A plea for colonial reconciliation: Bishop Shipley's rhetoric of mutual self‐interest

This essay explores extrinsic and intrinsic factors of a rhetorical strategy geared to promote possible reconciliation with the American Colonies. It argues that The Rt. Rev. Jonathan Shipley, Bishop of St. Asaph, and a Spiritual Peer in the House of Lords, recognized the potential advantages of employing a rhetoric of mutual self‐interest. His widely distributed “Speech Intended to have been Spoken in 1774” actualized this strategy to influence public opinion both in England and America.