John Morrill

First published as part of the best-selling The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain, John Morrill's Very Short Introduction to Stuart Britain sets the Revolution into its political, religious, social, economic, intellectual, and cultural contexts. It thus seeks to integrate what most other surveys pull apart. It gives a graphic account of the effects of a century-long period during which population was growing inexorably and faster than both the food supply and the employment market. It looks at the failed attempts of successive governments to make all those under their authority obedient members of a unified national church; it looks at how Charles I blundered into a civil war which then took on a terrifying momentum of its own. The result was his trial and execution, the abolition of the monarchy, the house of lords, the bishops, the prayer book and the celebration of Christmas. As a result everything else that people took for granted came up for challenge, and this book shows how painfully and with what difficulty order and obedience was restored. Vividly illustrated and full of startling detail, this is an ideal introduction to those interested in getting into the period, and also contains much to challenge and stimulate those who already feel at home in Stuart England. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Oliver Cromwell is one of the most significant figures in British history – and one of the most misinterpreted. In this major new biography, John Morrill argues that Cromwell has been seriously misinterpreted by historians, not least by left-wing thinkers such as Tony Benn, who claim Cromwell as their own and thus misunderstand the nature of Cromwell’s political thought, which was in fact a product of his religious ideas. And in this, asserts Morrill, Cromwell was entirely sincere. With new research and insight, this exploration of his life reveals a man who never doubted that he was doing God’s will – which included murdering over 3,000 people, among them Catholic clergy, after the Siege of Drogheda, ordering the religious killed on sight, and signing Charles I’s execution order. Morrill also looks at the long shadow Cromwell cast over Irish history, with policies that have been accused of verging on genocide. He sheds exciting new light on Cromwell, both political and religious, with analysis that is based on the latest scholarship of the highest quality, arguing against contemporary critics and claiming that Cromwell was a man of fundamental sincerity and devotion to high Puritan principles.

At the outbreak of the Second World War U.S.S. Quail was in the Philippines sweeping mines to provide access for American shipping to South Harbor, Corregidor. Damaged by enemy bombs and guns during the Japanese invasion of the island, Lieutenant Commander John Morrill and his fellow men decided to make the decision to scuttle their ship rather than allow it to be captured. This led them to begin one of the most daring escapes of the Second World War.

At the outbreak of the Second World War U.S.S. Quail was in the Philippines sweeping mines to provide access for American shipping to South Harbor, Corregidor. Damaged by enemy bombs and guns during the Japanese invasion of the island, Lieutenant Commander John Morrill and his fellow men decided to make the decision to scuttle their ship rather than allow it to be captured. This led them to begin one of the most daring escapes of the Second World War.

John Morrill has been at the forefront of modern attempts to explain the origins, nature and consequences of the English Revolution. These twenty essays -- seven either specially written or reproduced from generally inaccessible sources -- illustrate the main scholarly debates to which he has so richly contributed: the tension between national and provincial politics; the idea of the English Revolution as "the last of the European Wars of Religion''; its British dimension; and its political sociology. Taken together, they offer a remarkably coherent account of the period as a whole.

Charles I's accession to the throne in 1625 was probably the most untroubled for over 200 years. Yet after seventeen years he found himself involved in a civil war that split the nation in two; he was later deposed, convicted of treason and publicly executed. Through an excellent selection of primary sources this book looks at the personality and policies of Charles I, and considers how far he was responsible for his own destruction. It includes not only written documents, but also paintings, coins and architectural drawings, which help to throw light on this enigmatic monarch and deeply private man. This successful volume in the Cambridge Topics in History series is reprinted with a full colour cover.