Political Magic British Fictions of Savagery and Sovereignty, 1650-1750
Political Magic British Fictions of Savagery and Sovereignty, 1650-1750
- ISBN 13:
9780823256914
- ISBN 10:
082325691X
- Format: Hardcover
- Copyright: 06/05/2014
- Publisher: Fordham University Press
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Summary
At the heart of many texts are moments of savage wonder, provoked by European displays of technological prowess. In particular, the trope of the first gunshot articulates an origin of consent and political legitimacy in colonial showmanship. Yet as manifestations of force held in abeyance, these technologies also signal the ultimate reliance of sovereigns on extreme violence as the lessthan-mystical foundation of their authority.
By examining works by Cavendish, Defoe, Behn, Swift, and Haywood in conjunction with contemporary political writing and travelogues, Political Magic locates a subterranean discourse of sovereignty in the century after Hobbes, finding surprising affinities between the government of "savages" and of Britons.