Geraldine BrooksBackground Information

Historical & Political Setting

Year of Wonders

Religion England was Catholic until the late 1500’s

when King Henry VIII split with the Catholic church because he was unable to have a marriage annulled in order for him to marry his mistress

Before this the Catholic church was not without its own problems. There was a great deal of corruption amongst the Catholic hierarchy and those with money and means fled London during the great plague epidemic in the 1300’s, leaving the poor to suffer

Religion Protestants first emerged in the 1400’s Protestants believe an individual has a

direct relationship to God. Catholics believe that the Priest is an

intermediary between God and the individual.

The Protestants dislike the clear hierarchy of the Catholic church and believe it is up to the individual to look after themselves

Religion Protestants believe that God will

reward those who take care of themselves so they are strictly capitalists.

This is where the saying ‘protestant work ethic’ first came from!

The Catholic church is designed to be more community orientated in its structure and to look after those who are unable to look after themselves

Religion The are many different types of protestant

faith: - Lutheran - Methodist - Presbyterian - Seven Day Adventists - Uniting Church The other primary religious faith at the

time was Orthodoxy (Constantinople) When Anna travels to Oran her description

implies that the nation is Muslim

Puritans The Puritans (examples include Quakers

and the Amish) believe that suffering on earth will equate to reward in heaven

They disliked ‘The Book of Common Prayer’ used by most other varieties of protestants as they thought the language too elaborate and the word too gentle.

They also disliked it because it meant people could worship without a minister and thus banned it

Puritans The Puritans spread their word to

American when they travelled from England on the Mayflower in 1620

Varieties of puritanism were common in England until the restoration period (1660)

Political History After Henry VIII Queen Elizabeth won the

throne and England became a Protestant country

James I followed her and then Charles I until 1649

Oliver Cromwell was the leader of a group called the ‘Roundheads’ and he led the revolt against Charles I, establishing England as a puritanical nation after a civil war that occurred between 1642 and 1649

Political History In 1662 Charles II came back from

France, where he had been in exile and took over the throne

He established a parliament again and puritanical regimes fell from favour

England once again became a protestant country, with most people either of the Uniting Church or Presbyterian

Link to the Text The old Reverend Stanley is a puritan and

this is why he was effectively ‘banished’ from the village when Mompellion arrived

Mompellion was a far more moderate protestant and, to some extent, believed in a merciful God. It suggests he was Presbyterian

Because of the lack of scientific knowledge the general belief held by the people remained that the plague was ‘God’s wrath made manifest’ –something he had sent down to punish them for their sinful ways

God vs Nature The period in England known as the restoration

(late 17th century) marks the first time true and proper scientific investigation began to occur and religious explanations for life’s events stopped being accepted without question

The real explanation for the plague is that it is a bacterial disease spread by rats and fleas

The ‘plague sores’ (lumps) people broke out in are swollen lymph nodes and a sign of the infection

Plague still exists today in developing nations but there are a variety of strong antibiotics able to treat it