This thesis investigates the ways that ‘Britishness’ was engaged with in the British press during the revolutions of 1848 on the European continent. It investigates how both the reactions in the...Show moreThis thesis investigates the ways that ‘Britishness’ was engaged with in the British press during the revolutions of 1848 on the European continent. It investigates how both the reactions in the mainstream and radical press of Britain reflected their attitudes to and perception of ‘Britishness’. In addition ‘Britishness’ is considered as a concept still in development. The focus of this thesis has been The Times, The Illustrated London News, and The Northern Star between 22 February, which marked the outbreak of revolution in Paris, and 10 April, the date of the unsuccessful Chartist demonstration in London. The main body of this thesis has been divided up between the themes of Britishness as have been identified in the press, with consideration also given to the themes identified by the historiography. The sub-divisions are Order and Orderliness, which looks at how the press saw the revolutions, as well as the British people themselves, in terms of their capacity for maintaining order as well as being naturally ordered. The second theme is Reform and Revolution which investigates how the press relates these to Britishness, and the extent to which a distinction between the two was sought. The final theme is Exceptionalism and Exemplarism, which looks at to what extent Britain was seen as the exception and example to the rest of Europe. In all cases comparisons have been made between the mainstream and radical press. Overall the thesis has revealed that the radical and mainstream press had different, often contradictory and competing, views of Britishness, and used their own definition as a weapon against the other. The widespread and significant occurrences during 1848 presented a great opportunity for the development of a concept such as Britishness, and while the mainstream press increasingly saw 1848 as the other itself, the radical press appeared to try to combine Britishness with the revolutionary experience 1848.Show less
