Varieties of Seventeenth- and Early Eighteenth-Century English Radicalism in Context

The essays in this collection explore a number of significant questions regarding the terms 'radical' and 'radicalism' in early modern England. They investigate whether we can speak of a radical tradition, and whether radicalism was a local, national or transnational phenomenon? In so doing the volume sets out to look at the role of migration and the exchange of ideas, images and texts in the history of supposedly radical events, ideologies and movements (or moments). Once at the cutting edge of academic debate, radicalism has fallen prey to historiographical fashions as scholars have increasingly turned their attention to more mainstream experiences or reactionary forces. While acknowledging the importance of those perspectives, the aim of this volume is to provide a timely reconsideration of the position of radicalism within the early modern period. It sets out to examine the subject in original and exciting ways and adopting distinctively new and broader perspectives on what has traditionally been regarded as radicalism. Among the crucial issues addressed are problems of definition; the changing face of radicalism and the notion of radicalism in evolution; and the impact of the movement of people, ideas, images and texts across and within geographical boundaries, as well as across time. Taken together the essays in this collection offer a timely reassessment of the subject, and reflect the latest research on the theme of seventeenth-century British and Irish radicalism.