Speaker: Jonathan Healey

Topic: The Turbulent Seventeenth Century

Venue: Vinson Lecture Theatre

Time: 12:00-13:00 Friday 15 October

Talk Summary:

Few centuries in British and Irish history were as dramatic as the seventeenth. It saw the accession of a new dynasty, the Stuarts, whose first great crisis was the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The mid-century was marked by Civil War, which culminated in the trial and execution of Charles I. An experiment in republicanism followed, that ended in failure and the Restoration of Charles II. A brief peiod of stability descnded into warfare, invasion and the victory of the Protestant cause under William and Mary. Jonathan Healey brings these turbulent times to life, and considers their profound and lasting consequences.