Politics, Religion and Society in Revolutionary England 1640-1660
goes beneath the surface of English society in the turbulent years of civil war and interregnum. The authors draw upon a fascinating array of contemporary writings to provide revealing insights into the motivation of those who shaped English history in these crucial years. All the important legislation is included, but also details from personal memoirs, letters and diaries, not to mention the work of radical pamphleteers in the 1640's and 1650's. The authors address the issues which remain unresolved today - the resort to arms and the objectives of the protoganists; the divisions within parliamentary factions and in the army, the emergence of revolutionary religious and political ideas, the trial and execution of Charles I, the consolidation of a new system of government in the Commonwealth and the subsequent establishment of Cromwell's Protectorate, relations between England and Europe are this period, and the demise of the republican experiment with the restoration of monarchy after Cromwell's death. Specimen questions on each set of documents make this volume particulary useful for students of this period, but in reality the authors have produced a work which will stimulate specialist and non-specialist readers alike. This book will cause renewed reflection on the nature of the historical events of the English Revolution.