Going Underground

[gumboot]

I have a question for any history buffs out there. I am wondering if there's any good examples from human history of the following:

You have a particular organisation, cult or group of people within a society, in a tentative but accepted position in relationship to the rest of society. They are able to operate freely, and are even respected and rewarded in some parts. Overall, despite historic tensions, everything is fine.

And then something significant changes, and the organisation are persecuted, and forced to continue their existence secretly.

I am thinking perhaps something like the Templars or such an organisation, but I don't know enough about the specific history of any given group to really know how well it would apply.

[Cavemonster]

The Jews under the Seleucid dynasty had a similar story.
http://www.zianet.com/maxey/Inter2.htm

It's fictionalized in the story of Chanukah, but historically the basic facts hold.
After Alexander the Great conquered Palestine, the relationship between the Jews and the empire that now ruled their land changed from ruler to ruler. At some points, jews held positions power in the government. When Antiochus IV came to power the situation got dramatically worse. He outlawed the practice of Jewish religion under penalty of death.
The cruelty of Antiochus in enforcing these new laws against the Jews became legendary. An aged scribe by the name of Eleazar was flogged to death because he refused to eat the flesh of a swine. In another incident, a mother and her seven young children were each butchered, in the presence of the Governor, for refusing to worship an idol. In yet another incident, two mothers, who had circumcised their newborn sons, were driven through the city and then thrown to their deaths from the top of a large building.

[gtc]

I believe Christianity in Japan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity_in_Japan) was forced to go underground during the Edo Period.

IIRC, the documentary 'A History of Britain' (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Schama's_A_History_of_Britain) discusses similar events in Britain during the reformation when first one side then the other would be forced to practice their faith illicitly. The Priest Hole (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest_hole)is an interesting feature of that time.

Jacobitism (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobitism) may also be relevant. I believe when giving the Loyal Toast (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loyal_toast), they would pass their glass above their water glass to signify their loyalty to the 'King across the water'.

This is an interesting topic.

[Cavemonster]

Actually I think Christians are getting a similar treatment (http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-mainmenu-26/asia-mainmenu-33/504) in Iraq.

Falun Gong didn't have as long of a history, (http://www.specialtribunal.org/articles/0008/) but it was spread without challenge from 1992-1999 until the government decided it was 'evil'

[Georg]

Would the Illuminati (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illuminati) qualify?

This movement was founded on May 1, 1776, in Ingolstadt (Upper Bavaria), by Jesuit-taught Adam Weishaupt (d. 1830),[1] who was the first lay professor of canon law at the University of Ingolstadt.[2] The movement was made up of freethinkers, as an offshoot of the Enlightenment[3], which some amateur historians believe was a conspiracy to infiltrate and overthrow the governments of many European states.[4] The group's adherents were given the name "Illuminati", although they called themselves "Perfectibilists". The group has also been called the Illuminati Order and the Bavarian Illuminati, and the movement itself has been referred to as Illuminism (after illuminism). In 1777, Karl Theodor became ruler of Bavaria. He was a proponent of Enlightened Despotism and, in 1784, his government banned all secret societies, including the Illuminati.

[MG1962]

The Catholic Church during the time of Henry VIII, and then later under Queen Elizabeth. Priests had to be smuggled in, and some houses even had small secret chambers to hide the priests long term

[dudalb]

The Hugenots in France.

[gumboot]

Thanks everyone, you've all given me some excellent points of reference to look into. Man I love the JREF Forums. :D

[arthwollipot]

The Templars is always the canonical example, but there's very little evidence to suggest that they actually survived their 1307 destruction.

[RobRoy]

The Templars is always the canonical example, but there's very little evidence to suggest that they actually survived their 1307 destruction.

Everything I know about them says they didn't. When their leaders were barbequed in 1314, the remaining knights were absorbed by the Hospitallers, fled to other countries, pensioned off, or joined up their brethren in the renamed Knights of Christ in Portugal.

I was going to mention the Jews of France in the 14th century. They were often one of the first targets during peasant uprisings, since they were easily identifiable and often had money. Sometimes, the angry sentiments against them would force an edict of expulsion, only to have them invited back and the cycle repeat.

There is also the Jews and the Muslims in Spain during the Reconquista, completed by Ferdinand of Aragorn and Isabella of Castile.

[Georg]

snip

There is also the Jews and the Muslims in Spain during the Reconquista, completed by Ferdinand of Aragorn and Isabella of Castile.


Freudian slip, fellow Tolkien nerd (http://forums.randi.org/group.php?groupid=16)?
The guy was called Ferdinand of Aragon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_of_Aragon)

[RobRoy]

Freudian slip, fellow Tolkien nerd (http://forums.randi.org/group.php?groupid=16)?
The guy was called Ferdinand of Aragon. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_of_Aragon)

http://dailyconnect.in/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/jamster-simpsons-homer.jpg