Road-testing the first turnpikes. The enduring value of Daniel Defoe’s account of English highways

Bibliographic Data

ID10249002
AuthorsPat Rogers (0000-0002-9595-8291, University of South Florida, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume40
Issue2
Pages211-231
Publication date2019-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Transport History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-5266 • E-ISSN: 1759-3999
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0022526619828326
OpenAlexW2918379301
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited9

A famous appendix, devoted mainly to the state of English roads, appeared in the second volume of Daniel Defoe’s Tour thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–26). Though cited on countless occasions by historians over almost three centuries, the text has never been properly edited with detailed attention to its coverage of the newly emergent method of maintaining roads through the establishment of turnpike trusts. In default, this study seeks to describe major features of the account, to indicate its timeliness, and to set out the factors which enabled Defoe to provide an unrivalled picture of the communications network of his time. The appendix carries even more weight because it fills out a comprehensive survey of road conditions throughout the text, as part of the author’s overall design in the Tour. This shows the interdependence of separate regions of the country, bound together in a system centred on London

Economics · Economy · Set (abstract data type · State (computer science · Value (mathematics · American Environmental and Regional History · Computer Science · Historical Art and Culture Studies · Historical Influence and Diplomacy · History

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