The Political and
Social Impact of
Newspapers in
Stuart England
JOE MURPHY-O’CONNOR
Context and Introduction

Ian Atherton - Stuart England’s ‘Information Revolution’

What is a ‘newspaper’?

We will examine:

How accessible were the newspapers and was there an interest
from the population?

How far did censorship define political views and writing?

How big an impact did newspapers have on society, and did it blur
the lines between social classes in any way?

What role did newspapers have in shaping the history of this period?
A Brief Summary of the Advent of
the Newspaper

Singles news pamphlets, reporting foreign battles and domestic
news, were the only means of receiving news, and often only the
elite would have access

Not until 1620 that the first English language news serials were
published - Amsterdam

The first news serials were published in England in 1621 – seen as
‘superficial’

November 1641 - The first English weekly newsbook, The Heads of
Severall Proceedings in this Present Parliament, was published, and
within a matter of weeks, it had seven rivals.

Frank – The Beginnings of the English Newspaper – ‘Coming of Age’
Frank’s Three Presumptions

Frank writes that the writers and editors of every newspaper made
three basic assumptions about the public, which allows us to
partially answer these questions.

Firstly, they assumed that people were interested in news

Secondly, there was an assumption they could be influenced by
how that news was presented

Thirdly, is that the dissemination of news was itself good

Mercurius Aulicus - ‘You heard last weeke of the affrights and
terrours which the prevailing faction in the pretended Houses were
fallen into… and shall now heare of the confusions and distractions
they are in at home…’

Literacy Rates – Not accessible to everyone
A Threat to Those in Power?

Letter from William Cavendish, the Duke of Newcastle, to Charles II ‘there is another error that does overheat your people extremely,
and does your Majesty much harm, that every man now has
become a statesman, both home and abroad, merely due to the
weekly gazette. Domestic or foreign gazettes, therefore, should be
forbidden.’

This highlights the impact which newspapers had on those power,
and how society saw them

Jürgen Habermas’s notion of a “structural transformation of the
public sphere”

Blurring of social classes?
The Attraction for the Readers

Athenian Mercury – Is believed to be the first newspaper to include
an advice column

For example, a question published on 7th November 1693 is one from
a tradesman who has encountered financial difficulty, and asks for
advice on how to maintain his reputation and keep his economic
difficulties quiet.

The reply expresses sympathy, saying ‘We are very sorry that so
honest a man as you seem to be, shou’d meet with such
disappointments…’ and then goes on to suggest ways in which to
achieve what is desired

Expensive?
Political Bias

Civil War

‘danger is so great that may fall by the same, that such course must
be taken by both houses of Parliament, that shal prevent future
danger threatned, and secure that bleeding Kingdome with speedy
reliefe, desiring a speedy answer from his Maiesty to the same,’

Marchamont Nedham – Wrote Mercurius Britanicus – Differing styles
of writing

Then went on to write Mercurius Pragmaticus – Royalist newsbook

Provokes questions about the political writing of this time, and
highlights its importance

The newspaper as a vehicle for philosophical views
Shaping The History of the Time

What role did it play in shaping the history of this period?

Atherton - ‘new technology of information dissemination,’

Somerville – Explicit comparisons with the invention of the
internet

Dooley – Extending the people’s experience beyond their
surroundings

The impact on the Civil War

The Impact on the Royal Family and Parliament

Newspapers played a huge role in shaping events of the time –
Changed the political and social landscape for many of the
population
Conclusion

How accessible were the newspapers and was there an
interest from the population?

How far did censorship define political views and writing?

How big an impact did newspapers have on society, and did
it blur the lines between social classes in any way?

What role did newspapers have in shaping the history of this
period?