''An Essay Upon Projects'' (1697) was the first volume published by

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, merchant and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translati ...

. It begins with an introduction containing a portrait of his time as a "Projecting Age", and subsequently illustrates plans for the economic and social improvement of England, including an early proposal for a

national insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...

scheme.

Publication

The text was written in 1693 and published in 1697. The title page states that it was " inted by R. R. for Tho asCockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey. MDCXCVII." There is no known manuscript of the work. The essay was reprinted several times and reached a wide audience. The book was dedicated to Dalby Thomas.

Subsequent publications on the same theme

Many of its issues were later revised in a series of pamphlets which were published under the nom-de-plume of Andrew Moreton. They are titled '' Every-body's Business, Is No-body's Business'' (1725), '' The Protestant Monastery'' (1726), '' Parochial Tyranny'' (1727), '' Augusta Triumphans'' (1728) and '' Second Thoughts are Best'' (1729). Compared to these works, however, ''An Essay Upon Projects'' is more focused on moral criticism than being project-oriented.

A list of the chapters

*Author's Preface – to Dalby Thomas, Esq. *Author's Introduction *The History of Projects *Of Projectors *Of Banks *Of the Highways *Of Assurances *Of Friendly Societies *The Proposal is for a Pension Office *Of Wagering *Of Fools *Of Bankrupts *Of Academies *Of a Court Merchant *Of Seamen *The Conclusion

References

Bibliography

*Backscheider, P B, ''Daniel Defoe.His Life'', The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London, 1989. *“Social Projects”, Daniel Defoe. The Collection of the Lily Library, Indiana University Bloomington, 2008, retrieved 25 October 2015, *George, M D, ''London Life in the Eighteenth Century'', Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1979. * * *Novak, M E, “Last Productive Years”, ''Daniel Defoe Master of Fictions. His Life and Ideas'', Oxford University Press'', United States of America, 2001.''

External links

Daniel Defoe – The Collection of the Lily Library''An Essay Upon Projects'' by Daniel Defoe at the Internet Archive''An Essay Upon Projects'' by Daniel Defoe at Google Books''An Essay Upon Projects'' by Daniel Defoe in the Gutenberg Project
1693 non-fiction books 1697 non-fiction books 1693 in England 1693 essays 1697 in England 1697 essays 1690s in London Pamphlets Works by Daniel Defoe Books about England National Insurance {{UK-book-stub