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Quote by Linda Colley

“At one level Great Britain at the beginning of the 18th century was like the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, both three and one, and altogether something of a mystery.”

Quote by Linda Colley

Author

Linda Colley is a prominent historian specializing in British history, with a particular focus on the history of the British Empire. Born on September 13, 1949, she has made significant contributions to the field with her insightful analyses and scholarly writings. more

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“From the 15th century to 1688, England and Wales, like Scotland, had been peripheral kingdoms in the European power game, more often at war with each other that with Continental powers, and - except under Oliver Cromwell - scarcely very successful on those occasions when they did engage the Dutch, or the French, or the Spanish.”

War Games Successful Century England Kingdoms Occasions Scotland Dutch Wales British History Continental Cromwell

Book:Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

Source: Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

“A fundamental reason why Britain was not torn apart by civil war after 1688 was that its inhabitants' aggression was channelled so regularly and so remorsely into war and imperial expansion abroad.”

War Reason Fundamentals Reason Why Civil War Britain Aggression Expansion Torn British History Torn Apart

Book:Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

Source: Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

“Jacobitism involved much more than a debate about the merits of a particular dynasty. Men and women were well aware that its success was almost certain to involved them in civil war. And the more politically educated knew that the Stuart Pretender was a pawn in a worldwide struggle for commercial and imperial primacy between Britain and France.”

Men Wells War Certain Struggle Particular Involved Men And Women Debate Educated France Merit Civil War Britain Pawns British History Dynasty Primacy Pretender

Book:Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

Source: Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

“When it comes to exploring the mind in the framework of cognitive neuroscience, the maximal yield of data comes from integrating what a person experiences - the first person - with what the measurements show - the third person.”

Mind Firsts Persons Shows Thirds Data Yield Exploring Neuroscience Framework Measurement First Person Integrating Cognitive Third Person

Author:Daniel Goleman

“The pre-war empire had been sufficiently informal and sufficiently cheap for Parliament to claim authority over it without having to concern itself too much about what this authority entailed. The post-war empire necessitated a much greater investment in administrative machinery and military force. This build-up of control had to be paid for, either by British taxpayers or by their colonists.”

“In the last quarter of the 20th century, Britons have been understandably obsessed with the problem of having too little power in the world. In the third quarter of the 18th century, by contrast, their forebears were perplexed by the problem of having acquired too much power too quickly over too many people.”

People World Littles Has Beens Problem Lasts Too Much Century Thirds Obsessed Quarters Contrast 20th Century British History 18th Century Perplexed Britons Too Much Power

Author:Linda Colley

“I was born a Scotsman and a bare one. Therefore I was born to fight my way in the world.”

World Way Fighting Born My Way British History Scotsmen

Author:Walter Scott

“A British imperium enabled Scots to feel themselves peers of the Ebglish in a way still denied them in an island kingdom. The language bears that out very clearly. The English and the foreign are still all too inclined to refer to the island of Great Britain as 'England'. But at no time have they ever customarily referred to an English empire.”

Way Feels Stills Language Bears England British Kingdoms Islands Britain Empires Denied Peers Great Britain British History Scots

Author:Linda Colley

“Can it be entirely accidental that the most famous fictional spy of them all, James Bond, Number 007, deadly marksman, intriguer, the ultimate man behind the curtain, sexual athlete and ruthless patriot, is also a Scot, as was the author, whose wish-fulfilment he was?”

Men Wish Numbers Behinds Ultimate Athlete Patriot Curtains Spy Ruthless Fulfilment British History Scots Marksman

Book:Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

Source: Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837

“In the past, the British had signally failed to build an effective structure of royal authority and administration in their American colonies. As a result, no possibility existed of soothing and winning over influential and talented Americans, in the way that influential and talented Scotsmen were increasingly being won over, by giving them increased access to state employment.”

Source: Britons: Forging the Nation, 1707-1837