The Bernard Papers

The Bernard Papers is an international project to publish a high-quality historical documentary edition of the official correspondence of Francis Bernard, governor of colonial Massachusetts, 1760-69. Supported by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, this edition makes available in print for the first time a comprehensive selection of some of the most valuable material on the origins of the American Revolution. It comprises three volumes of c.900 transcripts, and one calendar of the entire collection. It is an enormous undertaking for a single scholar, but is a thrilling endeavour.

Bernard bequeathed an exciting historical record. The writs of assistance case, the Stamp Act riots, and the boycott of British manufactures all occurred during his watch. His correspondence in Volume 1 and 2 discusses the first stirrings of colonial radicalism. Unlike other governors, Bernard chose to confront colonial radicalism rather than acquiesce in its emergence during the Stamp Act Crisis of 1765. Bernard resorted to making what he called 'argumentative speeches,' whereby he reduced the complexities of political and constitutional arguments to a simple choice of principles, a kind of ideological blackmail where the colonists' response was measurable on a sliding scale between loyalty and disloyalty to the Crown. Volume 3 shows that Bernard regularly portrayed colonial leaders like Samuel Adams and John Hancock as seditious rebels and drafted reform plans to strengthen imperial power and authority. The colonists believed that he deliberately misrepresented political conditions in Boston in order to persuade authorities in England to dispatch regulars to support his troubled administration in 1768 -which indeed the Papers prove. Opposition to his administration as well as resistance to British colonial policies had, by 1769, begun to destabilize royal government itself. However, the papers of leading Whigs John Adams and Samuel Adams (long in print) need to be read side-by-side with Bernard's views in order to understand fully events in Massachusetts leading up to the Revolution.

Paradoxically, when recalled to England, Bernard indirectly and directly influenced the direction of colonial policymaking. His hostile reports from the mid-1760s, printed in full in Volume 3, were dusted down by Lord North's officials whilst searching for evidence of colonial transgressions that could justify a punitive American policy. Bernard had identified legal precedents for holding the town of Boston corporately liable for the Boston Tea Party demonstration of December 1773; these precedents were entrenched in the Boston Port Act which closed Massachusetts's capital to commerce in the summer of 1774. Also that year, the Massachusetts Government Act effectively tore up colonial government in the province and centralized power and authority in the governor's office by ways and means that Bernard had been discussing privately in his earlier correspondence with British ministers and officials. The Calendar traces how officials utilised Bernard's papers.

Each volume of transcripts is between 500 and 700 pages and prefaced with a long introductory essay. Extensive editorial commentaries that inform readers of the historical relevance and impact of the documents, as well as explain obscure matters. The multi-level indexes provide guidance on people, places, institutions, legislation and events, but also, importantly, enable readers to search the epistolary history of particular dialogue, or search the topics that correspondents discussed. Volume 1 (covering 1759-63) examines the dissipation of good feelings that heralded victory over the French in 1763, and growing tensions between the colonists and Britain over the enforcement trade laws; Volume 2 examines the Stamp Act Crisis (1765-66) when British imperial authority was deeply wounded; Volume 3 (1767-69)explores the critical turn in imperial relations, and the Volume 4 takes the story up to 1775.

Beneficiaries of Research.

Academics and research postgraduates in Britain and North America will be provided with an opportunity to use an accessible, high-quality scholarly edition of authoritative texts hitherto available only in manuscript.
In terms of career-development, the project is providing me with a platform for other avenues of research and investigation pertaining to the study of revolution and counter-revolution and British imperialism. Current and future projects also inform my teaching at masters level and in the supervision and training of research postgraduates.

Benefits

In the short term, publication of The Bernard Papers will immediately enhance transatlantic research into British imperialism, the American Revolution and Colonial America. It provides convenient printed sources for teachers and research scholars. Other project materials, including in the electronic control file, are already being used in research methods modules to train history RPGs. The dissemination of knowledge through the published volumes is demonstrably quicker than is current. Publication of all four volumes will allow some British scholars cost savings in both time and money of undertaking research trips to Massachusetts and to the PRO in London. The project, in short, is a tangible product of international scholarly endeavour.

In the medium term, The Bernard Papers has the potential to galvanise co-operation between British and US archives in expanding the electronic publication of historical state papers. At present no such initiative exists. Options for delivering the completed project electronically are being investigated in tandem with the project's funders, the Colonial Society of Massachusetts.

In the long term, the project's principal benefit will be to provide succeeding generations of scholars with the inestimable advantage of a reliable and accessible research resource that will be used, as one reviewer put it, for 'generations' to come.

Ensuring Benefits

Low retail sale costs and efficient distribution by the Univ. of Virginia Press ensure that the series will be taken by research libraries and university libraries in the UK and North America with collections relating to British and American history.

In order to ensure maximum knowledge transfer I am investigating options for publishing an electronic edition. At present, an internet archive may be the most suitable platform for delivery of pdf files. No costs are attendant to this preparatory process.

In the medium term, The Bernard Papers project is consistent with the research strategy of the School of History and Politics at Stirling. The project is one of several initiatives currently associated with fledgling plans to develop a research centre in Revolution and Counter-Revolution, featuring the work undertaken by a cluster including three other eighteenth-century specialists.