Award Date

5-2009

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts in History

Department

History

First Committee Member

Michelle Tusan, Chair

Second Committee Member

Gregory Brown

Third Committee Member

Elspeth Whitney

Graduate Faculty Representative

Kelly Mays

Number of Pages

211

Abstract

This thesis examines the intersection of imperialism, humanism and gender to argue that the Elizabethan period enabled imperial humanists to develop an identity for England as an empire of liberation rather than conquest. A subset of the imperial faction at Court, imperial humanists sought to reconcile activist and pragmatist agendas by marrying civic humanism with chivalry. Imperial humanists deployed this humanist chivalry--with an emphasis on temperance, wisdom, and justice--to elaborate a national mythos of pious restraint that denied avarice and oppression were inherent to extending English dominion overseas and envisioned empire as a virtuous pursuit for gentlemen. With increasing unemployment, land scarcity, and social unrest, imperial humanists feared the beginnings of a cultural devolution into barbarism that would make their island nation subject to domination by Spain. The solution imperial humanists advocated was a curriculum of humanist education among the gentry, a commitment to state service through the vita activa , a civilizing mission, and new overseas outlets for commodities, excess population, and military outposts.

Keywords

Colonization; Great Britain; History; Humanists; Imperialism--British colonies

Disciplines

European History | History | Social History

File Format

pdf

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Comments

Signatures have been redacted for privacy and security measures.

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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