For Church, Crown and Empire

Abstract

When property became the basis for political representation in nineteenth-century Britain, its role in the conferment of the franchise was already being challenged by a new concept of citizenship originated in the ‘enlightenment’ of the eighteenth century: that all people born and residing within the boundaries of a state are citizens of that state, with citizenship rights and duties. The scope, privileges and obligations of citizenship were endlessly debated. In particular, were women citizens¹ and should the franchise be considered a right of citizenship? Philosophically, it was difficult (though not impossible) not to answer both questions affirmatively.