The Restoration and Charles II

When was the Convention parliament elected?

April 1660

When was the Declaration of Breda presented to the Convention Parliament?

4th April 1660

What did the Declaration of Breda promise? (x3)

1) co-operation and harmony for the political nation
2) amnesty for actions during civil war and interregnum (except those who had signed Charles' death warrant)
3) arrears of pay given to the army and continued religious toleration.

What was the impact of the abolition of feudal tenures in 1661?

The monarch could no longer exercise feudal taxes e.g. knigthood fines

Why was the Cavalier Parliament elected? x2

1) Many people were seeking revenge for the years of republican rule/ were deeply afraid of political instability
2) Uprising of Fifth Monarchists in London (1661) reignited fears of radicals

What effect did the cavalier parliament have?

They undermined constitutional reforms left in place by the Convention parliament e.g. the triennial act and parliamentary control of the militia

How was the 1641 Triennial Act altered in 1664?

It did not provide mechanisms to enforce the calling of parliament every three years

Which committee was responsible for restoring the Anglican Church?

Savoy Meeting of the clergy

Which three groups were present at the savoy meeting?

1. Presbyterians - willing to allow moderate puritans
2. Arminians (led by Gilbert Sheldon - archbishop of London) - wanted a return to Laud's policies
3. Latitudinarians - flexible and willing to tolerate a number of ideas

When and what was the Corporation Act? What were the consequences?

1) 1661
2) ensured only anglicans could hold office in cooperations
3) weakening puritan power and influence

When was the Act of Uniformity passed?

1662

What was the aim of the Act of Uniformity (1662)?

To restore the laudian church and persecute non-conformists.

How many ministers were expelled from the church as a result of the 1662 Act of Uniformity?

1,800

When and what was the conventicle act?

1664 - prevented dissenting assemblies of more than 5 people

What was the impact of the conventicle act? success/failure

It forced presbyterians in the gentry and merchant classes to be grouped in with more radical dissenters e.g. quakers and baptists. This ensured that the number of dissernters was high enough so that they didn't die out. - not entirely a success then

What financial settlement did Charles II recieve per year?

£1.2 million

When was the Hearth Tax introduced?

1662

What was the first sign of Charles II's catholic sympathies?

He attempted to suspend the 1662 Act of Uniformity which would have helped Catholics alongside dissenters.

What was the reasoning for the second Anglo-Dutch War? Consequences on discontent towards the monarchy? (x3)

1) It was justified by a commercial rivalry 2) but also designed to help Louis XIV destroy the protestant Dutch Republic 3) fueling fears of catholic absolutism

How were the English defeated in the second Anglo-Dutch War (1667)?

The Dutch destroyed the fleet in the Medway River, this was a humiliating failure for Charles

What events increased the political impact of the defeat in the second Anglo-Dutch War? x2

The Great Plague (1665) and the Great Fire of London (1666)

Who was blamed for the worsening political situation in 1667? What happened?

1) Earl of Clarendon (Edward Hyde).
2) He was replaced by a group of advisors called the CABAL which included two catholics.

Who was in the CABAL?

Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale

When did James (Charles' brother) announce his conversion to Catholicism?

1668

When did Charles sign the Secret Treaty of Dover with France?

1670

What was the Secret Treaty of Dover? x2

1) Charles agreed to go to war with Louis XIV against the Dutch.
2) The secret clause stated that Charles would announce his conversion to Catholicism when the time was right in return for a French subsidy.

When was the Third Anglo-Dutch War?

1672-74

When did Charles II attempt a second Declaration of Indulgence?

1672

What was the problem with the second Declaration of Indulgence? (x2 reasons - 1 political, 1 religous)

1) It included Catholic (many suspected this to be its main purpose)
2) Its legitimacy was based on the claim that the monarch could suspend the law for an entire section of the nation. This would set a dangerous precedent.

Why did Charles II have to recall parliament in 1673? - 1 event, 1 reason

1) In 1672, Charles was forced to declare himself bankrupt (The Stop of the Exchequer)
2) but needed funds to pay for the third Anglo Dutch war that he had to enter under the Treaty of Dover (1670).

What happened when Charles II summoned Parliament in 1763? x3

1) Parliament forced Charles to withdraw the Declaration of Indulgence
2) An attempt to provide toleration for protestants was blocked in the Lords after pressure from the King and Bishops.
3) Parliament passed the Test Act

What was the Test Act (1763)? Give two example of consequences of the Test Act.

1) The Test Act forced public office holders to deny the key Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation.
2) This led to the resignation of:
1) Lord Treasurer Clifford (therefore ending the CABAL)
2) Lord Admiral James (excluded royalty from high office).

Who emerged as Charles' key minister after the fall of the CABAL?

Earl of Danby, Thomas Osborne

What were Danby's policies? (x2)

1) Anglican and Protestant
2) Foreign policy favoured the Dutch

How did the opposition to Danby form? Who led it?

Antony Ashley Cooper (Earl of Shaftsbury) who had served on the CABAL led the opposition.
He desired toleration for religious dissenters and opposed Danby's ideal of strict conformity and opposed Danby's somewhat corrupt use of royal patronage (fueled by french subsidies) to exert power.

What did the opposition become known as?

Whigs

When was the Popish Plot?

August 1678

What was the Popish Plot? Who came up with it?

Titus Oates claimed that there was a plot by Jesuits to kill Charles II and replace him with James.

What was the significance of the Popish Plot? (x3)

1) Showed the presence of religious fears and hatred of Catholics
2) Parliament tried to impeach Danby
3) so Charles had to dissolve Cavalier Parliament in 1679

When was the Exclusion Crisis?

1679-81

What happened as a result of Charles dissolving the Cavalier Parliament in January 1679? (what new parliament was formed? What did they propose?)

1) New elections produced a Whig majority (consequence of the Popish Plot).
2) The parliament proposed an Exclusion Bill that would bar the James (Duke of York) from the line of succession.

How did Charles prevent the first Exclusion Bill from going through the Lords?

He dissolved Parliament

When did the second Exclusion Parliament sit?

1680-81

How was the second Exclusion bill defeated in the Lords?

Heavy pressure from Charles - personal attendance at debates

How did Charles II achieve financial independence from parliament?

1) In 1675 Charles made an agreement with Louis XIV that if Parliament showed hostility to the French he would dissolve it.
2)He was payed £100,000 for suspending Parliament.

Where did Charles decide that the third Exclusion Parliament should meet in March 1681?

Oxford (royalist stronghold) - this was away from the Whig stronghold in London and made sure that there was no intervention from the London mob.

What happened after the Whigs attempted to pass the Third Exclusion Bill?

Charles arrested Shaftsbury for treason

When was the Rye House Plot?

April 1683

What was the Rye House Plot? Consequences on Charles' political opposition?

1) A plot to kill Charles II by old Cromwellian soldiers and replace him with his illegitimate protestant son the Duke of Monmouth.
2) This discredited the Whig leaders that had knowledge of the Plot.

What was the impact of the Rye House Plot? (x3)

1) Weakened Whig leadership
2) Sparked a royalist backlash that allowed Charles to ignore the Triennial act in 1684 and avoid parliament for the rest of his reign - a period sometimes known as the Second Stuart Absolutism)
3) Allowed Charles to revise local government charters, giving the vote to a small group of men that could be manipulated to produce compliant parliaments.

When did Charles II die?

1685. He was succeeded by James II with no opposition.