Abstract
Self-government is at the heart of town identity. The nature of that government is a critical part of what gives a town its particular identity in terms of the extent of the authority, who had the power to make decisions and what was the main purpose to which they put their power. These factors are critical to understanding the role of a town. The form of such government was changing between 1500 and 1700. The appearance of a highly independent oligarchy in larger boroughs had been identified as one of the ‘most notable features’ of English urban history in the period. It was the independence of the town elite and their ability to carry their town with them which made them a force to be reckoned with in politics and, during the Civil War, in many towns the problem was that the natural elite were unwilling to serve in such a capacity.1
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Notes
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© 1996 Sybil M. Jack
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Jack, S.M. (1996). Controlling Towns; Town Self-Government. In: Towns in Tudor and Stuart Britain. Social History in Perspective. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24956-5_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24956-5_5
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