L'Angleterre de 1540 à 1880 : pays de noblesse ouverte ? - article ; n°1 ; vol.40, pg 71-94

Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations - Année 1985 - Volume 40 - Numéro 1 - Pages 71-94
An Open Elite? 1540-1880
This article sets out to test the traditional view that for centuries English landed society has been unique in Europe for its openness to infiltration by new families enriched by trade, banking or industry. Far-reaching consequences, from the avoidance of bloody revolution to the pioneering success of England's industrialization, and even its relative economic decline since 1880, have been held to follow from this one distinctive characteristic. This article uses quantitative methods to test this hypothesis for the centuries between 1540 and 1880, and finds it largely false. Finally, the article suggests how this radical new assessment of elite mobility affects current paradigms of English historiography.
24 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.