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
the cavalier parliament strengthened the position of Charles II
- press censorship
formalised by the 1662 licensing act
the cavalier parliament strengthened the position of Charles II
- petitioning
an act was passed to prevent mass petitioning
the cavalier parliament strengthened the position of Charles II
- armed forces
in 1661 and 1662 two militia act gave Charles sole control of all armed forces , the latter gave Charles the power to raise up to 70,000 a year for three years through a militia rate to support the forces raised
the cavalier parliament strengthened the position of Charles II
- popery
the act for safety and preservation of his majestys person and government made it punishable to accuse the king of trying to bring in popery or to incite hatred of the monarch
the cavalier parliament strengthened the position of Charles II
- parliament
this body could not legislate without the monarch
parliament did not back down on the financial measures of 1641 , recognising that parliaments real power was over
the crown was via finance
the reinforcement of Charles annual income of 1.2 million per annum with the hearth tax 1662 still did not prove enough especially
the two wars he was to fight agsint the dutch
the failures of the restoration settlement were the basis of for continuing problems in Charles attempts to consolidate
his rule up to 1667 and arguably for the rest of the starts until their removal in 1668
Charles government was dominated by
earl of claredon
Edward hyde
Edward hyde was
the lord chancellor
and Charles II principal advisor from 1660 to 1667
claredons postiton came about because of his role as
Charles most trusted advisor while Charles was in exile and because of his capacity for work , his willingness to consider everything
there were however fundamental weaknesses in claredon
- business like approach and dismissive of others = arrogant , alienated the king
- did not get all of privy council on side
- claredon did not manage his position w parliament proactively , opposition developed
the largest weakness of claredon however was that
charles did not like him , and was used as a scapegoat ie second dutch war
recognised his skills although
august 1667
claredon faced to resign and went into self imposed exile in France
claredon managed the underlying tensions of the differing perspectives of
what would become known as ‘ court and country ‘ party
and between the anglicans and the dissenters
claredon also addressed tensions created by anti catholicism which was
still one of the dominant themes of the century
these tensions were to remerge after
1667 when he left England (claredon)
according to Seaward the dismissal of claredon in 1667 marked
’ the end of an adminstration and of a policy ‘
clarions fall allowed the rise of a new group of advisers known as the
cabal
C A B A L
Clifford sir Thomas , treasurer of the household
Ashley Baron : chancellor of the Exchequer
Buckingham , the duke of
Arlington , Lord : secretary of state
Lauderdale , Earl of Duke of : Charles commissioner in Scotland
Thomas Clifford , first baron Clifford of chudleigh 1630-73 , apart of the cabal , profile
a crypto catholic royalist
privy councillor in 1666
pro French anti dutch
helped negotiate the secret treaty of dover in which Charles agreed to assist Louis XIV against the dutch and declare himself catholic in return for financial aid
he advised Charles to suspend the repayment loans and to publish the declaration of indulgence
he was made lord treasurer in 1672
opposed the test act 1673
resigned from office
George Villiers , second Duke of Buckingham 1628-87 , apart of the cabal profile
freethinker
father was favourite of James/Charles
closest cabal member to Charles II
led a similarly over indulgent lifestyle
fought in second civil war and at Worcester
1662 appointed to the privy council and was the chief opponent of claredon , had fallen out in Charles exile years 1650’s
supported declaration of indulgence
commons pressured Charles into dismissing him in 1674
did not support the exclusion bill
withdrew from politics
the cabal had no co ordinated policy , there was a number of reasons for this
government was in the hands of men with diverse outlooks and opinions
Charles II limited involvement in government
the elimination of the dominance of claredon and his business like approach to gov
only Clifford and Ashley worked closely together in trying to improve finances , the other members …
Lauderdale was based in scotland
and Arlington and Buckingham hated each other
who in the cabal did the most to shape policy
Arlington
Charles used the differences among his minsters to his advantage by
playing them off against each other , he strengthened his own position
all minsters were aware of their reliance on the favour of the king
Charles was very much a pragmatist , with his main aim being to maintain his own authority
there were two main general aims for the cabal in this period
extended religious toleration to catholics and dissenters
an alliance with France
the influence of the cabal led to the development of viewpoints that have been labeled
court / country
the division between them became further defined after
the earl of danbys downfall in 1678
politics int his period wad focused on the issues of disaster od the
second and third dutch wars
1665-67 ; 1672-74
the plague 1665
great fire of London 1666
finance however was an ongoing problem between crown and parliament
- in 1665 royal income was 820,000 by 1666-7 it had fallen to
647,000 , the perspective of MPs was that the problems were due to crown mismanagement rather than structural problems with he financial system , corruption was rife
finance however was an ongoing problem between crown and parliament
- in late 1666 the commons began to investigate navy accounts and in feb 1667 parliament appointed
commissioners to examine the public accounts when it gave a parliamentary grant of 1.8million so that the spending of his grant could be checked
finance however was an ongoing problem between crown and parliament
- parliament used finance to try restrict greater religious freedom that Charles wanted to allow by making it clear that they would not
grant him funds if he tried to broaden the church , for example in 1669 the commons’ refusal to grant £300,000 forced Charles to issue a much more rigid conventicle act in 1670
the palriamentary session in 1672 marked a watershed in Charles’ relationship with parliament , the rest of the reign saw a focus on
the threat of popery and arbitrary government , with little trust between the ‘ court ‘ and the ‘ country ‘.
fundamental to this parliamentary session was
the anglo-french attack on the dutch
the royal declaration of indulgence
the Duke of York being catholic
an attack on the dutch republic was planned for the spring of 1672 in co ordination with tue
French as the start of the third dutch war
- this would naturally require finance
in light of the plan of the third dutch war , on 20 January 1672 Charles proclaimed the
’ stop of the exchequer ‘
in order to suspend repayment of any more loans
however it meant it would be very hard to secure more loans
parliament gave the crown 1.2 million to fund the attack on the dutch
when parliament met again on 4th feb 1673 they focused on Charles’ attempt to introduce the declaration of indulgence in 1672 , by a commons vote parliament declared that
it could only suspend penal laws
this became a constitutional issue , Charles response was that he had no desire to suspend any laws
the commons responded and declared the king ‘ had no such power ‘ to suspend laws and that power was never previously claimed by a monarch
to get money from parliament Charles had to withdraw the
declaration and issue of the test act 1673 , parliament then voted Charles a ;agree sum and Charles adjourned parliament on 29 march 1673
the jan-feb 1674 session of parliament marked by an attack on
Arlington and Buckingham , as prominent members of the cabal , which Charles did little to hinder
Buckingham was removed from all of his offices
parliament of 1674 also refused to vote for money , thus forcing Charles to
end the third dutch war with the treaty of Westminster in feb 1674
the treaty of Westminster 1674 and the fall of Buckingham and Arlington in 1674 marked the end of the attempt to
broaden toleration and also the end of the cabal
the earl of danbys emergence in 1673 initially strengthened the position of the crown in parliament because
he stood for policies in tune with the views of most MPs
- a rigid core with no toleration
- an anti French pro dutch fp
Danny built on a royalist ‘ court ‘ grouping established in
the commons by Arlington through crown patronage
by late 1675 Danny had 30 MPs receiving substantial
crown pensions
before parliamentary sessions selected MPs received personalised letters directing them to
support the crown
danbys political management reinforced for some that there was a
royal design to impose catholicism and absolutism on the country , such fears were exploited by Shaftesbury and Buckingham
a test bill was introduced in 1675 by which all office holders and MPs had too swear that
the taking up of arms was unlawful and they should not seek to alter government of the church and the state
the 1675 test bill was defeated by Shaftesbury and Arlington who saw it as an attempt to
impose an absolute governemnt
with the deafeat of the bill in April 1675 there was an attempt to impeach Danby who was seen as
pushing a move away from any broadening of the church through a new test bill
in nov 1675 parliament voted only 300,000 for the navy and added to this a clause appropriating all
custom revenues to support the navy rather than other areas of crown expenses
Danby had however improved the financial position of Charles through restraint in his role as lord treasurer …
- the withdrawal from the third dutch war and a boom in trade significantly cut costs and raised income
- between 1674 and 1677 royal income was an average of 1.4million a year , almost half of this came from customs revenue
despite the improvements in finances Danby had made , Danby could not control Charles spending , the crown debt had actually increased by
750,000 between 1674 and 1679 , this meant that finance was to remain a crucial issue in shaping the relationship between crown and parliament
in feb 1677 the cavalier parliament reassembled , Shaftesbury and Buckingham were placed in the tower for 5 months for claiming that
elections for a new parliament should be held , as parliament had not met for 15 months.
with continuing French success against the dutch , parliament became fearful of Frances growing power and voted
600,000 for the navy
- any further money was conditional on alliance against france
in december 1677 , the anglo dutch treaty , Charles agreed to impose peace terms on Louis , by force . Consequently in January 1678
parliament voted to raise an army of 30,000 men and £1 million , although only £300,000 was raised
by 1678 there was little doubt that Danby was Charles pre-eminent minster , his power also appeared to be on a much more secure basis than
claredens had been before 1667
Danby had supported his influence by
working with Charles mistresses to achieve direct access to the king
appreciating the key influence of the position lord treasurer
using the kings patronage through his position as lord treasurer to construct a ‘court’ party
it constructing a ‘ court ‘ party though crown patronage , danby provoked opposition and indirectly encouraged the
formation of a ‘ country ‘ party which contributed to division
in the 1678 parliament the MP Montagu presented evidence of Danbys knowledge of
Charles continuing relations with Louis XIV , despite securing money from parliament for an army to be used against france as part of a pro dutch policy
- Danby had acted on direct instructions from Charles in writing to montagu to get money from Louis XIV , against his own policy
in response to the attempt to impeach Danby and more importantly , the knowledge of his own duplicity in foreign affairs , Charles …
prorogues parliament at the end of December before dissolving the cavalier parliament on 24 January 1679
given Charles vision of foreign policy , particularly his insistence on a pro French line , his subsequent protection of Danby was motivated by self preservation:
Charles dismissed Danby in march 1679 but needed to avoid any trial that would make clear his own role in strengthening the relationship with france , Charles surpassed a trial by pardoning Danby
the commons pursued Charles’ minster through means of a bill of attainder , as the attainder process was nearing completion.Danby surerended to the lords and was committed to the tower , where he sent the next five years.
the attack on Danby should be seen in the context of the apparent move towards arbitrary government which was to feed into
the exclusion crisis
