London School of Economics and Political Science Internecine Discord: Party, Religion, and History in Hanoverian Britain, c. 1714-65 Max Skjönsberg A thesis submitted to the Department of International History of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, January 2018. 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 99,997 words. 2 Abstract This thesis is a study of the place of ‘party’ and different ways of understanding this phenomenon in eighteenth-century British political discourse, especially between 1714 and 1765. Party is one of the most basic concepts of politics. If we are looking for party in any form, the idea of partisan division may be at least as old as the earliest societies where there was competition for office. But what did ‘party’ mean in the eighteenth century? While ancient factions usually denoted interest groups representing different orders in the state, party in the eighteenth century had a range of meanings, some general and others more specific. Broadly speaking, it could either mean a parliamentary constellation vying for power, or carry the more sinister connotation of civil war-like division, with roots in the Reformation and its aftermath. In spite of the fact that the emphasis was on principles and beliefs rather than organisation in both cases, modern historians have tended to focus on the latter. The party debate was considered by political writers at the time to be profoundly important, and political life in the period simply cannot be understood without reference to party. Although ‘party spirit’ waxed and waned, ‘party’ was consistently a key word in political debate. By concentrating on the writings of Rapin, Bolingbroke, David Hume, John Brown, and Edmund Burke, in the context of political developments, this thesis presents the first sustained examination of the idea of party in eighteenth-century Britain. It demonstrates that attitudes towards party were more diverse, penetrating and balanced than previous research has managed to capture. 3 Table of contents Table of contents ............................................................................................................... 4 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................... 5 Notes on the text................................................................................................................ 8 Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................... 9 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1: Paul de Rapin Thoyras and the Origins of Party Division in Britain ........... 32 Chapter 2: Bolingbroke’s Country Party Opposition Platform ...................................... 71 Chapter 3: David Hume’s Early Essays on Parties and Party Politics ......................... 106 Chapter 4: Hume on the Parties’ Speculative Systems of Thought ............................. 136 Chapter 5: Hume and the History of Party in England ................................................ 160 Chapter 6: Political Transformations during the Seven Years’ War ............................ 188 Chapter 7: John Brown on Free Government without Faction .................................... 200 Conclusion: The ‘Short’ Eighteenth Century ............................................................... 224 Bibliography .................................................................................................................. 234 4 Abbreviations Add: Additional. Anecdotes: William King, Political and Literary Anecdotes of His Own Times (London, 1818). BL: British Library, London. Bodleian: Bodleian Library, Oxford. Commons, 1690-1715: The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1690- 1715, ed. Eveline Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley, David Hayton (5 vols., Cambridge, 2002). Commons, 1715-54: History of Parliament: The House of Commons, 1715-54, ed. Romney Sedgwick (2 vols., London, 1970). Contributions: Bolingbroke, Contributions to the Craftsman, ed. Simon Varey (Oxford, 1982). Dissertation: Rapin, Dissertation sur l’orgine du government d’Angleterre, et sur la naissance, les progress, les vues, les forces, les interets, et les caracteres des deux partis des Whigs et des Torys (1716), printed in Bernard Cottret and Marie-Madeleine Martinet, Partis et factions dans l’Angleterre du premier XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 1987). Egmont Papers: Aubrey N. Newman (ed.), ‘Leicester House Politics, 1750-60, from the Papers of John, Second Earl of Egmont’, Camden Fourth Series, 7 (1969), pp. 85-228. Enquiry I: David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (1748), in Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals, ed. L. A. Selby-Bigge and P. H. Nidditch (Oxford, 1975). (Originally entitled Philosophical Essays Concerning Human Understanding.) 5 Enquiry II: David Hume, An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals (1751), in Enquiries Concerning Human Understanding and Concerning the Principles of Morals, ed. L. A. Selby-Bigge and P. H. Nidditch (Oxford, 1975). ESRO: East Sussex Record Office, The Keep. Essays: David Hume, Essays, Moral, Political and Literary, ed. Eugene F. Miller (Indianapolis, IN, 1987). Estimate: John Brown, An Estimate of the Manners and Principles of the Times (2 vols., London, 1757-8). Further Letters: Further Letters of David Hume, ed. Felix Waldmann (Edinburgh, 2014). Hearne’s Recollections: Remarks and Collections of Thomas Hearne, ed. C. E. Doble et al (11 vols., Oxford, 1885-1921), Hervey’s Memoirs: Lord Hervey, Some Materials Towards Memoirs of the Reign of King George II, ed. Romney Sedgwick (3 vols., London, 1931). Histoire: Rapin, Histoire d'Angleterre (10 vols., The Hague, 1724- 7). History: David Hume, The History of England from the Invasion of Julius Caesar to the Revolution in 1688 (1754-61), (6 vols., Indianapolis, IN, 1983, based on the last edition of 1778). HJ: The Historical Journal. H.M.C.: Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. Letters: The Letters of David Hume, ed. J. Y. T. Greig (1932), (2 vols., Oxford, 2011). Marchmont Papers: A Selection from the Papers of the Earls of Marchmont, in the Possession of the Right Honourable Sir George Henry 6 Rose: illustrative of events from 1685 to 1750 (3 vols., London, 1831). MS: Manuscript(s). New Letters: New Letters of David Hume, ed. Raymond Klibansky and Ernest C. Mossner (1954), (Oxford, 2011). NLS: National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh. Parl. Hist.: The Parliamentary History of England from the earliest period to the year 1803, ed. William Cobbett (36 vols., London, 1802-60). Political Writings: Bolingbroke, Political Writings, ed. David Armitage (Cambridge, 1997). Present Discontents: Edmund Burke, Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents (1770), in Pre-Revolutionary Writings, ed. Ian Harris (Cambridge, 1993). RA: Royal Archives, Windsor Castle. TCD: Trinity College Dublin. Treatise: Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40), ed. L. A. Selby-Bigge and P. H. Niddich (Oxford, second ed., 1978). Unpublished Letters: The Unpublished Letters of Henry St John, First Viscount Bolingbroke, ed. Adrian Lashmore-Davies (5 vols., London, 2013). Waldegrave Memoirs: The Memoirs and Speeches of James, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, 1742-63, ed. J. C. D. Clark (Cambridge, 1988). Works: The Works of the Late Right Honourable Henry St. John, Lord Viscount Bolingbroke, ed. David Mallet (5 vols., London, 1754). 7 Notes on the text Eighteenth-century spelling has been kept in citations, in English and in French. I have not made any attempts to ‘correct’ the grammar in eighteenth-century citations. ‘[Sic]’ has sometimes been inserted for clarity. ‘C.f.’ has been used in the footnotes to signpost contrasting views. 8 Acknowledgements First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Tim Hochstrasser, who has not only been the ideal supervisor for me and this project, but has also become a dear friend along the way. In addition, I owe a special debt to three colleagues. First, Richard Bourke, Queen Mary University of London, who has been incredibly supportive of my career in so many different ways, and who remains my greatest inspiration among historians. Writing my MA dissertation with Richard at QMUL in 2012-13 worked as a springboard for the present project. Second, Robin Douglass, King’s College London, with whom I have been organising a reading group in London for the last four years on various themes, from Rousseau to ancient political thought, which has led to many stimulating conversations. Robin has also been a wonderful interlocutor and supporter in many other ways. Lastly but by no means least, I have been very lucky to belong to the same batch of PhD students at the LSE as Ian Stewart, with whom I have had