Thomas Rodgers

I am a historian of early America and the Atlantic World, a field of interest which I pursued through my doctorate at the University of Warwick (awarded 2011). Having previously taught at Newcastle University, I joined the University of Portsmouth in 2014.

My research interests are broadly located in the political debates which shaped the processes of state formation in the American Revolution and British Atlantic World. More specifically, I am intrigued by the ways in which ideas and practices of coercion were moulded and deployed to legitimise the transition from colonial rule to republican self-government.

I am also interested in the aftermaths of the Revolution in terms of the developing political cultures in the USA, Great Britain, and British North America. My future research will explore the re-establishment of peace between the conflicting parties, attitudes to aristocracy and public service, and the connections that recreated diplomatic relations between different networks within the Atlantic World.

I currently teach a across a range of modules on the for the undergraduate BA History and BA History and Politics courses, as well as offering project supervision at postgraduate level for the Naval, Maritime and Coastal History (Distance Learning) MA.