An Expansive Subjecthood in Eighteenth-Century British North America: The Life and Perspectives of Sir Guy Carleton

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  • February 26, 2019
Creator
  • Hunter, Lacey
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History
Abstract
  • This thesis examines subjecthood in British North America during the late eighteenth century through the lens of how a British official, Sir Guy Carleton, incorporated new subjects into the British Empire. The ‘new subjects’ discussed in my paper are French-Canadians, Indians, and ex-slaves. Through examining the course of Carleton’s life, this paper argues that his efforts to smoothly bring new subjects into the empire stemmed from his background within the British imperial system, particularly the military and public office. He believed that imperial control and the king’s protection was in everyone’s best interest and that obedient and content subjects were essential to the continuity of the growing empire. The era’s tendency of ethnocentricity clashed with the reality of an increasingly heterogeneous empire. Carleton’s professionalizing approach to his responsibilities in both the military and public office, however, affirmed Britain’s increasingly legally inclusive notions of subjecthood. His beliefs were particularly evident when he decisively acted to ensure the safety and evacuation of over 3,000 black loyalists, many of whom had been enslaved, out of the newly independent American colonies in 1783. Utilizing primary documents written both to and from Carleton, as well as other contemporary correspondence and works, this paper concludes that Carleton believed applying the law to all of His Majesty’s loyal subjects, of whatever race or ethnicity, would ensure a prosperous empire.
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  • In Copyright
Note
  • Funding: OUR Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship
Advisor
  • Lee, Wayne
Degree
  • Bachelor of Arts
Academic concentration
  • History
Honors level
  • Honors
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation year
  • 2018
Language
  • English

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