Welcome! I recently took a course in which one of the readings was "Ralph Tailor's Summer", about the 1636 outbreak of the plague in Newcastle. My question is, what are some other interesting microhistories from around this period (not necessarily pertaining to disease)?

What are the hot topics in 17th-century historiography these days? (My area is really the 19th century, with a bit of dabbling in the 18th century. The Stuart period is pretty much neolithic, right?) What are some must-reads for the 17th century?

I'm curious about economic explanations or interpretations of the Glorious Revolution; they must exist, so what arguments do they advance?

Hi Professor Sowerby! Thank you so much for joining us. My question is about public opinion of William III. After nearly a quarter-century of war with the Netherlands, was there any hostility among the English people to having a Dutch prince on the throne? Obviously there was a lot of hostility from Jacobites, but was his Dutch background ever an issue?

Greetings, Dr. Sowerby! Thanks for taking the time to be here today.

I have a question, possibly a little outside your main interest, about how the Glorious Revolution influenced the fledgling American colonies. Did the Revolution influence the development, government, and politics/policies of places like Virginia and the Carolinas, or were the colonies insulated, in a way, from the events occurring back home?

Thanks again.

What were the Vatican's views prior to the Glorious Revolution? How did its views change as the situation developed in 1688? Did they remain optimistic throughout that a catholic line could be reestablished in England throughout the Glorious Revolution, or did they see it as a lost cause from the start?

Hello Dr. Sowerby! I have a question as to the degree of Jacobite support in England over time. Was it ever a serious factor post-1689, or was that Jacobite fantasy?

1.: were Fifth Monarchists a real threat to the Restoration?

2.: How was the fall of the Commonwealth perceived in New England?

My question might be too general, but I just wanted to get your take on economic development in England over the course of the 17th century. More broadly, how do you view the shift of economic and political power northward from Italian, Spanish, and Ottoman states on the Mediterranean to England and the Netherlands?

I'm working through ideas about this right now (grad student here) and I was just curious how you tend to frame this shift -- if you accept the premise, of course.

Thanks for doing this AMA. Making Toleration was fascinating, and I thought your review of Pincus’ 1688 was devastatingly great. A couple questions:

• A specialised question: There seems to be a real tension between James II’s efforts to gain popular support for toleration and his reputation as an authoritarian. Thoughts on this?

• As you know, this has been a historically bad year for early modern British history jobs. Is this year simply an aberration, or do you think it is a sign of worse to come for the field?

Hello, thank you for this AMA. My focus is in Early Modern France and certainly is centered around the French Revolution, however something that I have never really understood is why the Glorious Revolution was called a Revolution. I understand that it is a change of government but it doesn't seem that there was a movement beyond a political replacement of the King by another. With this, I must ask, is it fair to call the Glorious Revolution a revolution or has the title stuck around in history long enough that we use it out of tradition?

Thank you for doing this AMA Dr. Sowerby. A couple questions for you:

To what extent did the experiences of the English Civil War lead to the Glorious Revolution be a much less bloody affair? Was the society much less willing to endure another civil war and thus more accepting of William coming to the throne?

And if I may ask a question about Queen Anne. At what point in her reign was it realized that she would not have a healthy adult heir? Was there panic among the leaders? How did this compare to the end of Elizabeth's reign? Any good bios on Anne's era you could recommend?

Did the Dutch have a significant advantage in naval technology during the Anglo-Dutch wars of the mid 17th century or were the Dutch's maritime victories a result of better naval strategy?

Hello, I'm curious as to how much actual power William held when he became King of England? Was he an absolutist in any sense? What kind of checks and balances were there on his power as a monarch?

I've been examining the boom in travel amongst the English gentry in the 17th century. What do you think were the key reason for this boom in travel?

So, to what degree was the Glorious Revolution an invasion? British history books seem to emphasise the role of Parliament and the lack of fighting (in England, at least), while Dutch ones tend to focus on the large scale of the invading force and the subsequent occupation. I've got the idea that an honest view lies somewhere in the middle.

Have you read Neal Stephenson's Baroque Cycle books, and if so, how accurately do they capture the spirit of England at that time?

At what point did we begin to see the mytholigisation of 1688 in English politics as being a symbol of freedom and parliamentary power/ a rejection of Catholic absolutism?

What were the long term impacts of the Glorious Revolution on British politics? I understand that Catholics have not been able to take the throne, but what other effects did it have?

Did the retreat of James to France hurt Franco-Anglo relations and did it have any cause on the worsening of these relations into the near constant war between France and England for the next hundred years?

Two questions about colonialism:

1. Why did King James I decide to forbid the colonization of the land between the Plymouth and Virginia Colonies in the New World? There was a 100 mile buffer zone where the English could not colonize and the Dutch and Swedish took advantage of this and laid claim. It just looks odd when you look at how he had laid claim to all the land from the present NH norther border down to the Carolina/Georgia Border.

2. How serious was Bacon's Rebellion taken in England and did they fear that other colonies may seek independence like Bacon tried in Virginia? Or did they not know that he had claimed independence from England at the time?

Did the English have any plans for dominion of the southern colonies like they did with the Dominion of New England?

Maybe outside your time-frame; what transpired in late seventeenth century that created the population explosion, was it the birth of the industrial revolution mid-18th? generally a more peaceful period, better agricultural practices, the rise of capitalism/middle-class?

What was the cause/reasoning birth-of convicts transported to the various colonise including US? And crime; was in in check, why did it spiral out of control in the next century? Was it already a major social issue?