Catholic Communities in Protestant States: Britain and the Netherlands c.1570-1720 (Studies in Early Modern European History) [Hardcover]

Benjamin Kaplan (Editor), Bob Moore (Editor), Henk van Nierop (Editor), Judith Pollmann (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Studies in Early Modern European History | Publication Date: May 26, 2009

This volume is the first to compare the position of Catholic minorities in England and the Dutch Republic. Looking beyond the tales of persecution that have dominated traditional historiography, the contributors focus on the realities of Catholic existence. Thematically organized, the book explores Catholicism as a minority culture that resorted to unorthodox means, both to retain its own identity, and to survive in a hostile political environment. It examines ritual, material culture, international networks, and above all relations: between laity and clergy, men and women, Catholics and Protestants. By highlighting differences as well as similarities between the English and Dutch experiences, Catholic Communities in Protestant States will help both undergraduate readers and specialists to rethink the history of Catholicism and the consequences of minority status for religious communities.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

This volume is the first to compare the position of Catholic minorities in England and the Dutch Republic. Looking beyond the tales of persecution that have dominated traditional historiography, the contributors focus on the realities of Catholic existence. Thematically organised, the book explores Catholicism as a minority culture that resorted to unorthodox means, both to retain its own identity, and to survive in a hostile political environment. It examines ritual, material culture, international networks, and above all relations: between laity and clergy, men and women, Catholics and Protestants. Much of Baroque Europe was dominated religiously by the Roman Catholic Church, a Church Militant. Not so seventeenth-century England or the Dutch Republic, where Catholicism was a minority religion. In these two officially Protestant lands, Catholics practiced their faith in secret and were excluded from public life. Political pamphlets reviled them as a fifth column that plotted to bring foreign domination and overthrow the Protestant establishment. For Rome, meanwhile, England and the Dutch Republic became mission territories that proved difficult to staff and even more difficult to manage. By highlighting differences as well as similarities between the English and Dutch experiences, Catholic minorities in protestant states will help both undergraduate readers and specialists to rethink the history of Catholicism and the consequences of minority status for religious communities.

About the Author

Benjamin J. Kaplan is Professor of Dutch History at University College London and holds a joint appointment at the University of Amsterdam. Bob Moore is Professor of Twentieth-Century European History at the University of Sheffield. Henk van Nierop is Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Amsterdam, and Director of the Amsterdam Centre for the Study of the Golden Age. Judith Pollmann is a Senior Lecturer in Dutch History, and Professor of the History and Culture of the Dutch Republic at Leiden University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Manchester University Press; 1 edition (May 26, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0719079063
• ISBN-13: 978-0719079061
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,428,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)