The English Reformation - Re-establishment of the Monarchy

Charles II lived in exile in France for 15 years. He was considered a foreigner as much as his father, Charles I and grandfather, James I. In April 1660, The declaration of Breda was issued by Parliament. It declared liberty and tender consciences which meant a general pardon for all except a few whom parliament deemed dangerous. The army was disbanded. The monarchy restored to England.

Charles II was asked to take the crown but only if he agreed to terms. These terms were Charles II had to agree to respect Parliament and Petition of Right which was still the law.

Charles II landed at Dover and assumed the throne from 1660 – 1685. He was self indulgent and had plenty of mistresses. Because of his self indulgent behavior, he was not popular with the Puritans. Rumors of plots against the monarchy prevailed. However, the economy prospered.

Charles II dissolved Parliament in 1679 but elections for a new Parliament was held the same year. Charles favored the Tory party. The King of France gave him an annual salary. He was a Catholic but was wise enough to keep his religious convictions to himself.

 

During his reign, two great events occurred: The Great Plague and the London fire. Christopher Wren designed St. Pauls Cathedral and much of the rebuilding in London.

Charles II was nicknamed the Merry Monarch. He died when he was 56 years old on February 6, 1685. Charles II had an illegitimate son, Duke of Monmouth, who was Protestant and lived in France. The Duke thought the English people would rally around him because he was Protestant. He felt he was the rightful heir to the throne. However, Charles II named his brother, James II his successor. The Duke landed at Dover but their was no support. He managed to rally a few Englishmen in the pitchfork rebellion which was the last rebellion in England. The Duke and his followers were executed.

Charles II epitaph read: Let his royal ashes then lie soft upon him and cover him from harsh and unkind censures; which though they should not be unjust, can never clear themselves from being indecent.

Except from When London Burned by G. A. HENTY

Intro

We are accustomed to regard the Reign of Charles II. as one of the most inglorious periods of English History; but this was far from being the case. It is true that the extravagance and profligacy of the Court were carried to a point unknown before or since, forming,--by the indignation they excited among the people at large,--the main cause of the overthrow of the House of Stuart. But, on the other hand, the nation made extraordinary advances in commerce and wealth, while the valour of our sailors was as conspicuous under the Dukes of York and Albemarle, Prince Rupert and the Earl of Sandwich, as it had been under Blake himself, and their victories resulted in transferring the commercial as well as the naval supremacy of Holland to this country. In spite of the cruel blows inflicted on the well-being of the country, alike by the extravagance of the Court, the badness of the Government, the Great Plague, and the destruction of London by fire, an extraordinary extension of our trade occurred during the reign of Charles II. Such a period, therefore, although its brilliancy was marred by dark shadows, cannot be considered as an inglorious epoch. It was ennobled by the bravery of our sailors, by the fearlessness with which the coalition of France with Holland was faced, and by the spirit of enterprise with which our merchants and traders seized the opportunity, and, in spite of national misfortunes, raised England in the course of a few years to the rank of the greatest commercial power in the world.

Story

Lad stood looking out of the dormer window in a scantily furnished attic in the high-pitched roof of a house in Holborn, in September 1664. Numbers of persons were traversing the street below, many of them going out through the bars, fifty yards away, into the fields beyond, where some sports were being held that morning, while country people were coming in with their baskets from the villages of Highgate and Hampstead, Tyburn and Bayswater. But the lad noted nothing that was going on; his eyes were filled with tears, and his thoughts were in the little room behind him; for here, coffined in readiness for burial, lay the body of his father.

Sir Aubrey Shenstone had not been a good father in any sense of the word. He had not been harsh or cruel, but he had altogether neglected his son. Beyond the virtues of loyalty and courage, he possessed few others. He had fought, as a young man, for Charles, and even among the Cavaliers who rode behind Prince Rupert was noted for reckless bravery. When, on the fatal field of Worcester, the last hopes of the Royalists were crushed, he had effected his escape to France and taken up his abode at Dunkirk. His estates had been forfeited; and after spending the proceeds of his wife's jewels and those he had carried about with him in case fortune went against the cause for which he fought, he sank lower and lower, and had for years lived on the scanty pension allowed by Louis to the King and his adherents.

Sir Aubrey had been one of the wild, reckless spirits whose conduct did much towards setting the people of England against the cause of Charles. He gambled and drank, interlarded his conversation with oaths, and despised as well as hated the Puritans against whom he fought. Misfortune did not improve him; he still drank when he had money to do so, gambled for small sums in low taverns with men of his own kind, and quarrelled and fought on the smallest provocation. Had it not been for his son he would have taken service in the army of some foreign Power; but he could not take the child about with him, nor could he leave it behind.

Sir Aubrey was not altogether without good points. He would divide his last crown with a comrade poorer than himself. In the worst of times he was as cheerful as when money was plentiful, making a joke of his necessities and keeping a brave face to the world.

Wholly neglected by his father, who spent the greater portion of his time abroad, Cyril would have fared badly indeed had it not been for the kindness of Lady Parton, the wife of a Cavalier of very different type to Sir Aubrey. He had been an intimate friend of Lord Falkland, and, like that nobleman, had drawn his sword with the greatest reluctance, and only when he saw that Parliament was bent upon overthrowing the other two estates in the realm and constituting itself the sole authority in England. After the execution of Charles he had retired to France, and did not take part in the later risings, but lived a secluded life with his wife and children. The eldest of these was of the same age as Cyril; and as the latter's mother had been a neighbour of hers before marriage, Lady Parton promised her, on her death-bed, to look after the child, a promise that she faithfully kept.

For more info and to purchase this book, see When London Burned.

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