Politics in the eighteenth century I

The next two chapters are concerned with British politics in the eighteenth century. They aim to highlight the ways in which people, particularly within the upper section of society, thought about their constitution and political system, how the system worked in practice and how historians have looked at this period. They are consequently selective. ¹ This chapter concentrates on the problem of historiography, politics in theory — the constitution and political ideas, politics in practice and the relationship between the king and his ministers. The following chapter looks at the issue of Jacobitism, popular politics, foreign and colonial policy and political issues in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.