The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England

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The path and fate of the various religious entities and how they attempt to control and are controlled by various political forces is worth pondering for any folk that believe Christian Nationalism provides a solution to anything . (Unless you believe there is a shortage of violence - it can probably help solve that). IMO, in the phrase "Christian Nationalist", the Christian is quite silent.

You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. Each chapter ends with a very well thought out summary. His analysis of how much blame Charles I bears for the disastrous end of his reign is masterful. (The answer is, "allot") Perhaps the most important evolution which the civil war helped to bring about was the end of absolutism and the divine right of kings. Even though the kings, and indeed Cromwell, dismissed Parliament several times, by the end of the century Parliament was in the ascendancy with power in the hands of the people and the monarch's wings clipped. Yet even today at the recent coronation we saw the bizarre spectacle of the Archbishop of Canterbury anointing Charles III as if he really believes, perhaps he does, that God has put Charles on the throne. Following the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, the idea took hold that Austria had been the first casualty of Hitler’s aggression when in 1938 it was incorporated into the Third Reich.’ I found this book fascinating and at times quite moving. It was a great insight into how society shaped democracy as we know it today. It documents the struggles for democracy and the many attempted forms of this. And makes very clear that absolute power corrupts absolutely, whether monarchy or republic. It sets out the twists and turns of history and the impact they made.Many other books I have read concentrate on only one of these events/periods – or often even only certain aspects/sub-periods of them – so where this book really works is in bring the whole period into one cohesive account. Charles I was a disaster. He triggered a civil war. He was captured and beheaded by Parliament. For the next 11 years there was no King. England was ruled by Parliament and then by Oliver Cromwell, acting as a "Protector". Despite the radical changes that transformed England, few today understand the story of this revolutionary age. Leaders like Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, and William of Orange have been reduced to caricatures, while major turning points like the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution have become shrouded in myth and misunderstanding. Yet the seventeenth century has never been more relevant. The British constitution is once again being contested, and we face a culture war reminiscent of when the Roundheads fought the Cavaliers.

It was an unfortunate clash. The festivities would be boisterous, and hardly compatible with the solemnity of a commemorative sermon. Or, to put it another way, the gravity of the sermon was out of keeping with a traditional day of relaxation and sport. So the parish elders had suggested a compromise. Those wishing to bear rushes, they asked, should wait until Mr Fletcher had finished his sermon. Then they could let themselves loose, and the dancing and football could begin. Everyone would be happy. This is a wonderful book, exhaustively researched, vigorously argued and teeming with the furious joy of seventeenth-century life' The Times In Elizabeth’s reign, a prophecy had circulated widely:‘When Hempe is spun, England’s done.’‘Hempe’ was an acronym for the Tudor monarchs since the break with Rome: Henry, Edward, Mary and Philip (II of Spain, Mary’s husband), and Elizabeth. Prophecies were taken seriously, as signs of God’s plan, and the belief was that once Elizabeth died, England would collapse into anarchy. But the peaceful accession of James allowed a more benign conclusion: now England and Scotland were under the same ruler. England was done: long live Britain. Jonathan Healey’s The Blazing World makes a convincing argument that the turbulent era qualifies as truly ‘revolutionary,’ not simply because of its cascading political upheavals, but in terms of far-reaching changes within society. The author, a professor at Oxford University, delivers a clearsighted narrative of 17th-century England, deftly integrating original and insightful analysis of underlying social phenomena and expressing his enthusiasm in brisk, wryly humorous and occasionally bawdy prose.” —Stephen Brumwell, The Wall Street JournalHealey vividly describes all the political and social upheavals of the 1600s: from the Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Plot of 1605, through the chaos of the civil wars, the execution of King Charles I, the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, the Restoration of the monarchy, to the Glorious Revolution of 1688. It was a century of revolutions which set the stage for the modern concept of representative government. Ugaz’s case is all too familiar in Peru, where powerful groups regularly use the courts to silence journalists by fabricating criminal allegations against them.’ The seventeenth century was a revolutionary age for the English. It started as they suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and it ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, England suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time—for the only time in history—England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and Parliament asserted itself like never before. There were no boundaries to politics. In fiery, plague-ridden London, in coffee shops and alehouses, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist, and almost impossible for monarchs to control.