The Blazing World A New History Of Revolutionary England 16031689 Jonathan Healey by Jonathan Healey 9780593318355, 9780593318362, 0593318358, 0593318366 instant download after payment.

The seventeenth century was a revolutionary age for the English. It started as they suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, & it ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, England suffered terrorism & witch panics. Under his son Charles, state & society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup & regicide. 

For a short time—for the only time in history—England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith & Parliament asserted itself like never before. There were no boundaries to politics. In fiery, plague-ridden London, in coffee shops & alehouses, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist, & almost impossible for monarchs to control. 

But the story of this century is less well known than it should be. Myths have grown around key figures. People may know about the Gunpowder Plot & the Great Fire of London, but the Civil War is a half-remembered mystery to many. 

And yet the seventeenth century has never seemed more relevant. The British constitution is once again being bent & contorted, & there is a clash of ideologies reminiscent of when Roundhead fought Cavalier. 

The Blazing World is the story of this strange, twisting, fascinating century. It shows a society in sparkling detail. It was a new world of wealth, creativity, & daring curiosity, but also of greed, pugnacious arrogance, & colonial violence.