The Costs of Parliamentary Enclosure in an Upland Setting: South and East Cumbria c. 1760–1860

Abstract

'The Costs of Parliamentary Enclosure in an Upland Setting: South and East Cumbria c. 1760–1860'. Although the costs of parliamentary enclosure have been shown to be high, attention has focused on lowland areas of England. This article examines the public and private costs of parliamentary enclosure in the old county of Westmorland, and adjoining areas of Cumberland and Lancashire, where most of the land enclosed was rough pasture, rather than open-field arable. The General Enclosure Act of 1845 greatly reduced public costs. These were in any case frequently financed by the sale of some of the land. On the other hand, private costs, including fencing and especially land improvement, were relatively high, pushing the overall cost of enclosure to substantial levels. The impact of such costs on Cumbrian society in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries is then explored.     

Patronage and Professionalism: Manning a Transitional Empire, 1760–1870

While there is agreement that the Colonial Office continued to man an expanding empire in the nineteenth century by the technique of patronage, the reasons for the longevity of this practice, despite ‘reform’ of civil service recruitment in the early 1850s, have been little analysed. This article explores, from patronage records and private papers, the factors sustaining preferment in the gift of secretaries of state and their governors, rather than by resorting to examinations. Its conclusions are that the practice was associated with class status among senior civil servants, gradually mitigated by promotions from within colonial establishments. Patronage was burdensome to manage centrally and had to be devolved to governors, as colonial establishments expanded, creating a pool of talent among senior officials for secretaries of state to draw on. This trend is evident in establishment statistics from the late 1840s to1871. It supports the Colonial Office claim that the service was ‘professional’ according to its own criteria of learning through experience in political accommodation with local notables and dealing with emergencies. Thus, the department justified its opposition to competitive examinations for appointments overseas, while tolerating them for junior posts at home, and the practice survived till the end of the century and after.     

Management and the Free-Standing Company: The New Zealand and Australia Land Company c. 1866–1900

The scholarly reappraisal of the British imperial system as the ‘British World’ has given scholars the opportunity to examine anew the financial, commercial and industrial ties which held the empire together. This article examines the experience of one such tie, the New Zealand and Australian Land Company, a Scottish-based agricultural and land company which operated in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Australasia. This company contributed to the colonies' economic development directly, opening up new farming lands and initiating wool and protein exports, as well as influencing the development of the communities which grew up around its stations and factories. The article details the strategic development of the company until c. 1900 in the wider context of Australia and New Zealand's economic development, demonstrating that studying the evolution of commercial organisations can contribute to the wider debate around the role of British capital in development.     

Made in China: import,distribution and consumption of Chinese porcelain in Copenhagen c. 1600–1760

Excavations in a refuse dump area in Copenhagen, dated c. 1650–1760, have produced large quantities of Chinese porcelain which reveal considerable consumption of Oriental porcelain in the city, pre-dating the establishment of direct trade with China. The character of the porcelain dated to the first 30 years of the Danish China trade may indicate a socially wider consumption of Chinese porcelain than has been generally assumed. When comparing archaeological and documentary data, a differentiated picture of the import, distribution and consumption of Chinese porcelain in the Danish capital emerges.     

Cotton,climate and colonialism in Dharwar,western India, 1840–1880

Focussing on the cotton improvement projects in Dharwar, western India, that exemplified the modernising aims of colonial agriculture in nineteenth-century India, this article interrogates the architecture of cotton imperialism in the colonised world through the conceptual lens of political ecology. In particular, it brings to the fore the crucial dimension of climate both as an element in colonial thinking and planning, and as a dynamic force impacting on the cultivation of transplanted American cotton. The climate of Dharwar was not quite what the cotton authorities had constructed it to be, and it was, moreover, undergoing change due to the impact of regional deforestation. Furthermore, the article shows how this failure to come to terms with local climate conditions and changes was symptomatic of a broader failure to consider the overall agricultural livelihoods of peasant cultivators. Apart from a brief period when prices were artificially high, peasants much preferred growing the accustomed indigenous cotton rather than the new exotic variety. In turn, cotton was less of a priority than the production of millet food crops. By exploring the ways in which climatic conditions interacted with the economic, social and technological processes of cotton production in Dharwar, this article highlights why American cotton cultivation failed to meet colonial expectations during this period while also revealing the fragile architectural edifice of colonial power.     

The East India Company’s Farmān, 1622‒1747

The East India Company’s presence and ongoing trade in Persia was reliant on the privileges outlined in the Farmān, granted after the capture of Hormuz in 1622. The relationship between these two powers was cemented in the rights enshrined in the Farmān, which was used by both to regulate their varying needs and expectations over the course of 125 years. This article explores the Company’s records of the Farmān and how changes to its terms were viewed from both sides. As a Persian document, the Farmān gives a clear view of the attitudes of native officials and rulers to the Company and how these terms were used as a means of control.     

The Agency Houses: British Mercantile Enterprise in the Far East c. 1780–1920

Abstract

This article explores the use of flax for fibre in Croatia. It concentrates on traditional flax growing and processing techniques being revived through The Flax Project. Traditional flax varieties utilised in Croatia, together with ongoing research to find the most suitable flax cultivars for the Croatian climate today, are discussed. Locally produced flax was widely used to make folk costumes and household linens. The stages of turning the processed flax fibre into linen cloth are described, including spinning, weaving, decorative techniques, bleaching, dyeing, and pleating through to its aftercare including washing, ironing, storage and related issues of conservation.