Powell, Martyn J. 1972-

views updated

Powell, Martyn J. 1972-

PERSONAL:

Born February 15, 1972. Education: University of Wales, B.A., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—University of Wales—Aberystwyth, Department of History & Welsh History, Hugh Owen Bldg., Aberystwyth, Ceredigion SY23 3DY, Wales. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

University of Wales—Aberystwyth, lecturer in modern British history.

MEMBER:

Royal Historical Society (fellow).

WRITINGS:

Britain and Ireland in the Eighteenth-Century Crisis of Empire, Palgrave Macmillan (New York, NY), 2002.

The Politics of Consumption in Eighteenth-Century Ireland, Palgrave Macmillan (New York, NY), 2005.

Also contributor of articles on British and Irish history to journals, including Irish Historical Studies. Editorial advisor, British Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

SIDELIGHTS:

Dr. Martyn J. Powell is a senior lecturer specializing in the history of Ireland in the eighteenth century. His monographs Britain and Ireland in the Eighteenth-Century Crisis of Empire and The Politics of Consumption in Eighteenth-Century Ireland look at the place of the Irish nation in its larger, imperial context and the ways in which the ruling Protestant class both praised and fretted about the ways they spent their money. Other works, according to the University of Wales Aberystwyth History Department Web site, "examined the origins of the Peep of Day Boys [an eighteenth-century Protestant fighting club, similar to the modern Orange Order in Northern Ireland], and the importance of toasting in Irish politics."

Britain and Ireland in the Eighteenth-Century Crisis of Empire emphasizes the unique place of Ireland in the history of the eighteenth century. "Ireland often appears in the literature on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as a kind of bureaucratic laboratory," Eliga H. Gould wrote in Parliamentary History, "a quasi-colony where the British pioneered institutions and policies eventually adopted throughout the empire." Like the American colonies had done in 1776, Ireland had a revolution intended to establish its political independence from the empire. Unlike the modern "Troubles," however, the eighteenth-century Irish revolutionaries were not distinguished by their religious convictions. Catholics, non-Anglican Protestants, and even some members of the Anglican ruling class (known as the Ascendancy) rose in revolt. In his investigation Powell looks at the period leading up to the Irish revolt, examining the ways in which the British government tried to forestall rebellion spreading to Ireland. Its "policy concentrated not on the Catholic majority but on the Protestant Irish. Powell is clear that the government sought to tighten imperial control," wrote Jeremy Black in H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online. "He sees the most significant steps as occurring in 1767, with the imposition of a resident Lord Lieutenant, and 1770, as the North ministry sought an administrative reform that entailed greater imperial centralization." But in the end, according to Powell, Ireland's proximity to England proved a greater obstacle to independence than its restless population. "Ireland could not be a colony in the same way that more distant possessions could," declared Karl S. Bottigheimer, reviewing the volume for Albion. "It was both a kingdom and a colony to the everlasting puzzlement and stimulation of historians who have been struggling for decades to determine its proper name." "Although the War of American Independence forced Britain to reverse course temporarily, notably in the repeal of Poynings Law and the concession of legislative independence (1782-3)," Gould concluded, "Powell argues that the pattern set in the 1750s eventually paved the way for the union of 1801. The result is a satisfying narrative that dovetails nicely with prevailing trends in British history, especially Linda Colley's pioneering work on the making of the British nation in England, Scotland, and Wales."

The Politics of Consumption in Eighteenth-Century Ireland looks at the culture of the Ascendancy in Ireland, with a concentration on how they spent the money they extracted from their estates. Although they were well known as conspicuous consumers, they nonetheless had an abhorrence of debt—in part because long-term debt threatened their position in society and their political power. "The Protestant Ascendancy was, as is amply documented here, avid consumers of luxury items, from alcohol to silver cutlery, clothes and high (and low) culture," wrote Michael Brown on the JISS Book Reviews—Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies Web site. "But they were also intensely worried by their lack of financial probity, fretting over the impact of absentees … and the cost of imports—notably claret and brandy. They worked hard to establish local industries, linen being the foremost of them, and to regulate the extremes of consumption out of existence."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Albion, June 22, 2004, Karl S. Bottigheimer, review of Britain and Ireland in the Eighteenth-Century Crisis of Empire, p. 309.

History: The Journal of the Historical Association, October 1, 2006, "Political Toasting in Eighteenth-Century Ireland," p. 508; October 1, 2007, Liam Chambers, review of The Politics of Consumption in Eighteenth-Century Ireland, p. 578.

Parliamentary History, Volume 24, issue 2, 2005, Eliga H. Gould, review of Britain and Ireland in the Eighteenth-Century Crisis of Empire, p. 247.