This book comprises the first full-length comparison of Scottish, Irish, English and Welsh migration within Europe in the early modern period. Divided into four sections - 'Immigrants and Civilian Life', 'Diplomats and Travellers', 'Protestants and Patrons' and 'Catholics at Home and Abroad' - it offers a new perspective on several themes. Contributors elucidate networks of traders, soldiers, as well as scholars and religious figures. Material regarding patterns of residence (sometimes of the nature of an enclave, sometimes not), places of worship, choice of marital partners, and cases of return migration, is presented, the results demonstrating clearly the fruitfulness of pursuing a comparative approach to seventeenth-century British and Irish history. Contributors are Waldemar Kowalski, Peter Davidson, Douglas Catterall, Steve Murdoch, Ciaran O’Scea, Éamon Ó Ciosáin, Igor Pérez Tostado, Kathrin Zickermann, Barry Robertson, Siobhan Talbott, Polona Vidmar, David J.B. Trim, Tom McInally, Thomas O’Connor and Caroline Bowden.

This book comprises the first full-length comparison of Scottish, Irish, English and Welsh migration within Europe in the early modern period. The contributions demonstrate the fruitfulness of pursuing a comparative approach to seventeenth-century British and Irish history.

Whilst much recent scholarly work has sought to place early modern British and Irish history within a broader continental context, most of this has focused on western or northern Europe. In order to redress the balance, this new study by David Worthington explores the connections linking writers and expatriates from the later Tudor and Stuart kingdoms with the two major dynastic conglomerates east of the Rhine, the Austrian Habsburg lands and Poland-Lithuania. Drawing on a variety of sources, including journals, diaries, letters and travel accounts, the book not only shows the high level of scholarly interest evidenced within contemporary English language works about the region, but how many more British and Irish people ventured there than is generally recognised. As well as the soldiers, merchants and diplomats one might expect, we discover more unexpected and colourful characters, including a polymath Irish moral theologian in Vienna, an orphaned English poetess in Prague, a Welsh humanist in Cracow, and a Scottish physician and botanist at the Vasa court in Warsaw. This examination of the diverse range of Irish, Scottish, Welsh and English religious, intellectual, political, military and commercial contacts with central Europe provides not only a more balanced view of British and Irish history, but also continues the process of reintegrating the histories of the European regions. Furthermore, by extending the focus of research beyond widely studied areas, towards other more illuminating, international aspects, the book challenges scholars to analyse these networks within less parochial, and more transnational settings.

Robert Beale (15411601) was a diplomat and administrator who worked at the heart of Elizabethan governance and international policymaking. In spite or perhaps because of the voluminous record he left behind, he has never been the subject of a dedicated biography, and his remarkable life and influence have therefore remained hidden. By thoroughly investigating Beales personal reference archive, which remains largely intact at the British Library, and additional material from archives across the UK, mainland Europe, and the USA, this book brings Beales life into sharp focus: from his shadowy upbringing in Coventry and London, through his first trips to the European mainland in the 1550s, and to his prominent roles in Queen Elizabeths government. By reconstructing the complex web of transnational connections he forged throughout Europe, David Scott Gehring demonstrates for the first time the extent to which these networks and his experiences abroad made him an invaluable agent of the Elizabethan regime. In the process, Gehring reveals Beales broader significance for our understanding of the workings of Elizabethan government, especially the role of second- and third-level players within it, and he recognizes the impossibility of truly understanding Elizabethan England without considering its interactions with and connections to the rest of Europe. The book makes a range of novel contributions, including to understandings of Elizabethan foreign policy, the succession, religion, political life, and intelligence gathering.

The question of whether Britain is "apart from or a part of Europe" (D. Abulafia) has gained significance in recent years. This book reassesses an underexplored field of early modern transnational history: the variety of ways in which connections between Britain and German-speaking Europe shaped developments. After a comprehensive introduction, this book is divided into three parts: cross-border transfers and appropriations of knowledge; coping with alterity in intergovernmental contacts; and ideologising the cultural nation. The topics range from the exchange of religious and political ideas over court life, diplomacy, and espionage to literary and philosophical debates. Particular attention is paid to the media processes involved and to the practical value of knowledge about the "other" in different historical contexts. The picture emerging from the case studies reveals an intriguing dynamic: Mutual interest and ambiguous entanglements deepened precisely at a time when the British and German worlds diverged evermore from each other in terms of social and political structures. This fascinating volume sheds new light on Anglo-German relations and will be essential reading for students of early modern European history.

'In the last two decades, the history of the Counter-Reformation has been stretched and re-shaped in numerous directions. Reflecting the variety and innovation that characterize studies of early modern Catholicism today, this volume incorporates topics as diverse as life cycle and community, science and the senses, the performing and visual arts, material objects and print culture, war and the state, sacred landscapes and urban structures. Moreover, it challenges the conventional chronological parameters of the Counter-Reformation and introduces the reader to the latest research on global Catholicism. The Ashgate Research Companion to the Counter-Reformation presents a comprehensive examination of recent scholarship on early modern Catholicism in its many guises. It examines how the Tridentine reforms inspired conflict and conversion, and evaluates lives and identities, spirituality, culture and religious change. This wide-ranging and original research guide is a unique resource for scholars and students of European and transnational history.

This is the first study to analyse the relationship between England and Sweden across the entire seventeenth century. It emphasises the importance of commerce and diplomacy working in tandem. The book contains five chapters arranged chronologically, all based on original and innovative archival research, and traces the economic aspects of the relationship in both a qualitative and quantitative context. It draws upon a number of unique incidents to detail the variety and extent of commercial and diplomatic connections that became of primary importance for the welfare and success of both nations over the century.

The fascinating life of Frances Jennings, elder sister of Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, charting her marriages and changes of fortune, her exile and return, her ambition, political manoeuvring and sincere piety.Frances Jennings, elder sister of Sarah, duchess of Marlborough, had an interesting and eventful life, most notably as the influential wife of Richard Talbot, earl of Tyrconnell, Catholic viceroy of Ireland under James II. Born circa 1649 into a Hertfordshire gentry family, she was a noted beauty at the Restoration court. There, she met and married George Hamilton, a Catholic officer who, after 1667, served in Louis XIV's army. In Paris, Frances raised three daughters, converted to Catholicism, and became an active member of the English Catholic émigré community. Following Hamilton's death, she remarried to Richard Talbot. As vicereine of Ireland, Frances helped re-establish Catholic hegemony, assisting in the foundation of convents and re-consecration of Christ Church cathedral. During the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland (1689-91), Frances fled to James II's exiled court in France. In 1691, she received word that her husband, now Jacobite duke of Tyrconnell, had died. Attainted for high treason, she used the Marlboroughs' influence to recover her Irish estates. In 1708, she returned to Dublin, where she died in 1731. Highlighting Frances's political manoeuvrings, religious identity and deep family attachments, this book portrays a complex and contested figure, a woman who acted on multiple stages, in diverse roles, challenging expectations of rank, gender, and 'nationality' in unexpected ways.te-Jacobite War in Ireland (1689-91), Frances fled to James II's exiled court in France. In 1691, she received word that her husband, now Jacobite duke of Tyrconnell, had died. Attainted for high treason, she used the Marlboroughs' influence to recover her Irish estates. In 1708, she returned to Dublin, where she died in 1731. Highlighting Frances's political manoeuvrings, religious identity and deep family attachments, this book portrays a complex and contested figure, a woman who acted on multiple stages, in diverse roles, challenging expectations of rank, gender, and 'nationality' in unexpected ways.te-Jacobite War in Ireland (1689-91), Frances fled to James II's exiled court in France. In 1691, she received word that her husband, now Jacobite duke of Tyrconnell, had died. Attainted for high treason, she used the Marlboroughs' influence to recover her Irish estates. In 1708, she returned to Dublin, where she died in 1731. Highlighting Frances's political manoeuvrings, religious identity and deep family attachments, this book portrays a complex and contested figure, a woman who acted on multiple stages, in diverse roles, challenging expectations of rank, gender, and 'nationality' in unexpected ways.te-Jacobite War in Ireland (1689-91), Frances fled to James II's exiled court in France. In 1691, she received word that her husband, now Jacobite duke of Tyrconnell, had died. Attainted for high treason, she used the Marlboroughs' influence to recover her Irish estates. In 1708, she returned to Dublin, where she died in 1731. Highlighting Frances's political manoeuvrings, religious identity and deep family attachments, this book portrays a complex and contested figure, a woman who acted on multiple stages, in diverse roles, challenging expectations of rank, gender, and 'nationality' in unexpected ways.achments, this book portrays a complex and contested figure, a woman who acted on multiple stages, in diverse roles, challenging expectations of rank, gender, and 'nationality' in unexpected ways.

Using untapped archival sources from Britain, France and America, Talbott presents a comparative view of British relations with France over the long seventeenth century.