Letters on Toleration, Volume 2: Dutch Aid to Persecuted Swiss and Palatine Mennonites 1615-1699: Transcriptions of the Dutch, French, German, and ... and Mennonite Studies (New Series))

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Volume 2 Contains only the original transcribed source texts in Dutch, French, German, and Latin.Please see Volume 1 for the introduction and English translations: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/1778730442“With this collection of primary sources, Jeremy Bangs recounts the little-known story of how seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Dutch Mennonites assisted their Swiss and German coreligionists to escape the governmental oppression that ‘the Mennonite democratic impulse’ continued to provoke. But he does far more than that. Bangs also reveals the important yet neglected role played by Dutch Mennonites and other nonconformists in the development of a philosophy of religious toleration and diversity formulated by, for example, the English refugee to Amsterdam, John Locke. For such thinkers, the plight of the persecuted Anabaptists was a testcase for the application of the new principles of toleration and proto-democratic governance. A treasure trove of primary sources and a ground-breaking work of scholarship, Bangs’ labour of love deserves a wide audience.” —Gary K. Waite“The 17th century was a difficult time for the Anabaptists of Europe. Hounded out of Switzerland and driven hither and yon through other parts of Europe, it was not until arrival in America that many Mennonites found their paradise. Jeremy Bangs has transcribed and translated over 250 original letters, accounts, and other documents found in Dutch, Swiss, and German archives. Among the host of letters showing officials arguing, ministers remonstrating, and Dutch fellow-Mennonites and ordinary Dutch citizens raising relief funds, are golden nuggets of genealogical data. Hundreds of Mennonite refugee families are detailed, most often with ages, occupations, origins, spouse's and children's names given.” (Original 2004 Publisher’s Description)Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs (1946–2023) was an American historian, scholar, and the former director of the Leiden American Pilgrim Museum. He was known for his research on the pilgrims and authored eleven books covering early modern Dutch, English, and American history.