Britain, 1625–1701: conflict, revolution and settlement

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 (1679) 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.

What fundemental problem did the Rump face?

The abolision of the monarchy was the work of a radical minority that did not have enough wider support to establish an effective government.

When was the Act to abolish the monarchy and the lords passed?

March 1649

When did the army shoot leveller leaders at Burford?

May 1649

When did Cromwell arrive in Ireland to surpress the royalist threat?

August 1649

How many men did Cromwell take to Ireland?

30,000

When was the Adultery Act passed?

May 1650

When was Cromwell appointed commander of the New Model Army?

June 1650

How many acts of Parliament were passed in the Rump in 1649 compared with 1652?

125 in 1649 but only 51 in 1652

When was the Blasphemy Act?

August 1650

What was the purpose of the Blasphemy act?

To restrain extreamist puritan sects

When did Cromwell defeat the Scots at the Battle of Dunbar?

September 1650

Why did Cromwell invade Scotland?

The covenanters had formed an army with Charles II to invade England and restore the monarchy

When was the Toleration Act?

September 1650

Which battle was Charles II defeated in, in September 1651?

Battle of Worcester

How did the Rump finance the maintenance of a standing army?

sale of crown lands

What was the shortfall of revenue in 1653 despite high taxation?

£700,000

What problem did the NMA pose the rump? x2

1) They did not have enough support to stay in power without the army 2) but until they disbanded the army they were unable to gain support.

Who refused to cooperate with the regime? (x2)

The nobility and the greater gentry

When was the Hale Commission set up?

December 1651

When were the Hale Commission's recommendations for reform rejected?

December 1652

What was the purpose of the Hale Commission?

To investigate and reccomend reform of the legal system

When was the First Anglo-Dutch War?

1652-54

How much was the monthly assessment?

90,000 - as much as Charles' annual revenue

What was monthly assessment?

A tax modelled on Ship Money that was originally collected in areas under parliamentary control during the civil war

When did Cromwell dissolve the Rump?

April 1653

Why did Cromwell dissolve the Rump? (x2)

1) He believed they were repressive and self-serving. 2) They had promised law reform but delivered none.

When was the Nominated Assembly?

1653

What was the nominated assembly?

Various churches and radical groups were asked to nominate good men to form a new parliament. It included members from Wales, Scotland and Ireland

What was the nickname for the Nominated Assembly?

Called 'Barebones Parliament' after one of its radical members Nicholas Barbon (a preacher from London) (he was lower class, so nicknaming the NA after him was supposed to be a dig at its composition)

What did the NA do? (x4) (war, debt, lunatic, marriage)

1) War with dutch continued to secure trade routes
2) Legal measures to help debtors
3) Regulations concerning the treatment of lunatics introduced
4) Civil marriage alllowed, officiated by JPs

What issue caused the conservative members of the nominated assembly to meet and dissolve themselves? When?

1) The attempt of radicals to abolish tithes 2) December 1653

When was the Instrument of Government?

1653

What was the Instrument of Government?

A constitutuional document written by Major-General John Lambert (based on the Heads of Proposals by henry Ireton) that established the protectorate with Cromwell as the executive authority.

How was the Lord Protector supported under the Instrument of Government?

A council of state and a single-chamber parliament that was elected every three years and would sit for a mimimum of 5 months

When did the First Protectorate Parliament sit?

1654-55

How many ordinances were passed by the First Protectorate Parliament? Give three examples

84 - including laws against 1) bear-baiting, 2) cock-fighting, 3) drunkenness and 4) blasphemy.

Why did Oliver Cromwell dissolve the First Protectorate Parliament in January 1655? (1 reason, 1 example)

It was destablilised by republican MPs that had been excluded from power after the dissolution of the Rump. e.g. Authur Haselrig refused to recognise the instrument of government.

When was the Rule of the Major-Generals?

1655-56

What caused the rule of the major-generals?

Cromwell decided the provinces needed greater centralised control after a royalist uprising broke out in Wiltshire in 1655

Was the rule of the major-generals a success? (one for, one against)

+ In some areas a 'reformation of manners' was attempted e.g. Major-General Worsley closed down 200 alehouses in Lancashire.
- This did not apply to all areas and generally the replacement of local elites with military outsiders was unpopular.

What was the Commission of Triers and Ejectors? What was its purpose?

Established by Cromwell in 1654 to supervise members of the clergy, increasing quality and flexibility of preaching

When was the second protectorate parliament?

1656-58

What did the Second Protectorate Parliament do? (x2)

1) Wanted the replacement of the major-generals and a new constitution
2) Offered Oliver Cromwell the crown in 1657

When was the Humble Petition and Advice?

1657

What was the Humble Petition and Advice? (x5)

A new constitution that:
1) offered Cromwell the crown
2) re-established the Lords and Commons
3) made provision for hereditary succession
4) parliament to control the army and nominate officers of state
5) regular elections and limited religious toleration

Why did Cromwell reject the Humble Petition and Advice?

He faced strong opposition from the army and religious radicals - the army presented him with a petition

Who suceeded Cromwell after his death in 1658?

His son - Richard Cromwell

Who forced Richard Cromwell from office in 1659? Why?

The Army General Council - he was incompetant

Who restored order in January 1660?

General George Monck marched forces into London after he realised Richard Cromwell would be an ineffective leader