Early Modern British History 1485-1691

Early Modern British and Irish History 1500-1700: Society and Culture in Four Nations takes an innovative comparative approach to the social and cultural history of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales during the period when they came under the rule of a single monarch. This accessible and engaging synthesis will be of use to teachers and students of any or all of the constituent parts of the British and Irish Isles in the early modern period, and will also appeal to anyone interested more generally in this turbulent period.

Within the context of recent debates on the ‘New British History’, the book looks at the experiences of the inhabitants of the islands and their contacts with their fellow citizens, whether locally or further afield. It explores the construction of ideas about national origins and identities, and considers how ideas about ethnic difference shaped both violent and peaceful interactions between and within nations. The development of competing religious identities is traced, but despite theological differences, many aspects of belief – in its widest sense – were familiar throughout the islands. Likewise, concerns with life from birth to death, with status and reputation, and with being part of families and communities, were common to the populations of different areas.

This will be a key text in British and early modern history for years to come