Review the following three ballads and two royal proclamations (And, optionally, Locke’s “Letter Concerning Toleration”). All of these documents were produced either immediately before or after the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Some reflect the sentiments of James II and his supporters while the rest promote the cause of James’ son-in-law and daughter, William III and Mary II, in their successful invasion of Britain to oust the Catholic, James II.
What do these documents reflect about English society and how it has transformed over these years?
You have a lot of freedom in how you address this question. Over this course we have looked the society, culture, politics, economics, and religion of England and how it transformed over the two centuries during which the Tudor and Stuart monarchs reigned. If you wish to focus on one particular aspect, more than one, or all of these facets in your final you may. You do not have to address all of these and doing so may be too much for the scope of the assignment. However, be sure to address transformation over time. Do not just focus on the situation in 1688.
You do not need to address the following questions. There are meant to serve as some possible inspirations of starting points if you are stumped on where to begin.
- How do these documents present the idea of religious tolerations? How does this compare with the way religious difference were dealt with previously in this course?
- These documents are all works of propaganda. Who do they seem to be targeted at?
- Although there is a lot of talk of religious toleration or oppression in these documents, what arguments are used to support the main points of these works? What do you think is important to the authors and the audiences they are targeting? Is it religion or something else? How is this different than what we saw in the works we read for the earlier papers?
- What do these documents say about English society in 1688? Think back to concepts like the Tree of Commonwealth, or the Great Chain of Being where the hierarchy and structure of society and politics were thought to God’s created order for society. Is that how people in 1688 seem to view society or do they consider their rulers to be answerable to something other than divinely ordained order?
Documents
James II’s Declaration of Liberty of Consciousness
[Under course files]
“The Manifestation of Joy”
http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20861/citation (Links to an external site.)
A ballad on the Declaration of James II posted above.
Popery’s Downfal
http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20935/citation (Links to an external site.)
Great Britain’s Earnest Desire for Princess Mary’s Happy Arrival
http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/ballad/20878/citation (Links to an external site.)
The English Bill of Rights
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689 (Links to an external site.)
Locke: “Letter Concerning Toleration” [Optional]