AbstractsHistory

This paper discusses the importance of pamphleteers during the period of the Late Stuart Dynasty in England. While individual pamphleteers are rarely discussed in broad historical texts about the seventeenth century, their writing dramatically influenced the political policy of the Crown and of Parliament. The paper discusses three major topics in the history of pamphleteering during the late seventeenth century and through these topics the contributions of individuals are discussed. First, the pamphleteers and their political relation to Charles II’s mistresses, especially the comparison between the English and Protestant mistress Nell Gwyn to the French and Catholic Louise de Kerouaille. Second, how pamphleteers such as Robert Ferguson and Samuel Johnson worked with printers like Richard Baldwin to help influence the objectives of the Glorious Revolution. Lastly, the paper concludes with the discussion of how women such as Aphra Behn and Jane Curtis entered into the position of pamphleteer. The paper spans the period of the English monarchy’s restoration to the Glorious Revolution and advances the scholarship of historians of England, Europe, and Early Modern Print Culture. Advisors/Committee Members: Graham, Michael (Advisor), Levin, Michael (Committee Co-Chair).