ABSTRACT
The first provincial paper was the Norwich Post, which was probably founded in 1701. Important provincial papers started in the first half of the eighteenth century, many of which have survived to this day, include the Worcester Post-Man, Newcastle Courant, Stamford Mercury, Norwich Mercury, Ipswich Journal, Gloucester Journal, Reading Mercury, York Courant, Salisbury Journal, Aris's Birmingham Gazette, Cambridge Chronicle and the Sussex Weekly Advertiser. The financial position of the early provincial papers was precarious; hence the large number of titles which folded after a relatively short life. The character of the eighteenth-century provincial newspaper was markedly different from the London papers. Most provincial papers in the eighteenth century were politically neutral. The provincial newspapers were an important factor in the transition from the system of parliamentary government following the Glorious Revolution of 1688 to the emerging parliamentary democracy of 1832.
