Para1In early modern England, believers in and converts to Islam were most often termed Mohametans or Musselmen if they originated from Persia or places in the Ottoman Empire. More occasionally, Moor or Morisco were used if they were from North Africa. The English perception of the Islamic world was heavily influenced by trade with the Ottoman and Persian Empires. Distrusted as apostates by the Englishmen they encountered, Muslims nevertheless played a role in English trade and in popular culture. Misinformation regarding Islam was widespread.

Para2During the early modern period, England had a civil relationship with the Ottoman Empire. From 1511 on, English ships freely sailed the Mediterranean, trading regularly with Beirut, Istanbul, and Tangier, as well as Persia, Hormuz, and the Mughal empire, all of which were Muslim nations. Following the Ottoman-Venetian war of 1570–1573, English ships began to replace Venetian ships in the trade with Turkey. In 1581, English merchants secured the trading monopoly with the Ottoman Empire through the creation of the Levant Company, frequently known as the Turkey Company. A royal charter signed by Queen Elizabeth I established the monopoly, which was extended to Venice in 1592. This greatly expanded trade for England and increased the diplomatic interactions between England and the Ottoman Empire. Some relations between England and the Barbary Coast of North Africa in the 17th century also existed, with Elizabeth I establishing an ambassador in Morocco. England also participated in trade with Istanbul, another Muslim city.

Para3While England may have had friendly relations with the Ottoman empire and other Islamic nations during the early modern period, much distrust persisted against Islam, which stemmed from misinformation, religious beliefs, and fear. Negative views of Islam permeated English culture, including false views of Muslims being sensualists, idolaters, savages, and anti-Christian. The largest reason for these negative views was the spread of false information. Little reliable information on Islam made it to England during the early modern period, brought only intermittently by diplomats, merchants, and travelers. Frequently, information came from Italian and French sources translated into English. These sources were unreliable as they were often mistranslated, and many Europeans encountering Turks already had a tainted view of Muslims.

Para4Religious differences were the primary reason that England and the rest of Europe othered the Sunni Muslim Ottomans, although they held a slightly more positive view of the Shi’a Muslim Persian Empire. English Protestants in the early modern period had a strong disdain for Catholics. They saw a connection in religious practice between Catholicism and Islam, and therefore viewed Islam through the lens of anti-Catholicism and already had a framework for criticism and distrust of Muslim beliefs. Islam was then considered a threat to the English national identity and to the Crown itself, as England perceived Catholicism to be. English writers commonly demonized the Ottoman Empire through sermons and treatises. Distrust against Islam was also fueled by imperial envy. The Ottoman-Venetian war of 1570–1573 lead to the Muslim capture of large regions of Europe, causing England to view the Ottomans as dangerous as well as anti-Christian.

Para5The English population’s view on Islam was widely influenced by the church, literature, and theatre. Histories that were written about the Ottoman empire in the late 16th century portrayed Muslims as, in the words of literary scholar Linda McJannet, devilish automatons, who murder and pillage without any evidence of recognizable human feeling (qtd. in Topinka 123). These histories informed the preachers, novelists, dramatists, and poets who had little or no contact personally with Muslims. No translation of the Qur’an existed in English until the mid-17th century, leaving the English to rely on faulty interpretations of it. Nabil Matar reports that early modern Englishmen subsequently based their opinions on literary tropes from the popular miracle and mystery plays […] that both misrepresented and demeaned Muslims (214).

Para6Theatre audiences in England also saw plays about Muslim Turks in which the protagonists raged or lusted, killed their children or enslaved and brutalized Christians (Matar 219). This of course stemmed from the hurtful literature that already existed. Between 1579 and 1624 over sixty dramatic works that included Islamic themes, characters, or settings were produced in England. This increase in the inclusion of Islam in dramatic works was largely due to the mystery and sensationalism around Islam created by the lack of trustworthy historical contexts and reliable translations.

Para7In the late 17th century, more historically accurate writings about Islam and the Muslim empires became available to English readers. These were written by travellers, chroniclers, theologians, captives, playwrights and diplomats and were spread to all literate members of English society.