Loyal Service

Loyal Service examines the service of a number of French-Canadian leaders and their contributions to the nation during times of peace, crisis, and conflict, from New France to the end of the twentieth century.

Ships, Shawls and Loyal Service details the history of three 19th century brothers, each of whom saw some success in his chosen occupation, but each quite distinct from the others in what he achieved. Inspired by the extensive family tree drawn up in the early 20th century by one of his great-uncles, David Blakely relates the stories of his three ancestors. With strong roots in rural Suffolk, the three Blakely brothers were born at the end of the 18th century into a long-established family. Their ancestors had been gentlemen farmers, but none of the brothers followed that occupation. The eldest spent a year as a midshipman in the Royal Navy and six years as an officer in the Army, before becoming involved in a rural church community in north Norfolk. The second served as an officer on East India Company ships, sailing to India and China and finally being promoted to captain. The youngest brother lived in Norwich and became a well-respected retailer and manufacturer in the textile trade. Ships, Shawls and Loyal Service is a fascinating insight into the lives of three brothers, each of whom took a very different path in life. Early history of the brothers’ family is also explored, including their grandfather’s business as proprietor of a stage-coach company in Ipswich and his acquaintance with the artist Thomas Gainsborough. This book will appeal to those interested in East Anglian life and trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Readers interested in naval and military actions in Napoleonic times and in sailing between England and the Far East will also find this a valuable account.

First Published in 2002. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Originally published in 1932, this book provides a detailed account of the Scottish Highland clan system and its relationship with the development of Jacobitism. Information is provided on different clans and their relationship with various political entities and structures. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Scottish history and the clan system.

Under the Nazi regime, Hitler's conservative views on the place of housewives and mothers in society limited German women to a much less active role in the war than their British and Allied counterparts. Nevertheless, the demands of a prolonged war did see German women in a range of uniforms as auxiliaries with the Army, Navy, Air Force and SS, particularly in the signals and air defence services. This unique book explains and illustrates these organisations and their uniforms and insignia, as well as Red Cross nurses, and auxiliaries of the Labour Corps, Customs Service, National Socialist Women's Organisation, and League of German Maidens (Hitler Youth).

In Confucianism's Prospects, Shaun O'Dwyer offers a rare critical engagement with English language scholarship on Confucianism. Against the background of historical and sociological research into the rapid modernization of East Asian societies, O'Dwyer reviews several key Confucian ethical ideas and proposals for East Asian alternatives to liberal democracy that have emerged from this scholarship. He also puts the following question to Confucian scholars: what prospects do those ideas and proposals have in East Asian societies in which liberal democracy and pluralism are well established, and individualization and declining fertility are impacting deeply upon family life? In making his case, O'Dwyer draws upon the neglected work of Japanese philosophers and intellectuals who were witnesses to Japan's pioneering East Asian modernization, and protagonists in the rise and disastrous wartime fall of its own modernized Confucianism. He contests a sometimes Sinocentric and ahistorical conception of East Asian societies as "Confucian societies," while also recognizing that Confucian traditions can contribute importantly to global philosophical dialogue, and to civic and religious life.