Britain And Europe In The Seventeenth Century Essays -

Britain and Europe in the Seventeenth Century Britain and Europe in the Seventeenth Century J.R. Jones, a Professor of English History in the School of English Studies at the University of East Anglia, England, in Britain and Europe in the Seventeenth Century, has written a very informative and interesting book. Britain and Europe in the Seventeenth Century is a relatively short book that deals with the impact that Britain had on European affairs at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The thesis is basically summed up in the title of the book. To expand on the thesis, Dr. Jones emphasizes the close interdependence of Britain and Europe in the seventeenth century, and shows that events at home cannot be fully understood unless they are related to developments and forces abroad. In cultural and intellectual, as well as political and economic matters, the effect on Britain of foreign influences is for most of this period greater than that of Britain on Europe; one of the main questions that Dr. Jones considered when writing this book was why this relation was later reversed. In looking at this period as a whole there is a clear contrast between Britain's isolation and unimportance in European affairs at the beginning of the seventeenth century, and Britain's full involvement as a major influence after 1688. This involves intellectual and political matters. European intellectual developments during the first part of the century did not significantly affect the main part of English life, and English influences on Europe were negligible. The only groups interested in developments in Europe were minorities who were dissatisfied with the established order in Britain. For most of these "Puritans" the Calvinist churches of Europe provided the model which they hoped to establish in England. During James I's reign they were inspired by Dutch divines and encouraged in their opposition to royal policies. In economic and intellectual matters Scotland was basically a colony of Holland. But the partly formed Calvinist international, to which English Puritans and Scottish Presbyterians belonged, together with German, Czech, Swiss, Magyar, French, and Dutch churches, did not survive the 1620's. It was shattered in the early disastrous phases of the Thirty Years War, and by the submission of the Huguenots when Louis XIII insisted on the elimination of foreign pastors, so that by the time English Puritanism temporarily triumphed during the English Revolution it held few European connections of any importance, and was dependent of its own intellectual resources. The connections which bound Catholicism with Europe were more durable. Isolated and often under pressure at home, English Catholics regarded themselves as part of the community of Christendom and as following the tradition of the past, from which their fellow-countrymen had been severed by the decisions of Henry VIII and Elizabeth. Before 1640 it was the religious doctrines, rituals and claims to universality of Catholicism that attracted converts, but after 1660 it was the political rather than the religious aspects of Catholicism which attracted those court circles which wanted to imitate the France of Louis XIV. The defeat of Catholicism is the main theme of English History in the late seventeenth century, while the events of 1686-90 strengthened the links between Catholicism and the Irish national spirit. The end of isolation was a very gradual process. The most important factor before 1688 was the diversification and expansion of overseas trade in exports and imports. New trade routes and patterns were developed, which were of great economic importance. Economic ties produced political connections years before Britain became fully involved in the European diplomatic system. Britain had to become a Mediterranean power and began to intervene in Portuguese politics during Charles II's reign. Apart from this economic impact, England made little impression on Europe before 1688. There was almost universal ignorance of the English language, and English literature was hardly known to exist. The political instability and continual violence of British affairs horrified all Europeans except the Dutch. Only the Dutch had any realization of potential English power. It was only after 1688 that Britain became fully involved in European affairs. The Revolution entirely transformed Britain's relationship with Europe. The two wars that followed the Revolution affected the lives of every inhabitant of the British Isles. They involved major changes to individuals and economic interests. All parts of the population and every part of the administration came under intense and prolonged strain. Foreign trade and shipping suffered severely. But while individuals went under, the nation not only survived but became stronger ? administratively, politically, and economically as well as militarily. Parliamentary government proved itself, and a mood of national confidence developed out of the ordeals of William's war and Marlborough's victories. The