New Essays in the Political Thought of the Huguenots of the "Refuge"

The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 led to a large diaspora of French Huguenots, known as the 'Refuge'. Spreading throughout Europe, many of these Huguenots used their literary and polemical talents in the development of political ideas that would help them in their efforts to return to France, or in their adjustment to living outside of France. Arguably, their predicament turned some of them into cosmopolitans and instigated their contributions to the theory and practice of freedom of the press and economic freedom. As in the case of other diaspora cultures, expulsion from France evidently drove the refugees to new levels of political awareness and new heights of argumentative creativity. The work of the famous and industrious refugee Pierre Bayle has been credited with inspiring the great figures of Enlightenment and modernity. Too often, however, the work of less famous figures who contributed to the ethos of this period has been neglected. This volume contains explorations in the originality and influence of many of those figures, while pointing to the need for more work in the area.