The long decade from 1678 to 1690 was one of the most
turbulent in the history of early modern England. In this
thesis the politics of the period is re-evaluated with the
help of source material deriving specifically from Yorkshire. Its primary focus is the complex relationship between central government and its agents on the one hand and a wide range of local administrators, activists and commentators on the other.
The thesis employs a broadly chronological (as opposed to a
thematic) framework, and places particular emphasis on three
structural devices - a close analysis of the workings of
central and local institutions of all kinds; potted
biographies of hundreds of men, many of them relatively
modest; together with a strong grounding in the national
politics of the day. As well as using public records held in
the great London repositories, it draws widely on material
produced by the municipal corporations, the ridings and other political institutions in Yorkshire, without overlooking less formal documentation such as letters and diaries. Much of the local material has never been used before. Indeed some of it is identified here for the first time.
A great many events, half-known and unknown, have been
disinterred while researching the thesis. Some of them had a
national and not just a local resonance, and these have been
picked out for closer scrutiny. As a result, a number of
historical orthodoxies have been challenged and reassessed.
There is, for example, a radical (and much more positive)
reappraisal of James II's longer-term prospects. Several
unexamined assumptions have also been disposed of - for
instance, that parliamentary boroughs were by definition
chartered boroughs. But most important of all, this is the
first fullscale study of the national politics of the period
to be written from a regional standpoint. As such, it makes a distinct contribution to the historiography of late
seventeenth century England.