Bentham, Byron, and Greece: Constitutionalism, Nationalism, and Early Liberal Political Thought
F. Rosen
Abstract
This book explores the connection between Jeremy Bentham and Lord Byron forged by the Greek struggle for independence. It focuses on the activities of the London Greek Committee, supposedly founded by disciples of Bentham, which mounted the expedition on which Lord Byron ultimately met his death in Greece. This study provides a new assessment of British philhellenism, and examines the relationship between Bentham's theory of constitutional government and the emerging liberalism of the 1820s. It breaks new ground in the history of political ideas and culture in the early 19th century. It advanc ... More
This book explores the connection between Jeremy Bentham and Lord Byron forged by the Greek struggle for independence. It focuses on the activities of the London Greek Committee, supposedly founded by disciples of Bentham, which mounted the expedition on which Lord Byron ultimately met his death in Greece. This study provides a new assessment of British philhellenism, and examines the relationship between Bentham's theory of constitutional government and the emerging liberalism of the 1820s. It breaks new ground in the history of political ideas and culture in the early 19th century. It advances new interpretations, based on recently published texts and manuscript sources, of the development of constitutional theory from John Locke and Montesquieu, the conflicting strands of liberalism in the 1820s, and the response in Britain to strong claims for national self-determination in the Mediterranean basin. The book sets out to distinguish between Bentham's theory and the ideological context against which it is usually interpreted. The result is a contribution to current debates over method in the study of political ideas and to the study of the history of political thought.
Keywords:
Jeremy Bentham,
Lord Byron,
nationalism,
philhellenism,
liberalism,
constitutional theory,
John Locke,
Montesquieu,
self-determination,
Britain
Bibliographic Information
| Print publication date: 1992 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780198200789 |
| Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: October 2011 |
DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198200789.001.0001 |
