Whitefield and the “Celtic” Revivals

While George Whitefield’s transatlantic career has been well documented, his role throughout the British archipelago has not. This chapter examines Whitefield’s career in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland and argues that for a time his efforts to create a genuinely ‘British’ and Calvinist evangelical movement came to handsome fruition. The chapter begins with a close examination of Whitefield’s relationship with the Welsh revivalist Howel Harris. Working together, Whitefield and Harris created a joint organizational structure for English and Welsh Calvinistic Methodism. The chapter goes on to examine Whitefield’s Scottish connection; following discussion of Whitefield’s relations with the Associate Presbytery, it explores Whitefield’s acceptance by evangelicals who had remained within the religious establishment, noting his contribution towards a restoration of the Kirk’s spiritual vitality. The analysis concludes with a briefer discussion of Whitefield’s visits to Ireland, examining some of the reasons why he resisted calls to establish a Calvinistic movement there.