chapter nineteen Flashcards
religion problems were not of Charles II own making rather it was the
conservative political nation as reflected in palriemant which sought to restore a church that matched their outlook
they also chose to ignore the diversity of religious views that had comes about since the
breakdown of the church of Englands authority in the 1640’s
Charles and claredon sought a broader church for the one they got , for example they allowed
the Savoy House Conference of 1661 , to convene which was an attempt to reach a compromise at the restoration between Presbyterians and anglicans
clerics from each side met to discuss the role of the bishops and prayer book , but
negotiations broke down
however it was the cavalier parliament politicians who
reimposed a rigid church model based on their own conservatism
bishops were reinstated in the hol
1000 Presbyterian minsters reigned or were removed
the cavalier parliament ordered MP’s to take
communion by anglican rite
the Church of England was thus reimposed as a part of
a conservative reaction
settlement was a reflection of cavalier or royalist gentry control over the church , with their control they
removed non anglicans
persecuted catholics and protestant dissenters
although over 1000 minsters were expelled at the restoration large scale dissent was still a reality :
the church of england could not claim to repress the nation
church had lead power to enforce its will because of the removal of the court of high commission and the decline of diocesan courts
it was therefore the local elite who had to enforce ocnfimrity but some justices of peace and deputy liteutnats were
dissenters themselves or sympathetic to those who would not conform to the church of England
generally dissent was stronger in urban settings whereas
the rural gentry remained more conservative , more typically anglican
Charles tried to secure toleration for catholics , there was a lords bill in 1662 to repeal some of the laws against Catholics , allowing catholic priests to register with the Secretary of State , charles strongly
supported the bill but it failed in both the lords and commons since the gerbil public was against any toleration for catholics
Charles policy towards protestant dissenters fluctuated with apparent threat , there were repressive measures after the regime came under threat :
the 1663 northern rising led to the 1644 conventicle act , which stated that the religious meeting of five people or more were forbidden , the initial punishment of a fine could on the third occasion reuse in transportation to exile
the second dutch war led to the 1665 five mile act , the five mile act meant that any preacher or teacher who refused the compulsory oaths that were part of the act of conformity 1662 could not go within five miles of any corporate or parish where they had tight
in 1670 a second conventicle act reinforced the persecution of dissenters and Charles even removed some JP’s were judged too lenient in acting against conventicle
although the king and claredon wanted a broader church settlement , the restoration religious settlement became paradoxically known as the
claredon code
the claredon code included the corporation act 1661 , which prevented
any person holding office in a corporation unless they accepted the terms of the restored code
the other measures in the claredon code were
the act of uniformity 1662
the conventicle act 1664
the five mile act 1665
nevertheless the restored Church of England was a broader church compared with
Charles I laudian domainated church and some very moderate Presbyterians were absorbed into the restoration church
what was also different about the restoration church was that it was , in effect under the control of
parliament rather than the king
thus in the years 1660-1688 the cavalier and tory angliciansim of many MP’s led to the
persecution of dissent
in both 1667 and 1668 comprehension bills were drafted by indvidual MP’s but they were not presented to the commons because
that body was predominantly against broadening the church settlement any further
statistics on dissenter numbers during this period come from the Compton consensus which was ordered by danby in
1676
the Compton consensus indicated that there were
100,000 dissenters out of an adult population of 2.25 million in england and Wales
however the numbers on the Compton consenus included only those regarded as hard line dissenters it has been estimated that
there was actually around 200,000-300,000
much of the anglican reaction to dissent was an over reaction to the knowledge that
dissent was widespread and would be impossible to wipe out
the impact of the interregnum and the restoration had actually generally made dissenters less
militant because they turned from focusing on outward political or religious changes to practicing their faith privately
for many protestant dissenters , the restoration of the monarch was interpreted as gods judgement on their cause for
dealing to establish godly rule in england after 1649
Charles who wanted a more comprehensive church did not seek to have the 1644 coneventicle act renewed , when the act expired in 1688 , dissenters could therefore
meet freely
in 1669 as a reaction to the lapsing of the conventicle act , the commons refused to grant Charles a subsidy of 300,000 , this led to a desired outcome, for in
1670 Charles allowed a more rigid conventicle act in return for parliamentary funds
on 15 march 1672 Charles issued a declaration of indulgence in england , in it Charles stated his
suspending power in relation to all the penal laws against catholics and dissenters
as a consequence if the preacher in charge of a church service had a royal licence , dissenters could worship in public
however many were suspicious of Charles intentions with regard to Catholics reinforced bu the alliance with
Catholic france against the dutch
parliament protested against the declaration as being unconstitutional , to continue getting parliamentary funds Charles had to
withdraw the declaration and issue a test act in 1673
when danby came into power after the collapse of the cabal in 1674 , parliament reverted to a more
rigid policy focusing on support for the church of england , and there was no moves towards toleration so as to decrease the influence of the crown
the commons sought to protect what they regarded as the increasing threat of dissent an absolutist france and the threat of
absolutism and catholocism at home
in this context , dissent and the declaration of indulgence had a significant impact on the politics of the
exclusion crisis and the subsequent tory reaction
Charles attitude was certainly harsh towards the
quakers and baptists , who suffered more than any other dissenting groups
Charles was particularly vindictive in his repression of quakers , probably because of how much of a threat they
appeared to represent and memory of the radicalism from the civil wars
in 1662 the Quaker act had outlined a series of punishments for quakers ranging from
fines to transportation
at least 450 quakers died in prison under Charles Reggie ad at least
15,000 suffered some form of punishment whether fines m imprisonment or transportation
the height of persecution came in the early 1670s and early 1680s when several thousand of
dissenters died as a result of persecution
the experience of defeat made protestant dissenters more passive , the most obvious and extreme example of this was
the quaker movement which moved from supporting armed struggles in 1659-60 to being an essentially pacifist movement in the 1660s
with the removal of James Nayler and the deaths of other leading quaker figures in the 1650s, the quaker movement came increasingly under the influence of
its other leader
George fox
between august 1659 and the beginning 1660 Fox withdrew from all activity , undergoing something close to a
spiritual nervous breakdown
in 1661 the Quakers led by Fox issued their first declaration of ‘ absolute pacifism ‘ , this declaration was a result of
their dissilusionment after their political action had failed to have any impact and was an act of self presvervation in the face of the restoration
dissent also had a limited appeal after the restoration :
it needed a level of spiritual commitment only a few could manage
emphasis on the bible made it inaccessible to the illiterate
sermons could be too long for ordinary people as they lasted for hours
in contrast , Anglicanism was less demanding :
physical element of service is easier
involving activity from the congregation
repetive nature
more accessible
as with the dissenters there was a similar retreat from religious fervour by anglicans that was part of the development of
Latitudinarianism
- a belief that reason and person judgement are more useful than church doctrine , developed after 1660
adherents of this belief were more in favour of a wider toleration than the
majority anglican view that still held sway win the church , and more markedly across the gentry
another factor limiting the impact of dissent was the divison among dissenters , the historian John Miller stresses that although the relationship between the core and dissenters was a major issue continuing into the eighteenth century , the differing dissenters were not
fused into one united group
there were significant differences which led to a continuing battle waning presbysterians , independents , baptists and quakers
the political views of the majority of republicans during the early restoration period were derived from their religious beliefs particularly for those who
believed in millenarianism
Miller argues that the lack of republican activism after 1660 ‘ might seem strange but doctrine republicans had never been numerous ‘ and many republicans were also millinerarians :
they were conditioned to see events as gods actions and ‘ reacted to the restoration with either perplexity or fatalism ‘
- the millenarian John Miltons response to the situation was to right the poem paradise lost
the defeat of millenarianism as a political force was also rooted in a series of
executions and ongoing persecutions
local records of the period indicated a range of negative responses to the restoration, a fudamental part of the restoration settlement was thus to
secure the monarchy from the threat of those whom it most readily perceived as posing a threat
the man selected as the first regicide to be bought to trial was the millenarian , fifth monarchist …
Thomas Harrison
- part of his defence was that parliament authorised the regicide , but this was dismissed by the court
Harrison was found guilty and the court ordered that he suffer the traditional death for treason :
hanging , drawing , quartering
in 1662 there were high profile show trials of millenarians non regicides :
Henry Vane
John Lambert
Vanes refusal to seek marcy show Charles II demanded his death , the jury were starved without food and water till they retuned a guilty verdict , on the day
music was played below the scaffolding so no one was able to hear Vanes last words
in contrast Lambert requested mercy and perhaps in the context of growing concern at the impact of continued execution , he was
imprisoned for the next 22 years until his death in 1684
alongside these high profile show trials ad executions there was daily persecution of other minor figures o the interregnum that helped
to prevent the re emergence of millenarianism as a political force
Charles restoration out was promiscuous as with his political prgamasticism , mired that of his
grandfather
James I
leading counties in Charles restoration court were debauched most notably
Buckingham
and the Earl of Rochester , who’d died aged 33 form alcoholism and syphillis
the behaviour of the king thus undermined the image of divine right monarchy
the number of high profile catholics at this corrupt court reinforced the idea of a popish conspiracy and doubt the kings own religious beliefs this included :
Charles mother , Henrietta Maria
Charles wife , Catherine of Braganza
Charles brother , Duke of York
George Digby , Earl of Bristol
the leading minsters of the cabal 1667-74 were also an issue as
Thomas Clifford was catholic and the earl of Arlington a catholic sympathiser
catholics didnt influence Charles political policies as he remained firmly in charge , Charles was however
influenced by Catholicism in that his mother Henrietta Maria tried to shape his policies , unsuccessfully
more significantly Charles sought to emulate his Catholic cousin Louis XIV , the king of france , Charles however kept these catholics including his brother …
under control
only in the area on foreign policy where Charles was constantly drawn to
Louis XIV or rather Louis’s finances was there clearly a source of influence that shaped Charles policy
even here it could be argued that Charles attempt to emulate and have a good relationship with Louis XIV had more to do with
the French kings absolutism than his catholicism
many of Charles mistresses were catholics , for example
Barbara Villiers , countess of Castlemaine , later Duchess of Cleveland
had five children with charles that he acknowledged
another Catholic mistress was a scot named
Frances Stuart
the mos prominent mistress and perhaps the most influential was the
French catholic Louise de Keroualle m who became the Dutches of Portsmouth
Charles went through a mock wedding ceremony with her in 1671
the role of Charles mistresses is another example supporting the popular image of him being the
’ merry monarch ‘
the aesthetic style of the court under Charles reinforced the impression of Catholic influences being adopted for example ,
Charles mimicked the French style of his cousin Louis XIV at Versailles with baroque architecture , painting and music
Charles II court style
followed examples of the French catholic court of Louis XIV in terms of ideas and fashions
resembling the art collection of his father that had been sold off during the iterregenum
the number of courtiers who were frequently drunk
