Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611

  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
Charity Movements in Eighteenth-Century Ireland: Philanthropy and Improvement

Charity Movements in Eighteenth-Century Ireland: Philanthropy and Improvement

Sonnelitter, Karen

Hardcover

Series: Irish Historical Monographs, Book 16

EconomicsGeneral SociologyIrish History

ISBN10: 1783270683
ISBN13: 9781783270682
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc
Published: Jun 16 2016
Pages: 218
Weight: 1.10
Height: 0.80 Width: 6.20 Depth: 9.30
Language: English
Relates charity movements to religious impulse, Enlightenment 'improvement' and the fears of the Protestant ruling elite that growing social problems, unless addressed, would weaken their rule.

The philanthropic impulse to engage in charitable work and to encourage economic improvement was sharpened in eighteenth-century Ireland as Irish Protestants became increasingly aware of the threat that social problems, such aspoverty, disease and criminality, posed to their rule. One response to this threat was the establishment of a number of voluntary societies which sought to address the different problems plaguing Ireland. This book examines a number of these voluntary societies, including those concerned with promoting education, supporting hospitals, and improving agriculture and manufacturing. It shows how these movements differed from earlier efforts in organisation, method and aims and demonstrates the connection between religiously motivated charities, Enlightenment-inspired scientific societies and the Irish government. It pays particular attention to the role of women, both as supporters of, and objects of, charity. It argues that, together, these movements aspired to purge Ireland of what they saw as destabilising factors that weakened the Anglo-Irish state. Improvers reflected Enlightenment-era optimism about the perfectibility of society and saw themselves as serving the interests and aspirations of the nation.

Karen Sonnelitter is Assistant Professor of History at Siena College, Loudonville, New York. She completed her doctorate at Purdue University.

Also in

Irish History

View All