Product Description

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Morrill's Very Short Introduction to Stuart Britain sets the Revolution into its political, religious, social, economic, intellectual, and cultural contexts. It thus seeks to integrate what most other surveys pull apart. It gives a graphic account of the effects of a century-long period during which population was growing inexorably and faster than both the food supply and the employment market. It looks at the failed attempts of successive governments to make all those under their authority obedient members of a unified national church; it looks at how Charles I blundered into a civil war which then took on a terrifying momentum of its own. The result was his trial and execution, the abolition of the monarchy, the house of lords, the bishops, the prayer book and the celebration of Christmas. As a result everything else that people took for granted came up for challenge, and this book shows how painfully and with what difficulty order and obedience was restored. Vividly illustrated and full of startling detail, this is an ideal introduction to those interested in getting into the period, and also contains much to challenge and stimulate those who already feel at home in Stuart England.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152349 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-10
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 100 pages

About the Author
John Morrill has been Professor of British and Irish History at the University of Cambridge since 1998. He has also been a Fellow since 1975 and Vice master since 1994 of Selwyn College, Cambridge. His publications include The Nature of the English Revolution (1994), The British Problem 1534-1707 (1996), The Oxford Illustrated History of Tudor and Stuart Britain (1996), and Revolt in the Provinces (1998). He is also General Editor of The
History of Britain, Ireland and the British Overseas on CD-ROM.

Customer Reviews

A marvel by Morrill
John Morrill's "Stuart Britain (A Very Short Introduction)" provides a unique insight into the history of Britain during the Stuart period. It guides the reader through a journey of the trials and tribulations of Britain in the 16th century, including the issues surrounding class discrimination. John Morrill's style allows the reader to transport themselves into the lives of their ancestors without getting lost in a sea of words. His account is precise and concise, discussing all aspects of Stuart life, including, religion, economics, politics and the social structure in Britain at the time. He also includes details of continuity and change for example regarding population and agriculture. Stuart Brtain includes major turning points in history with the Civil War leading to the abolition of the monarchy and other seemingly disastrous consequences. This introduction is extremely well structured, Morrill incorporates subtitles within his chapters and this is of huge benefit to students who wish to refresh themselves on only some sections of the topic. This small book captures this period in its entirety and is in my opinion a marvel by Morrill.

Does exactly what it says on the cover
"An age which derived its momentum from Christian humanism from a reverential antiquarianism, gave way to an age of pragmatism and individualism."

'Stuart Britain a Very Short Introduction' by John Morril is exactly what it says-a short introduction. Divided into chapters reflecting the different aspects of Stuart life such as Society and Economic life; Government and Law; The early Stuarts and The Civil wars, it describes the complexities of both the political and social sides of this period in a simple and manageable form.

In an animated and lively style John Morril describes the huge changes throughout this period on all fronts. From Civil war, the abolition of the monarchy and for religion the toleration act of 1689 which resulted, by the end of the century in new and fresh ideas in the arts, theatre, writing and the sciences.

Although this book is a little complex for a complete beginner especially on the economic situation, it is an easy way to clarify and bring together all the details of the period.

Historical reading
Within this book, the author, John Morrill presents to us, the reader, Stuart Britain in a concise and compact way, and does indeed set a century of revolution "...into its political, religious, social, economic, intellectual, and other cultural contexts...". The book pulls together a century of turmoil in which population grew so fast that it was not possible to produce enough food to ensure its survival, nor provide enough work to give it respectability. It also describes in concise detail the break-out of un-anticipated civil war which eventually ended in the abolition of the Monarchy , not before the execution of Charles the first. John Morrill goes on further to portray how difficult it was to restore order to a country which arguably lost that quality, or some of it, with the execution of Charles I.
John Morrill pays particular attention to many key events that play an important part in this time period, the first being 'The First Civil War' (1642-1646). Morrill reveals to us that the war had very vague beginnings, and how, after a number of failed attempts made by the King to achieve an upper hand before officially claiming Civil War, the King sheepishly proclaims Civial War by raising the Standard at Nottingham on the 20th August 1642.
When the masses were not impressed by the outcome of the first Civil War (a long fight between Royalists and Parliamentarians over power, being forced to pay taxes to keep the army in the "style" thay had become accustomed to (or desired to!), the foolish rejection of the Levellers who showed an intelligent way forward without the Monarchy) there proceeded to be a further out-break, indeed a second Civil War; a revolt of the provinces against centralization and military rule. Both these wars contributed to the abolition of the Monarchy, the House of Lords and the established Church.
Morrill also considers in great detail the importance of certain individuals such as Charles I, Charles II, Oliver Cromwell and James I. Having previously not studied Oliver Cromwell in great detail, I didn't know that he ruled England as Lord Protector and Head of State under the two constituitions of "Instrument of Government"(1653-7) and "Humble Petition and Advice"(1657-8). I found this part of the book that introduces key individuals to us like a biography of their lives, particularly interesting as it connects other parts of history for me and their importance to it therefore.
The most interesting part of the book for me is where Morrill presents the question "Had the English Revoltuion had any lasting effects on the power of the crown?". The reason why I intially found this so interesting was because of the answer that in his opinion was that it had "suprisingly little" effect. However Morrill explains his answer so that all the problems he had previously written about to do with the collapse of the Monarchy are put into perspective, as, by the 1680s the crown was in a good finacial position, it had a growing civil service, and, had an "unprecendented" opportunity to create a long lasting army.

I feel that Morrill presents his ideas and arguments in an extremely informative way. However because the book is SO concise, information is very hard to digest in just one reading. I therefore would be inclined to use it as a reference point, to which key areas may be extracted, studied in more detail, and then pieced together again upon another reading. Also I cant help but think that there is more to the Stuart period than is written in this book, it feels as if something is missing (for instance the opinions of different people in society), which further reinforces my earlier point of using this book primarily as a reference point.