London Quakers in the Trans-Atlantic World The Creation of an Early Modern Community

by Landes, Jordan

• ISBN13: 9781137366672
• ISBN10: 1137366672
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2015-06-17
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Cultural, economic, and political networks formed the early modern Atlantic world into which the Society of Friends ventured within the first decades of its existence, developing networks through which to meet its goals: spreading the faith and supporting dispersed Quaker communities. During the development of these networks, London was the seat of government, banking, foreign trade and printing. Being in London gave Quakers access to political bodies, to centres of commerce and shipping, and to an extensive printing industry. This book argues that the advantages of London's position as a national and international city enabled the creation of systems of exchange of correspondence, print materials, and supplies needed to survive in the colonies as well as for the movement of people to the colonies and back to London. London Quakers were in a strong position to effectively create and formatively participate in a trans-Atlantic community.

Author Biography

Jordan is Research Librarian for History at Senate House Library, University of London, UK. She has previously been a librarian at the University of Maryland – College Park, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and Shakespeare's Globe theatre in London. She completed her PhD in the Centre for Metropolitan History, University of London, UK.

Table of Contents

Contents
1. Quaker Institutional Structures
2. Communicating Religion with Friends 'Beyond the Seas'
3. Communicating Politics with Friends 'Beyond the Seas'
4. Quaker Merchants and Transatlantic Commercial Activity in London
5. The Trans-Atlantic Quaker Book Trade
6. Movement of People in the Quaker Atlantic
7. Colonial Perceptions