DOCSLIB.ORG

Gardiner and the Attempted Reform of Universities

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Gardiner and the Attempted Reform of Universities Chapter 6 Gardiner and the Attempted Reform of Universities Exploring further into contemporary events between 1715 and 1719, allows Archbishop Wake’s rulings against Bernard Gardiner, which resulted in the loss of much of the warden’s authority within All Souls, to be viewed against is- sues of national concern that would not be kept at bay by ancient statutes and venerable college walls. Several related factors, some broad and others specific to happenings within Oxford help to shine greater light upon the Archbishop’s actions against Gardiner’s authority regarding college elections and dispen- sations from orders. Wake’s response reflected the changing realities of Ha- noverian England: specifically that Parliament was the legislative body of the nation and that Erastian views of the Church of England held sway within the corridors of power. The attainment of the English crown by the German born George i, the first member of the House of Hanover to do so, in 1714, caused excitement in some circles and apprehension combined with inaction in others. Within hours of Anne’s death on 1 August 1714, several disgruntled Tories and Jacobite sympa- thizers including the Duke of Ormonde (since 1688 Chancellor of Oxford) and the Bishop of Rochester Francis Atterbury (formerly Dean of Christ Church 1711–1713) met to discuss what actions could be taken to prevent George from becoming king. Rebellion from Scotland seemed the only viable option with Ormonde pegged to take a leading role.1 The conversation was vigorous and heartfelt, but ultimately it produced little of lasting substance and only the most serious High-Church Tories saw any hope that their discussed activities would halt the lawful succession. Even Atterbury, who had argued in support of elevating the importance of Convocation in the governance structure of the nation, swore allegiance to the new Hanoverain regime, although he remained a vocal critic of it. The bishop’s Tory stance and High-Church views made his loyalty suspect in the eyes of the Whigs who would soon dominate the ad- ministration.2 What is more, Atterbury’s association with Christ Church and that college’s Tory reputation, further cast a cloud of suspicion over Oxford as a whole. How much the university identified with Atterbury is questionable, 1 Archiblad S. Foord, His Majesty’s Opposition, 1714–1830 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1964), 15, 44. 2 Jeffrey R. Wigelsworth, Deism in Enlightenment England: Theology, Politics, and Newtonian Public Science (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009), 30–31. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���8 | doi �0.��63/978900437535�_008 <UN> Gardiner and the Attempted Reform of Universities 145 however. He is reputed to have been the “most unpopular head” in “five centu- ries” of Christ Church’s history, a man for whom politics was always a greater attraction than academics. His tenure as Dean was marked by attempts to exert sole control over all aspects of college governance and no tear was shed when Queen Anne appointed him Bishop of Rochester in 1713. Atterbury’s successor George Smalridge had little political ambition and looked to calmly steer the college through the Hanoverian succession by stepping Christ Church away from politics and toward academics.3 In the immediate period surrounding the succession, what was worse for the university’s reputation than Atterbury’s part in the opposition to George i was Chancellor Ormonde’s role. When the abortive Atterbury Plot designed to restore the Stuarts, became known and halted in 1722, however, many observers had their suspicions about the institu- tion further confirmed. George i had the distinction of being the first monarch to ascend to the throne in accordance with the terms set out in the Act of Settlement. In other words, his attainment of the crown came by act of Parliament and not through an act of God or by right of dynastic succession. He accepted that the con- ditions of his rule were crafted to limit his individual power and strengthen the liberties of his subjects. But George i was hardly a prize. Aside from his Protestant beliefs, there was little for the English public to adore about their new king: he spoke no English, refused to learn, his marriage was a farce, and his mistresses were an embarrassment. Jacobites argued for English pride and played upon German stereotypes in their earliest reactions against George i, who at age fifty-four, they claimed, would not be one for new tricks.4 For hardnosed Jacobites who still saw the son of James ii, James Francis Ed- ward, known to historians as the Old Pretender, as their rightful king, the sight of George i was almost too much to bear when he finally set foot in England on 18 September, a full seven weeks after Queen Anne’s death. Nonetheless, James, styled James iii by his supporters, refused to abandon his Catholicism as a means of winning over the nation, which might have rallied around an- other Stuart monarch had fears of Rome and popish conspiracies not made the present option disagreeable. Robert Harley, political pragmatist that he was, knew that there could be no Stuart resurrection. James iii was too French to be trusted to uphold the constitution of England and, as the memory of 3 Judith Curthoys, The Cardinal’s College: Christ Church, Chapter and Verse (London: Profile Books, 2012), 148–155. 4 Linda Colley, Britons: Forging the Nation 1707–1837 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992), 46, 47; Hannah Smith, Georgian Monarchy: Politics and Culture, 1714–1760 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006), 2, 6. <UN>.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Brief History of Christ Church MEDIEVAL PERIOD
    A Brief History of Christ Church MEDIEVAL PERIOD Christ Church was founded in 1546, and there had been a college here since 1525, but prior to the Dissolution of the monasteries, the site was occupied by a priory dedicated to the memory of St Frideswide, the patron saint of both university and city. St Frideswide, a noble Saxon lady, founded a nunnery for herself as head and for twelve more noble virgin ladies sometime towards the end of the seventh century. She was, however, pursued by Algar, prince of Leicester, for her hand in marriage. She refused his frequent approaches which became more and more desperate. Frideswide and her ladies, forewarned miraculously of yet another attempt by Algar, fled up river to hide. She stayed away some years, settling at Binsey, where she performed healing miracles. On returning to Oxford, Frideswide found that Algar was as persistent as ever, laying siege to the town in order to capture his bride. Frideswide called down blindness on Algar who eventually repented of his ways, and left Frideswide to her devotions. Frideswide died in about 737, and was canonised in 1480. Long before this, though, pilgrims came to her shrine in the priory church which was now populated by Augustinian canons. Nothing remains of Frideswide’s nunnery, and little - just a few stones - of the Saxon church but the cathedral and the buildings around the cloister are the oldest on the site. Her story is pictured in cartoon form by Burne-Jones in one of the windows in the cathedral. One of the gifts made to the priory was the meadow between Christ Church and the Thames and Cherwell rivers; Lady Montacute gave the land to maintain her chantry which lay in the Lady Chapel close to St Frideswide’s shrine.
    [Show full text]
  • Jacobite Political Argument in England, 1714-1766
    JACOBITE POLITICAL ARGUMENT IN ENGLAND, 1714-1766 by Paul Chapman Gonville and Caius College November 1983 A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD in the University of Cambridge Paul Michael CHAPMAN Copyright © Paul Michael Chapman 1983 Second edition London: The Jacobite Studies Trust, 2013 [Please note that the pagination of this work differs slightly from the original of 1983, and reference should therefore be made to the second edition of 2013 in quotations giving page numbers. The original text has otherwise been preserved.] 1 Jacobite Political Argument in England, 1714-1766 By Paul Michael Chapman By the production of political propaganda Jacobites were able to reach Englishmen more directly than by plots and parliamentary opposition. The thesis demonstrates the need to reappraise assessments of the balance of political ideas current in England in the years immediately after the 1715 rebellion. Disproportionate attention has been accorded the small group of whig “Commonwealthsmen” or republicans, and the new “Country” opposition created by Lord Bolingbroke, with its famous literary coterie including pope, Swift, and Gay. The publications of these groups were outnumbered by Jacobite works. The Jacobite printer Nathaniel Mist produced a newspaper which, at least throughout the 1720s, was as popular as the most successful organs of these other opposition groups; neither could rival the flood of cheap Jacobite broadsheets and ballads which came onto the market between 1714 and 1724. Study of the arguments put forward to justify a Stuart restoration reveals the diversity of Jacobite support. A majority used the traditional tory tenets of non-resistance and hereditary right of succession in order to condemn the revolution of 1688.
    [Show full text]
  • The Movement for the Reformation of Manners, 1688-1715
    THE MOVEMENT FOR THE REFORMATION OF MANNERS, 1688-1715 ANDREW GORDON CRAIG 1980 (reset and digitally formatted 2015) PREFACE TO THE 2015 VERSION This study was completed in the pre-digital era and since then has been relatively inaccessible to researchers. To help rectify that, the 1980 typescript submitted for the degree of PhD from Edinburgh University has been reset and formatted in Microsoft “Word” and Arial 12pt as an easily readable font and then converted to a read-only PDF file for circulation. It is now more compact than the original typescript version and fully searchable. Some minor typographical errors have been corrected but no material published post-1980 has been added except in the postscript (see below). Pagination in the present version does not correspond to the original because of computerised resetting of the text. Footnotes in this version are consecutive throughout, rather than chapter by chapter as required in the 1980 version. The original bound copy is lodged in Edinburgh University Library. A PDF scan of it is available at https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk /bitstream/handle/1842/6840/254333.pdf A further hand-corrected copy is available together with my research archive in the Special Collections Department at St Andrews University Library. http://www.st- andrews.ac.uk/library/specialcollections/ A note for researchers interested in the movement for the reformation of manners 1688-1715 and afterwards has been added as a postscript which lists other studies which have utilised this work and its sources in various ways. I am grateful to the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland for its generous scholarship support while a research student at Edinburgh University undertaking this study in the 1970s and to the following for their encouragement, guidance and support during the creation and completion of this research.
    [Show full text]
  • Chen2019.Pdf (1.576Mb)
    This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Daniel Defoe’s Moral and Political Thought in Its Religious Context Chienyuen Chen PhD Thesis The University of Edinburgh 2019 2 Abstract This thesis aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the religious ideas of the famous English journalist and novelist Daniel Defoe. Today, Defoe is best remembered as a novelist, but most of his works are non-fictional works including a sizable number of didactic or supernatural writings. Even though there is a rising scholarly interest in Defoe’s thoughts on subjects such as politics or Puritanism, there is hardly a single monograph devoted to Defoe’s religious ideas. This thesis aims to fill the gap by examining Defoe’s works throughout his career. It demonstrates that Defoe’s Presbyterian upbringing was influential in his emphasis on the ideas of good work, practical godliness, and the development of good habits.
    [Show full text]
  • Autobiography and Anecdotes by William Taswell, D.D., Sometime
    AUTOBIOGRAPHY AND ANECDOTES BY WILLIAM TASWELL, D.D., SOMETIME RECTOR OF NEWINGTON, SDRREY, RECTOR OF BERMONDSEY, AND PREVIOUSLY STUDENT OF CHRIST CHUKCH, OXFORD. A.D. 1651—1682. EDITED BY GEORGE PERCY ELLIOTT, ESQ. BARRISTER AT-LAW. PRINTED FOR THE CAMDEN SOCIETY. M.DCCC..LII. INTRODUCTION. THIS autobiography was originally written in Latin, but has been preserved only in the present translation, which was made by the Author's grandson, the Rev. Henry Taswell, Vicar of Marden, in Herefordshire. The translation has on a fly-leaf the following description:— " A few anecdotes concerning William Taswell, D.D., Rector of Newington and St Mary Bermondsey, in Surrey, and his Family. Translated Sept. 1761, after a very poor manner, by H. T., his grandson. " It is by no means an exact literal translation, but it is a just one as to facts recorded." The MS. translation is now in the possession of the Editor, together with the Diary of Dr. Taswell's father-in-law, Archdeacon Lake, which was printed in the former volume of the Camden Miscellany. The GENEALOGY of a FAMILY in the WEST, and COMMENTARIES upon his own LIFE. By W. T., D.D. Translated from the Latin (a thousand faults committed) by H. T. NOTWITHSTANDING I am sensible that for these seven years past and upwards my attention has been for the most part fixed towards husbandry, or in employment of an inferior nature, I once more put pen to paper; not because I am sensible of the accuracy there will be in my performance—the utmost extent of my abilities giving me little room to hope for this—but only to revive again, if possible, a knowledge of myself and letters, which time and my avocations have somewhat effaced.
    [Show full text]
  • A Pilgrimage Through English History and Culture (M-S)
    Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Faculty Publications 2009-05-01 A Pilgrimage Through English History and Culture (M-S) Gary P. Gillum [email protected] Susan Wheelwright O'Connor Alexa Hysi Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub Part of the English Language and Literature Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Gillum, Gary P.; O'Connor, Susan Wheelwright; and Hysi, Alexa, "A Pilgrimage Through English History and Culture (M-S)" (2009). Faculty Publications. 11. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/11 This Other is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. 1462 MACHIAVELLI, NICCOLÒ, 1469-1527 Rare 854.318 N416e 1675 The Works of the famous Nicolas Machiavel: citizen and Secretary of Florence. Written Originally in Italian, and from thence newly and faithfully Translated into English London: Printed for J.S., 1675. Description: [24], 529 [21]p. ; 32 cm. References: Wing M128. Subjects: Political science. Political ethics. War. Florence (Italy)--History. Added Author: Neville, Henry, 1620-1694, tr. Contents: -The History of florence.-The Prince.-The original of the Guelf and Ghibilin Factions.-The life of Castruccio Castracani.-The Murther of Vitelli, &c. by Duke Valentino.-The State of France.- The State of Germany.-The Marriage of Belphegor, a Novel.-Nicholas Machiavel's Letter in Vindication of Himself and His Writings. Notes: Printer's device on title-page. Title enclosed within double line rule border. Head pieces. Translated into English by Henry Neville.
    [Show full text]
  • I~Ist of Bishops of Carlisle. List of Priors of Carlisle
    DIOCESE OF CARLISLE. tos seen in the following numerical list, with the years hi which they were respectively inducted : • · I~IST OF BISHOPS OF CARLISLE. 1 .tEthelwald, • •• .... ·1133 19 Mannaduke Lumley 1429 38 Richard Senhonse •. 1624 2 Bemard, ......... -1157 20 Nicholas Close .... 1449 39 Frands White ...... ]626 Vacant 30 years. 21. William Percy • · · · l·M2 40 Bamaby Potter • .•. 1628 3 Hugh, . ···········1216 22 John Kingscott ····1462 41 James Usher ....•• 1641 4 Waiter, .••. • ..•••• -1223 23 Richard Scroop •• • ·1463 Vacant 6 Yt!ars. .5 SylvesterdeEverdon1246 24 Edward Storey ····1468 42 Richard Steme .... J661 6 Thos. de Vetriponte 1255 25 Richard Bell •••.. ·1478 43 Edward Rainbow .. )664 7 Robt. de Chauncey 1258 26 William Sever ••• ·1496 44 Thomas Smith .... 1684 8 Ra1ph Irton •.. •. ·1280 27 Roger Leyburn .... 1503 45 William Nicholson 1702 9 John Halton · .... -1292 28 John Penny.·· ..... }508 46 Samuel Bradford , .. 1718· 10 John Ross ..... ·····1325 29 John Kyte ... ·····1520 47 John Waugh ...... 1723 H John Kirkby .... ·1332 30 Robert Aldridge .... l537 48 George Fleming. •· ·1734 12 Gilbert Welton ••• ·1352 31 Owen Oglethorp .•. ·1556 49 Richard Osbaldiston 1747 13 Thomas Appleby · ·1363 1 32 John Best.····.· .. -1560 50 Charles Lyttleton • ·1762 14 Robert Reed · • • · • ·1396 1 33 Richard Bames • • · ·1570 51 Edmund Law .....1768 15 Thomas Merks .... 13!17 i 34 John Meye ........ 1577 52 John Douglas ..... ·1787 16 Wm. Strickland ... -1400 I 35 Henry Robinson .... J598 53 E. V. Vemon ..... ·1791 17 Roger Wht;lpdale • -1419 36 Robert Snowden. • · ·1616 I 54 Samuel Goodenough 1807 18 Wm. Barrow ..... ·1423 37 Richard Mill>urne .. 1621 55 Hon. H. Percy ••• ·1827 • • LIST OF PRIORS OF CARLISLE .
    [Show full text]
  • Unica Salus (1721): a Jacobite Medal and Its Context’, the Georgian Group Journal, Vol
    Neil Guthrie, ‘Unica Salus (1721): a Jacobite medal and its context’, The Georgian Group Journal, Vol. XV, 2006, pp. 88–120 TEXT © THE AUTHORS 2006 UNICA SALUS ( ): A JACOBITE MEDAL AND ITS CONTEXT NEIL GUTHRIE You see the des’prate state of our Affairs, supplied Cardinal Prince Henry Benedict with And Heav’ns protecting Pow’rs are deaf to Pray’rs. medals to commemorate the death in of his The passive Gods behold the Greeks defile elder brother, Prince Charles Edward, and the Their Temples, and abandon to the Spoil Their own Abodes: we feeble few conspire Hamerani name appears in the Stuart account books To save a sinking Town, involved in Fire. as late as (although in both cases the work may actually have been undertaken by a junior partner John Dryden The Second Book of the Æneis , lines – from outside the family). Medals were an important component of the Jacobite propaganda campaign, used to commemorate major events like births, marriages and deaths, but also THE MEDAL to convey particular messages aimed at discrediting In , the Jacobite court-in-exile, by this point the Hanoverians and enlisting support for the located in Rome, issued a medal in silver, bronze, legitimist cause. They would have been given to pewter and lead versions (Fig. ). The medal was hangers-on in Rome and sent to the courts of Europe, probably struck by Ottone Hamerani ( – ), but were more importantly entrusted to a network of or perhaps by his elder brother, Ermenegildo couriers and spies for distribution in Britain. A secret ( – ). The Hamerani brothers were members shipment of , Jacobite medals landed in Kent in of a family of medallists, originally from Bavaria , which gives an idea of the magnitude of this line (where the surname was Hameran), who began to of attack in the war of information, perhaps at its work at the papal mint in Rome in the early s.
    [Show full text]
  • The Descendants of Job Atterbury
    THE DESCENDANTS OF JOB ATTERBURY BY L. EFFINGHAM de FOREST, M.A., J.D., F.S.G., F.I.A.G. AND ANNE LAWRENCE de FOREST THE DE FOREST PUBLISHING COMPANY NEw YoRic, N. Y. 1933 CoPnIG:e:T, 1933, BY L. EFl"IHGBAK J>E FOllEST This work is not to be reproduced in whole or in part without permission in writing from the authors. REARRANGED AND REPRINTED FROM: ATTERBURY AND ALLIED F AKILIES (1933) BY L. EFFINGHAM DE FOREST As AUTHOR: Dommerich, Hall and Allied Families (1924). Ballard and Allied Families (1924). The Tercentenary of New York (1924). Ludington-Saltus Records (1925). Babcock and Allied Families (1928). The Van Cortlandt Family (1930). Our Colonial and Continental Ancestors ( 1930). Jelke and Frazier and Allied Families (1931). As EDITOR: Year Books of the (N. Y.) Society of Colonial Wars (1914-191S, 1915-1916, 1920-1921). Genealogical Records of the Saint Nicholas Society (1916, 1923). Year Book of the (N. Y.) Society of American Wars (1917). Record Books of the (N. Y.) Society of Mayflower Descendants (1922, 1926). History of the Class of 1912, Yale College, Volume II (1924). The Journals and Papers of Seth Pomeroy (1926). Worthington-Rice and Allied Families (1929). American Colonial Families (1930). Elliott and Gibbons and Allied Families (1931). The Sherrill Genealogy (2nd edition, 1932). Louisbourg Journals, 1745 (1932). BY L. EFFINGHAM DE FOREST AND ANNE LAWRENCE DE FOREST James Cox Brady and his Ancestry (1933). Atterbury and Allied Families ( 1933) . Captain John Underhill (1933). The Descendants of Job Atterbury ( 1933). FOREWORD THIS genealogy was compiled for Mrs.
    [Show full text]
  • Chris Church Matters Michaelmas Term 2013 Issue 32 Editorial Contents
    Chris Church Matters michaelmas TERM 2013 ISSUE 32 Editorial Contents This issue of Christ Church Matters is dominated by anniversaries and deAn’s diAry 1 departures. Martin Grossel “left” in the summer and there is a report on CArdinAl sins: Notes from the archives 2 his farewell dinner, and a fascinating article by him about the SCR on P.8. The Headmaster of the Cathedral School, Martin Bruce, and his wife “KT”, Christ ChurCh CAthedrAl Choir 4 who over the years has taken so many wonderful photographs for us, leave CAthedrAl news 6 this Christmas. The Dean leaves us in the summer of 2014, thus next year’s Christ ChurCh CAthedrAl sChool 7 Trinity issue will be his last. memories of the sCr 8 We are also losing our Development Director, Marek Kwiatkowski, in evAn morGAn: 10 February, when he joins St. Paul’s School to start up their new Development Eccentric, aristocrat and ‘Bright Young Thing’ Office. Marek has been an inspirational leader for this office, an incredible success for the House, and a good friend to many. I still cannot quite believe from sCriPtoriA to the PrintinG house 12 how many alumni really like him, even after having been subjected to A tAle of 2001 hebrew eArly Printed books 13 “the argument” and being delivered of a substantial donation. Somehow I other worlds And imAGinAry CreAtures 14 thought he would be here in perpetuity. However my commiserations go to the Old Paulines amongst you who will no doubt hear from him again soon! news 15 We also welcome new members to the Christ Church community, especially Collisions in CoAlition 16 the new Sub-Dean and Archdeacon, P.6.
    [Show full text]
  • (1678-1751), Was One of the Most Significant
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Newcastle University E-Prints 1 ON THE CHARACTER OF A GREAT PATRIOT: A NEW ESSAY BY BOLINGBROKE WORD COUNT: WITH NOTES 11,190; WITHOUT NOTES 8829 Henry St John, first Viscount Bolingbroke (1678-1751), was one of the most significant polemicists and political thinkers of the first half of the eighteenth century. The canon of Bolingbroke’s political writings has been relatively stable ever since the posthumous appearance of his collected Works in 1754, edited, according to Bolingbroke’s friend David Mallet, “from the manuscripts delivered to me by his executors, without the smallest addition or alteration.”1 Simon Varey identified and edited Bolingbroke’s contributions to The Craftsman back in 1982, while Adrian Lashmore-Davies has recently collected his Unpublished Letters (2013), including some significant and previously unknown reflections on contemporary political debate.2 Outside the correspondence, no substantial works have been added to the canon in recent years. In this article we present and attribute to 1 British Library (hereafter BL), Add. MS 4948.A, fol. 1r. On the publication of Bolingbroke’s Works, see Sandro Jung, David Mallet, Anglo-Scot: Poetry, Patronage, and Politics in the Age of Union (Newark, 2008), 137-45; John C. Riely, “Chesterfield, Mallet, and the Publication of Bolingbroke’s Works,” The Review of English Studies 25 (1974): 61-5. 2 Henry St John, Lord Bolingbroke, Contributions to the Craftsman, ed. Simon Varey (Oxford, 1982), hereafter Contributions; The Unpublished Letters of Henry St John, First Viscount Bolingbroke, ed. Adrian Lashmore- Davies, 5 vols.
    [Show full text]
  • Archibald Hutcheson's Reputation As an Economic
    ARCHIBALD HUTCHESON’S REPUTATION AS AN ECONOMIC THINKER: HIS PAMPHLETS, THE NATIONAL DEBT AND THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE Helen Julia Paul, Ph.D. Economics Division University of Southampton, England Archibald Hutcheson M.P. (c. 1 659-1740) was a British politician who opposed the South Sea Company’s scheme to offer holders of British government debt its own shares in exchange for their claims on the state. Hutcheson proposed an alternative scheme to pay off the entire debt by increasing taxes on land. Despite Hutcheson’s opposition to the South Sea conversion scheme, it went ahead, to be followed by the South Sea Bubble and then the bursting of the bubble with the crash of the London stock market in 1720. Scholar Richard Dale has argued that Hutcheson predicted the crash by using sophisticated financial techniques. Refuting Dale’s view, this article argues that Hutcheson’s posthumous reputation as a savant is undeserved. A prolific writer ofpamphlets on financial matters, British parliamentary member Archibald Hutcheson was a particularly vocal and early critic of the South Sea Company, which had formed in 1711 to trade with Spanish-held America.’ Hutcheson especially opposed the South Sea Company’s scheme to offer holders of British government debt its own shares in exchange for their claims on the state.2 Despite Hutcheson’s criticisms of the plan, the South Sea Company forged ahead with the conversion scheme, and shares in South Sea stock rose precipitously as the stock became the subject of massive public speculation. According to some sources, South Sea shares at their height were trading at approximately eight times their par value.3 Then, in 1720, the stock plummeted, and morality tales afterwards focused on the story of the stock as a “bubble” which eventually had to burst.
    [Show full text]