8/8: The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England, 1603-1689 Hardcover – Deckle Edge, April 11, 2023. by Jonathan Healey (Author)
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
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🗓️ 12 August 2023
⏱️ 7 minutes
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8/8: The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England, 1603-1689 Hardcover – Deckle Edge, April 11, 2023. by Jonathan Healey (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/Blazing-World-History-Revolutionary-1603-1689/dp/0593318358
The seventeenth century was a revolutionary age for the English. It started as they suddenly found themselves ruled by a Scotsman, and it ended in the shadow of an invasion by the Dutch. Under James I, England suffered terrorism and witch panics. Under his son Charles, state and society collapsed into civil war, to be followed by an army coup and regicide. For a short time—for the only time in history—England was a republic. There were bitter struggles over faith and Parliament asserted itself like never before. There were no boundaries to politics. In fiery, plague-ridden London, in coffee shops and alehouses, new ideas were forged that were angry, populist, and 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 and 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 and contorted, and 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, and daring curiosity, but also of greed, pugnacious arrogance, and colonial violence.
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| 0:35.0 | John Bachelor of Professor Johnson Healy, whose wonderful new book is filled with stories and imaginary moments |
| 0:43.0 | that we now can visit from the 21st century and say, so, that's where John Locke came from. |
| 0:49.0 | That's where an understanding of government representing the people came from. |
| 0:54.0 | And that's where trouble comes from when a man, James II, the younger brother of Charles II, |
| 1:02.0 | decided somewhere in the 1660s to convert to Catholicism, perhaps surrounded by Catholics on the mainland, |
| 1:09.0 | knowing that if he was ever to ascend to the throne, this would introduce Contratemp again into his native land. |
| 1:17.0 | Well, here it is. The moment that we can anticipate, there's rumors that James is converted. |
| 1:24.0 | But with the death of his brother, this is in the 1680s. |
| 1:28.0 | The death of his brother, James I, becomes the king of England. |
| 1:32.0 | And he's been leader of the fleet. He's had charge. He's a very good warrior, very good combat leader. |
| 1:39.0 | But he resigns from the Navy because he won't swear. He won't take a note that would reveal that would violate his Catholicism. |
| 1:48.0 | And Jonathan, I come to this because James II is a less well-known figure, Charles II, the Restoration. |
| 1:57.0 | James II had to know he was introducing trouble. Did he believe, knowing all of that, knowing how few Catholics that were in the country, that he could be successful? |
| 2:07.0 | He wasn't preaching tolerance. He was switching out Protestants for Catholics in important roles. |
| 2:15.0 | It's a very good question. And I don't know if it will happen though the answer to that. |
| 2:22.0 | He probably believed that the monarchy by that point was in enough of a strong position because of the financial strength that it had. |
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