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British Philosophical History and the Empires of Antiquity

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British Philosophical History and the Empires of Antiquity BRITISH PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY AND THE EMPIRES OF ANTIQUITY A Ph.D. Dissertation by C. Akça Ataç Department of History Bilkent University Ankara September 2006 Yıldız, Mete ve Mehmet-Ali’ye BRITISH PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY AND THE EMPIRES OF ANTIQUITY THE INSTITUTE OF ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES OF BILKENT UNIVERSITY BY C. AKÇA ATAÇ IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BILKENT UNIVERSITY ANKARA, SEPTEMBER 2006 I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Assoc. Prof. C.D.A. Leighton Supervisor I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Asst. Prof. Julian Bennett Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Assoc. Prof. Gümeç Karamuk Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Asst. Prof. Paul Latimer Examining Committee Member I certify that I have read this thesis and have found that it is fully adequate, in scope and in quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History. --------------------------------- Asst. Prof. Timothy Roberts Examining Committee Member Approval of the Institute of Economics and Social Sciences --------------------------------- Professor Erdal Erel Director ABSTRACT BRITISH PHILOSOPHICAL HISTORY AND THE EMPIRES OF ANTIQUITY Ataç, C. Akça Ph.D., Department of History Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. C.D.A. Leighton September 2006 Although eighteenth-century British empire may seem a topic much exhausted by historians, there is still room for fresh primary sources and new approaches. Ancient Greek and Roman histories published in eighteenth-century Britain are in fact valid primary sources to contribute to the studies of empire. This dissertation strives to place these sources among the vast literature on the eighteenth-century British empire. In comparison with other types of history, ancient history was believed to play a more significant role in the design of guiding the political nation. Historians were attracted to ancient history particularly on account of the belief that the ancients had already experienced all the hardship that troubled the moderns in their political life. In this sense, the eighteenth century witnessed the publication of an inordinate number of texts on ancient history. Throughout the first half of the century, in particular, the analogy between Rome and Britain so predominated that the historians of antiquity thought of little else than demonstrating a common interest in producing the most authentic, well-written and informative Roman history ever, with the hope of providing the political nation with all the instruction required. Only from the 1740s onwards was the attention of the historians with ancient history diverted to ancient Greece to a certain degree. Therefore, it was an eighteenth-century truism that ancient history had the capacity to offer valuable insights into all contemporary political debates among which the question of empire had a prominent place. The British looked into a multitude of sources with the hope of finding guidance in the unknown path to imperial greatness. Eighteenth-century ancient history writing offered insights into imperial matters such as expansion, colonial governance, the role of commerce as a substitute for military action, the desirable degree of interaction with natives and the fight against decline. Under the influence of Plutarch and venerable literary genre, the “mirror for princes,” ancient Roman histories elucidated those subjects. As for ancient Greek histories, whose publications mostly coincided with the rise of discussions about civilisation, they sought to deliver their remarks on empire through comparisons of the states and civilisations that ancient Greece sheltered. Keywords: Eighteenth-century British empire, ancient history-writing, imperial studies iii ÖZET İNGİLİZ FELSEFÎ TARİH VE ANTİK ÇAĞ İMPARATORLUKLARI Ataç, C. Akça Doktora, Tarih Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Doç. Dr. C.D.A. Leighton Eylül 2006 Onsekizinci yüzyıl Britanya İmparatorluğu, tarihçiler tarafından çok çalışılmış bir konu olsa da, hâlâ taze birincil kaynakların getireceği yeni yaklaşımlara olanak tanımaktadır. Onsekizinci yüzyılda Britanya’da yayımlanmış antik Yunan ve Roma tarihleri, söz konusu çalışma alanına yeni yaklaşımlar katabilecek niteliktedir. Bu tez, bu antik tarih kitaplarının da onsekizinci yüzyıl Britanya İmparatorluğu ile ilgili çok sayıdaki eser arasında sayılması gerektiğini savunmakta ve bu şekilde onsekizinci yüzyıl Britanya İmparatorluğu ile ilgili literatürü genişletmeyi amaçlamaktadır. O dönemde tarihçi, bilimsel nesnelliği hedeflerken tarih bilgisine, hukuk bilgisi gibi, ortak bilimsel yöntemlerle ulaşılabileceğini savunuyordu. Bu tartışmalar, İskoç Aydınlanması ile birlikte iyice yoğunlaştı. Bu bağlamda antik tarihin, diğer tarihlere kıyasla devlet adamlarına rehberlik etmede daha belirgin bir rol oynadığına inanılıyordu. Tarihçilerin antik tarihe olan bu ilgisi ve bağlılığı, antikite insanının, modern insanın karşılaştığı bütün politik güçlüklerle daha önceden karşılaştığına ve hepsine çözüm bulduğuna yönelik inançtan kaynaklanmaktaydı. Antik dönem bilgeliğinin, modern insana, tecrübe ettiği bütün zorluklarda rehberlik edeceği düşünülüyordu. Bu nedenle de onsekizinci yüzyılda, önemli sayıda antik tarih kitabı basıldı. Yüzyılın ilk yarısında, özellikle Roma ve Britanya arasındaki analoji o kadar güçlüydü ki, antik tarih yazarları, o zamana kadar yazılmış en doğru ve kapsamlı Roma tarihini yazma eğilimi gösteriyorlardı. Özellikle imparatorluk konusunda İngilizler, büyüklük ve kalıcılık hedefine ulaşmada kendilerine rehberlik etmesi beklentisiyle sayısız kaynağa başvuruyorlardı. Bunlardan bir tanesi olan antik tarihse içinde, genişleme, kolonilerin yöntemi, askeri yöntemler yerine ticaret aracılığıyla hükmetmek, yerliler ile iletişim ve çöküşün önlenmesi gibi imparatorluk konularına yanıtları barındırmaktaydı. Bu nedenle de Britanyalı tarihçilerin bir kısmı, yukarıda bahsi geçen konulara, Plutarch’ın etkisinde ve dönemin edebi akımı, “prensler için ayna tutma” yöntemini kullanarak yazdıkları antik Roma tarihi ile yanıt aradılar. Diğer bir kısmı da, ideal bir imparatorluk yaratmanın yollarını, basımları medeniyet ile ilgili tartışmaların gündemde olduğu bir zamana tesadüf eden, esas olarak antik Yunanistan’daki farklı devlet ve medeniyetlerin karşılaştırılmasından oluşan antik Yunan tarihleri yazarak aradılar. Anahtar Kelimeler: Onsekizinci Yüzyıl Britanya İmparatorluğu, Antik Tarih Yazımı, İmparatorluk Çalışmaları iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I must begin by thanking Bilkent University’s History Department and Department Chair, Asst. Prof. Mehmet Kalpaklı, for the generous grant, which allowed me to pursue doctoral research in London and Oxford. During my Ph.D. program, I accumulated a remarkable number of professional and personal debts. First, for their generous support and helpful advices I wish to thank Asst. Prof. David Thornton and Asst. Prof. Oktay Özel. I am also grateful to Asst. Prof. Jullian Bennet and Asst. Prof. Timothy Roberts, as I was privileged to receive their invaluable assistance during the revision process. I must reserve a special thanks to Asst. Prof. Paul Latimer for his expert advice, encouragement and kind friendship throughout the preparation of this study. Yet, my deepest debt of all is to my supervisor, Assoc. Prof. C.D.A. Leighton who introduced me to the dissertation topic and guided this project to the end with erudition. In writing this dissertation, I made extensive use of the microfilm collection of the eighteenth-century pamphlets at Bilkent Library and I am grateful to library staff, particularly Evrim Ergin, for their technical assistance. I am equally indebted to Zuhal Aksoy, another member of staff, for acquiring with exceptional efficiency the books that I needed from other libraries. I wish to thank several of my dearest friends, Berrak Burçak, Özlem Çaykent, Derya Gürses, Nazan İleri and Gülben Ulupınar for years of support. Also, warmest thanks to new friends, Aybike Koca and Miray Vurmay, who have considerably helped me overcome the final hardships of writing a Ph.D. dissertation. Lastly, from the bottom of my heart, I thank to my beloved family to whom this dissertation is dedicated. Without their affection and support, none of this would have been achieved. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT iii ÖZET iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1. ANCIENT HISTORY-WRITING IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 9 1.1 Importance of History 12 1.2 Meaning of Ancient History 19 1.3 Roman History 25 1.4 Eighteenth-Century Roman History Texts 31 1.5 Greek History 40 1.6 Eighteenth-Century Greek History Texts 45 CHAPTER 2. UNDERSTANDING OF EMPIRE IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY 56 2.1 Historical Development of Imperial Sentiments 58 2.2 The Union of 1707 66 2.3 The Balance of Power 74 2.4 The Blue Water Strategy 86 CHAPTER 3. THE ROMAN EMPIRE 99 3.1 The Rise 102 3.2 Ferguson’s
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