FROM FOES TO FRIENDS 
THE CONSTRUCTION AND DECONSTRUCTION OF FRANCOPHOBIC ANTI-CATHOLICISM IN CROMWELLIAN ENGLAND 
1649-1660 
Picture
Cardinal Mazarin (1602-1661). Oil by Philippe de Champaigne
The historiography of Anglo-French relations during the 1650s has focused primarily on the relationship between Cardinal Mazarin and Oliver Cromwell. The relationship between England and France is often seen by historians as one that begins with immense hostility due to the execution of Charles I and France’s willingness to offer the exiled Stuarts a home but by the end of the decade an Anglo-French alliance was formed which led to mutual military co-operation between the two nations and the ousting of the exiled Stuarts from France. Although this volte-face by the Cromwellians towards France has been widely acknowledged what has been less studied is how the English press constructed, promoted and disseminated anti-French sentiment to the populace in the earlier part of the decade to promote hostile relations at the time.  What is all the more curious to investigate is how the English press began the process of making a U-turn in its attitude towards France during the long and protracted treaty negotiations which led to the English press widely praising French military success in Europe.   
This paper will investigate the construction and deconstruction of xenophobia and prejudice in the press in Cromwellian England with reference to its treatment of the French Catholics in English pamphlets and newspapers at the time.  It will not only highlight the common ‘storytelling’ techniques which the Cromwellian press used to generate the readers hostility towards the regime’s enemies. It will also explore the process and evolution of French-related news in the English press by highlighting the transition from foe to friend. It will then reflect upon whether the approaches mirrored the progress of Anglo-French diplomatic relations and treaties.  It will ask if the narratives and biases within various accounts stemmed from traditional and age-old prejudices and custom or were the result of Cromwellian diplomatic expediency. 
​Dr Kirsteen MacKenzie is a historian who specialises in early modern British and Irish history focusing on the Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1637-1660 and the Jacobites.  Dr MacKenzie also has interests in early modern France particularly Franco-British diplomatic relations under Mazarin and Louis XIV. Dr MacKenzie is a life member of the Franco-British society.  You can follow Dr MacKenzie on Twitter @kirsteenmm