DOCSLIB.ORG

Pamphlets and Newsbooks of the English Civil War

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Pamphlets and Newsbooks of the English Civil War ‘The Summe of all Intelligence’ PAMPHLETS AND NEWSBOOKS OF THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR by Caitlin Stone mong the books of cases and contract law in the AUniversity of Melbourne’s Law Rare Book Collection is a series of British pamphlets and other publications dating from the English Civil War (1625–1649). These include acts of parliament, speeches, Title page of the sermons and at least one ‘newsbook’ Figure 1: pamphlet, Truth and Peace or early newspaper. This article by ‘a Honestly Pleaded …, gives an overview of this component true lover of God and King of the Law collection and points to Charles’, 1642. some of its more significant items. Pamphlets Pamphlets are small works of fewer than 50 pages. They typically deal with contentious subjects and so were often published anonymously. Pamphlets in the Law collection, for example, are attributed simply to ‘a Friend and servant’ or ‘a true lover of God and King Charles’ (see Newsbooks examined by government censors.1 figure 1). Pamphlet culture exploded The act temporarily saw the Pamphlets evolved into newsbooks, in England in the 1640s when suppression of the ‘gutter press’ in the forerunners of newspapers. The political unrest excited the public favour of official, pro-government first English newsbook was appetite for news, and an easing of newsbooks. One positive published in November 1641 and censorship laws gave writers and consequence of this censorship was was simply a record of parliamentary printers the freedom to spread it. the raising of standards in news proceedings. Later newsbooks, collecting and printing, as evidenced Yet, while their subject matter however, were more gossipy and in the newsbook was topical, it was as a consequence even scurrilous. Indeed charges of Mercurius Politicus (discussed further on page 13). often transient; pamphlets were libel were regularly brought against meant to be read now and thrown the editors and printers of early Although newsbooks are away. As a result, most 17th century newsbooks. The more sensational of essentially quarto pamphlets, they pamphlets were written in a rush these publications were put to an end differ from other pamphlets in a and printed in haste on cheap paper by the number of ways. Firstly, and perhaps Act Against Unlicensed and hoarded by printers especially for of 1649, which most importantly, they were serials. Scandalous Books this purpose. required all newsbooks to be Although few of the earliest UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE LIBRARY JOURNAL • 2005 11 newsbooks were numbered, printers and editors soon realised the marketing benefits of adding numbers to the front pages of their publications. Numbers gave the promise of a further issue and encouraged 17th Title page of the Figure 2: century ‘news junkies’ to watch out pamphlet, for the latest issue of their favourite His Highnes Speech to the Parliament in read. Newsbooks also differ from by the Painted Chamber …, pamphlets in their layout. In Oliver Cromwell, 1655. pamphlets, the verso of the title page was left blank; but in 1642, the printers of newsbooks began printing on this page too, so gaining much-needed printing space. Pamphlets also generally had a full title page (see figure 2), whereas on newsbooks the title was reduced to a small section at the top of the first page (see figure 3).2 Pamphlets and newsbooks in the Law and and the rest of the Rare Book Collection His Majesties Answer to the Murther, Theft, deadly Sins’.6 Declaration of Both Houses of The Law Rare Book Collection Parliament, Concerning the includes approximately 30 Commission of Array of the 1 of Iuly, Leopards’ wombs (printed by Robert Barker in pamphlets and newsbooks of the 1642 and elephants’ teeth 17th century, the earliest dating from York, again in 1642). Other items are less directly relevant 1642. Most are remarkably well Oliver Cromwell is also to the events of the Civil War, but preserved, with few traces of represented in the collection in his readers, such as notes or nonetheless provide some fascinating speech of 22 January 1654, underlining. One of the rarest items His glimpses into the economic and in the collection is a 1649 pamphlet Highnes Speech to the Parliament in social life of 17th century England. titled the Painted Chamber, at their A Serious and Faithfull (Edinburgh, London, One of these details the plans for Dissolution Representation of the Judgements of 1655) (shown in figure 2). Cromwell the wedding of Charles I’s sister Ministers of Gospell within the gave this speech on the dissolution of Elizabeth.7 It records the amounts 3 This is one of Province of London. the parliament before he created the spent on extravagances and a series of 17th century pamphlets first protectorate parliament. Another entertainments, such as ‘apparrell written by English Presbyterians in Cromwell-related item is a 1727 and like necessaries for the Lady opposition to the government. There reprint of a pamphlet originally Elizabeth’ (£1829); ‘Jewells for her, is only one other known copy of this printed in 1649 — and for apparrell for her servants’ pamphlet, in the Bodleian Library at A Hue and Cry (£3914); ‘Silks and other the University of Oxford.4 After Cromwell, or the City’s necessaries’ (£995), ‘To the Lamentation for the Loss of their The collection also includes two (London, Treasuror of Navie for the Navall Coin and Conscience pamphlets published by King Printed for A. Moore near St Paul’s, fight performed on the Thames, at Charles I to gain support for his 1727) presents an image of the marriage’ (£4800); and ‘For the attempt to raise troops against Cromwell as a horned and fiery-eyed Fireworks of the Thames’ (£2880). parliament by taking control of local ‘beast’ who ‘hath defy’d his God, The whole sum of these militia.5 The pamphlets are, murthered his King, and ruin’d his ‘Extraordinary Disbursments’ was The Country; undone Thousands, is ‘£296,8970’ (sic). Another item, Case of the Commission of Array (printed in London in 1642) Religious in nothing but Stated Regicide, An Additional Act for the Better 12 UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE LIBRARY JOURNAL • 2005 features of 21st century newspapers. Early issues included forthright editorials, and there are headlines and clearly defined articles, although the latter are divided geographically rather than according to their subject matter. Front page of Figure 3: also the newsbook, Mercurius Politicus Mercurius resembles our newspapers in the 1652. Politicus, breadth of its subject matter. The Law Rare Book Collection’s copy includes both ‘human interest’ stories and news that is more serious. The front page article, for example, tells the story of a farmer who was ‘so harsh and rigid toward the poor’ that a group of the ‘meaner sort’ in the town determined to punish him. The story continues: They attempted him one night, and could not doe their work, but the next night they did it, routing him and his Protectors. He himself made an escape in its predecessors — in part as a result Improvement and Advancing the this shirt: (His name is Crow) of the Act of 1649 that regulated Receipts of the Excise and New- and run and hid himself in a details the pamphlet printing — but this did Impost at the Parliament, Tub of Feathers, but all would taxes to be paid for products as not affect its popularity. Nedham not save him; they got him into varied as treacle, ‘Trumpets for sold papers by supplying news that their hands, and (contrary to Children’, ‘otter skins, leopards’ was reliable, even if it was coloured his expectation) gave him fair wombs and elephants’ teeth’.8 by republican propaganda. Indeed Quarter. The Conclusion of all was, that having made him Nedham’s admitted aim was to Bible … swear on the they write ‘in defence of the Common- Mercurius Politicus dismissed him without wounds, wealth’ and help the people of but half frighted out of his The collection includes a copy of the 11 England ‘to learn to be true wits. early newsbook 10 Mercurius Politicus: Commonwealthsmen’. A ‘society column’ from Comprising the summe of all There are some clear differences Nedham’s unnamed Prague intelligence, with the affairs and between Nedham’s newsbook and correspondent tells of ‘the great designs now on foot, in the three the newspapers we might dip into Feastings and Entertainments made nations of England, Ireland, and there by the Emperour (sic) for the (no. 129, dated 18–25 over breakfast today. In these early Scotland Electors … with great contentment November 1652). publications, the editor is hidden, Mercurius on all sides’.12 There are also articles (figure 3) was founded June identifying himself only as Politicus on more weighty events. Nedham 1650 and published until April 1660. ‘Mercury’, the Roman god of reports on the outcomes of treason The title reflects the high-flown aims messengers. Indeed Mercurius trials and other court cases and gives of its editor, Marchamont Nedham, was one of many Politicus updates on diplomatic activities in who moved beyond the purely ‘Mercuries’ that included Mercurius Amsterdam, Paris and The Hague. and domestic news of many earlier Britannicus, Mercurius Bellicus newsbooks to provide his readers Individual The Law Rare Book Collection Mercurius Melancholicus. with ‘the summe of all knowledge’. articles are also unattributed, with holds a number of other noteworthy Throughout its ten year life, headlines providing only the place items dating from the 17th century. was indeed and date of the dispatch. Yet, despite Among these is a collection of Mercurius Politicus Britain’s pre-eminent newsbook.9 It these differences, parliamentary speeches from 1627 Mercurius was more ‘moderate’ than many of displays many of the and 1628, the Politicus Ephemeris UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE LIBRARY JOURNAL • 2005 13 Parliamentaria: or a faithfull register of the transactions in Parliament in the third and fourth years of the reign of our late Sovereign Lord King Charles, Title page of the containing the severall speeches, Figure 4: Ephemeris Parliamentaria, cases and arguments of law a collection of parliamentary transacted between His Majesty and speeches from 1627 and both Houses, together with the 1628, published in 1654.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • London and Middlesex in the 1660S Introduction: the Early Modern
    London and Middlesex in the 1660s Introduction: The early modern metropolis first comes into sharp visual focus in the middle of the seventeenth century, for a number of reasons. Most obviously this is the period when Wenceslas Hollar was depicting the capital and its inhabitants, with views of Covent Garden, the Royal Exchange, London women, his great panoramic view from Milbank to Greenwich, and his vignettes of palaces and country-houses in the environs. His oblique birds-eye map- view of Drury Lane and Covent Garden around 1660 offers an extraordinary level of detail of the streetscape and architectural texture of the area, from great mansions to modest cottages, while the map of the burnt city he issued shortly after the Fire of 1666 preserves a record of the medieval street-plan, dotted with churches and public buildings, as well as giving a glimpse of the unburned areas.1 Although the Fire destroyed most of the historic core of London, the need to rebuild the burnt city generated numerous surveys, plans, and written accounts of individual properties, and stimulated the production of a new and large-scale map of the city in 1676.2 Late-seventeenth-century maps of London included more of the spreading suburbs, east and west, while outer Middlesex was covered in rather less detail by county maps such as that of 1667, published by Richard Blome [Fig. 5]. In addition to the visual representations of mid-seventeenth-century London, a wider range of documentary sources for the city and its people becomes available to the historian.
    [Show full text]
  • Why Did Britain Become a Republic? > New Government
    Civil War > Why did Britain become a republic? > New government Why did Britain become a republic? Case study 2: New government Even today many people are not aware that Britain was ever a republic. After Charles I was put to death in 1649, a monarch no longer led the country. Instead people dreamed up ideas and made plans for a different form of government. Find out more from these documents about what happened next. Report on the An account of the Poem on the arrest of setting up of the new situation in Levellers, 1649 Commonwealth England, 1649 Portrait & symbols of Cromwell at the The setting up of Cromwell & the Battle of the Instrument Commonwealth Worcester, 1651 of Government http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/ Page 1 Civil War > Why did Britain become a republic? > New government Case study 2: New government - Source 1 A report on the arrest of some Levellers, 29 March 1649 (Catalogue ref: SP 25/62, pp.134-5) What is this source? This is a report from a committee of MPs to Parliament. It explains their actions against the leaders of the Levellers. One of the men they arrested was John Lilburne, a key figure in the Leveller movement. What’s the background to this source? Before the war of the 1640s it was difficult and dangerous to come up with new ideas and try to publish them. However, during the Civil War censorship was not strongly enforced. Many political groups emerged with new ideas at this time. One of the most radical (extreme) groups was the Levellers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Politics of Piracy in the British Atlantic, C. 1640-1649
    The politics of piracy in the British Atlantic, c. 1640-1649 Article Published Version Blakemore, R. J. (2013) The politics of piracy in the British Atlantic, c. 1640-1649. International Journal of Maritime History, 25 (2). pp. 159-172. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/084387141302500213 Available at http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/71905/ It is advisable to refer to the publisher’s version if you intend to cite from the work. See Guidance on citing . Published version at: http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/084387141302500213 To link to this article DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/084387141302500213 Publisher: International Maritime Economic History Association All outputs in CentAUR are protected by Intellectual Property Rights law, including copyright law. Copyright and IPR is retained by the creators or other copyright holders. Terms and conditions for use of this material are defined in the End User Agreement . www.reading.ac.uk/centaur CentAUR Central Archive at the University of Reading Reading’s research outputs online The Politics of Piracy in the British Atlantic, c. 1640-1649 Richard J. Blakemore1 Introduction Pirates are popular. Inside academia and out, the pirate is a figure command- ing attention, fascination and quite often sympathy. Interpreted in various ways – as vicious criminals, romantic heroes, sexual revolutionaries or anarchistic opponents of capitalism – pirates possess an apparently inexhaustible appeal.2 The problem with “pirates,” of course, is that defining them is largely a ques- tion of perspective: perpetrators of maritime violence from Francis Drake to Blackbeard have been seen as both champions and murderers, and scholars have interrogated this very dimension of piracy as a historical concept.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 the NAVY in the ENGLISH CIVIL WAR Submitted by Michael James
    1 THE NAVY IN THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR Submitted by Michael James Lea-O’Mahoney, to the University of Exeter, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in September 2011. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. 2 ABSTRACT This thesis is concerned chiefly with the military role of sea power during the English Civil War. Parliament’s seizure of the Royal Navy in 1642 is examined in detail, with a discussion of the factors which led to the King’s loss of the fleet and the consequences thereafter. It is concluded that Charles I was outmanoeuvred politically, whilst Parliament’s choice to command the fleet, the Earl of Warwick, far surpassed him in popularity with the common seamen. The thesis then considers the advantages which control of the Navy provided for Parliament throughout the war, determining that the fleet’s protection of London, its ability to supply besieged outposts and its logistical support to Parliamentarian land forces was instrumental in preventing a Royalist victory. Furthermore, it is concluded that Warwick’s astute leadership went some way towards offsetting Parliament’s sporadic neglect of the Navy. The thesis demonstrates, however, that Parliament failed to establish the unchallenged command of the seas around the British Isles.
    [Show full text]
  • Hermeticism in Sweden 189
    Hermeticism in Sweden 189 Chapter 24 Hermeticism in Sweden Hermeticism in Sweden Susanna Åkerman The fragmentary sources for tracing Hermeticism in Sweden stem from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when these texts still formed a basis for cosmological thinking. The Corpus Hermeticum was often associated with another Hermetic text, the Tabula smaragdina or Emerald Tablet. Translated into Latin from the Arabic in the twelfth century, the text was particularly pop- ular among German alchemists, who rarely read the Corpus Hermeticum but instead based their understanding of Hermeticism on the short sentences from the Emerald Tablet. The Emerald Tablet was furthermore used to present alchemy in a simple but enigmatic form. The Tablet formulated the kernel of Hermeticism in a widely spread maxim on the parallels between the cosmo- logical macrocosm and the human microcosm: “As above, so below”. This figure of thought had a great influence on Hermeticism in Sweden. Swedenborg, for example, reformulated it to treat of correspondences between the natural, the spiritual, and the heavenly realms. Hermetic philosophy likewise influenced three other currents: mysticism, alchemy, and Rosicrucianism. Seventeenth-Century Metaphysics Hermeticism began to be an important current in Sweden with Johan Skytte (1577–1645), who was the Chancellor of Uppsala University. In the 1640s Skytte delivered an oration in which he praised King Gustavus II Adolphus for having opened the doors for “Theophrastus [Paracelsus] and [Hermes] Trismegistos” to the Swedish universities. This was a clear signal that the older pagan phi- losophy was compatible with Christian beliefs. In the same spirit, the Finnish natural philosopher Sigfrid Aron Forsius (1560–1624) edited several almanacs to be used for astrological purposes.
    [Show full text]
  • Three the Golden Age of Opportunity, 1645–1723
    three The Golden Age of Opportunity, 1645–1723 The friars’ opposition to ancestral cults and their promotion of women’s religious activities placed Fuan converts in a difficult social position during the 1630s and early 1640s. They encountered hostility and re- pression from both the state and the local elites. The Manchu invasion, however, turned the religious allegiance of Christian literati from a li- ability into a strength and offered them a means of gaining social stand- ing and receiving official sanction for their faith. The events of the Ming-Qing transition show the importance of historical contingency and of improvisation in the spread and establishment of Christianity in Fuan. The localization of the faith depended on long-held hopes and values that nurtured the religious longings of converts: a desire to ex- tinguish sin, hope for salvation after death, and a sense of community and personal fulfillment expressed in piety and spirituality. But fleeting events linked to historical junctures also carried great weight in creat- ing the most favorable environment for the implanting of Christian values and practices.1 The state of war and the political and military volatility between 1644 and the early 1650s were loyalty tests for local elites: Should they ————— 1. On the concepts of sin and salvation in the life of Chinese Christians, see Menegon 2006a. 92 The Golden Age of Opportunity, 1645–1723 93 side with the new power, the Manchus, or remain faithful to the old or- der of the Ming dynasty? Most southern literati and officials faced this dilemma. In Fuan, a large portion of the elite remained loyal to the de- feated dynasty, represented by short-lived and fractious regimes in Zhejiang and Fujian.
    [Show full text]
  • The Royalist and Parliamentarian War Effort in Shropshire During the First and Second English Civil Wars, 1642-1648
    The Royalist and Parliamentarian War Effort in Shropshire During the First and Second English Civil Wars, 1642-1648 Item Type Thesis or dissertation Authors Worton, Jonathan Citation Worton, J. (2015). The royalist and parliamentarian war effort in Shropshire during the first and second English civil wars, 1642-1648. (Doctoral dissertation). University of Chester, United Kingdom. Publisher University of Chester Download date 24/09/2021 00:57:51 Item License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10034/612966 The Royalist and Parliamentarian War Effort in Shropshire During the First and Second English Civil Wars, 1642-1648 Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of The University of Chester For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Jonathan Worton June 2015 ABSTRACT The Royalist and Parliamentarian War Effort in Shropshire During the First and Second English Civil Wars, 1642-1648 Jonathan Worton Addressing the military organisation of both Royalists and Parliamentarians, the subject of this thesis is an examination of war effort during the mid-seventeenth century English Civil Wars by taking the example of Shropshire. The county was contested during the First Civil War of 1642-6 and also saw armed conflict on a smaller scale during the Second Civil War of 1648. This detailed study provides a comprehensive bipartisan analysis of military endeavour, in terms of organisation and of the engagements fought. Drawing on numerous primary sources, it explores: leadership and administration; recruitment and the armed forces; military finance; supply and logistics; and the nature and conduct of the fighting.
    [Show full text]
  • Seventeenth Century Settlement of the Nansemond River in Virginia Emmett De Ward Bottoms Old Dominion University
    Old Dominion University ODU Digital Commons History Theses & Dissertations History Spring 1983 Seventeenth Century Settlement of the Nansemond River in Virginia Emmett dE ward Bottoms Old Dominion University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/history_etds Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Bottoms, Emmett E.. "Seventeenth Century Settlement of the Nansemond River in Virginia" (1983). Master of Arts (MA), thesis, History, Old Dominion University, DOI: 10.25777/9ppr-2744 https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/history_etds/24 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the History at ODU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ODU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. SEVENTEENTH CENTURY SETTLEMENT OF THE NANSEMOND RIVER IN VIRGINIA by Emmett Edward Bottoms B.S. June 1966, Old Dominion College A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Old Dominion University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS HISTORY OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY May 1983 Approved by: Peter C. Stewart (Director) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT SEVENTEENTH CENTURY SETTLEMENT OF THE NANSEMOND RIVER IN VIRGINIA Emmett Edward Bottoms Old Dominion University, 1983 Director: Dr. Peter C. Stewart The estuarine Nansemond River in southeastern Virginia provided exploitable resources to Indians and English colonists during the seventeenth century. Coloni­ zation of the Nansemond, attempted in 1609, was resisted by the Nansemond Indians and was accomplished only after they were decimated and displaced. Anglicans and dissenting Puritans and Quakers established churches and meeting houses along the river.
    [Show full text]
  • Standard VS.3 Study Guide
    Virginia Studies B Standard VS.3 STANDARD VS.3 GEOGRAPHY –REASON FOR LOCATION AT Study Guide JAMESTOWN Condensed format created by SOLpass. www.solpass.org How geography (2008 revised standards) influenced the decision to settle at Jamestown Where is Jamestown STANDARD VS.3A located? REASONS FOR COLONIZATION When the settlers arrived in 1607, Jamestown was Explain the reasons for English colonization located on a narrow peninsula bordered on three sides by the James River. What were the reasons for English colonization in Today, Jamestown is located on an island in the James America? River. Location and physical characteristics influenced Reasons for English colonization in America the decision to settle at Jamestown. Some European countries, including England, were Why did the settlers choose the site at Jamestown? in competition to increase their wealth and power by expanding their empires to America. Reasons for site choice The location could be easily defended from attack by England wanted to establish an American colony to sea (Spanish). increase her wealth and power. • England hoped to find silver and gold in The water along the shore was deep enough for ships America. to dock. • An American settlement would furnish raw They believed they had a good supply of fresh water. materials that could not be grown or obtained in England, while opening new markets for trade. STANDARD VS.3C What were the reasons why the Jamestown settlers CHARTERS came to America? Importance of the charters of the Virginia Company of The first permanent English settlement in America was London in establishing the Jamestown settlement. Jamestown, founded in 1607 as an economic The King of England had the power to grant charters venture.
    [Show full text]
  • Early History of the English Newspaper
    Gale Primary Sources Start at the source. Early History of the English Newspaper Moira Goff British Library Various source media, 17th and 18th Century Burney Newspapers Collection EMPOWER™ RESEARCH In England, news began to be circulated in print early in partnership with the bookseller Nathaniel Bourne, went the 16th century in publications referred to as on to publish an irregular series of such corantos until 'Relations'. The earliest surviving example of these at least 1640. Estimates suggest that between 250 and forerunners of the English newspaper is an account of 850 copies of each coranto were printed. the Battle of Flodden in 1513, published as a small pamphlet under the title Hereafter Ensue the Trewe Encountre or Batayle lately Don betwene Englande and Civil War Newsbooks 1 Scotlande. Some years later, in 1542, another small The corantos soon changed from single sheets to small pamphlet gave Hevy Newes of an Horryble pamphlets, the format of their successors the 2 Earthquake near Florence, Italy. A Copye of a Letter newsbooks. The opening of the Long Parliament in Contayning Certayne Newes, & the Articles or Requestes November 1640, on the eve of the English Civil War, of the Devonshyre & Cornyshe Rebelles, published as a began a period of rapid change. The first newsbook quite substantial pamphlet in 1549, is often cited as the containing domestic rather than foreign news, 3 first English newsletter. These, and others like them, titled The Heads of Severall Proceedings in This Present appeared occasionally and in increasing numbers Parliament, began publication in November 1641.6 It was during the late 1500s.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Politics and Political Culture During the English Revolution
    Politics and Political Culture during the English Revolution: A Review Essay DAVID L. SMITH Bernard Capp. England’s Culture Wars: Puritan Reformation and its Enemies in the Interregnum, 1649-1660. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2012. xiv + 274pp. ISBN 13: 9780199641789. $125.00 (cloth). Julia Merritt. Westminster 1640-1660: A royal city in a time of revolution. Manchester: Manchester UP, 2013. xii + 276pp. ISBN 13: 9780719090400. $110.00 (cloth). Jason Peacey. Print and Public Politics in the English Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2013. xxii + 448pp. ISBN 13: 9781107044425. $110.00 (cloth). In recent years, many of the new directions in research on the English Revolution have taken the form of an attack upon older master narratives, especially those of a Whiggish or Marxist persuasion. Over the past two or three decades, the prevailing climate of work on the 1640s and 1650s has been emphatically anti-Whig and anti-Marxist. In other words, it has eschewed inevitability, teleology, and anachronism, all of which have become bogey words and, as a result, there is now much more willingness to see the revolutionary period on its own terms. The vitality and viability of these years are being stressed more than before, and the period emerges in recent writings as more positive, more dynamic, engendering a greater diversity of responses and contributions, than in earlier narratives. 1 A central feature of this historiographical development has been a preoccupation with the changing nature of political culture, and the three books under review all make important contributions to this trend. They show in particular that political culture during the English Revolution was immensely lively and colourful, and that in various ways it involved a huge proportion of the nation.
    [Show full text]
  • The “Decline” of Spain in the Seventeenth Century
    Gale Primary Sources Start at the source. The “Decline” of Spain in the Seventeenth Century Dr Christopher Storrs University of Dundee Various source media, State Papers Online EMPOWER™ RESEARCH One of the most striking phenomena of the early suppress the Dutch Revolt in the Low Countries, Philip modern period was the rise and then the decline of IV (1621–65) acknowledged the independence at last of Spain between the late fifteenth and the late the Dutch Republic; in 1655, the English admiral Blake seventeenth centuries. Spain's rise to be a European seized the island of Jamaica; while further losses were and global power began with the marriage (1469) of sustained inside and outside Europe in the following queen Isabel of Castile (1474–1504) and king Ferdinand decades. of Aragon (1479–1516), whose realm included Aragon The rise and apparent decline of Spain can be pursued proper, Valencia and Catalonia. They not only united in the State Papers (mainly in series SP 94), drawing "Spain" by bringing together, very loosely, these above all on the despatches of successive English disparate territories, but they also conquered the last diplomats resident (often for long periods) at the Islamic realm (Granada) in Iberia, supported Columbus' Spanish Court. Unfortunately, these records do not Atlantic voyages, and extended Spanish dominion in cover the whole of the period, reflecting the fact that for north Africa and Italy. In 1516, this inheritance passed years at a time diplomatic relations were broken off; to their grandson, the Habsburg Charles I of Spain most obviously in wartime. It also has to be said that (1516–56), the future Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V.
    [Show full text]