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England's Islands in a Sea of Troubles examines the jurisdictional disputes and cultural complexities in England's relationship with its island fringe from Tudor times to the eighteenth century, and traces island privileges and anomalies to the present. It tells a dramatic story of sieges and battles, pirates and shipwrecks, prisoners and prophets, as kings and commoners negotiated the political, military, religious, and administrative demands of the early modern state. The Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight, the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man, Lundy, Holy Island and others emerge as important offshore outposts that long remained strange, separate, and perversely independent.
England's islands were difficult to govern, and were prone to neglect, yet their strategic value far outweighed their size. Though vulnerable to foreign threats, their harbours and castles served as forward bases of English power. In civil war they were divided and contested, fought over and occupied. Jersey and the Isles of Scilly served as refuges for royalists on the run. Charles I was held on the Isle of Wight. External authority was sometimes light of touch, as English governments used the islands as fortresses, commercial assets, and political prisons. London was often puzzled by the linguistic differences, tangled histories, and special claims of island communities. Though increasingly integrated within the realm, the islands maintained challenging peculiarities and distinctive characteristics.
Drawing on a wide range of sources, and the insights of maritime, military, and legal scholarship, this is an original contribution to social, cultural, and constitutional history.
List of contents
- Part I: Island Conditions
- 1: Island Insularities
- 2: Lundy: An Island Story
- 3: English Islands in the Norman Sea
- 4: Island Anomalies: The Isle of Man, Scilly, Wight, and Anglesey
- 5: Island Economies: Bounties of the Land and Sea
- Part II: Island Troubles
- 6: God's Islands
- 7: Fortress Islands
- 8: Refuge and Resistance in Times of Troubles
- 9: Interregnum Assets
- 10: Restoration Responsibilities
- Part III: Island Confinement
- 11: Puritan Martyrs in Island Prisons
- 12: Charles I on the 'Ile of Wait'
- 13: Island Prisoners of the English Republic
- 14: The Restoration Prison Archipelago
- 15: Islands in an Island Empire
About the author
Born and educated in England, David Cressy built his career in the United States, where he taught in California and Ohio, most recently as the George III Professor of British History and Humanities Distinguished Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University. A frequent visitor to English archives and universities, he may also be found exploring the deserts and beaches of the American west.
Summary
This book examines England's relationship with its island fringe from the Tudor times to the eighteenth century. It tells the dramatic story of sieges and battles, pirates and shipwrecks, and kings and commoners negotiating the political, military, and administrative demands of the early modern state.
Additional text
England's Islands in a Sea of Troubles is a fine work of scholarship and Cressy is to be commended for expertly knitting together the disparate histories of these "strange, separate and perversely independent" outposts and neatly fitting the islands into the history of early modern England. The book is also a welcome addition to the burgeoning field of island studies and will be very useful to those investigating the origins of English prisons before the age of Howard.
Report
This is a richly detailed and thoughtful work which, in bringing these 'problematic outliers' to centre stage, helps us to see the history of seventeenth century England in a new way. Richard Blakemore, The English Historical Review
