British History: The Exploding Galaxy1

AbstractThe exploding galaxy of publications on eighteenth‐century British history is dazzling but distinctly diffuse, with thousands of relevant studies appearing annually. Three main trends are highlighted here. One is the multiplication of specialist research fields, from political history to the recent boom field of cultural history. A second trend is the magnificent enrichment of resources via the digitisation of individual‐level documentation, in which eighteenth‐century history is a noted pioneer. The third trend is the continuing quest to establish or re‐establish the big picture, putting the British eighteenth century into long‐term global narratives, stretching well before 1700 and beyond 1800.