PREFACE. THE purpose of this study is to set forth the attitude toward the English government, in one of the most troubled periods of its history, of two religious bodies which by a large number of their contemporaries were considered enemies of all government, and sworn foes of peace and order. Twice in a period of six years the men belonging to these two parties were actually in a position to affect the policy of the government; for part of the period one of them practically controlled Ireland, and throughout the Protectorate they were a serious problem to Cromwell. I have endeavored to ascertain as far as possible to what extent the political programs of the two parties furnished justification of the popular opinion concerning them, and, in consequence, what was their real importance in the history of their time. I have used throughout the term Baptist, which in the period under consideration had begun to be employed by the Baptists themselves, in place of the less convenient terms "baptized believer" and "baptized brother". The name Anabaptist, never accepted by the Baptists themselves, was practically the only one applied to them by outsiders. There was, however, great confusion as to its use: Independents and other sectaries usually applied it to the Baptists alone; Royalists, foreigners, and sometimes Presbyterians, made it include the Fifth Monarchy men and all other extreme (vii) 269170 sectaries, and sometimes it was used yet more loosely as a mere term of reproach. Of the materials used, the most important have been such collections of contemporary correspondence as the Thurloe Papers, both printed and manuscript, the letcers of Henry Cromwell and those of the French amDassador Bordeaux; and contemporary pamphlets, especially the great Thomason Collection in the British Museum. A good deal of information has been pieced together from scattered references in the Calendars of State Papers, the Reports of the Historical MSS. Comnission, the Clarke Papers, and in the Tanner, Carte, and Clarendon MSS. Records of individual churches are unfortunately scarce. Some few are available in manuscript, and several of these have been made accessible in print by the Hanserd Knollys Society and, nore recently, by the Baptist and Congregational hiscorical societies of London. The two societies last named are making commendable efforts to publish all existing material for the early history of the Separatist churches. Doubtless the forthcoming volumes of Mr. Champlin Burrage will also contain valuable material. I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to Professor C. H. Firth, to Dr. William A. Shaw, to Mrs. S. C. Lomas, and to Dr. Frances G. Davenport, for advice and assistance most kindly given me when I was gathering my material. Grateful acknowledgments are also due to Mr. Frank H. Robinson of the Baptist College of Bristol, and to Dr. W. T. Whitley of Preston, for heir courteous answers to letters of inquiry; to Mr. Hubert Hall of the Public Record Office, and to the ibrarians of the British Museum, the Bodleian Library, he Dr. Williams Library, the Friends' Reference |