New from the University of Virginia Press:
Gun Culture in Early Modern England (May 2016), by
Lois G. Schwoerer (George Washington University). A description from the Press:
Guns had an enormous impact on the social,
economic, cultural, and political lives of civilian men, women, and
children of all social strata in early modern England. In this study,
Lois Schwoerer identifies and analyzes England’s domestic gun culture
from 1500 to 1740, uncovering how guns became available, what effects
they had on society, and how different sectors of the population
contributed to gun culture.
The rise of guns made for recreational use followed the development
of a robust gun industry intended by King Henry VIII to produce
artillery and handguns for war. Located first in London, the gun
industry brought the city new sounds, smells, street names, shops,
sights, and communities of gun workers, many of whom were immigrants.
Elite men used guns for hunting, target shooting, and protection. They
collected beautifully decorated guns, gave them as gifts, and included
them in portraits and coats-of-arms, regarding firearms as a mark of
status, power, and sophistication. With statutes and proclamations, the
government legally denied firearms to subjects with an annual income
under £100—about 98 percent of the population—whose reactions ranged
from grudging acceptance to willful disobedience.
Schwoerer shows how this domestic gun culture influenced England’s
Bill of Rights in 1689, a document often cited to support the claim that
the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution conveys the
right to have arms as an Anglo-American legacy. Schwoerer shows that the
Bill of Rights did not grant a universal right to have arms, but rather
a right restricted by religion, law, and economic standing, terms that
reflected the nation's gun culture. Examining everything from gunmakers’
records to wills, and from period portraits to toy guns, Gun Culture in Early Modern England offers new data and fresh insights on the place of the gun in English society.
A few blurbs:
"Lois Schwoerer has taken an intrinsically interesting topic and
provided a great deal of fascinating and deeply researched information
stretching back over five centuries. Thanks to this deep historical
context, her book gives valuable insight into the current American
debate on gun culture and the origin of ‘the right to bear arms.’" -- Ian Gentles
"In her concise and colorful book, Lois G. Schwoerer tells the story
about how England’s own fascination with guns led it to adopt a
right-to-have-arms provision in its Declaration of Rights of 1689,
almost exactly one century before Americans adopted the Second Amendment
in their Bill of Rights. What were the English thinking? Modern readers
on both sides of the Atlantic will be in for an enjoyable ride—and some
real surprises." -- Carl Bogus
More information is available here.
