Customer Reviews

History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed Cobbett's "History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland" immensely. It truly was an eye-opener regarding the commonly held notions of this period in British history.

Reading this book, I learned --- among many other surprising things --- that "Bloody Mary" was not really so bloody, that "Good Queen Bess" was not really so good, that the "Glorious Revolution" was not all that glorious, and that maybe England might have been better off had King Henry VIII controlled his passion and greed and left things as he had found them.

If nothing else Cobbett's book provides a fascinating alternative viewpoint to what we learned in school. (And he is not afraid to cite his sources in footnotes so readers may check his accuracy.)

William Cobbett's book is extraordinarily well done and terribly important. The author presents the bloody and horrible story of the persecution of Holy Church in England and Ireland from the time of Henry VIII to the reign of George III. This book is even more interesting in light of the fact that it was rendered by a Protestant expositor, who understood the persecution of Holy Church and the devastating impact of that persecution from a political and economic, rather than from a theological, perspective.

Cobbett does an exceptional job of linking together the bloody reformation of Henry VIII with the regicide of Charles I, the usurpation of England's last Catholic monarch, James II, the American Revolution, and the French Revolution. Evidently, Cobbett inspired both Belloc and Chesterton. Those who love the histories of Belloc will be well served by reading Cobbett's important contribution. His description of the ecomomic ramifications of the persecution of Catholicism in the British Isles is astounding. And his identification of the tremendous contributions of Catholicism to the glory that was England is equally important and interesting.

Read this very important book. And be richly blessed, and well informed by the experience.

Cobbett wrote this energetic and vitriolic history of the Reformation in the early 1800's. It turned conventional wisdom on its head and influenced many high-powered pro-Catholic intellectuals, including Hilaire Belloc and GK Chesterton. Cobbett's basic premise is that the Reformation destroyed the social fabric of England, which had been sewn together so elegantly under nine centuries of Catholic influence and rule. His detailed account of Henry VIII's profligacy, the rapacious deeds of his political heirs and allies, and the havoc they wrought upon the citizenry, especially the poor citizenry, make a supremely convincing argument. Although Cobbett wields a venomous pen, he researched his subject well and appears to have most of his facts straight. And although he interprets the facts in the worst possible light, there is no getting around the one simple fact that greed, lust and hatred motivated many of England's "reformers". Cobbett's style is conversational--as if he were writing you a letter, almost--and is remarkably readable for a work of that period. I think any investigation of the Reformation should include this book!

Preface, by Francis Cardinal Gasquet. This famous and highly respected work will be an eye-opening education for the person accustomed to the bland, factless, churchless, accepted "history" found in so many books today. It is a tragic depiction of the loss of millions upon millions of souls to the Catholic Faith, but very worth reading for getting the entire story straight - and all by a Protestant writer. This was written between 1824 and 1827 and has been reprinted many times by Catholic publishers because it gives the true and usually untold story of the Protestant Revolt in England during the 16th century. Even though a Protestant, the author shows that England was better when it was Catholic. For example, during Catholic times there was greater prosperity, no penury, no poor laws, almost no crime, no income tax, and a greater national military strength. Whereas, with the "Reformation" came the destruction of the monasteries, the driving of countless thousands of tenant farmers from the lands they had formerly rented (virtually in perpetuity and at cheap rents) from the Catholic monasteries, the creation of a vast number of homeless poor, the subsequent poor laws, income tax, a diminished military capacity, despotism by the monarchs, the Puritan Revolt, dictatorship of Cromwell, an increase of taxation, the rise of the national debt, and finally the American Revolution. Wow! Great stuff!

In some arguments with authentic Protestants of the Luther and Calvin vein, I learned for the first time that an authentic protestant does not consider the protestant 'conversion' in England to be a real one. Due to the passage of time and insufficient coverage and study of the Reformation, it was by generalized usage, that the Protestant move of England was lumped in with Calvin and Luther and Protestant thinking on the continent and also in Scotland.

This book, after which I do believe Cobbett did jail time, is so much proof that the English Reformation was one bent on pillage, looting and thievery of the highest order. The systematic looting of the manastaries, and the installment of the best and most productive thiefs into the House of Lords, thereby enshrining the families who stole the most from monastaries and hospitals and convents into the government of England up until the present day, is absolute proof of that sham called English Protestantism. The same 'Lords' installed during this time period, where the same Lords and horrendous monarchy that the United States had to break away from. This is the history that this book lays forth, and by and English Protestant no less. Do not let other reviewers fool you, Cobbett was at no phase of his life, keen on kneeling before the Pope.

This book is not propaganda, while the book is written in the stlye of an argument, the events, the lootings, and the revolts against the 'Protestants' all over England are given play. Also the horror of industrialism etc., did occur as feared by Cobbett in the forms of all the child labor used in England, as well as the sale of white slaves (see my other reviews) from England Ireland and Scotland.

This book allows you to make first, the leap that Protestant thought as developed by Luther and Calvin was partially adopted in England FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF LOOTING THE CAHTOLIC CHURCH, and secondly, you will need no other proof that the English monarchy is so decrepid as to demand every free person mock them all in their graves. Diana and Charles were certainly worthy heirs to that system, as Cobbett, on every page, will tell you.

. . . comes from "Foxe's Book of Martyrs" -- then you really need to read this book! It will sharply adjust your perspective!

This volume, written by an English Protestant, goes to great lengths to detail the events leading up to the English Reformation, straight through to the reign of King George III. He documents the many atrocities committed through the years against Catholics and the Catholic Church -- atrocities that most history books conveniently omit.

Of special interest to me and my personal research was the author's documentation on the economic collapse in England which was directly attributable to King Henry VIII's sack of the monasteries (and the author's fears of an Industrial Revolution were amply fulfilled and documented in the novels of Charles Dickens).

Highly recommended as a sharp dose of reality!

Honesty in the telling of English History in the media, movies (Cate Blanchett had to admit the history portrayed in her Q.E. 1ST movie was bunkum) and school room is a rare animal these days.In this book we are presented with facts that make sense of the need of the British establishment to later hire Whig historians to whitewash the criminal barbarity of the English reformation in the learning institutes of England.The facts of the demonic degree of Protestant barbarity are such that the Anti-Catholic propaganda that was concocted after the fact sound so made-up and ludicrously exaggerated to our ears today.I guess their own crimes where such that even bigger monstrosities were required to cover them up. I note the few people who have negated this book can't but fail to address the historical facts and research contained in this book regarding the true motivational forces behind an event that has brought misery to the 4 corners of the earth.That this book was written by a Protestant makes it all the more remarkable and valuable.

If a sister book was to be recommended I would say "The Facts about Luther" is the ideal companion read.This book also quotes mostly Protestant historians in damning that foolish man who admitted in his own writings that his "doctrines" came from the devil.Go figure...

I assume that it is common in former British colonies like the United States to have a fairly tilted view of things. After all, the Brits and French have been trying to out-snob each other since at least 1066. Nevertheless, until recently, I was unaware of the extent of this tacit anglophilia.

Cobbett's book is a key step in reconstructing an alternate history of the rise of British dominance. It is certainly worth note that his predictions of doom & gloom for Britain did not bear out, and the seeds of the industrial revolution that he deplored as a result of Protestant reformation were to eventually lead to a depth of world prosperity that puts his recitations of the daily diet of the yoeman to shame.

While keeping in mind that this is a work of propaganda, it should be simultaneously borne in mind that this is really a work of counterpropaganda. I don't really buy the "Cobbett was a Protestant" argument, as his vitriol is a little thick for a sustaining member of that segment. Nevertheless, the viewpoint he brings is worthy of note in that it is seldom heard with respect to the truisms of English History.

I would like to see a historical refutation (note that I refuse to say "an historical refutation", because I pronounce my "h's"). Cobbett certainly argues for the veracity of his own data.

This book will anger you or amuse you, alternatively. It's a nice study in how grudges get carried on for centuries. It's also a nice example of how time can accomplish great things, transforming Elizabeth into a movie star and Philip II into a historical nonentity.

Well worth the read, if slightly high-spirited.

Cobbett's work is so laced with invective and discrimination, that he does injustice to his own contention (as described by Francis Cardinal Gasquet) that "Viewed in its social aspect, the English Reformation was in reality the rising of the rich against the poor" (pp. vi). A vastly superior (though quite difficult) work with this same premise is Eamon Duffy's "The Stripping Of The Altars."