Abstract

Anglo-French colonial rivalry marks the writings of the late 18th century, calling for a comparative examination of discourses and debates from each national frame. Yet many studies take one national context into their purview and lose sight of the very different way in which the same problems of the legitimacy of colonization and settlement were resolved in another. The introduction therefore sets a historical context for the literary and theoretical interpretations which follow in later chapters. The period examined is delimited to broadly the last three decades of the eighteenth century, although even this era is affected by the French and Indian War in North America and the Seven Years' War in Europe (1754-1763) which placed the importance of colonial territories at the center of dispute. The give and take of an imperial calculus marks the writings from Diderot and Burke examined in the book, who critically examine the undertakings of the various European trading companies established around the globe. The introduction thus provides a historical sketch of the companies (the British and French East India Companies) and the emerging critique of the legitimacy of these enterprises of trade and conquest.

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