George Thomason and London in the 1650s

Abstract

Thomason’s involvement in public politics, which had been extensive during the 1640s, brought him considerable personal trouble following the execution of Charles I, an event that he clearly opposed. Like many others who had been active Presbyterians before 1649, he became an opponent of the republican regime, and this chapter traces his career during the 1650s, when he became a leading member of the Stationers’ Company, during a period which witnessed notable in-fighting, and when he was briefly imprisoned and investigated upon suspicion of being involved in a royalist conspiracy that became known as the ‘Love plot’. The chapter also traces his eventual support for the Restoration of Charles II in 1660, and reflects upon his response to the policies of the restored Stuart regime.

Keywords

• thomason tracts
• george thomason