Thande
Donor
Nowadays we tend to instinctively think of England (and henceforth Britain) as being relatively tolerant towards the Jews in the 18th-20th century period at a time when persecution across most of Europe was, if usually less intense than in the 17th century, still a very real factor. However, in many ways this is simply because the Jews were expulsed from England in 1290 and then only allowed back in from 1655 because Cromwell agreed to a proposal from an influential rabbi - therefore for a big chunk of its history, England didn't have any Jews to persecute and thus fell out of the habit.
Now the return of the Jews, it can be argued, only happened because Cromwell was convinced and as dictator he knocked heads together - the Puritans in power at the time were strongly divided, some factions violently in favour of religious toleration of the Jews, others violently against it for more traditional reasons, and the suppressed conservative Anglicans and Catholics generally opposed.
So if we have a TL with either (1) no English Civil War due to better royal management, e.g. Henry Stuart survives, or (2) a relatively democratic republican Commonwealth of England is established and Cromwell doesn't become dictator, or even just (3) Cromwell says no to the rabbi...what would be the result? If the Jews weren't allowed back into England then, when would they be? Perhaps not until Catholic emancipation came in in the early 19th century? If England/Great Britain was still 'judenfrei' (officially at least) as late as the 18th century, how would that affect how the country was seen from a European perspective - not so much a home of liberty?
(Furthermore, how would this affect the Act of Union, as there were plenty of Jews in Scotland all throughout the time they were banned from England?)
Just a thought for discussion.
Now the return of the Jews, it can be argued, only happened because Cromwell was convinced and as dictator he knocked heads together - the Puritans in power at the time were strongly divided, some factions violently in favour of religious toleration of the Jews, others violently against it for more traditional reasons, and the suppressed conservative Anglicans and Catholics generally opposed.
So if we have a TL with either (1) no English Civil War due to better royal management, e.g. Henry Stuart survives, or (2) a relatively democratic republican Commonwealth of England is established and Cromwell doesn't become dictator, or even just (3) Cromwell says no to the rabbi...what would be the result? If the Jews weren't allowed back into England then, when would they be? Perhaps not until Catholic emancipation came in in the early 19th century? If England/Great Britain was still 'judenfrei' (officially at least) as late as the 18th century, how would that affect how the country was seen from a European perspective - not so much a home of liberty?
(Furthermore, how would this affect the Act of Union, as there were plenty of Jews in Scotland all throughout the time they were banned from England?)
Just a thought for discussion.