ISBN : 9782296136298
THE APRIL COMMITTEE, 1640: THE PROJECTION AND REFLECTION OF THE COVENANTING REVOLUTION
In April 1640, a Scottish provisional government, calling itself "The Tables" rather than the "Parliament" to avoid accusations of treason, established a committee to discuss the process of projecting their Calvinist revolution to their "doubles" abroad. They reached out to potential allies via the religiously and politically diverse communities of Scots who had established themselves in France, Sweden, Denmark- Norway and the Dutch Republic. The brief of the April Committee appears to have been to creatively inform the communities about the nature of the ongoing "Covenanting Revolution" so that Scots abroad might be better placed to represent their case to foreign powers. Many of those contacted believed they already lived in a utopian ideal version of Scotland, rebuilt in microcosm abroad. Consequently the Covenanters had to be very careful in representing...