The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen

The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen
Author: Linda Colley
Publisher: National Geographic Books
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-09-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1324092386

A work of extraordinary range and striking originality, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen traces the global history of written constitutions from the 1750s to the twentieth century, modifying accepted narratives and uncovering the close connections between the making of constitutions and the making of war. In the process, Linda Colley both reappraises famous constitutions and recovers those that have been marginalized but were central to the rise of a modern world. She brings to the fore neglected sites, such as Corsica, with its pioneering constitution of 1755, and tiny Pitcairn Island in the Pacific, the first place on the globe permanently to enfranchise women. She highlights the role of unexpected players, such as Catherine the Great of Russia, who was experimenting with constitutional techniques with her enlightened Nakaz decades before the Founding Fathers framed the American constitution. Written constitutions are usually examined in relation to individual states, but Colley focuses on how they crossed boundaries, spreading into six continents by 1918 and aiding the rise of empires as well as nations. She also illumines their place not simply in law and politics but also in wider cultural histories, and their intimate connections with print, literary creativity, and the rise of the novel. Colley shows how—while advancing epic revolutions and enfranchising white males—constitutions frequently served over the long nineteenth century to marginalize indigenous people, exclude women and people of color, and expropriate land. Simultaneously, though, she investigates how these devices were adapted by peoples and activists outside the West seeking to resist European and American power. She describes how Tunisia generated the first modern Islamic constitution in 1861, quickly suppressed, but an influence still on the Arab Spring; how Africanus Horton of Sierra Leone—inspired by the American Civil War—devised plans for self-governing nations in West Africa; and how Japan’s Meiji constitution of 1889 came to compete with Western constitutionalism as a model for Indian, Chinese, and Ottoman nationalists and reformers. Vividly written and handsomely illustrated, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen is an absorbing work that—with its pageant of formative wars, powerful leaders, visionary lawmakers and committed rebels—retells the story of constitutional government and the evolution of ideas of what it means to be modern.

HMS Bellerophon

HMS Bellerophon
Author: Colin Pengelly
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 264
Release: 2014-04-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473837375

The story of HMS Bellerophon is a record of the many and varied duties which the Royal Navy had to carry out in the period 1793 1815. It was involved in the first great fleet action of the War and was involved in the last moments of the struggle with the surrender of Napoleon.The 74-gun ship was the standard unit in the line of battle, Bellerophon was one of the most distinguished with a fine fighting record. Having fought at 'The Glorious First of June'; the battle of the Nile and at Trafalgar the ship saw more than her share of fierce ship-to-ship encounters. In between there were the varying duties of blockade and escort carried out with service in the Channel, the Mediterranean, the North Sea, the Baltic and the West Indies. The ship saw every type of service which fell to the Navy in that period.All the many and various aspects of the ship's life are covered from construction through maintenance and refits to final disposal. Sadly the ship could not be been saved like Victory and the ship and her fine record were confined to the history books.

Plain, Honest Men

Plain, Honest Men
Author: Richard Beeman
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
Total Pages: 546
Release: 2010-02-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 0812976843

In May 1787, in an atmosphere of crisis, delegates met in Philadelphia to design a radically new form of government. Distinguished historian Richard Beeman captures as never before the dynamic of the debate and the characters of the men who labored that historic summer. Virtually all of the issues in dispute—the extent of presidential power, the nature of federalism, and, most explosive of all, the role of slavery—have continued to provoke conflict throughout our nation's history. This unprecedented book takes readers behind the scenes to show how the world's most enduring constitution was forged through conflict, compromise, and fragile consensus. As Gouverneur Morris, delegate of Pennsylvania, noted: "While some have boasted it as a work from Heaven, others have given it a less righteous origin. I have many reasons to believe that it is the work of plain, honest men."

Rigging: Period Ships Models

Rigging: Period Ships Models
Author: Lennarth Petersson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 137
Release: 2011-03-30
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
ISBN: 147381765X

A fully illustrated guide to rigging models of historic ships with confidence and accuracy, using a model of the eighteenth-century HMS Melampus. The rigging of period ship models is the ultimate challenge for any modeler. An eighteenth-century man-of-war boasted mile on mile of rigging, more than one thousand blocks, and acres of canvas. To reduce this in scale, and yet retain an accurate representation, is an awesome undertaking. In this classic work, Lennarth Peterson untangles the complexities of model rigging. Using some four hundred drawings, he shows how each separate item of rigging is fitted to the masts, yards, and sails. Each drawing deals with only one particular item so that it can be seen clearly in isolation. The lead of a particular halyard, the arrangement of a bracing line—these and every other detail are depicted with startling clarity. Based on the author’s research of numerous eighteenth-century models, each one with its contemporary rigging still extant, the information is both meticulous and accurate. The remarkable visual immediacy and clarity of this work makes it truly unique and essential for any period ship modeler. In addition, the book is a “must-have” reference work for all those involved in the rigging and repair of historic ships.

Big Gun Battles

Big Gun Battles
Author: Robert C. Stern
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
Total Pages: 535
Release: 2015-01-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473849357

This naval history of WWII explores the advancing technology and tactics of battleships through a fascinating survey of ship-to-ship duels. While many naval battles of the Second World War were decided by the torpedo or the aerial bomb, there was a surprising number of traditional ship-to-ship engagements involving the big guns of battleships and cruisers. Big Gun Battles recounts some of the most significant and technically fascinating of these gunfire duels in a narrative that combines lively storytelling with an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing victory or defeat. Covering all theatres of the naval war from 1939 until the Japanese surrender, the selected incidents demonstrate the changing face of surface warfare under the influence of rapidly improving fire-control systems, radar, and other technologies. By 1945, battleships achieved the pinnacle of gunnery excellence.

Captives

Captives
Author: Linda Colley
Publisher: Anchor
Total Pages: 466
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: History
ISBN: 0307425169

In this path-breaking book Linda Colley reappraises the rise of the biggest empire in global history. Excavating the lives of some of the multitudes of Britons held captive in the lands their own rulers sought to conquer, Colley also offers an intimate understanding of the peoples and cultures of the Mediterranean, North America, India, and Afghanistan. Here are harrowing, sometimes poignant stories by soldiers and sailors and their womenfolk, by traders and con men and by white as well as black slaves. By exploring these forgotten captives – and their captors – Colley reveals how Britain’s emerging empire was often tentative and subject to profound insecurities and limitations. She evokes how British empire was experienced by the mass of poor whites who created it. She shows how imperial racism coexisted with cross-cultural collaborations, and how the gulf between Protestantism and Islam, which some have viewed as central to this empire, was often smaller than expected. Brilliantly written and richly illustrated, Captives is an invitation to think again about a piece of history too often viewed in the same old way. It is also a powerful contribution to current debates about the meanings, persistence, and drawbacks of empire.

Acts of Union and Disunion

Acts of Union and Disunion
Author: Linda Colley
Publisher: Profile Books
Total Pages: 166
Release: 2014-01-02
Genre: History
ISBN: 1782830138

The United Kingdom; Great Britain; the British Isles; the Home Nations: such a wealth of different names implies uncertainty and contention - and an ability to invent and adjust. In a year that sees a Scottish referendum on independence, Linda Colley analyses some of the forces that have unified Britain in the past. She examines the mythology of Britishness, and how far - and why - it has faded. She discusses the Acts of Union with Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and their limitations, while scrutinizing England's own fractures. And she demonstrates how the UK has been shaped by movement: of British people to other countries and continents, and of people, ideas and influences arriving from elsewhere. As acts of union and disunion again become increasingly relevant to our daily lives and politics, Colley considers how - if at all - the pieces might be put together anew, and what this might mean. Based on a 15-part BBC Radio 4 series.

The Cabinet

The Cabinet
Author: Lindsay M. Chervinsky
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 433
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674986482

The US Constitution never established a presidential cabinet—the delegates to the Constitutional Convention explicitly rejected the idea. So how did George Washington create one of the most powerful bodies in the federal government? On November 26, 1791, George Washington convened his department secretaries—Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox, and Edmund Randolph—for the first cabinet meeting. Why did he wait two and a half years into his presidency to call his cabinet? Because the US Constitution did not create or provide for such a body. Washington was on his own. Faced with diplomatic crises, domestic insurrections, and constitutional challenges—and finding congressional help lacking—Washington decided he needed a group of advisors he could turn to. He modeled his new cabinet on the councils of war he had led as commander of the Continental Army. In the early days, the cabinet served at the president’s pleasure. Washington tinkered with its structure throughout his administration, at times calling regular meetings, at other times preferring written advice and individual discussions. Lindsay M. Chervinsky reveals the far-reaching consequences of Washington’s choice. The tensions in the cabinet between Hamilton and Jefferson heightened partisanship and contributed to the development of the first party system. And as Washington faced an increasingly recalcitrant Congress, he came to treat the cabinet as a private advisory body to summon as needed, greatly expanding the role of the president and the executive branch.

Johnny Get Your Gun

Johnny Get Your Gun
Author: John F. Tucker
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Total Pages: 285
Release: 2015-02-28
Genre: History
ISBN: 1473853850

At the age of seventeen-and-a-half, full of idealism and patriotism, John Tucker enlisted as an Infantryman in the London Kensington Regiment and reached France, after training, in August 1915. Against all odds he survived three years of bitter trench warfare, was seriously wounded, and returned to Blighty a few months before Armistice Day. During those years he took part in the Battle of the Somme, the battles of Arras and Cambrai, and the Third Battle of Ypres. Yet though his patriotism remained unflinching, his idealism gave way to the grim realities of day to day survival in the trenches and, as he began to understand what constitutes courage, he grew from boyhood to manhood.The author contrasts the beauties of the French countryside with the ugliness of widespread death and destruction, and paints a picture of French country life hardly less squalid than the soldiers' own lot. But above all, he makes the reader realise what it was like to fight in the war to end all wars.These are the memoirs of one Infantryman, but through his eyes a vivid canvas of the whole war gradually unfolds.