|
|
 |
Essay on Britain And Europe In The Seventeenth Century
| Date: |
01-16-99 6:16am |
| Subject: |
History |
| Word Count: |
1456 |
| Page Count: |
5.82 |
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 strains involved by the wars on Britain
and France were comparable, for if Louis had to fight against most of Europe
his country was already organized for war, whereas Britain was not.
The fact that the French economy was relatively undeveloped offset the
advantages of a much larger population, an absolutist political system
and a central geographical position, but it also meant that France could
not be brought to the point of collapse as Britain and the United Provinces
could. After 1678 the French peasantry were too suppressed
to try to renew on a large scale the bloody but unsuccessful risings which
Richelieu’s wars had provoked. The sufferings of the people, and
the lack of compensatory victories and territorial advances after 1688,
discredited the French in an indirect way. Louis’s reign ended in
political and intellectual as well as financial bankruptcy. After
1688 England could at last feel relatively secure and English opinion was
generally satisfied with the political and social order.
It was this sense of security,
of confidence, and their accompaniments of military power and upper-class
and bourgeois affluence which impressed contemporary Europe. Also,
due largely to Huguenot exiles who acted as translators of English science,
theology and philosophy, Europeans were also made to realize that England
possessed an autonomous culture.
Opinion
As a college student, I found this book
to be very informative and useful. The seventeenth century has probably
received more attention than any other period in British history, and Jones
definitely does justice to this great period in history. Throughout
the readings of this book I found that Dr. Jones has very strong views
on this time period, as he goes so far to say that "a great many historians
who have studied the period and written about it have shown a marked insularity
in their approach to its developments and problems." I feel that
Dr. Jones laid out a good foundation in the beginning of the book, and
this foundation was built upon throughout the book in a very sturdy manner.
I really enjoyed, agreed with, and accepted
Dr. Jones’ views in explaining the ways in which, in the first half of
the seventeenth century, British attitudes and domestic and foreign affairs
were deeply affected by European influences – political, economic, and
above all religious – and how, as the century progressed, this position
was later reversed. Both Whig and Marxist historians have tended
to regard the "conservative" revolution of 1688 as an appendage
to the revolution of the middle years of the century. Dr. Jones,
along with myself, strongly disagrees with this interpretation. I
truly have found a respect for the author because his views and opinion
on the subject are strong enough to go against strong Whig and Marxist
historians’ views. Dr. Jones takes the side that in relation to Britain’s
final emergence as a great power and her impact on European and world affairs,
the revolution of 1688 must be regarded as the decisive turning point in
British seventeenth-century development. The author shows that this
process was a gradual one, and I totally agree with him. For example,
the author reveals not only the importance of British commercial interests
in the Mediterranean even in the early years of Anglo-Dutch rivalry, but
also the crucial significance of the period 1667-89 in the determination
of Britain’s role in Continental affairs.
I found it evident that the author’s account
of the Anglo-Dutch and Anglo-French wars in the context of the Counter-Reformation
provides a very detailed and diversified treatment, and I feel that it
is a very valuable aspect of his work of reinterpretation of the period.
Along the lines of reinterpretation, it is my opinion that Dr. Jones did
an excellent job of reinterpreting several key points that I picked up
on while reading this book: the view of James I’s pro-spanish policy, the
reassessment of Cromwell’s achievements in foreign and colonial policy,
the relative insignificance at this period of colonial conflicts between
Britain and her Continental rivals, until at least the time of Colbert,
and the reality of the threats to British commerce represented by the French
guerres de course under Louis XIV. Also, the deep repercussions on
English public opinion of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the
profound effects of the Nine Years War upon the British administrative
and financial system are reinterpreted points which to me stuck out.
Finally, Britain and Europe in the Seventeenth
Century is an important addition to the views and studies done on this
period. Jones did an excellent job in pointing out and backing his
view that the Revolution of 1688 was the decisive turning point that entirely
transformed Britain’s relationship with Europe. The thesis is very
convincing, and it is evident that the author is very aware of this.
All of the evidence Jones presents supports his thesis. Overall,
I found this book to be informative and the author’s view was very a pleasant
addition to other views on the same subject.
Complete List:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
|