The Political Anatomy of Ireland was written by William Petty in 1671-1672 and published in 1691. In this treatise, Petty made an overall survey of Ireland’s economy and population based on statistical evidence and put forward a series of proposals aimed at “improving” the country’s agriculture and trade, reforming its political institutions and securing the Protestant interest.
The Political Anatomy was written during Petty’s second long stay in Ireland. Edward Chamberlayne (1616-1703), author of the Present State of England (1669), had appealed to him for material on Ireland while working on a new edition of his book, and this may have prompted Petty to write his own …
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Citation: Reungoat, Sabine. "Political Anatomy of Ireland". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 December 2020 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=39167, accessed 26 November 2024.]