Sorting it All Out
Toward the Glorious
Revolution
Exit Mr. Hyde
• Hyde was blamed for everything
from the failure of the most
recent war with the Dutch in
1667, to the inability to stop the
Great Fire of London in 1666.
• $The King, for his part had been
actively working alongside his
subjects to contain the Fire.%
• Hyde was impeached for the
failed war, and he )ed into exile.
• Unlike his father, Charles II
knew the value of a scapegoat.
• At the advice of Edward Hyde, who had counseled him throughout
his exile, Charles showed exceptional leniency toward his father!s
enemies.
• It would not do to alienate the only people who had been running the
government since 1642.
• Parliament recommended "fty seven names of men to be tried for
treason. Thirty were condemned by the courts, but only thirteen
were executed. Charles had chosen justice over vengeance, and given
England a chance to unite.
• Parliament itself was loaded with former Long Parliament men, and
outright traitors.
• Sorting out the property which had changed hands from Royalist to
Roundhead over the past two decades was di#cult. Parliament
followed the lead of Hyde, and for the most part, land was returned,
or retained, in the manner most likely to preserve political stability.
• This was guaranteed to make Hyde enemies among many loyal
Cavaliers, but he also became the lightening rod for many other
grievances as the Parliament and King sorted out the confusion and
forged a restored government.
King and Parliament
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Many in Parliament were actively working for a stronger
Parliament, with clearly established legal powers.
They were aided in this by a king who preferred turning many of
his old prerogative rights over to review by Parliament, as long
as it didn!t interfere with the more enjoyable aspects of being
King.
Statute was elevated over royal decree, and the King!s power of
direct taxation and military levy was curtailed. The King was
promised 1.2 million annually.
However, the ultimate prerogative, an unlimited veto power,
was retained by the King. $Hmmm....%
Hyde was replaced by a council of "ve, the &Cabal,' which, in
theory, was preferable because it represented di(erent religious
and political factions.
New Players
The Treaty of Dover
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In reality, the Cabal couldn!t agree on anything but religious
toleration.
Their divisions allowed Charles to go his own way with the
appearance of a Council.
THE TREATY OF DOVER ** while everyone was looking the other
way, Charles made a secret agreement with France: he would
declare himself a Catholic when it was convenient to do so; he would
institute a policy of tolerance toward Catholics; he would get a
signi"cant stipend from France; and both would bene"t from their
alliance against the Dutch. Only the last part was known until 1678.
IMPLEMENTATION: Charles passed the Act of Indulgence, the
third Anglo*Dutch war was launched, France ensured that the
unavoidable failure of Parliament to come up with 1.2 mil. was
covered; and on his deathbed $when convenient% Charles professed
the Catholic Faith.
Cure for an Ailing King!dom"
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Charles! government was in trouble. His French pension was
revealed, his counselor, Thomas Osborne $who had taken power
after the Cabal self*destructed in 1674% took the fall for the
King!s crypto*Catholicism, and the Queen was publicly accused
of a plot against the King.
Desperate for money, Charles called a new Parliament. The
Whigs swept into power.
Charles dissolved Parliament, and chose to wait it out.
In the summer of 1679 it appeared that Charles was on his
deathbed.
The realization spread that if Charles died there would be civil
war between factions supporting his Catholic brother James,
and the +protestan, Duke of Monmouth, for there was no male
child of the King.
Support for the King recovered.
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Underneath the surface, a new political party was forming
which represented a host of continuing bids for Parliamentary
power, the Whigs.
The Earl of Shaftesbury was directly responsible through his
formation of the Green Ribbon Club.
The agenda was to continue to curtail royal prerogative, as well
as the trend of increased power in the hands of local
government in the shires.
Shaftesbury was assisted in his agenda, whether he designed it
this way or not, by the sudden appearance of the &whistle*
blower' Titus Oates.
Oates fabricated an elaborate &popish plot' to take over
England, which resulted in a wave of anti*Catholic hysteria.
End of an Age
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In 1681 Charles was in charge.
He restored Parliament which had
been &reformed' by an adjustment
of boroughs to achieve a Tory
majority.
His French pension was upped to
500,000 pounds.
He actively supported the Tory
agenda, which meant, essentially, a
respectable English status quo,
harmony between Crown and
subjects, and caution regarding
further reform.
Charles died on February 6, 1685,
suddenly a devout Catholic.
James II, Lowlights of a Reign:
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James came to power amid great optimism regarding Stuart
rule.
He squandered it.
He attempted to force his Catholicism through a repeal of the
Test Act: Parliament had been willing to ignore the Test Act, but
as Smith observes, &they were adamantly opposed to repealing
it.'
Monmouth made a bid for power ** peasants )ocked to his
standard, but no nobles. He was crushed.
Under the questionable judgment of Judge Je(reys, 400 of the
peasant survivors were hung, and almost the entire balance was
transported for use as forced labor. &Justice' had been too harsh
and far too swift.
The reaction against Monmouth appeared to have an anti*
Protestant bite.
#Somewhere in Scotland
there$s a Village . . .%
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The Glorious Revolution
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William and his wife Mary were both grandchildren of
Charles I. Mary, however, was also the daughter of James II.
$o.k., just look at the chart on p. 342.%
Mary had the greater claim to the crown, but with a male
heir born to James, neither truly had the legitimate claim.
Mary was also not the sharpest knife in the drawer, so, at
William!s insistence, the crown was o(ered to both of them.
More interested in the advantage to Holland than ruling
England, William waited until France was busy, and "nally
landed in November, at the head of an army.
$Note Smith!s fascinating description on pp. 347*8.%
Before any Stuart support could be rallied, James )ed.
Unaware of his mounting opposition James continued to Catholicize
England with reckless stupidity:
• The Court of High Commission was reinstated by royal decree,
and wielded to remove bishops who &allowed anti*Roman
preaching in their dioceses.' $346%
• He began purging Oxford university, in violation of the rights of
the colleges to self*rule. $It was thus clear that the rights of all
Englishmen were in danger.%
• He attempted to replace &disloyal' local o#cials with Catholics
and Dissenters from the Church of England $Catholics and
Dissenters never really made an alliance with each other%.
After a male heir was born, Whigs and Tories were "rmly united in
their design to remove the King.
On June 30, 1688, the magnates of the Realm invited William of
Orange, Stadholder of Holland, to come and remove James.
!Take Two"
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**or tried to. He was caught at the mouth of the Thames, after
he had thrown the seal of the King of England into the River.
He was encouraged to )ee again.
This time, with the help of William, he got away and went into
exile in France.
William and Mary took the throne without a shot being "red.
However, Parliament, both Whig and Tory, ensured that the
ancient prerogatives which had allowed James to behave as he
did were completely overridden.
It was the &Age of Oligarchs:' the beginning of the rule by men
of property which would come to de"ne England through the
reign of Victoria.