Grant Award from the Lewis Walpole Library; Thomas Keymer Award from BSECS; Conference Bursary from Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne; Grant from the Sir John Plumb Charitable Trust."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Cowan, David"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-10-04"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/397592"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cambridge University","Eighteenth-Century","William Pitt","Political History","British Elections"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/80f1e656-1387-48c0-8c46-39910d21027f/download","http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.126685"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/6f73a33d-5d63-45d9-8ee4-33411b70770f/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The research looks at Cambridge University’s politics during the second half of the eighteenth-century through the lens of foreign crises, from the Jacobite Rising in 1745 to the death of William Pitt the Younger in 1806. 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Instead, individuals will be scrutinised through their specific relationships with others in their network and externally, shaping their behaviour and the responses from others to their actions. In terms of studying these political networks, the research will focus on three particular aspects. First, how voters communicated political ideas and messages with each other within the context of their time. The university seats were distinctive in having highly intellectual electorates that were very active in public debate. Second, how voters networked, creating incentives for supporting or opposing a political cause, whether it be through patronage or social pressure. Third, how voters responded to external events, especially foreign crises. 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Instead, individuals will be scrutinised through their specific relationships with others in their network and externally, shaping their behaviour and the responses from others to their actions. In terms of studying these political networks, the research will focus on three particular aspects. First, how voters communicated political ideas and messages with each other within the context of their time. The university seats were distinctive in having highly intellectual electorates that were very active in public debate. Second, how voters networked, creating incentives for supporting or opposing a political cause, whether it be through patronage or social pressure. Third, how voters responded to external events, especially foreign crises. 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