Enemy and Ally, Bulwark and Mis-shapen Monster

: Perceptions and reflections on the Empire of Germany in the English press, 1618-1713

Abstract

Despite various overlaps in English and German interests in the period from the beginning of the Thirty Years War to the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, the role of Germany in seventeenth and early eighteenth century English print discourse has received only minor attention in historical research. This thesis aims to start filling this gap and to contribute to some of the key trends recently discussed in the historiography. Contemporary works of
reference, histories and travel literature will be studied for their knowledge and understanding - as well as for their views and images - of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire. In case studies this thesis will then look at English print media related to the Thirty Years War, the Nine Years War, and the War of the Spanish Succession as three particular instances of English interest and intellectual concern. The contemporary political print discourse will be examined for English perceptions and reflection on Germany, for England’s self-perceived
role in Europe, as well as for assumed English responsibilities towards German coreligionists and allies.
It will be shown that the English interest in Germany was greater and that reflections on the country went deeper than has hitherto been assumed. The English (non-) involvement in German and imperial affairs repeatedly triggered debates about England’s foreign policy. It sparked criticism as well as praise and provided a background against which an English selfimage could be constructed and defined. English self-perception, based on comparison with and reflections on the multi-confessional Empire, was more complex than just defining the
English self against a catholic other. Equally, the shift from confessional to balance of power thinking in English debates about foreign policy matters seems to have been less definite than scholars have tended to assume.

Date of Award	28 May 2019
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Bangor University
Supervisor	Tony Claydon (Supervisor) & Thomas Corns (Supervisor)