This book comprises the first full-length comparison of Scottish, Irish, English and Welsh migration within Europe in the early modern period. The contributions demonstrate the fruitfulness of pursuing a comparative approach to seventeenth-century British and Irish history.
In the wake of England's break with Rome and gradual reformation, English Catholics took root outside of the country, in Catholic countries across Europe. Confessional Mobility explores their arrival and the foundation of convents and colleges on the Continent as well as their impact beyond that initial moment of change.
Exile was a central feature of society throughout the early modern world. For this reason the contributors to this volume see exile as a critical framework for analysing and understanding society at this time.
The role of migration for Christianity as a world religion during the last two centuries has drawn considerable attention from scholars in different fields. The main issue this book seeks to address is the question whether and to what extent migration and diaspora formation should be considered as elements of a new historiography of global Christianity, including the reflection upon earlier epochs. By focusing on migration and diaspora, the emerging map of Christianity will include the dimension of movement and interaction between actors in different regions, providing a more comprehensive ‘map of agency’ of individuals and groups previously regarded as passive. Furthermore, local histories will become parts of a broader picture and historiography might correlate both local and transregional perspectives in a balanced manner. Behind this approach lies the desire to broaden the perspective of Ecclesiastical History – and religious history in general – in a more systematic manner by questioning the traditional criteria of selection. This might help us to recover previously lost actors and forgotten dynamics.
This book is the first major academic study of the Ulster Plantation in over 25 years. The pivotal importance of the Plantation to the shared histories of Ireland and Britain would be difficult to overstate. It helped secure the English conquest of Ireland, and dramatically transformed Ireland’s physical, political, religious and cultural landscapes. The legacies of the Plantation are still contested to this day, but as the Peace Process evolves and the violence of the previous forty years begins to recede into memory, vital space has been created for a timely reappraisal of the plantation process and its role in identity formation within Ulster, Ireland and beyond. This collection of essays by leading scholars in the field offers an important redress in terms of the previous coverage of the plantations, moving away from an exclusive colonial perspective, to include the native Catholic experience, and in so doing will hopefully stimulate further research into this crucial episode in Irish and British history.