The history men. The historical profession in England since the Renaissance

This study of port cities, focusing on those on the Atlantic facade of France, argues that their economic significance cannot be understood within the canons of an insular French, or even European history. They were often case studies of the more general phenomenon of the early globalisation of Europe. In particular, navigation, fishing, trade, and colonisation, depended not only on the seas and the port but also on the agrarian hinterlands. They were often determinative of national imperial expansion. Thus, the success of exports and imports were not necessarily judged on Atlantic crossings but rather on the supply and demand of national or European economies. Commerce did not end on the seashore, in a port, or even in a contraband network, but often deep within a nation's hinterlands.     

Uncertain dimensions. Western overseas empires in the twentieth century

I consider the extent to which Fichte might be classed as a German Jacobin. I argue that if we think of the history of Jacobinism as being driven by two main forces, a concern for private rights and a concern for the public good, then Fichte might be classed as a Jacobin because his ethical and political thought combines these two concerns. I also suggest that his argument for the right of existence in the Foundations of Natural Right and his idea of ‘public’ virtue, which can be found in his main work on ethics, The System of Ethics, provide a link between his philosophy and the radical phase of the French Revolution.