Anti-Catholicism, civic consciousness and parliamentarianism: Thomas Scott’s "Vox Regis" (1624)

The Anglo-Spanish negotiations for a dynastic alliance which began in 1614 had never been popular among a large section of English Protestants, who felt that their monarch should demonstrate a more active commitment to European Calvinism. Such prejudices increased after 1618 when the Bohemian crisis...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Álvarez Recio, Leticia
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:idus.us.es:11441/60530
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11441/60530
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Anti-Catholicism
Spanish Match
Civic Consciousness
Parliamentarianism
1624 Parliament
Models of Kingship
Anti-catolicismo
el matrimonio español
conciencia cívica
Parlamentarismo
parlamento de 1624
modelos de monarquía
Descripción
Sumario:The Anglo-Spanish negotiations for a dynastic alliance which began in 1614 had never been popular among a large section of English Protestants, who felt that their monarch should demonstrate a more active commitment to European Calvinism. Such prejudices increased after 1618 when the Bohemian crisis began and James did not support the Elector Palatine against the Habsburg Empire. The anti-Catholic mood reached its peak in October 1623, when the Prince of Wales arrived in London after his failed journey to Madrid. Many Londoners viewed his return as a victory over Spain and demanded a shift in Anglo-Spanish relations. This article considers the political tract Vox Regis (1624), written by Thomas Scott, one of the most prolific anti-Catholic pamphleteers at the time. In this work Scott develops many of the arguments proposed in Parliament in order to persuade James to change his religious and foreign policy. His anti-Catholic attacks vehicle debates on the role of citizens in the Commonwealth and more participatory types of government, in opposition to the crown’s appeal to the raison d’état and the doctrine of the divine right of kings. Thus, Scott relates anti-popery to civic consciousness, linking his discourse to the humanist tradition and anticipating some of the ideological discussions prevalent in England during and after the civil war.