1st Edition
The Politics of Provisions Food Riots, Moral Economy, and Market Transition in England, c. 1550–1850
By John Bohstedt
Copyright 2010
324 Pages
by
Routledge
324 Pages
by
Routledge
324 Pages
by
Routledge
Also available as eBook on:
The elemental power of food politics has not been fully appraised. Food marketing and consumption were matters of politics as much as economics as England became a market society. In times of dearth, concatenations of food riots, repression, and relief created a maturing politics of provisions. Over three centuries, some eight hundred riots crackled in waves across England. Crowds seized wagons,... Read more
Contents: 'We'd rather be hanged than starved!': the politics of provisions; The genesis of provision politics, 1580-1650; The recession of provision politics, 1650-1739; Bolting mills and marketplaces: the formative generation of provisions politics, 1740-1775; A viable, but doomed, provision politics, 1782-1812; The decadence of the politics of provisions, 1812-67; Conclusions: provision politics from the book of orders to World War One; Bibliography of works cited; Index.
Biography
John Bohstedt is Professor emeritus in the Department of History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, USA, and author of Riots and Community Politics in England and Wales, 1790-1810.
'Politics of Provisions is well-produced... It deserves to be widely read and known. It will be of particular interest to historians interested in the evolution of markets and the role of institutions and in the social and economic history of industrializing England.' EH.Net '... an outstanding book.' International Review of Social History 'The work has many strengths, not least the long perspective it provides on this important subject.' Archiv für Sozialgeschichte 'This is an outstanding volume, crucial for those with interests in crowd politics, protest, and the nature of the marketplace but also colleagues with interests in issues such as the nature of power, representation of the poor, and contemporary understandings of community... Bohstedt’s book is a triumph.' Journal of British Studies
