Exiles

Summary

This work, *Protestant Exiles from France, Chiefly in the Reign of Louis XIV; or, The Huguenot Refugees and Their Descendants in Great Britain and Ireland*, by the Rev. David C. A. Agnew, is a genealogical and historical record arguing that the Huguenot refugees who fled persecution in France were a distinct and influential group whose integration into British and Irish society was both legally sanctioned and morally imperative. The book documents the naturalization of these exiles, tracing their family lines and military contributions, particularly through "The Military Chiefs of the Huguenot Refugees of the Revocation Era." It draws on biblical and legal precedents—citing Ezekiel and Calvin—to assert that hospitality toward strangers is a duty, not merely charity, and that the exiles were entitled to inherit land and practice their trades. A reader takes away a detailed account of specific refugee families (e.g., Bouverie, Lefroy, Papillon) and the legal frameworks that shaped their settlement, emphasizing the tangible legacy of these exiles in British peerages, baronetcies, and public service.

Key concepts

• Huguenot Refugees — French-speaking Protestants driven into exile by persecution in France, chiefly during the reign of Louis XIV, who sought refuge in Great Britain and Ireland.
• Revocation Era — The period following the 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which intensified the persecution and exile of Huguenots, as documented in the book's historical introduction.
• Naturalization — The legal process by which Huguenot refugees were granted rights in Britain, with the book categorizing them as "Refugees Naturalized Before 1681" and "Refugees Naturalized in and After 1681."
• Military Chiefs of the Huguenot Refugees — A specific group of exiled military leaders, such as Major-General la Meloniere and Brigadier-General Pierre Belcastel, whose careers are detailed in Book Second.
• Inhospitality and Ferocity of a Savage — A phrase attributed to Calvin, used in the text to condemn the oppression of "miserable strangers who take refuge in our safeguard," framing the moral argument for welcoming exiles.

From the book

OR, THE HUGUENOT REFUGEES AND THEIR DESCENDANTS IN GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. BY THE REV. DAVID C. A. AGNEW, MEMBER OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH. THIRD EDITION. REMODELLED AND GREATLY ENLARGED, INCLUDING THE FRENCH-SPEAKING REFUGEES IN FORMER REIGNS. VOLUME I. REFUGEES NATURALIZED BEFORE 1681. 1886. [ FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ] Volume I edit Front Matter edit Contents Historical Introduction edit Section I – The persecutions which drove French-speaking Protestants into exile, explained and sketched as far as 1680. Section II – England and the Refugees in the Reigns of Edward VI. and Elizabeth. Section III – The Hospitality of James I. Section IV – The Times of Charles I. and Cromwell, and the Restoration of Charles II. Section V – Church-Government and Worship.…

Popular questions readers ask

• Imagine you need to explain Agnew's book to a peer using only the title and table of contents. What is the book's core historical argument or central question, and what specific types of evidence does it promise to use to support it?
• The table of contents structures the refugee experience through distinct phases like "persecutions," "hospitality," and "naturalization." How do these processes, spanning different reigns, logically connect to form a comprehensive understanding of the Huguenot journey, and what cause-and-effect relationships might Agnew explore between these stages?
• Agnew distinguishes between "Protestant exiles from France" and "French-speaking Refugees." What is the potential significance of this linguistic distinction, and how might it broaden or narrow the scope of his historical inquiry into identity and integration beyond a purely religious definition?
• Why would a historian dedicate entire sections to "Church-Government and Worship," "Gleanings from Wills," and "Old Registers of Marriages, Baptisms, and Deaths" in a study of exiles, and what unique insights into the refugees' daily lives, cultural adaptation, and long-term societal impact could these granular records provide that a broader narrative might miss?
• Considering the book is a "Third Edition, Remodelled and Greatly Enlarged," which chapters or sections in the table of contents appear most likely to have been expanded or re-evaluated from earlier editions, and what historical developments or new research might have necessitated such changes?