From the Restoration to the Augustan Age

Vocabulary flashcards covering English political, institutional, and cultural history from the Restoration in 1660 through the Augustan Age and Enlightenment.

The Restoration

The period of English history between the sovereign's return to the throne in 1660 and the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

Charles II

English monarch who reigned from 1660 to 1685, attempted to re-establish an absolute monarchy, dissolved Parliament after the 1679 election, and ruled as an absolute monarch for his remaining years.

Tories

The political party representing the landed aristocracy that favoured the royalist Restoration and received support from the Anglican Church.

Whigs

The political party supported by part of the aristocracy and the lower levels of the 'middle classes' (traditionally Puritans) who saw the king as a limit to economic development and sought to restrict royal powers.

The Royal Society

An institution founded in 1660 for the promotion of scientific advancement and the development of social well-being, originally housed at Gresham College.

Great Fire of London (1666)

A catastrophic fire that quickly destroyed a large part of London, burning 13,000 homes, 87 churches, St Paul's Cathedral, most public buildings, and Gresham College.

Edict of Nantes (Revocation of 1685)

The action by Louis XIV of France revoking religious freedoms for Huguenots, leading many to flee to England and escalating Protestant fears regarding James II's absolutist intentions.

James II

Brother of Charles II who reigned from 1685 to 1688; his alliance with Catholic Louis XIV and support for the Catholic Church led Parliament to abandon him and invite William of Orange to claim the throne.

Glorious Revolution

The 1688 deposition of James II and accession of William of Orange and Mary II, also known as the Bloodless Revolution because it involved very little bloodshed.

Toleration Act (1689)

An act passed following the Glorious Revolution that introduced religious tolerance and guaranteed freedom of worship in England.

Bill of Rights (1689)

A constitutional declaration that established parliamentary supremacy over the Crown, stripped the monarch of direct control over the army and judiciary, forbade suspension of laws without Parliament, and guaranteed free elections.

Bank of England

Financial institution founded in 1694 that served the mercantile and banking classes by developing credit to support commerce and fund the Crown's increasingly expensive wars.

Treaty of Utrecht

The peace treaty concluding the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–13) that granted England Gibraltar, Minorca, and a monopoly in the American colonial slave trade.

Act of Settlement (1701)

Legislation passed by Parliament to prevent Catholic sovereigns from ascending the English throne, ensuring succession would pass to Protestant Sophia of Hanover.

Queen Anne

The last monarch of the House of Stuart (reigned 1702–1714) and the first sovereign of Great Britain, formed in 1707 by the union of England and Scotland.

Augustan Age

A period of peace in Britain named by analogy to the stable political climate under Augustus Caesar following Rome's civil war.

Robert Walpole

The principal Whig political leader whose long period of government (1721–1742) defined a new cabinet system led by an executive figure later known as the Prime Minister.

George I

The son of Sophia of Hanover who reigned from 1714 to 1727; because he spoke only German and did not know British customs, the cabinet began meeting without the monarch.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

The treaty that brought an end to the French presence in North America and left the British East India Company in control of a large part of Asia.

The Enlightenment

An 18th-century intellectual movement (also called the Age of Reason) emphasizing reason, order, rational thinking, empirical observation, and the belief that all men possess innate human rights.

Fort St. George

The first English fortress in India, founded in 1644 on the Coromandel Coast.