Converting Rulers: Kongo, Japan, Thailand, Hawaii and Global Patterns, 1450-1850

Alan Strathern

ISBN 10: 110847716X / ISBN 13: 9781108477161

Published by Cambridge University Press, 2024

About this Item

350 pages. 6.00x1.06x9.00 inches. In Stock.

Seller Inventory # x-110847716X

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Converting Rulers: Kongo, Japan, Thailand, Hawaii and Global Patterns, 1450-1850
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 110847716X
• ISBN 13: 9781108477161
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Brand New
• Weight: 0.91 kilograms

About this title

Synopsis

Why did so many rulers throughout history risk converting to a new religion brought by outsiders? In his award-winning Unearthly Powers (2019), Alan Strathern set out a theoretical framework for understanding the relation between religion and political authority based on a distinction between two kinds of religion - immanentism and transcendentalism - and the different ways they made monarchy sacred. This ambitious and innovative companion volume tests and substantiates this approach using case studies from Kongo (1480–1530), Japan (1560–1614), Ayutthaya (Thailand, 1660–1690) and Hawaii (1800–1830). Through in-depth analysis of key turning points in the careers of warlords, chiefs and kings, a tapestry of unique characters and stories is brought to light. However, these examples ultimately demonstrate that global patterns of conversion can be established to illuminate the religious geography of the world today.

About the Author

Alan Strathern is an Associate Professor of History at the University of Oxford.