Catholicism and Nationality

The Aylward Papers primarily invite discussion about the role of religion within the mercantile early modern world. The main aim of this research has been to challenge and dispel stereotypes about Catholicism and to contribute to the recent scholarship on dissenters in the Atlantic world. However, the Aylwards’ letters tell us much more about religious groups within Britain as a nation, rather than simply its world of commerce. Unlike other scholars, Glickman's recent work suggests the British nation was not exclusively Protestant and the example of the Aylwards supports this argument. The Catholic merchants here thought of themselves as part of a distinct national group, at least within the mercantile community and strove to further the commercial interests of their country. As Hancock said, the Atlantic world promoted the idea of a British community and this book hopes to contribute to the debate on Britain and its invented nation.

The relationship between Catholicism and British nationhood is problematic. In the last twenty years or so, historiography has questioned the position of dissenters within Britain, their contribution to the nation-building process, and their perceived identities. After 1689, the position of Protestant dissenters was completely different from that of Catholics; they were tolerated and could access a level of the political system, including Parliament itself. Great Britain was not a confessional state: it was pluralist, but ultimately it was Protestant. There seems to be agreement between scholars that Britain was built by religion and that the various Celtic, Gaelic, and Anglo-Saxon elements were pulled together by anti-Catholic feelings, the only sentiment that found wide consensus. In short, that Britain was an invented nation and Protestantism was its cement.

It is difficult to disagree with this argument, particularly in light of the official legislation that, as Colley said, enshrined the division between Protestants and Catholics until 1829. Until then, British Catholics had not been allowed to vote or hold state offices. They were subject to punitive taxation, forbidden to possess weapons and discriminated against in terms of access to education, property rights, and freedom of worship.