ABSTRACT
A pattern in Harriet Martineau's writing about empire involves dependencies that evidence a former advanced civilization currently in a state of cultural deterioration. Martineau's use of the terms "barbarous" and "civilized" refers to non-industrialized and industrialized societies, and to the extent to which each has realized security of person and property. The definitive version of Martineau's History of the Thirty Years' Peace 1816-46 incorporated an introduction accounting for the Peninsular Wars era and a conclusion covering the Irish famine through the Crimean War, thus covering more than the full half-century. As one of the primary texts employed in this study of Martineau and empire, the work's reception history warrants some examination to determine its place in Victorian historiography and empire studies. Since a Victorian woman historian is essentially a contradiction in terms, some reconciliation of, on the one hand, the striking neglect of this important work with, on the other, its strong critical reception, is in order.
