Individuals

The 1790s in Britain produced large amounts of radical pamphlets and books, many of which still survive. The following are just a small selection from some of the writers and theorists of the time.

Thomas Paine

The thinker who inspired the radical political activism of the 1790s in Britain (separate archive).

John Thelwall

Prolific speaker and writer of the London Corresponding Society.

Thomas Addis Emmet

Leading figure in the United Irishmen involved in planning for the uprising, who eventually became Attorney General for New York.

Joseph Gerrald

Member of the London Corresponding Society and delegate to the British Convention. Deported to Australia, where he died.

Thomas Spence

Utopian and materialist critic of the purely political movement.

Andrew Larcher

Silk weaver, and early theorist of unionization.