Description:

Speaker: Scott Sowerby

Title: The Seventeenth-Century Demographic Crisis and Religious Toleration in Europe.

Abstract: This paper argues that European jurisdictions that lost more population in the seventeenth century were more likely to enact religious toleration. It suggests two possible reasons why rulers facing a demographic crisis might be inclined to support toleration. One was an economic growth pathway: from the point of view of the ruler, having more people helped the economy, allowing them to invest in prestige goods (such as palaces) that they could show off to other rulers, which served to legitimize their status. The second was a security pathway: having more people helped to fend off external invasions.