Book Description

Reasons for Naturalizing the Jews in Great Britain and Ireland was first published in 1714, shortly after the succession of George I to the British throne. It has come to be seen as a landmark work in the movement for emancipation and equal citizenship of the Jewish people. While the concerns raised by Toland might best be understood in the context of British political life of the time, it remains, nevertheless, a remarkable work, quite ahead of its time. It shows Toland for the skilled and fearless commentator that he was; one who accepted nothing at face value but always brought an independent mind to bear on any issue that he tackled: "a dog will run at a stone, when he dares not attack the man that threw it." "I am not ignorant how much the world is governed by prejudices, and how farr some, who wou'd not be counted of the vulgar, are yet sway'd by vulgar errors. ... But one rule of life, which is willingly admitted, nay, and eagerly pleaded by all Societies in their own case (tho miserably neglected in that of others) is, not to impute the faults of a few to the whole number." The Foreign and Protestants Naturalization Act of 1709 allowed immigrants to claim British citizenship upon swearing an oath of allegiance to the British throne, and taking the sacrament in a Protestant church. In this pamphlet Toland is calling for the same privileges to be extended to the Jews. This edition of John Toland's pamphlet has been faithfully reproduced from the original with an Introduction, editor's notes and a Chronology of Toland, his life and times. Previously available only in facsimile editions, the text has been reset using a modern typeface but with original spelling, emphasis and formats preserved.