This course surveys a century of British history during a period in which Britain and its empire attained an unprecedented global role. This period is commonly seen as the beginning of Western modernity: the period in which the British developed what was arguably the first constitutional, non-absolutist, modern political system; experienced the first Western commercial revolution and then the first industrial revolution of the modern age; developed a modern print culture, with new departures such as the newspaper and the novel. On the other hand, it was a period of draconian legal codes, of a deep reliance on slavery as an economic system, of a sharp decline in the living experiences of working classes, and of a ruthless domination of other parts of the world. These paradoxes will shape our class discussions.