Global 1776: Imperial Worlds in Upheaval

The American Revolution is often told as a national story. Yet it was also part of a series of world events which culminated in a global age of imperial crisis lasting from the 1760s through the 1820s. That crisis was simultaneously intellectual, cultural, political, social, and economic. In some places, established empires lost power. In others, new empires took shape. In the Americas, Asia, Europe, and elsewhere local forces demanded change. Was the American Revolution paradigmatic? Did the age of global imperial crisis have a center?

The University of Chicago, the University of Hong Kong and the David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society will hold a conference at the University of Hong Kong on 12-14 March 2026 on the theme, “Global 1776.” We invite contributions on any aspect of this age of imperial crisis. Scholars may propose papers or panels, with a range of methodologies and themes. We are especially interested in work that focuses on peoples and places that have received less attention from scholars of the Revolutionary era, especially Asia, India, West Africa, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Ireland, the Caribbean, and Latin America. Work that crosses imperial and historiographic boundaries and uses comparisons or connections to put the American Revolution in broader dialogue is especially welcome. 

Learn more about the Call for Papers for this conference here. 

Registration information for this event will be provided closer to the conference dates.