1820, Questions in the Historiography of Scottish and British Radical Consciousness
Since the late 1960s the ‘Scottish Rebellion’ of 1820 has increasingly been read in the context of nationalist and republican narratives. This context is interrogated alongside our knowledge of the growth of nineteenth-century class consciousness. Was ‘1820’ distinctively Scottish and anti-monarchical? Consideration is given as these questions are addressed to creative and documentary ‘literature’ which is often revealing alongside an often scant documentary record otherwise. Highlighted also will be a new book co-edited by the panellists: 1820: Scottish Rebellion – Essays on a 19th Century Insurrection.
Gerard Carruthers, University of Glasgow, Scotland