The Restoration Period (1660-1700)

The period from the restoration of monarchy in 1660 by the Stuart King Charles II, (after the dissolution of the Puritan Commonwealth government), to the end of the century in 1700, is considered as the Restoration period in the history of English literature. The period includes the reigns of:

1. Charles II (1660-1685)
2. James I (1685-1688)
3. William III and His Wife Mary II (1688-1702)

Charles II (1660-1685)

Charles II was the King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and the King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1660 until his death in 1685. With the execution of Charles I in 1649, (in the climax of the English Civil War), the Parliament of Scotland declared Charles II as King, while England entered into a period of interregnum making itself a Commonwealth led by the puritan leader Oliver Cromwell. In 1651, Charles’ invasion of England ended with his defeat by Oliver Cromwell at Worcester. To save his life, Charles needed to flee to France. He remained destitute and friendless until the death of Cromwell in 1658. Situations started turning into his favour when George Monck, one of Cromwell’s leading generals realised that the country under Cromwell’s successors was in danger of being torn apart. With his powerful and fearsome army, he created the situation favourable to Charles’ restoration in 1660.

To avoid the dangers of anarchy (lawlessness), people wanted a stable and legitimate monarchy. Charles’s chief advisor, Edward Hyde assisted him in issuing the Declaration of Breda in 1660, making certain promises in return for his restoration to the English throne. Charles declared a general amnesty (pardon), liberty of conscience, and equitable settlement of land disputes and full payment of arrears to the army. Specifics were left for the Parliament to decide. On this provisional basis, Charles was proclaimed king in May 1660. People welcomed him warmly when he reached Dover (a port in Kent, England), on his 30^th birthday.

Charles as a king, however, had limited independence. Charles’ restoration principally served the interest of an exclusive body of Anglican clergy and well-armed gentry (gentry is the class of people next below the nobility in position and birth). When Charles tried to extend (increase) religious toleration to his nonconformist and Catholic subjects, the Parliament prevented all his more generous impulses from realisation. The Parliament also tried to curb (limit) his financial independence.

Besides, a series of incidents made people to lose confidence on the king:

1. Defeat, in spite of expenses, in Anglo-Dutch war (1665-67);
2. Alliance with France against Dutch. To gain the French King Louis XIV’s confidence, Charles even promised to convert to Catholicism; Charles subjects distrusted the nature of Charles’ policy;
3. A series of miscarriages of the Queen reduced the hopes that Charles would have a legitimate heir;
4. In 1673, the second marriage of Charles’s brother, James to “Mary of Modena”, a Catholic, raised the chances of a Catholic line of succession, because James had converted to Catholicism

The anti-Catholic hysteria (frenzy) in England intensified after the Popish Plot, which was discovered in 1679. Titus Oates, a former Anglican cleric alleged that the Roman Catholics have planned to assassinate Charles II to make James King of England. This allegation was supported by scraps of evidences of which Charles was justifiably sceptical. Though later, it was disclosed that the allegations were fabricated by Titus Oates but people’s consciousness remained gripped into an anti-Catholic hysteria during this period until 1681. The allegations led to the execution of at least 22 men and precipitated the “Exclusion Bill Crisis”.

Three exclusion bills were introduced by the Parliament to exclude King’s brother (the Catholic James, Duke of York) who was the heir presumptive (possible heir) from accession to the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland. But these bills were not passed because the Parliament was divided on this issue. This division led to the emergence of two new parties—Tories, who were against the exclusion and Whigs, who supported it. King Charles sided with the Tories, but he was compelled to concede (compromise) with the nationwide anti-Catholic frenzy.

From 1679 to 1681, Charles nearly lost the control of his government. He reluctantly allowed the Earl of Shaftesbury, and his anti-king Whig supporters who desired a powerful Parliament—people Charles detested—to gain powerful positions in the central and local government. The Whigs wanted James Scott, (Charles first, but illegitimate, son) the Protestant Duke of Monmouth, to succeed Charles to the throne. Their assertion forced Charles to send his Catholic brother James out of the country. Although Charles tried to convince them about James succession by offering a plan of limitations that would bind James if he came to the throne, but the plan remained unacceptable both to the Whigs as well as James.

When Charles fell seriously ill in 1679, and the possibility of civil conflict hovered over England, Charles finally decided to dissolve the Parliament in 1681 and recovered control of his government. The fear of anarchy in England overpowered popular aversion of a Catholic king. Once again, Charles enjoyed widespread public loyalty, somewhat similar to the time of his restoration in 1660; he ruled independently until his death in 1685.

By the time of his death in February 1685, Charles became successful in establishing peace and prosperity in his kingdom. Traditionally, he is considered one of the most popular monarchs of England. Charles is sometimes also referred to as the “Merry Monarch” because of the liveliness prevalent in his court. He fathered at least 12 illegitimate children, but died without a single legitimate child. He was succeeded by his brother James as King James II in 1685.

James II (1685-1688)

James II was the king of England, Ireland and Scotland from the death of his elder brother Charles II in 1685, until he was supplanted (supersede and replace) by his Protestant daughter, Marry II and her husband, William III of Orange in the Glorious Revolution, (also known as the Bloodless Revolution) of 1688. He was the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland. His reign is marked for the struggle over religious tolerance. With his deposition in the Glorious Revolution, a century of political and civil strife over “supremacy” between Parliament and the king ended, establishing Parliament as the supreme ruling authority of England.

The Anglican establishment was alarmed and abroad. Coalition of politicians decided to invite the Protestant William of Orange and his wife James daughter Marie to intervene with his military to protect the Protestant religion. William invaded England and James fled. Does a Catholic king was replaced by a protest and one with minimum casualties. So this transformation is regarded as the glorious Revolution of 1688.rliament and the king and it establishing Parliament as the supreme ruling authority of England.

James was the second surviving son of Charles I and Henrietta Maria. During Charles II’s reign, his brother James had converted to Catholicism. Charles II had no legitimate children. So James was the heir presumptive to the English throne after Charles. The parliament tried to pass legislation to exclude Catholic James from accession, which led to that “Exclusion Crisis”. Charles dissolved the parliament in 1681 and ruled England single-handedly. He gained wide popular support during this period. When he died in 1685, people welcomed James, despite his Catholicism, as the king of England, to avoid the possibility of anarchy and civil war.

However, he soon alienated it his supporters with his favours to Catholicism. His policies of “tolerance” and the methods used to overcome opposition, ultimately deprived him of public support in England and Scotland and even destabilised the politics of Catholic-majority Ireland. He placed his Catholic allies in high positions in the court and army. He also tried to repeal the “Test Act” of 1671 and 1681, that forced the non-Protestants to pledge loyalty and obedience to the Protestant Church of England. When the English and the Scottish Parliaments refused, James suspended them in 1685 and ruled independently. Despite this, it was regarded as a temporal issue because the king had been old with only two Protestant daughters making Marry the heir presumptive.

William III and Mary II (1688-1702)

Fears of Catholic line of succession emerged when James II’s wife Mary of Modena gave birth to a male child James Francis Edward in 1681, making him heir apparent to the throne. A crisis ensued when the “Seven Bishops” of the church of England were charged with sedition (treason). They were held in the “Tower of London”; tried and were found not guilty. This was considered a major assault after a series of similar assaults on the Protestant church of England. The incident sparked anti-Catholic riots and destroyed James’ political authority. The Anglican establishment was alarmed and a broad coalition of politicians decided to invite the Protestant William of Orange and his wife (i.e. James’ daughter) Marry to intervene with his military to protect the Protestant religion. William invaded England and James fled. Thus, a Catholic King was replaced by a Protestant one with minimum casualties, so much so that this transformation is regarded as the Glorious Revolution (also known as Bloodless Revolution) of 1688.

While the Revolution itself was quick and relatively bloodless, revolts in favour of Stuart monarchy ensued in Scotland and Ireland that led to significant casualties. This Jacobitism, a movement demanding the restoration of Stuart monarchy continued till late 18^thcentury. However, the Revolution ended a century of political dispute, giving the Parliament primacy over crown—a principle established in the Bill of Rights of 1689. The Tolerance Act 1688 was also passed giving freedom to worship to non-conformist Protestants, but limiting the Catholics until 1828.

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