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The article discusses the role of the histrionic mirror in the Georgian-era theatrical performance. It says that the Georgian-era debate over the histrionic mirror and examinations into the veracity of dramatic symbolism comprised an intellectual adventure that changed culture beyond the consideration of mirror as a passive instrument that faithfully represents reality.

The article discusses reports of the Lisbon earthquake in Portugal of 1755 in the British monthly periodical entitled the "Gentleman's Magazine." The journal was under the editorship of David Henry and dedicated space to eye-witness accounts, the economic and commercial impact of the disaster, as well as scientific theories related to the possible cause of the earthquake. Efforts to supply aid to Portugal initiated by King George II of Great Britain are considered.

The article presents letters written to and from politician John Campbell of Cawdor and various government officials and family members, including Henry Fox and Mary Campbell, during the years 1755 and 1756, on topics including political appointments and British relations with France.

The role of the British state and the Royal Navy in the settlements on the west coast of Africa and in the transatlantic slave trade during the eighteenth century is a subject of a near-total historiographic neglect. This article surveys the parameters of British West African enterprise and the ways in which the navy was centrally involved in coastal affairs. It examines two case studies that are emblematic of the nature of state attention to West African enterprise and the application of naval power in support of British goals on the coast during the period immediately preceding the Seven Years' War. The first treats a 1750–1751 conflict at Dixcove on the western Gold Coast between the British and Dutch. The second, a protracted dispute between Britain and France over the construction of a settlement at Anomabo from 1751 to 1753, was an important pre-war skirmish that has heretofore been ignored by scholars. By winning the acquiescence of local polities and pre-empting French intervention by dispatching a squadron of warships to the coast, the British were able to secure the site for themselves. The article concludes with some reflections on the nature of sea power and empire on the African coast and the broader implications of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the wars of the eighteenth century, French prisoners on parole in Britain were placed in a paradoxical situation of captives with privileges. Instead of studying these men as if they dwelt in a world apart, this article focuses on captivity zones as a social laboratory, where people of different status would socialize. These spaces accordingly provide a lens through which to glimpse the repercussions of international conflicts at the level of local communities. The disputes which opposed these captives to the English population, which were the object of letters of complaints sent by the French prisoners to the authorities, shed light on the normative and moral resources which were used by eighteenth-century Englishmen and Frenchmen to legitimize themselves in situations of social conflict. As a configuration characterized by shifting social relations, the parole zone brought together local, national, and international issues, intertwined primarily in the rhetoric of honour. In these incidents, there was no systematic alignment of class and national discourses and actions, while the precise standing of these Frenchmen on the social ladder was constantly challenged and debated. The resulting quarrels therefore reveal a series of social inversions: dominant groups in France were in many respects dominated in England. Rather than being a mere reflection of pre-existing social hierarchies, such micro-incidents reinvented them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Between 1730 and 1733, the Grub-Street Journal was one of the most renowned and controversial weekly news-sheets produced and sold in London. This article traces the attempts made by the editors of the Journal to make sense of, and manipulate, the changing fashions related to the organization and consumption of information. The Grub-Street Journal linked critiques of new forms of information organization, such as printed volumes with prefaces and indexes, with wider societal changes taking place. This can be seen in the Journal's shifting relationships with its audiences and competing journals. As the weekly news-sheet became increasingly outmoded, the editors of the Journal could no longer successfully manipulate its position within the London coffee-house network, launching more direct attacks on the publication trade. The Journal offers a fascinating insight into the changing culture of information in the 1730s and highlights the way in which images connected to information are used to explore cultural change, throughout recorded history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an examination into the history of the 18th-century European oratorio singer Caterina Ruini Galli, known predominantly as a leading singer of the English court composer George Frederick Handel. Details are given outlining multiple legal records drawn from the archives of British Court of Exchequer which reflect on the personal finances and lifestyle of the singer.

The alliance between the tories and Frederick, Prince of Wales has usually appeared at best a passing interlude of opportunism in eighteenth-century politics, dismissed alike by scholars upholding 'jacobite' or 'Hanoverian' constructions of the party's identity. This article offers a re-examination of the relationship, assessing tory actions at Westminster against the larger hinterland of party literature and journalism. It argues that, especially after 1747, the association fronted a much more serious enterprise than is conventionally assumed, highlighting the continued political and ideological independence of the party into the 1750s and shaping the subsequent evolution of its identity. Intellectually, Frederick's image as a 'Patriot King' was driven by radical manifestos originating within the jacobite diaspora in Paris. Inside Westminster, his patronage changed the balance of power, bringing the tories to a point of primacy hitherto unmatched over the larger opposition. For four years, the promise of the prince of Wales provided the glue to hold the tory party together; his death threatened to unleash a process of fragmentation. The long-term legacy of the alliance informed the direction of those who remained tories into the following decade, determining the section of the party that would gain the ascendancy within the reign of George III. By showing how a member of the ruling dynasty could be recast in a favourable and highly partisan political complexion, the pact with Frederick represented a decisive stage in the reinvention of English toryism, and its movement from mid-century opposition towards rebirth as the loyalist champions of the house of Hanover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the friendship between Lord Hervey and Frederick, the Prince of Wales, and the issues surrounding the royal favorite in England. The two met in Hanover in 1716 when Frederick was on the Grand Tour and became particularly close by 1731. In the late autumn of 1731, Hervey was becoming deeply disillusioned with the prince and was replaced by George Bubb Dodington as the favorite. Accordingly, their friendship was renewed and finally disintegrated at court in 1735 when Hervey helped to prevent parliament from increasing the prince's allowance and to draft the order of the king banning Frederick from the royal palaces. Their shared experience of George II's court, passion for the arts, and heterosexual intrigue were some of the elements that bounded their friendship together.

Focuses on the foreign policy of Great Britain as perceived by its statesmen during the period of the war of the Austrian Succession in 1740-1748. Influence of domestic pressures, parliamentary and mercantile and public opinion on foreign policy; Impact of the collapse of Austria and the vulnerability of Hanover on British policy and public attitude in 1741; Problems with the ministerial conduct of the foreign policy.

Focuses on the command theater performances during the reign of King George II of England during the middle part of the 1700's. Critical success received by theaters operating during the era and the financial support that they get from the British monarchy; Participation of Italian and French theater companies in British royal entertainment; Financial standing of the theater companies in the midst of royal endorsement.

The article refers to a June 1753 letter written by English author Samuel Richardson to British poet Elizabeth Carter, as well as Carter's letter in response, which discuss the British Jewish naturalization Act of 1753. Richardson refers to a "little paper" which he included with his letter to Carter. The article argues that this was a pamphlet attributed to Philip Carteret Webb having the abbreviated title "The Bill, Permitting Jews to be Naturalized by Parliament, Having Been Misrepresented in the London Gazetteer, of Friday the 18th May."

The article presents a reprint of the monthly expenses for January and February 1727/8 of Princess Caroline/a (1713–1757), daughter of British King George II. The original document is held in the Gerald Coke Handel Collection at the Foundling Museum and the manuscript's provenance is discussed. It provides details associated with Caroline's household accounts such as opera tickets purchased to attend composer George Frideric Handel's operas Radamisto and Siroe, support of religious charities including the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and the purchase of a silver decanter from Mr. John Le Sage, goldsmith in London, England.