The Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 seems to be one of the most influential time periods in English history.  It was during this time period that the Declaration of Rights would be issued which began the Bill of Rights in December of 1689. Interesting to note that the Bill of Rights in England would become a great factor in American colonists issuing the Declaration of Independence.  It was during this time period that England would take a different stance on foreign policy than in recent years.  William would declare on France in an attempt to contain the power of France.  Louis had no governing body to check his actions so his power in Europe was limitless.  Be declaring war on France William was attempting to contain the rule of Louis. France and the Netherlands were the biggest threats to England and William decided that he would declare war on France instead the Netherlands.  A different component in these years then in years past was the impact of money.  Usually money was a detrimental factor in England as it always seemed like England was always lacking financial resources.  Now with armies larger and wars longer money as the book describes, “provided the sinews of power.”  Manufacturing industries would make strides with the overthrow of James II by William and Mary.  Not surprisingly the Church played a large role during this time period in the everyday lives of the English population.  During the revolution power would be shifted within the Church of England.  England’s Glorious Revolution had a major impact on the future of England.

I would just like to start out by saying that I really did enjoy this book.  The book completely flips the script when Oroonoko goes from being a royalty to being a slave.  The author describes Oroonoko as this magnificent human being.  Physically Oroonoko is depicted as a powerful figure, which is interesting because he may by physically powerful as a Prince, however, little did he know that he was going to be using his man power as a slave in the later years of his life.  I also thought it was interesting that the reason he takes a path toward slavery is simply because he has love and affection for a woman that the old man in the story has a particular liking.  When Oroonoko begins his life as a slave it is as if he is given a completely new identity.  He begins working a slave lifestyle, which is nothing like that of what he was doing when he was a royalty.  To me the most interesting part of the book comes in the later stages when Caesar and Tuscan are punished.  This book really shows the extreme lengths slaveowners would go to punish their slaves.  The men were bound with several stakes, “whipping the flesh from their bones.”  Interesting that the entire time Oroonoko simply rolls his eyes in disgust.  The book features a lot of affection and love, however, the end of the book is simply pure brutality.  Oroonoko experienced two completely different lifestyles at opposite ends of the spectrum.

James Sharpe’s book The Bewitching of Anne Gunter is a very interesting story describing the bewitching of a woman.  First of all I must say that it is very interesting to see how prevalent the notion of Witchcraft was in Early Modern England society.  This woman, Anne Gunter, became very ill and the illness would eventually continue until the only explanation was that she was bewitched.  Anne does some very strange things such as vomiting pins.  However, during her trial before the king Anne states that it was her father that forced her to take these necessary actions to try and rid the witches she originally claimed that had bewitched her.  What is incredibly interesting about his book is that this a true story of an event that actually happened during this time period.  Her father seems to have been an incredible violent, selfish person that attempted to use Anne to help save him from his past violent actions.  She confesses to “faking” her trance when she accuses the women of bewitching her.  This seems to me as a very dysfunctional father daughter relationship that became so bad it made its way to a witchcraft trial before the king.  I must say that I feel bad for Anne because it seems as though she didn’t exactly have the best father and it seems that while he may have cared for her, he absolutely cared more about himself than he did for her.  I’d like to point out that it is pretty crazy to think that during this time period witchcraft trials would make it all the way before the king’s court and that there were people during this time period that were actual witch hunters.  This is a very sad account of a woman who was forced into being bewitched by her own father in front of all of England.  Once again I must say it is quite amazing how prevalent witchcraft and other crimes of this stature were in that time period.

This is a very interesting book that depicts race during the Shakespearian time period.  First of all I think that it is indeed very interesting that the term “race” was not coined until the year 1508, which is just over 500 years ago.  In terms of where race placed you in society, I believe that one’s religion and bloodline were deemed more important.  If you followed a certain religion that others in the community would associate you with certain values and practices.  If you were born into a Lord family than you were privileged, if you were born into a peasant family than you were much less privileged.  As Loomba mentions in the book, “class was seen as an attribute rooted in blood” and I believe that one’s race at the time did not have an extreme effect on who they were.  It was as if in these feudal societies that race defined your class.  There is a term used in the book called “nobler race” simply meaning born into a noble society.  At this point in time during this society race did not at all reflect the color of someone like we interpret it today.  It is very evident that the word race had a completely different meaning during the Early Modern English time period.  However, I believe that this time period is when the term “race” began to evolve as the world was undergoing major change.  Truthfully I believe that during this time period racism itself was there but was not anything major like we would see later on in the world.  I find the “Racism without Race” particularly interesting as Loomba discusses racism through a cultural and biological perspective.  She states in her book that, “the rise of modern racism is often seen in terms of a shift from cultural (and more benign) to a more biological (and inflexible) view of racial difference.”  It is very interesting to think about the role of race 500 years ago and the role of race today.

I really enjoyed reading this book as I have often wondered what English settlers thought when they were attempting to colonize the new world.  It seems that the number one priority for almost all settlers was to instill Christianity in the new world.  While I agree that this was indeed a major factor in the settling of the new world I believe that most people that sailed across the Atlantic Ocean were simply looking for a new beginning and a new opportunity.  On most accounts in the this book settlers start out by talking about spreading Christianity but quickly turn to talking about “conquest” and of natural resources and exploring down rivers.  Also it is interesting to note that these settlers had no idea the climate or area they were sailing into.  They expected to land in a tropical area where they would find Olives and Limes, but they instead sailed into Virginia where they would have to adjust to their original plan.  The people that they sent over on the ships were bricklayers, tilers, and carpenters.  I believe that this was in all honesty a great attempt at building a settlement as these people help for the basic needs for civilization.  They speak of Indians in a very interesting way.  Harriot says that they are a great people although they are very unskilled.  He believes that a great friendship can be created and that the Indians will “obey.”  He even goes to say that once a relationship is generated that they will attempt to preach religion to them.  John Winthrop has a very interesting account as well when he talks about the “City Upon a Hill.”  This Puritan society was what they had envisioned from the beginning.  On a side note I think it’s incredible that most of these voyages happened in the mid 1600’s.  It has only been 400 years and the country we currently live on has gone from a land of trees to incredible cities and skyscrapers, and this all began with the way English settlers Envisioned America.

“The English Civil Wars” by Blair Worden really helped my understanding of the causes of the Civil War and the War itself.  It seemed like a very solid concise history of the events and incidents that occurred in England between the years of 1640-16600.  The chapter that I most closely analyzed was the chapter about War.  It is interesting that in the book Worden notes that the Civil War began as “local skirmishes” that resulted in Parliament sweeping London away from Charles.  Also I find it interesting that in the earliest stages of the war each side believed that the War would be won within the first few battles, and it turned out that the exact opposite would happen.  It seemed as though from the beginning it was an even matchup between the Kings forces as well as Parliamentary forces.  Religion played a large role in the war and was closely associated with the outcome of battles as the book states, “Parliamentarian brought the abasement and self inspection of the Puritan soul.  Victories brought it exaltation of spirit.  All in all, I agree with Parliament’s idea to restrain the absolute rule of the monarch, and I really believe that Charles got what he deserved.  One man should not be able to press upon total control of his people with all of his ideas.

Under the Molehill was an interesting book however I must say I didn’t exactly like the book.  The book seems to be very scholarly and not exactly targeted for a reader like myself that really has no previous knowledge of this time period in English history.  We discussed in class how the author is considered to be one of the most prestigious history professors in the world.  According to other sources no one knows more about this topic than Bossy.  I must say say I was not exactly impressed with his writing as for me it was hard to understand.  While the storyline of the novel seemed interesting it was hard for me to completely comprehend what was going on throughout the book.  I found myself lost throughout the book however it is very interesting to think that a spy story such as this could be a possibility at such a high political level.  I am sure that there are people out there that believe that “Under the Molehill” is an excellent book however I am not one of them.  I was even confused by some of the punctuation throughout the book.  All in all, I’m sure that this book really interests some but this book is just not for me.

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