This history of England in the 18th century is not a chronological narrative of ministries and wars, but a history of the development of English society; the ministries and wars, of course, have their place, but no greater a place than the economic, cultural, and social history of the time. The book is divided into three parts: the ages of Walpole, of Chatham, and of Pitt.

T.S. Ashton has sought less to cover the field of economic history in detail than to offer a commentary, with a stress on trends of development rather than on forms of organization or economic legislation. This book seeks to interpret the growth of population, agriculture, maufacture, trade and finance in eighteenth-century England. It throws light on economic fluctuations and on the changing conditions of the wage-earners. The approach is that of an economist and use is made of hitherto neglected statistics. But treatment and language are simple. The book is intended not only for the specialist but also for others who turn to the past for its own sake or for understanding the present. This book was first published in 1955.

Excerpt from A History of England in the Eighteenth Century, Vol. 3 Alliance of France and Spain. Policy of Pitt Resignation of Pitt and Temple Pitt accepts a pension for himself and a title for his wife. Conquest of Martinique and Havannah. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.