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Papers by Spencer Leonard

Itinerario, Nov 1, 2005

religious concerns on the English Shore, but it is difficult to know much about spiritual matters... more religious concerns on the English Shore, but it is difficult to know much about spiritual matters in a society without churches or ministers to keep records. Pope establishes that despite the secular tendencies of these fishing plantations, religious differences sometimes overlapped and reinforced political tensions (288-296). Pope also addresses issues related to the social structure and social order on the English Shore, which depended on a far more limited set of governing institutions than other British settlements in early America. He emphasizes the significance of patron-client relationships and uses them to illuminate a variety of social situations (280-285). Of course, Pope leaves some important questions about the world of the early Newfoundland plantations unanswered, but given the surviving source materials they may be unanswerable. Fish into Wine is both impressively researched and methodologically eclectic. Few books provide more copious documentation of their evidence, and Pope's footnotes should be a great starting place for anyone seeking more information about early Newfoundland. Pope utilizes conventional historical sources and archaeological approaches, but he also moves comfortably from disparate areas such as demography, business history, and environmental history. To some extent, Fish into Wine draws on a local case study. Pope focuses special attention on Ferryland, which was founded in 1621 and became the main settlement of the South Avalon Province as well as one of the most important sites in seventeenth-century Newfoundland. Ferryland began as part of Sir George Calvert's attempt at a proprietary colony. When Calvert's plan for a colony failed, Ferryland survived and has been continuously inhabited until the present. Ferryland's persistence owes a great deal to the endeavors of London wine merchant Sir David Kirke and his family, who took over the settlement on the basis of competing patents and continued to influence the English Shore for the rest of the century. The fact that Ferryland started as part of a failed proprietary scheme but survived because of continuing interest in Newfoundland's fishing potential underscores Pope's narrative of seventeenth-century English settlement in Newfoundland more generally and the two are carefully interwoven.

Journal of The Economic and Social History of The Orient, 2009

The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, Apr 7, 2014

The East India Company stockholders' election of its Court of Directors for the upcoming year... more The East India Company stockholders' election of its Court of Directors for the upcoming year in 1764 crystallised the basic factional and ideological divisions that characterised the ‘India Question’ in the crucial first decade and a half of the post-Plassey era. Scarcely noted by historians, who have failed to seriously address the political constitution of the empire in India, the Company election of 1764 arguably merits pride of place over other near contemporaneous events, such as the 1764 Battle of Buxar or the 1765 acceptance by the Company of the diwani, the right to collect the revenues of Bengal, as the true founding of the British Empire in India. Certainly neither the Battle of Buxar (and the subsequent conquest Awadh) nor the acceptance of the diwani can be fully understood apart from a recognition of the very different politics behind each. Recognising the importance of the 1764 Company election in this sense involves understanding that politics emanating from Britain, and not simply the sub-imperialism associated with private trade, provided the fundamental precondition for the despotism and illiberal political economy of the emerging Company state in Bengal. If this is lost sight of we risk incomprehension of the most basic impetus of the military events and, indeed, of the economic developments on which historians have chiefly focused hitherto.

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jul 15, 2019

Mountstuart Elphinstone's administration as Governor of Bombay consolidated East India Compan... more Mountstuart Elphinstone's administration as Governor of Bombay consolidated East India Company rule over large tracts of Central, Western, and Northwestern India. It represented a new and unmistakable projection of both British armed force and knowledge production. In this chapter, the work of a prominent soldier-administrator scholar whose work was strongly encouraged by Elphinstone, the father of Maratha history, James Grant Duff, is taken up. The line of argument is that, despite the imperial and military conditions that made Grant Duff's research possible, it is a mistake to see it simply as a project of colonial hegemony and not a major, even foundational intellectual production and act of public reason submitted to the cosmopolitan world of letters from which Indians were not, in principle, excluded. The chapter thus suggests grounds for breaking with the Saidian paradigm not simply on positivist grounds, but in favor of finer grained historical and more discerning ideological analysis. This means paying close attention to Grant Duff's (and his History's) struggle against the East India Company itself, whose chief interest was not knowledge so much as secrecy.

The English Historical Review, Oct 1, 2017

Of all the eighteenth-century parliamentary inquiries into the post-Plassey East India Company, t... more Of all the eighteenth-century parliamentary inquiries into the post-Plassey East India Company, the most poorly understood is the first, the one that took place during, and contributed directly to, the dissolution of Chatham’s ill-fated ministry of 1766–7. Though it is now little remembered, produced no lengthy report and resulted in comparatively insignificant legislation, the 1767 inquiry held the greatest promise to change the course of imperial history. This is because it contemplated the abolition of the Company, if not as a commercial enterprise, then as a monopoly-state. In 1766–67 British politics formulated, and came closest to addressing, the post-Plassey India question in its fundamentals. Just how different was this inquiry from later eighteenth-century debates, including even that surrounding Fox’s failed bill (the only other that approaches it in significance), is indicated by the fact that parliament explicitly debated, and the Prime Minister himself supported, not simply government intrusion in, or oversight over, Company operations, but liberating Bengali society (and, indeed, British society) from the tentacles of the emerging Company state. This would have allowed for something approaching the rule of law to be established in the conquered domains. Regarding the course and dynamics of Chatham’s attempt to address the India question, much merits reconsideration. But it is clear that the ministry splintered because of Chatham’s insistence that parliament conduct a full and informed debate on the general question of the Company’s right to rule the Indian territories.

The Maoist Movement in India, 2020

Mountstuart Elphinstone in South Asia, 2019

Mountstuart Elphinstone's administration as Governor of Bombay consolidated East India Compan... more Mountstuart Elphinstone's administration as Governor of Bombay consolidated East India Company rule over large tracts of Central, Western, and Northwestern India. It represented a new and unmistakable projection of both British armed force and knowledge production. In this chapter, the work of a prominent soldier-administrator scholar whose work was strongly encouraged by Elphinstone, the father of Maratha history, James Grant Duff, is taken up. The line of argument is that, despite the imperial and military conditions that made Grant Duff's research possible, it is a mistake to see it simply as a project of colonial hegemony and not a major, even foundational intellectual production and act of public reason submitted to the cosmopolitan world of letters from which Indians were not, in principle, excluded. The chapter thus suggests grounds for breaking with the Saidian paradigm not simply on positivist grounds, but in favor of finer grained historical and more discerning ide...

The Platypus Review is funded by The University of Chicago Student Government Dalhousie Student U... more The Platypus Review is funded by The University of Chicago Student Government Dalhousie Student Union Loyola University of Chicago School of the Art Institute of Chicago Student Government The New School New York University The Platypus Affiliated Society Submission guidelines Articles will typically range in length from 750–4,500 words, but longer pieces will be considered. Please send article submissions and inquiries about this project to: review_editor@platypus1917.org. All submissions should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style. Statement of purpose

The English Historical Review, 2017

The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 2014

English Historical Review, 2017

Itinerario, Nov 1, 2005

religious concerns on the English Shore, but it is difficult to know much about spiritual matters... more religious concerns on the English Shore, but it is difficult to know much about spiritual matters in a society without churches or ministers to keep records. Pope establishes that despite the secular tendencies of these fishing plantations, religious differences sometimes overlapped and reinforced political tensions (288-296). Pope also addresses issues related to the social structure and social order on the English Shore, which depended on a far more limited set of governing institutions than other British settlements in early America. He emphasizes the significance of patron-client relationships and uses them to illuminate a variety of social situations (280-285). Of course, Pope leaves some important questions about the world of the early Newfoundland plantations unanswered, but given the surviving source materials they may be unanswerable. Fish into Wine is both impressively researched and methodologically eclectic. Few books provide more copious documentation of their evidence, and Pope's footnotes should be a great starting place for anyone seeking more information about early Newfoundland. Pope utilizes conventional historical sources and archaeological approaches, but he also moves comfortably from disparate areas such as demography, business history, and environmental history. To some extent, Fish into Wine draws on a local case study. Pope focuses special attention on Ferryland, which was founded in 1621 and became the main settlement of the South Avalon Province as well as one of the most important sites in seventeenth-century Newfoundland. Ferryland began as part of Sir George Calvert's attempt at a proprietary colony. When Calvert's plan for a colony failed, Ferryland survived and has been continuously inhabited until the present. Ferryland's persistence owes a great deal to the endeavors of London wine merchant Sir David Kirke and his family, who took over the settlement on the basis of competing patents and continued to influence the English Shore for the rest of the century. The fact that Ferryland started as part of a failed proprietary scheme but survived because of continuing interest in Newfoundland's fishing potential underscores Pope's narrative of seventeenth-century English settlement in Newfoundland more generally and the two are carefully interwoven.

Journal of The Economic and Social History of The Orient, 2009

The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, Apr 7, 2014

The East India Company stockholders' election of its Court of Directors for the upcoming year... more The East India Company stockholders' election of its Court of Directors for the upcoming year in 1764 crystallised the basic factional and ideological divisions that characterised the ‘India Question’ in the crucial first decade and a half of the post-Plassey era. Scarcely noted by historians, who have failed to seriously address the political constitution of the empire in India, the Company election of 1764 arguably merits pride of place over other near contemporaneous events, such as the 1764 Battle of Buxar or the 1765 acceptance by the Company of the diwani, the right to collect the revenues of Bengal, as the true founding of the British Empire in India. Certainly neither the Battle of Buxar (and the subsequent conquest Awadh) nor the acceptance of the diwani can be fully understood apart from a recognition of the very different politics behind each. Recognising the importance of the 1764 Company election in this sense involves understanding that politics emanating from Britain, and not simply the sub-imperialism associated with private trade, provided the fundamental precondition for the despotism and illiberal political economy of the emerging Company state in Bengal. If this is lost sight of we risk incomprehension of the most basic impetus of the military events and, indeed, of the economic developments on which historians have chiefly focused hitherto.

Oxford University Press eBooks, Jul 15, 2019

Mountstuart Elphinstone's administration as Governor of Bombay consolidated East India Compan... more Mountstuart Elphinstone's administration as Governor of Bombay consolidated East India Company rule over large tracts of Central, Western, and Northwestern India. It represented a new and unmistakable projection of both British armed force and knowledge production. In this chapter, the work of a prominent soldier-administrator scholar whose work was strongly encouraged by Elphinstone, the father of Maratha history, James Grant Duff, is taken up. The line of argument is that, despite the imperial and military conditions that made Grant Duff's research possible, it is a mistake to see it simply as a project of colonial hegemony and not a major, even foundational intellectual production and act of public reason submitted to the cosmopolitan world of letters from which Indians were not, in principle, excluded. The chapter thus suggests grounds for breaking with the Saidian paradigm not simply on positivist grounds, but in favor of finer grained historical and more discerning ideological analysis. This means paying close attention to Grant Duff's (and his History's) struggle against the East India Company itself, whose chief interest was not knowledge so much as secrecy.

The English Historical Review, Oct 1, 2017

Of all the eighteenth-century parliamentary inquiries into the post-Plassey East India Company, t... more Of all the eighteenth-century parliamentary inquiries into the post-Plassey East India Company, the most poorly understood is the first, the one that took place during, and contributed directly to, the dissolution of Chatham’s ill-fated ministry of 1766–7. Though it is now little remembered, produced no lengthy report and resulted in comparatively insignificant legislation, the 1767 inquiry held the greatest promise to change the course of imperial history. This is because it contemplated the abolition of the Company, if not as a commercial enterprise, then as a monopoly-state. In 1766–67 British politics formulated, and came closest to addressing, the post-Plassey India question in its fundamentals. Just how different was this inquiry from later eighteenth-century debates, including even that surrounding Fox’s failed bill (the only other that approaches it in significance), is indicated by the fact that parliament explicitly debated, and the Prime Minister himself supported, not simply government intrusion in, or oversight over, Company operations, but liberating Bengali society (and, indeed, British society) from the tentacles of the emerging Company state. This would have allowed for something approaching the rule of law to be established in the conquered domains. Regarding the course and dynamics of Chatham’s attempt to address the India question, much merits reconsideration. But it is clear that the ministry splintered because of Chatham’s insistence that parliament conduct a full and informed debate on the general question of the Company’s right to rule the Indian territories.

The Maoist Movement in India, 2020

Mountstuart Elphinstone in South Asia, 2019

Mountstuart Elphinstone's administration as Governor of Bombay consolidated East India Compan... more Mountstuart Elphinstone's administration as Governor of Bombay consolidated East India Company rule over large tracts of Central, Western, and Northwestern India. It represented a new and unmistakable projection of both British armed force and knowledge production. In this chapter, the work of a prominent soldier-administrator scholar whose work was strongly encouraged by Elphinstone, the father of Maratha history, James Grant Duff, is taken up. The line of argument is that, despite the imperial and military conditions that made Grant Duff's research possible, it is a mistake to see it simply as a project of colonial hegemony and not a major, even foundational intellectual production and act of public reason submitted to the cosmopolitan world of letters from which Indians were not, in principle, excluded. The chapter thus suggests grounds for breaking with the Saidian paradigm not simply on positivist grounds, but in favor of finer grained historical and more discerning ide...

The Platypus Review is funded by The University of Chicago Student Government Dalhousie Student U... more The Platypus Review is funded by The University of Chicago Student Government Dalhousie Student Union Loyola University of Chicago School of the Art Institute of Chicago Student Government The New School New York University The Platypus Affiliated Society Submission guidelines Articles will typically range in length from 750–4,500 words, but longer pieces will be considered. Please send article submissions and inquiries about this project to: review_editor@platypus1917.org. All submissions should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style. Statement of purpose

The English Historical Review, 2017

The Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 2014

English Historical Review, 2017