Peculiar Genius

The chapter draws attention to the Anti-French sentiment in Britain that reached a fever pitch in 1756 when the two nations embarked on the Seven Years' War. It narrates how the Association of Anti-Gallicans, the Royal Society of Arts' predecessors, reacted to the declaration of war by seizing a couple of French ships and rescuing a handful of its English prisoners. It also describes how the Society used its premiums in order to secure essential materials for the waging of war, which often complemented the efforts of the government. The chapter identifies the members of the Society that were in close proximity to the centers of power and connected with the growing British state as officials and politicians or as merchants and manufacturers. It also mentions Stephen Hales, who suggested that naval improvements should be one of the Society's priorities.