An Essay Upon Projects

An Essay Upon Projects
Author	Daniel Defoe
Language	English
Publisher	Printed by R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey
Publication date	1697
Publication place	London, England
Media type	Print
Pages	xiv; 336
OCLC	6978589

Last updated September 24, 2025

An Essay Upon Projects (1697)^[1] was the first volume published by Daniel Defoe.^[2] It begins with an introduction containing a portrait of his time as a "Projecting Age",^[3] and subsequently illustrates plans for the economic and social improvement of England,^[4] including an early proposal for a national insurance scheme.

Publication

The text was written in 1693 and published in 1697. The title page states that it was "[p]rinted by R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, 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.^[5]^: 105 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.^[2] 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).^[2] Compared to these works, however, An Essay Upon Projects is more focused on moral criticism than being project-oriented.^[6]

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

↑ Daniel Defoe (1697). An Essay Upon Projects. London: Printed by R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey. OCLC 6978589.
1 2 3 P. B., Backscheider (1989). Daniel Defoe.His Life. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 517.
↑ Defoe, p. 1.
↑ "Social Projects". Indiana.edu. Indiana University Bloomington. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
↑ Zekonyte, Kristina (2018). Projectors in seventeenth-century England and their relevance to the field of project management — The University of Brighton. Brighton: University of Brighton.
↑ M E, Novak (2001). Daniel Defoe. Master of Fictions. United States of America: Oxford University Press. p. 680.

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, <http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/defoe/projects.html>
George, M D, London Life in the Eighteenth Century, Penguin Books, Great Britain, 1979.
Maldonado, Tomás (2002). "Defoe and the 'Projecting Age'". Design Issues. 18 (1): 78–85. doi:10.1162/07479360252756313. JSTOR 1512032. S2CID 57567525.
Moore, John Robert (1971). "Defoe's Persona as Author: The Quaker's Sermon". SEL: Studies in English Literature 1500–1900. 11 (3): 507–516. doi:10.2307/449910. JSTOR 449910.
Novak, M E, “Last Productive Years”, Daniel Defoe Master of Fictions. His Life and Ideas, Oxford University Press, United States of America, 2001.

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[1] Daniel Defoe (1697). An Essay Upon Projects. London: Printed by R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, at the Three Legs in the Poultrey. OCLC 6978589.

[Back-2] 1 2 3 P. B., Backscheider (1989). Daniel Defoe.His Life. Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 517.

[3] Defoe, p. 1.

[4] "Social Projects". Indiana.edu. Indiana University Bloomington. 2008. Retrieved 10 September 2015.

[Zekonyte-5] Zekonyte, Kristina (2018). Projectors in seventeenth-century England and their relevance to the field of project management — The University of Brighton. Brighton: University of Brighton.

[6] M E, Novak (2001). Daniel Defoe. Master of Fictions. United States of America: Oxford University Press. p. 680.

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