Vivid and magisterial, The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen reconfigures the rise of a modern world through the advent and spread of written constitutions. Historian Linda Colley traces the global history of written constitutions from the 1750s onward, uncovering connections between constitutional making and warfare. She recovers neglected sites like Corsica's pioneering 1755 constitution and Pitcairn Island, the first place to permanently enfranchise women, while highlighting unexpected players such as Catherine the Great.

Colley shows how constitutions crossed boundaries, spreading across six continents by 1918, yet frequently marginalized indigenous peoples and excluded women and people of color. She also explores how Tunisia, Sierra Leone, and Japan adapted constitutionalism to resist Western power. Vividly written with 80 black-and-white illustrations, this absorbing work retells the story of constitutional government and what it means to be modern.