The longer history of human rights: Refuge in early modern Europe

According to Samuel Moyn, rather than seeking 'to monumentalise human rights by rooting them in the deep past, it is much better to acknowledge how recent and contingent they really are". This paper eschews a narrow and teleological history but nonetheless argues the importance of a deeper and broader perspective on the human rights. It discusses the relevance of the distinctive states-system of early modern Europe to ideas and practice in relation to refuge and asylum and considers the significance of the German Palatine refugee crisis that saw the arrival of 15 000 refugees in London in 1709.