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This thesis is an examination of printed political ephemera, produced and distributed during election canvasses between 1790 and 1832. Previous studies have highlighted the popular, public nature of election rituals during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, although, to date, few have fully appreciated the level and range of printed literature produced during the course of canvassing. This thesis uses a broad range of printed and manuscript evidence including political ephemera, local newspapers, election receipts, and correspondences from borough and county elections, highlighting the level of work which went into orchestrating a canvass in the unreformed era, especially by candidates, their political agents, and printers. The focus of this study is the borough and county constituencies of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, and Nottinghamshire, with particular emphasis on borough elections. Between 1790 and 1832, this region, along with the rest of the country, underwent profound social and political change, and so this thesis not only acts as an important test case for the operation of local political culture nationally, but also represents the first comprehensive study of printed electoral culture for the region. The central premise of this thesis is fourfold. Firstly, it aims to reinstate the importance of printed canvasses to the study of political culture and electoral politics, which have often been seen as secondary to the local press. Secondly, it argues that, such was the fast paced nature of elections and electioneering that, in comparison to provincial newspapers, handbills, broadsides, songs and ballads offered a much more versatile form of communication between candidates and voters. This thesis also re-examines the assumption that, for much of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, local elections were dominated by local concerns and personalities. Finally, this thesis considers the audience, reach, and reception of election canvasses, arguing that, although printed canvasses were not always designed with non-voters in mind, the public nature of print and other election rituals meant that they were much more inclusive than initially appears.

This thesis examines aspects of the political career of Robert Wilmot Horton (1784-1841), a junior minister in the Tory governments of the 1820s and an advocate of state-aided emigration to the British colonies. It considers how far Wilmot conforms to existing conceptualisations of 'liberal Toryism', which are summarized in Chapter 1. Chapter 2 finds both ambition and principle in Wilmot's choice of party, while identifying fundamental aspects of his political make-up, in particular his devotion to political economy and his hostility to political radicalism. Chapters 3 to 5 explore his economic thinking. Chapter 3 charts Wilmot's gradual move away from a Malthusian approach to the problem of pauperism, and the resulting changes in his view of the role of emigration as a means of relief. Chapter 4 shows how his specific plan of colonization addressed broader considerations of imperial strategy and economic development. Chapter 5, exploring the wider context of economic debate, reveals Wilmot as an advocate of governmental activism in social policy, a critic of 'economical reform', and a moderate protectionist in the short term. Chapter 6 suggests that Wilmot, and the ministry as a whole, were driven by pragmatic rather than ideological considerations in their approach to the amelioration of slavery. Chapter 7 concludes that Wilmot's advocacy of Catholic Emancipation, on grounds of expediency, conformed to the approach normally ascribed to liberal Tories in principle if not in detail. Chapter 8 finds, in Wilmot's pamphleteering and lecturing, a striking instance of an 'outward turn' in political behaviour; and, in his support for parliamentary reform in 1831, a continuing determination to resist political radicalism. Overall, the thesis argues that Wilmot embraced political economy more in its 'secular' than its 'Christian' guise, but took interventionist positions on economic and social questions which set him apart from his colleagues. These conclusions complicate the task of retrieving a convincing ideology of liberal Toryism, if indeed there is one to be found.

This thesis draws upon evidence from over twenty archives in the UK and US. It uses the context of Liverpool, arguably the ‘second city of empire’ because of its extensive social, economic, and political networks overseas, to enhance knowledge of British imperialism during the American Revolutionary era (1763-1783).Part One analyses the ‘gentlemanly capitalist’ paradigm of P.J. Cain and A.G. Hopkins. In brief, this theory argues that the landed elite and financial-commercial services, concentrated upon the City of London, held sway over British imperial policy-making. This was chiefly because these interests were regarded as being ‘gentlemanly’, or socially acceptable, to the landed elite. In contrast, northern manufacturers were less influential in the imperial decision-making process. By working longer hours and being associated with labour unrest, industrialists were not perceived as being sufficiently gentlemanly by the ruling order. My dissertation tests this theory within the context of the late-eighteenth century. This is an original contribution to knowledge because most, although not all, studies of Cain and Hopkins focus upon later periods. Hanoverian Liverpool is an ideal test case because the town had a mixed economy. It contained a manufacturing base, served a wider industrial hinterland, and, because Liverpool was linked to the Atlantic empire, spawned a mercantile service sector community with interests in commerce and finance. This thesis generally supports Cain and Hopkins, but with some modifications. One of these is to view the late-eighteenth century as a period of emerging gentlemanly capitalism, referred to here as ‘proto-gentlemanly capitalism’. The fact that Liverpool merchants and the local landed elite were not yet fully socially integrated, is one of several reasons why the town lacked success in influencing imperial policy-making between 1763 and 1783.Warfare was synonymous with the Hanoverian empire. Therefore, Part Two expands our knowledge of the empire at home, or how the American War (1775-1783) impacted upon Liverpool economically, socially, and culturally. Previous histories of the economic impact of this conflict upon Liverpool concentrated upon overseas trade, and therefore stressed its negative consequences. However, this thesis looks at both overseas trade and domestic business. It paints a more nuanced picture, and, by using Liverpool as a case study, shows that the impact of warfare upon the UK economy produced mixed results. Finally, this thesis considers the socio-cultural impact of the war upon Liverpool. In the process, it demonstrates that military conflict affected both the northern and southern regions of Britain during the eighteenth century. Militarisation of the local community prompted discussions regarding the boundaries of national and local government. The War of Independence split opinion, thereby revealing divergent trends within British imperial ideology. Finally, on balance, the American War cultivated a ‘British’ national identity in the town (although there were still other identities present).