The Boxing Discourse in Late Georgian England, 1780-1820: A
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
The Boxing Discourse in Late Georgian England, 1780-1820: A Study in Civic Humanism, Gender, Class and Race D i s s e r t a t i o n zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades Doctor philosophiae (Dr. phil.) von M.A. Ruti Ungar Gutachterinnen: 1. Prof. Dr. Christiane Eisenberg 2. Prof. Dr. Gesa Stedman Eingereicht an der Philosophischen Fakultät I der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Verteidigungsdatum: 10.02.2010 Dekan der Philosophischen Fakultät I: Prof. Dr. Jörg Baberowski Präsident der Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin: Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Christoph Markschies 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................3 INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................7 CHAPTER ONE BETWEEN POPULARITY AND ILLEGALITY: BOXING IN GEORGIAN SOCIETY .................. 22 1.1. A “fashionable amusement”: the popularity and professionalization of boxing ........................... 23 1.2. Patrons, publicans and pugilists: the hierarchical structure of the boxing world ......................... 27 1.3. The commercialisation of boxing ................................................................................................... 32 1.4. Preachers, employers and magistrates: the opposition to boxing .................................................. 35 1.5. Pugilism and the legal system ........................................................................................................ 39 CHAPTER TWO ONE OF THE GLORIES OF THE COUNTRY OR A DISGRACE TO A CIVILIZED NATION? THE DEBATE ON BOXING ..................................................................................................................... 45 2.1. The public debate on boxing .......................................................................................................... 46 2.2. Politeness and its discontents: the boxing debate as a clash between politeness and civic humanism .............................................................................................................................................. 53 2.3. Brutal, vulgar and degrading: the anti-boxing arguments ............................................................. 59 2.4. Liberty, manhood and national character: the pro-boxing arguments .......................................... 66 CHAPTER THREE “SINCE BOXING IS A MANLY GAME”: THE RISE OF A MASCULINE IDEAL ......................... 76 3.1. On the Manliness or unmanliness of shedding tears: the polite ideal and its discontents…………78 3.2. The boxer as a manly ideal............................................................................................................. 83 3.3. Shaping a manly national character .............................................................................................. 92 3.4. “We would have men, men: and women, women”: boxing and the gender order ......................... 96 CHAPTER FOUR THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE BODY POLITIC AND THE POLITICS OF THE BODY CONSERVATIVE AND RADICAL VIEWS OF BOXING .................................................................. 102 4.1. The polarisation and popularisation of politics in late Georgian England.................................. 104 4.2. “Keeping rancorous spirits at bay”: William Windham’s conservative defence of manly sports 108 4.3. William Cobbett’s radical views on boxing .................................................................................. 118 CHAPTER FIVE "BE HE WHITE OR BLACK, A TURK OR A JEW": MINORITY BOXERS IN THE BOXING DISCOURSE ............................................................................................................................................. 130 5.1. Jews and Blacks in Georgian society ........................................................................................... 132 5.2. Not the Jew that Shakespeare drew: representations of a Jewish boxer ...................................... 137 5.3. “Handsome for a man of colour”: images of Black boxers ......................................................... 147 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................................................... 156 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................................... 161 2 LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: THOMAS ROWLANDSON, A PRIZE FIGHT, C. 1785-90. ....................................................................................... 82 FIGURE 2: JOHN HOPPNER, RICHARD HUMPHREYS, 1788.. .................................................................................................. 89 FIGURE 3: CHARLES JEAN ROBINEAU, DANIEL MENDOZA THE MOST SCIENTIFIC BOXER EVER KNOWN, 1789.. ......................... 90 FIGURE 4: JOHANN HEINRICH RAMBERG, THE TRIUMPH, 1788. ........................................................................................ 139 FIGURE 5: JOHN NIXON, THE ENGLISH AMBASSADOR AND HIS SUITE BEFORE THE KING AT MADRID, 1790............................. 144 FIGURE 6: GEORGE CRUICKSHANK, THE BATTLE BETWEEN CRIBB AND MOLINEAUX, 1811………………………………....147 FIGURE 7: THOMAS DOUGLAS GUEST, MOLINEAUX, 1811… ............................................................................................ 149 3 This work is dedicated to my father wishing he was here and to Amos and Ima with all my Love 4 Acknowledgments Like boxing, writing a dissertation requires discipline, courage, endurance and someone to stand in your corner. In the eight years of working on this project numerous people stood in my corner. To name them all would be impossible, but I would like to mention those whose financial or academic help was indispensable and those whose love sustained me at a period when things were, at times, looking very bleak. The PhD scholarship of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung enabled the writing of this work. I have also received a scholarship from the International Quality Network of the DAAD and the Saxon Ministry for Science and Art. A research trip to London was funded by the German Historical Institute London. The Hanadiv Foundation provided for a guest fellowship at the Department of Hebrew and Jewish Studies (University College London), where Ada Rapoport-Albert and the late John Klier made me feel at home. Dan Diner is responsible for my having started this dissertation and I would like to thank him for giving me the chance. I started the work at the Simon-Dubnow Institute for Jewish History and Culture, Leipzig and wish to thank all my colleagues for their input. The work was finished at the Centre for British Studies (Humboldt University Berlin), whose staff provided academic input, good humour and English food. I would like to thank my advisor, Christiane Eisenberg, for her constant support and advice even beyond the dissertation project and Gesa Stedman, who was open to a historical work which dabbled in English literature. Rickie Burman and Jennifer Marin at the Jewish Museum London gave me a chance to present some of my research to a wider audience, in the form of an exhibition; an experience I enjoyed immensely. I wish to thank all the authors of the exhibition catalogue and especially my co-editor, Michael Berkowitz. I owe a special debt of gratitude to Sander Gilman, for providing guidance and support all along the way and for having confidence in me. I also wish to thank Vic Gatrell whose advice and hospitality was greatly appreciate, Tony Gee, who generously shared his expertise on pugilism, and the wonderful Sheila O’Connell from the British Museum Prints and Drawings Department. My love goes to all my friends, who listened to my moaning and supported me every step of the way, but especially to: Moni Danner, Jutta Finkelstein, Sharon Gordon, Maya Haber, Tobi Jentsch, Omry Kaplan, Jochen Kleres, Anke Költsch, Tali Konas, Astrid 5 Kroenig, Anna Lipphardt, Sharon and Meirav Livne, Galit Masa, Patrick Oelze, Dana and Dirk Sadowski, Tilo Schönknecht, Vanessa Tylor, Gerben Zaagsma and Maya Zvigi. Other friends have been kind enough to read and commented on my work: first and foremost Guy Laden, who was not only a pillar of strength and a constant support, but also a perceptive critic of my work. Miriam Rürup shared my love for London and my (professional) interest in Jewish masculinity. Tatjana Lichtenstein managed to encourage and help from the other side of the ocean. Georgia Christinidis supplied stimulating debates and helped me overcome my technical ineptitudes. Philip Hoffman’s critical reasoning and practical thinking was invaluable, both professionally and personally. This dissertation would not have been possible without the material and emotional support of my family. Although they must have wondered why anyone would want to spend years of their lives researching boxing in eighteenth century England, they were always supportive and encouraging. My deepest love and gratitude goes to my mother, Nurit Ungar, and brother Amos Ungar, who both had my back, each in their own way. My grandmother Aneshka Ungar offered financial support and unbounded love. The rest of my family, including my “adopted families”, the Rosenfelds and the Cohen- Ahronsons, always optimistically believing that the end (of the dissertation) is near. My father died before I started this project. I sorely miss his brilliant mind, his humour and his love, but take