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farming had pushed into marginal land on moor and hill-top that has since been abandoned. Agriculture, little influenced by the new methods developed in eighteenth-century
England, followed its routine of the Middle Ages. Industry was still largely domestic. In all these fundamental respects it matters little whether we are writing of 1789 or 1799. The Revolution did not materially add to or subtract from the basic resources of France, though it altered the use that was, or could be, made of them."
307:. His resultant argument was that the Revolution could not be seen as a social revolution exacerbated by economic changes (specifically the development of capitalism and by corollary, class conflict between the bourgeoisie and the nobility). Rather, argued Cobban, the French Revolution should be seen as a political revolution with social consequences.
199:
A photograph of Alfred Cobban, a complete list of his publications, and an essay on his life and work by C.V. Wedgwood, may be found in 'French
Government and Society 1500–1850: Essays in Memory of Alfred Cobban', ed. J.F. Bosher (London, The Athlone Press of the University of London, 1973), 336 pp.
243:
France was still a rural society with small farms. "Probably some 95 per cent of France's 26 millions lived in isolated farms, hamlets, villages, and small country towns. Mountain and forest still covered, as they do today, large tracts of country, though under pressure of rural over-population
238:
He believed traditional landowners and the middle class wanted access to political power. He had a predominantly negative view on the incumbent system. Cobban claimed that the quality of daily life after the
Revolution remained basically unchanged, identifying that:
215:
In 1954 Cobban used his inaugural lecture as professor of French history at
University College London to attack what he called the "social interpretation" of the French Revolution. The lecture was later published as "The Myth of the French Revolution" (1955).
251:
came later in the nineteenth century as most cities retained a majority of small workshops and artisans' small enterprises (often employing around four people) rather than large-scale production facilities (factories), although the latter were found in
504:"Cobban, Professor Alfred, (1901–1 April 1968), Professor of French History, University College, University of London, since 1953; Head of History Department, 1961–66; Editor of History"
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Cobban's views and works in the macrocosm were to be the inspiration and birthplace of the historical school now known as "Revisionism" or "Liberalism". Along with
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did not advance far, with women still considered the 'lesser' sex as they lost the rights gained during the
Revolution under the reign of
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783:
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303:, Cobban vehemently attacked the traditional Marxist conception of the past within Marx's dialectic, particularly in his work
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still retained political and economic leadership and dominance under the collective title with the bourgeois as 'Notables'.
818:
219:
Cobban and Furet believed that the
Revolution did little to change French society, in direct opposition to the orthodox
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668:
Cavanaugh, Gerald J. (1972). "The
Present State of French Revolutionary Historiography: Alfred Cobban and beyond,"
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and sold Church properties. Cobban also notes that French society still had a significant amount of
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Cox, Marvin R. (2001). "Furet, Cobban and Marx: The
Revision of the 'Orthodoxy' Revisited,"
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Ambassadors and Secret Agents: The
Diplomacy of the First Earl of Malmesbury at the Hague
117:(24 May 1901 – 1 April 1968) was an English historian and Professor of French History at
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The essays in this volume were all written by his students, except one by his friend,
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and the transition from feudalism to capitalism, making it a symbol of progress.
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Cobban claimed that the urban poor fared worse than before as they lost the
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In Search of
Humanity: The Role of the Enlightenment in Modern History
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739:
Behrens, C. B. A. (1966). "Professor Cobban and his Critics",
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1954 — "The history of Vichy France," in Arnold Toynbee, ed.,
635:(Third ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 100.
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for research in France and was a visiting professor at the
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The Eighteenth Century: Europe in the Age of Enlightenment
468:. Cambridge University Press (with Robert Arthur Smith).
434:
From the First Empire to the Second Empire, 1799–1871.
408:
From the First Empire to the Second Empire, 1799–1871.
223:
school, which saw the Revolution as the rise of the
153:, he was a lecturer in history at King's College in
121:, London, who along with prominent French historian
565:"Cobban, Alfred Bert Carter (1901–1968), historian"
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Burke and the Revolt Against the Eighteenth Century
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712:The Social Interpretation of the French Revolution
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459:The Social Interpretation of the French Revolution
354:Historians and the Causes of the French Revolution
305:The Social Interpretation of the French Revolution
260:and coal mining and employed 4000 in these trades.
751:Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing
657:A History of Modern France, Volume 2: 1799–1945.
547:A History of Modern France, Volume 1: 1715–1799.
345:The Nation State and National Self-Determination
180:magazine, Cobban also published articles in the
814:Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
361:The Debate on the French Revolution, 1789–1800
427:The Old Regime and the Revolution, 1715–1799.
196:and other historical and political journals.
8:
574:(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
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659:Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books Inc., 1961.
549:Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books Inc., 1961.
327:. London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd.
320:. London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd.
809:People educated at Latymer Upper School
784:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
571:Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
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207:Cobban died in London on 1 April 1968.
141:Born in London, Cobban was educated at
758:The Blackwell Dictionary of Historians
401:Old Regime and Revolution, 1715–1799.
356:. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
147:Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
78:Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
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332:Dictatorship, its History and Theory
824:Historians of the French Revolution
516:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u52519
441:France of the Republics, 1871–1958.
466:The Correspondence of Edmund Burke
256:, for example. This was a town of
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685:The Myth of the French Revolution
682:Cobban, Alfred (1 January 1955).
382:The Myth of the French Revolution
272:. This occurred in 1791 when the
839:20th-century French male writers
760:. New York: Blackwell Reference.
631:Price, Roger (6 February 2014).
473:Aspects of the French Revolution
347:. London: Fontana/Collins, 1969.
834:French male non-fiction writers
753:, 2 vol., Taylor & Francis.
829:20th-century French historians
715:. Cambridge University Press.
709:Cobban, Alfred (27 May 1999).
149:. Before his professorship at
1:
688:. Folcroft Library Editions.
672:, Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 587–606.
475:. New York: George Braziller.
461:. Cambridge University Press.
410:Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1957.
403:Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1957.
325:Rousseau and the Modern State
274:National Constituent Assembly
16:English historian (1901–1968)
621:, Vol. 27, No. 1, pp. 49–77.
605:UK public library membership
482:. London: Thames and Hudson.
443:London: Jonathan Cape, 1965.
436:London: Jonathan Cape, 1963.
429:London: Jonathan Cape, 1962.
384:. Folcroft Library Editions.
633:A Concise History of France
508:WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO
341:. Oxford University Press.
339:National Self-Determination
189:Political Science Quarterly
855:
756:Cannon, John, ed. (1988).
389:A History of Modern France
377:. Oxford University Press.
749:Boyd, Kelly, ed. (1999).
670:French Historical Studies
183:English Historical Review
151:University College London
115:Alfred Bert Carter Cobban
108:
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35:Alfred Bert Carter Cobban
454:. London: Jonathan Cape.
370:. London: Jonathan Cape.
363:. London: Nicholas Kaye.
334:. London: Jonathan Cape.
619:Historical Reflections
580:10.1093/ref:odnb/56344
562:Hufton, Olwen (2004).
422:in the United States)
211:Classical liberal view
163:Rockefeller Fellowship
270:Roman Catholic Church
249:Industrial Revolution
194:International Affairs
167:University of Chicago
819:Historians of France
159:Newcastle University
143:Latymer Upper School
103:Classical liberalism
99:School or tradition
67:Academic background
741:Historical Journal
171:Harvard University
119:University College
642:978-1-107-01782-5
603:(Subscription or
589:978-0-19-861412-8
525:978-0-19-954089-1
282:social inequality
155:Newcastle-on-Tyne
131:French Revolution
127:classical liberal
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52:1 April 1968
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804:1968 deaths
799:1901 births
531:15 February
247:The French
229:proletariat
225:bourgeoisie
202:George Rudé
38:24 May 1901
793:Categories
607:required.)
487:References
439:Volume 3:
432:Volume 2:
425:Volume 1:
406:Volume 2:
399:Volume 1:
294:Napoleon I
284:, as many
84:Influences
73:Alma mater
56:Kensington
775:Who's Who
746:, 236–40.
418:edition (
137:Biography
510:. 2007.
396:edition
233:nobility
782:at the
595:4 March
478:1969 —
471:1968 —
464:1967 —
457:1964 —
450:1960 —
394:Penguin
366:1954 —
359:1950 —
352:1946 —
337:1945 —
330:1939 —
323:1934 —
316:1929 —
266:charity
221:Marxist
178:History
42:Chelsea
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380:1955 —
286:nobles
186:, the
278:tithe
254:Anzin
717:ISBN
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597:2021
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520:ISBN
227:and
169:and
145:and
49:Died
31:Born
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