chapter seventeen Flashcards
April 4th 1660
declaration of Breda
dof b was drafted by
Clarendon
dof b outlined that if
Charles was restored he would rule as a traditional monarch through parliament
what did Charles promise in d of b
pay the army in arrears
a pardon to all his subjects bar a few
‘ liberty to tender consciences ‘
25 April 1660
free elections produced the convention parliament
removal of restrictions on who could vote in the elections produced a body of MPs that was more representative of
the political nation
this meant that the convention parliament was essentially
conservative and royalist
half of the convention parliament was made up of parliamentarians but of many different political and religious views , of mostly moderate Presbyterians , many of these aimed to
restrict the kings power before he returned
others recited imposing limits on the king and wanted to seek his favour
royalists who had got into the convention parliament gradually though disputed elections were naturally opposed to
limitations on the retuning monarch
8 may 1660
convention parliament crowned Charles as King Charles II
in desperation the political nation were willing to accept
Charles vague promises to rule as a traditional monarch in the d of b
April 1660
Charles was restored based on his general promises to rule as a traditional monarch as outlined in the d of b
the promises made in d of b were attractive to the majority of the PN as cons had felt
alienated by and fearful of the radicalism of the last years of the interregnum
from Charles perspective the priority was
to secure the throne
in presenting himself favourably to the political nation he was able to manage an
unwritten political settlement that suited both sides in returning to pre civil war norms
the restoration settlement was the work of two bodies
the convention parliament and the cavalier parliament , to share the nature of the restored monarchy up to 1667
to restore order and constitutional monarchy the convention parliament had to address the following issue
RECLAIM
Religion
Economy(finance)
Constitution
Land settlement
Army disbanding
Indemnity
Militia
indemnity
Charles promised in d of b a general pardon for those who sided with parliament during civil war apart from those involved int he regicide
indemnity debates = royalists wanted widespread revenge
30 men excluded
indemnity act was passed
29 august 1660
indemnity act was, a pragmatic necessity for Charles as he needed
the army to disband
money from the city off London
support of the political elite , may were parliamentarians
despite the indemnity act , the restoration was accompanied by the
persecution of anyone seen as a threat to the reimposition of monarchy
as a result of the 1649 revolution which removed the monarch and brought cromwell to power , the lands of the
bishops , royalists , catholics and the crown were sold off
purchasers had vested interest in interregnum , and helped bring about the restoration
thus Charles didnt want to upset them
Charles left the land settlement to parliament , parliament failed to legislate a formal solution as it was a complex issue in turn
church and crown lands were reclaimed
land settlement was partly settled because most substantial purchasers were excluded from
the indemnity act and their lands seized
in the d of b Charles promised the army its arrears with the indemnity act passes and arrears voted by the convention parliament …
army was peacefully disbanded
Charles became king without any limitations imposed on him , those who had wished
to limit his powers were not in a position to do anything
a bill to confirm the parliamentary privilege and fundamental laws stalled in
the HoL through Charles influence
this bill would have confirmed magna carta as well as the legislation of 1641 and in theory
the long parliament as a whole thereby maintaining these laws as limits on the returning monarch
that they were not confirmed in the bill meant that they did moth become apart of the
restored settlement that was essentially an unwritten agreement between Charles and PN
initially the convention parliament kept finance in its own hands and it paid off the army
in terms of settlement for the monarch it was decided to abolish feudal rights but to provide compensation
- Charles granted t+p for life and granted customs that were specified in a parliamentary bill
- Charles granted 1.2mil a year for gov costs in peacetime , in practice about 400k raised
- 1662 a hearth tax was introduced to bridge the gap , proved insufficient
- Charles dependent on p grants , called p every year 1660-1681
the d of b had promised an indulgence for nonconformists which meant that the right to worship freely would be recognised , this did not materialise about
700/9000 Englands minsters were removed as the church of England was restored but not broadened to encompass any nonconformists , not even moderate Presbyterians let alone radical quakers
the convention parliament did not pass any militia bills in —- but neither did they challenge Charles control of the militia
1660
Charles announced the dissolution of the convention parliament on
29 nov 1660
- probably in annoyance with the religious settlement , Charles had prerogative right of control of armed forces in the kingdom
a royalist backlash saw a ‘ cavalier ‘ parliament elected in and lasted too
may 1661 and it became the longest running parliament lasting until 1679.
the typical cavalier country squire the core of the PN had no
desire to be in government
MPs at the time were concerned with local issues and government was seen as
the issue of the monarch , not MPs
the MPs wished for a return to normal practice in which they predominantly stood as
MPs to protect their local interests
they did not want the king to be absolute , Paul seaward argues that their
conservatism ‘ prevented them from wanting to build on parliaments civil war achievements and made them equally suspicious of attempts to strengthen the monarchy too far ‘
local government returned to the hands of the traditional PN , the act for the safety and preservation of his majestys person and government cancelled all ordinances , this did mean that some of the parliamentary legislation of 1641 sought to limits the crowns power and which Charles I has agreed to was to stand :
- abolition of star chamber
- abolition of high commission
- abolition of ship money
- the triennial act
- exclusion of bishops from lords
the act excluding the bishops was repealed and the presence of the bishops in the lords gave the crown an
influential group of supporters
in 1644 a remodelled triennial act removed the requirement for the crown to call
parliament even 3 years
the convention parliaments , indemnity act and land settlement were also reviewed by
the cavalier parliament
- Charles who realised the unrest this might create , stopped the cavalier parliamement proceeding with this review