Piety, Patriotism, and Empire: Lessons for England, Spain, and the New World in the Works of Richard Hakluyt*

Abstract

AbstractThis essay examines the didactic intent of historical works that modern critics, under the influence of a later, especially Victorian, view of English history, have construed as unalloyed propaganda for Protestant England in the pursuit of empire and in its rivalry with Catholic Spain. Careful analysis of the editorial practices of Richard Hakluyt (ca. 1552–1616) reveals that he and others of his generation instead employed patriotic conceits, such as the claim to God's Providence and protection, in a more complex and circumspect manner: as both encouragement and a corrective to national endeavor and as a yardstick against which to measure what was actually done.