Faculty Research Seminar – Experiments with Suppression: The Evolution of Repressive Legality in Britain in the Revolutionary Period by Prof. Christopher Roberts

The article on which this talk is based is concerned with the structure of repressive governance, and the manner in which it has evolved historically. It examines this theme through an exploration of the manner in which repressive laws and institutions evolved in Britain over the course of the late eighteenth century. In particular, it explores the various measures the authorities in Britain at the time utilized and relied upon in order to confront a growing wave of calls for social and political reforms. These included a policy of aggressive prosecutions of dissidents; the creation of new institutions, such as the Home Office, designed to enhance the powers of the central authorities; extra-legal measures, such as the creation of loyalist associations which attempted to intimidate and attack revolutionaries; and the passage of a series of new laws, aimed at closing off the space for freedom of association, assembly and expression. These measures were not implemented unopposed; amongst other things, the period was marked by the evolution of a powerful tradition of defense lawyering, thanks to the efforts of the gifted Thomas Erskine in particular. Ultimately, however, when these four different sets of repressive measures were woven together, they proved too much for progressives to handle, choking off and driving the reform movement underground, at least for a time. Along the way, the government put in place a legal and institutional template for repression the effects of which continue to be felt to the present day.

About the speaker: Prof. Christopher Roberts