Religion, Loyalty and Sedition : The Hanoverian Succession of 1714

The Hanoverian Succession of 1714 has not attracted the scholarly attention that it deserves. This is partly because the idea of the so-called long eighteenth century, stretching from 1688 to 1832, has tended to treat the period as one without breaks. However, 1714 was in some respects as significant a date as 1688, because it was the last time in British history that there was a dynastic change, one in which religious issues were at the forefront in people’s minds. This book enriches our understanding of the Succession by contextualizing it within larger political and social conditions, reflecting some of the major issues that were evident in the period before, during, and after 1714. In particular, the contributors deal with how disloyalty was managed by the government and by individuals, and in doing so they demonstrate how central religion was to the process of securing the Hanoverian Succession and to the identity of the new regime that was established.