Charles II 1660-85

The convention parliament

* Apr-Dec 1660

The Declaration of Breda

* 1660
* promised no harsh punishment, a partnership with parliament, religious tolerance

What was the Act of Indemnity and Oblivion?

* pardoned those who had committed crimes during the Civil Wars and Interregnum
* also stated that interregnum was to be legally forgotten

What was the Venner Rising?

* Jan 1661
* confirmed fears of political instability, and suggested a strong monarchy was the only alternative to sectarian radicalism and chaos

The Militia Act

* 1661
* made monarch supreme commander of army and navy

Bishops’ Exclusion ACt

* 1661
* was repealed

Triennial Act

* 1661
* modified so it was no longer possible to force the monarch to call parliaments

Licensing Act

* 1662
* formalised censorship

The Hearth Tax

* 1662
* still wasn’t enough to fund the King

Charles and French Finance

* in 1662 he sold the port of Dunkirk to Louis XIV for £375,000
* in 1670, he signed the Treaty of Dover, gave £160,000 per year

When did Charles II marry Catherine of Braganza

* May 1662

The Worcester House Declaration

* Oct 1660
* Charles argued for:
* a single protestant Church of England that could guard against popery
* relaxed terms of memberships
* general toleration

The Savoy House Conference

* April-July 1661
* failed for two reasons:
* the intransigence and inflexibility of leading Presbyterian negotiators, who disliked Charles’ plans and wanted to impose their design on Anglican
* Inexorable pressure from the Anglican gentry
* Bishops were reinstated in the House of Lords and over the next few years 1 in 4 of the clergy were driven into dissent from the established Church

The Clarendon Code

* Corporation Act
* Act of Uniformity
* Conventicle Act
* Five Mile Act

What was the Corporation Act?

* 1661
* restricted the membership of governing bodies to Anglicans

What was the Act of Uniformity?

* 1662
* expelled around 2,000 clergymen who would declare their agreement with the Prayer Book

What was the Conventicle Act?

* 1664
* forbade worship outside the CofE

The Five Mile Act

* 1665
* prevented expelled ministers and teachers from coming within five miles of any town

When did Charles issue a declaration of indulgence?

* 1662

How much did Charles spend on illegitimate children?

* £45,000 per year, for 14 children

When was the Second Anglo Dutch War?

* 1665-67
* parliament had granted massive supplies to Charles, £2.5m and £1.25m
* he had to pass Five Mile Act
* war went badly after 1666
* Great Fire of London 1666
* Plague in 1665
* Parliament voted further subsidies in 1666 but under the condition a royal commission be set up to examine finances

When was the Third Anglo-Dutch War?

1672-74

When was the Raid on the Medway?

* June 1667

How did Charles restore relations?

* he drove Clarendon into an exile

The Cabal

* 1667-74
* none were Anglicans
* they promoted a Pro-French policy

The Triple Allinace

* 1668
* with Sweden and Holland
* neutralised in 1670, backed by the Cabal

The Secret Treaty of Dover

* 1670
* lead to third Anglo-Dutch War
* committed Charles to re-converting England to Catholicism for £225,000 a year

Stop the Exchequer

* 1672
* finances were so bad the Crown couldn’t honour its debts
* the Great Stop occurred
* multiple leading bankers were drastically affected
* ended the cost relationship between the king and a small clique of private bankers

The Test Act

* 1672
* barred Catholics from sitting in Parliament and holding high office
* James, Duke of York, resigned from Lord High Admiral, and he married Mary of Modena in 1673

Treaty of Westminster

* Feb 1674
* ended Anglo-Dutch War

Test Bill

* Apr 1675
* defeated by Arlington and Shaftesbury

Danby and Finance

* parliament voted £300,000 for the navy
* in 1677 they granted £600,000 fearful of France

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty

* 1677
* Charles agreed to impose peace terms on Louis

Danby’s failures

* strengthening of Church was seen as plot to provide full blown continental style absolutism
* failed to alter pro-French policy
* created a ‘Court’ party

The Popish Plot

* 1678-79

The Exclusion Crisis

* 1679-85

The Three Exclusion Parliaments

* March-July 1679
* October 1680-January 1681
* March 1681

Shaftesbury’s principles

* toleration for non-conformists but not catholics
* government by the King-in-parliament
* hostile to absolutism

The Rye House Plot

* March 1683
* alleged Whig conspiracy to assassinate Charles
* Whig conspirators were arrested and/or executed

Charles enforced his authority

* Whigs and nonconformists were driven out of local government under the Corporation Act
* London’s right to self-govern was removed through the courts in 1683

The secret treaty

* March 1681
* gave Charles £40,000 and £115,000 annually in exchange for not calling parliament for the next three years

How did Tories assert the power of King?

* anti-exclusionist propaganda
* poems, playing cards, the pulpit and playhouse

Declaration Touching the Reasons That Moved Him to Dissolve the Two Last Parliaments

* Apr 1681