Even before the Philosophical Enquiry was published, Burke had turned to
other subjects. During the summer of 1756, he collaborated with Will Burke
on an Account of the European Settlements in America. In February
1757, he signed a contract for a short "'History of England'", of which he
wrote about a third before abandoning the project. Burke lived in an age
before specialization. Even so, the ease with which he moved from psychol-
ogy to history and political economy proves him a 'true Genius' in
Johnson's definition: 'a mind of large general powers, accidentally deter-
mined to some particular direction'. ¹ All three projects, however, can be
regarded as 'philosophical' as Burke understood the term, for each contrib-
uted to an understanding of human nature. 'History', in his old antagonist
Bolingbroke's aphorism, 'is philosophy teaching by examples.' ² The Ac-
count, the 'History', and the Enquiry are all philosophical in this sense.

The inconclusive Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle of 1748, while ending overt
hostilities between the European powers, left several long-standing con-
flicts unresolved. Britain and France still contended for colonial supremacy:
in India, in the West Indies, and in North America. In 1755, this endemic
rivalry erupted into violence when a French force ambushed the British
troops under General Braddock ( 1695-1755), whose own object was to
attack Fort Duquesne. In May 1756, hostilities began in Europe, and a
global conflict appeared imminent. An Account of the European Settlements
in America was therefore a topical book, written to capitalize upon the
increased public interest in the colonies that followed the outbreak of
war. The Dodsleys paid £50 for the copyright. ³ Anxious to publish the
book before the end of the parliamentary session, after which London
would rapidly empty, they rushed it into print. ⁴ The two octavo volumes

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