The Restoration Under Charles II
Generally, the English people had a great celebration when Charles II returned to the throne in May of 1660.1 Many believed that restoring the monarchy was the only way to secure constitutional rights. In fact, there was an expectation that bringing back the king would return life to the way it was before 1642 and the rule of Cromwell. Charles II was responsible for improving the government for the people. However, despite some achievements, the king was not very successful in creating a stronger and more effective monarchy. He was dependent on his advisors and other parts of the government from the very beginning of his reign. There were constant conflicts between the king and Parliament over religious issues. When Charles II finally did gain some independence, he still did not accomplish much to improve the monarchy. Overall, the government was very inconsistent during the 1660s and 1670s, and the people became disillusioned with the monarchy. The king did not hold all of the responsibility for what happened to the government, though. The people should have taken charge and worked for a change in the system. The rule of Charles II helped show the English citizens that they could not rely on the government so much, but they needed to take more of the power into their own hands and become more autonomous.
Edward Hyde Clarendon
From the very beginning, Charles was determined to establish himself as a constitutional leader. Also, his advisors wanted to make sure that the new monarchy followed the law, so the people could begin to trust the government again.2 The most influential of these advisors was Edward Hyde Clarendon. For the most part, Charles foll...
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...688 (Totowa: Rowman and Littlefield,
1979), 8-10.
3. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 12.
4. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 21.
5. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 13.
6. J. R. Jones, ed., Liberty Secured? Britain Before and After 1688 (Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 1992), 138-140.
7. Jones, Liberty Secured, 130.
8. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 15.
9. J. R. Jones, Charles II: Royal Politician (London: Allen and Unwin, 1987), 60-62.
10. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 10.
11. Jones, Royal Politician, 74-75.
12. Jones, Royal Politician, 79.
13. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 15.
14. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 19-20.
15. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 10-11.
16. Jones, Royal Politician, 162-163.
17. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 21.
18. Jones, Royal Politician, 187.
19. Jones, Restored Monarchy, 23.
20. Harris, 37.
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Elton proposes that sovereign revolution was achieved under Cromwell; this claim seems to stand strongly, as evidence in form of the fact is that England remains sovereign from the Holy Roman Empire until this present moment which undoubtedly supports Elton. Under Cromwell, sovereign England was further strengthened as Wales was joined with England and placed under the rule of its Supreme King, Henry. The changes which Cromwell successfully administered were all permanent thus revolutionary, these changes were able to withstand the whole Tudor dynasty and more. Revolution was achieved by Cromwell with his skilful crafting of the parliamentary bills which ensured the Resolution of the Great Matter as well as the supremacy and absolutism of the King. Supremacy, sovereignty and Henry’s divorce were unl...
A Comparison of the Characteristics of the Absolutist Rule of Charles I of England and Louis XIV of France
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Through the 15th and 18th century, Royal Absolutism was the dominant political structure in western society, and personified France and King Louis XIV.
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In the 1640’s power and politics were vital for social standard and anyone with power was important and respected so naturally and event such as the civil war would have had politics as one of the main issues for happening. Charles becoming king was obviously a cause because it was his decisions that influenced the war itself and him who raised the flag. Also in 1629 Charles decided to close down parliament because he felt they were exerting too much power than they should, also it almost seems as if Charles is afraid of parliament or jealous because he feels that he is entitled to the “divine right of kings” and seeing parliament using all this power made him feel as if he was less and not as important. This was then followed by the “eleven years of tyranny” which ended in 1640 when he recalled parliament due to shortage of money and mistakes he had made.
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The challenges to the power of the Monarch was by the reign of James I (1603-25) the monarch was faced with an increasing effective Parliament, culminating in the temporary abolition of the monarchy in (1625). Consequently, the monarchy’s powers were eroded by both revolution and by legal challenges, which included the case of Proclamations (1611) , the monarchy could not change the law by proclamation. The law of the land, which required that the law be made by Parliament, limited the prerogative. In the case of Prohibitions Del Roy (1607) the Monarch had no right to act as a judge, and in the case of the Ship Money Case (1637), although th...
Prior to the restoration, Charles I was beheaded in January 1649. This lead to an Interregnum period between 1649-1668; Governed as a virtual dictator by Oliver Cromwell. Richard Cromwell was then put in charge after the death of his father from 1658-1660 which put England at an austere period in which theatres were closed due to no monarch ruling. By the end of the 1660's the Son of Charles I; Charles II was restored to the t...
What was it like to be looked upon as the most noble group of people in a nation as important and vast as England? The most powerful positions of the royal family were the king and queen of course, depending on who had the crown at that time. When one became the king he would inherit all of the riches and powers that come along with being the king. If he were to marry a woman then she would become part of the royal family, but not really be a ruler with the king. If one were not part of the royal family they would never live the glamorous life they lived. The king and queen could show their power through public executions, making new laws, and their ability to do whatever they wanted to. The royal family changed the course of history by bringing about new religions, theories, the English Reformation, the changing of boundaries, taking part in the Enlightenment, and countless other things.
During the reign of Charles I, the people of England were divided into two groups due to their opinions on how the country should be run: The Royalists, and the Parliamentarians. The Royalists were those people who supported Charles I and his successor, while the Parliamentarians were those who supported the idea that Parliament should have a larger role in government affairs. Milton was a Parliamentarian and was an outspoken enemy of Charles I, having written numerous essays and pamphlets regarding his ideas as to how the government should be run, and “In one very famous pamphlet, he actually defended Parliament's right to behead the king should the king be found inadequate.” Charles I was seen as a corrupt and incompetent ruler, and “the Parliamentarians were fed up with their king and wanted Parliament to play a more important role in English politics and government.” This belief was held because of the unethical and tyrannical behavior of ruler Charles I. During his reign, he violated the liberties of his people and acted with hypocrisy and a general disregard for his subjects. Examples of his abuse of power in...