Bare-Knuckle Britons and Fighting Irish

Boxing, Race, Religion and Nationality in the 18th and 19th Centuries

Adam Chill (Autor)

Buch | Softcover

248 Seiten

2017
McFarland & Co Inc (Verlag)
978-1-4766-6330-2 (ISBN)

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Shows how boxers, journalists, politicians, publicans, and others used national, ethnic, religious, and racial identities to promote boxing. Even as many of them championed the sport's pure English pedigree, Irish, Jewish, and black boxers claimed a prominent place for themselves. Far from the unblemished Englishness that some supporters imagined, boxing put the diversity on display.

Boxing was phenomenally popular in 18th and 19th century Britain. Aristocrats attended matches and patronized boxers, and the most important fights drew tens of thousands of spectators. Promoters of the sport claimed that it showcased the timeless and authentic ideal of English manhood--a rock of stability in changing times. Yet many of the best fighters of the era were Irish, Jewish or black.

This history focuses on how boxers, journalists, politicians, pub owners and others used national, religious and racial identities to promote pugilism and its pure English pedigree, even as ethnic minorities won distinction in the sport, putting the diversity of the Empire on display.

Adam Chill is a former Professor of History and Coordinator of Global Studies at Castleton University. He lives in Greenland, New Hampshire.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

One. Blood Sport, Identity and the Making of Bare-Knuckle Prizefighting, c. 1660–1770

Two. Britishness, Minorities and the Revival of Prizefighting, 1770–1790

Three. Sport as Symbol: Prizefighting in the Age of the French Revolution, 1790–1802

Four. National Spirit, Minorities and Prizefighting During the War with Napoleon, 1803–1812

Five. The Rise of “Boxing’s Professionals”: Journalists and Boxers in the Postwar Years, 1812–1823

Six. The Career of Jack Langan, Ethnic Entrepreneur

Seven. Emphasizing Englishness in the Age of Reform, 1825–1833

Eight. The Spread and Transformation of Bare-Knuckle Boxing in the Victorian World, 1834–1867

Conclusion

Chapter Notes

Bibliography

Index

Erscheinungsdatum	22.10.2017
Zusatzinfo	25 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Verlagsort	Jefferson, NC
Sprache	englisch
Maße	152 x 229 mm
Gewicht	318 g
Themenwelt	Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Sport ► Kampfsport / Selbstverteidigung
ISBN-10	1-4766-6330-0 / 1476663300
ISBN-13	978-1-4766-6330-2 / 9781476663302
Zustand	Neuware