Since the 1640s the British factory of Leghorn was the most important British community in Italy both for its economic and political vitality and for its ampleness. The history of the British Factory of Leghorn is also the history of the conflicts that its members had with the Tuscan authorities to assert their right to live openly their religious beliefs. One of the questions that for a long time poisoned the relationships between the English and Tuscans in those years was the attempt made by the British Factory to obtain permission to celebrate Protestant religious services for its members. The religious authorities were against any concession — not because they were afraid of a possible Protestant proselytism, but because they feared the emergence of a spontaneous doctrine of tolerance among the Catholics
Religious Pluralism and the Danger of Tolerance: The English Nation in Livorno in the Seventeenth Century
VILLANI, STEFANO
2012-01-01
Abstract
Since the 1640s the British factory of Leghorn was the most important British community in Italy both for its economic and political vitality and for its ampleness. The history of the British Factory of Leghorn is also the history of the conflicts that its members had with the Tuscan authorities to assert their right to live openly their religious beliefs. One of the questions that for a long time poisoned the relationships between the English and Tuscans in those years was the attempt made by the British Factory to obtain permission to celebrate Protestant religious services for its members. The religious authorities were against any concession — not because they were afraid of a possible Protestant proselytism, but because they feared the emergence of a spontaneous doctrine of tolerance among the CatholicsI documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
