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Declaration of Breda
Charles II did not arrive on the throne as a savior figure, after the fall of the Republican order. He had to deal with a few issues that happened during the Republican order, like the new riches. So, the king issued the Declaration of Breda in 1660 to pardon those who were against the crown. He wanted to create a regime based on religious toleration, which helped him be considered as a legitimate ruler. -
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Charles II reign
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Corporation Act
There were conflicts between Parliament and the crown over religious toleration because Parliament was not in favor of it. Indeed, they wanted to follow the Church of England's doctrine whereas Charles II was getting convinced by catholicism. So, Parliament passed the Corporation Act that stated that those who did not follow the Church of England were considered second-class citizens. -
Great Fire of London
An example of a deep anti-catholicism that existed since the 17th century. Catholics were blamed for everything, even the events that were not their fault, like the Great Fire of London in 1666. -
Popish Plot
The Popish plot was a fake plot revealed by Titus Oakes, to assassinate Charles II to put James II, Charles' catholic brother, on the throne. Because of the deep anti-catholicism, many people believed it was true and 35 people were executed for their said "participation in the conspiracy". -
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Exclusion crisis
Between 1678 and 1685, three exclusion bills were issued to remove James (Charles II's brother) from the line of succession. -
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Charles II rules without Parliament
To deal with the problem of catholic succession, some Parliament members known as the Whigs started to try to get Parliament to issue a law removing James II from the line of succession, they wanted to choose who would become the monarch. They were opposed by the Torries, who considered that the legitimacy of the crown's line was more important than religion. That led to Charles having to rule without Parliament for the last four years of his reign. -
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James II reign
In the beginning, James II regime was stable, despite the Whig opposition. The reason why it was stable was because he had most citizens' and the army's loyalty. He pushed religious toleration, despite his stronger catholic beliefs. -
Declaration of Indulgences
Like the other rulers, James II wanted to push religious toleration, despite his stronger catholic beliefs, he hoped that more and more English people would convert to catholicism. he faced increasing challenged and opposition from the Parliament, which is why he issued the Declaration of Indulgences. -
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Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution began with William of Orange's invasion. It was called the Glorious Revolution because William of Orange and Mary Stuart were seen as saviors and protectors of the protestant religion in England. -
William of Orange's invasion
On the 5th of November, 1688, William of Orange invaded England with soldiers. He did not receive much opposition because James' did not have a grip on the army anymore -
Rebellion in Scotland
Many members of the Scottish army and nobility remained loyal to James, so they considered that the invasion was illegitimate, despite the religious disagreement. It led to a rebellion in Scotland in 1689, the first unofficial Jacobite rising to fight the crown. Despite their military success at the beginning, they lost. -
Bill of Rights
The document outlined in law a lot of practices that had been embraced in the daily practices. It highlighted James II as an illegitimate ruler, making William the legitimate ruler. It also fixed in law the relative power between Parliament and the crown, powers of the crown were limited by Parliament because the king could rule only because Parliament agreed to it. -
Toleration Act
Set out in statued law that anyone who was a protestant was to be tolerated, even if they did not follow the Church of England, as long as they believed in the Holy Trinity. But, they did not tolerate the catholics, the non christians, and the atheists. It was a limited toleration. -
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Mary Stuart and William of Orange's reign
Mary Stuart and William of Orange ruled over the Netherlands, they were protestants and Parliament found a solution to the catholic succession in them. Seven English nobles known as the "Seven Immortals" exchanged with William of Orange and invited him to invade England. -
Battle of the Boyne
William of Orange defeated the Irish army, after their resistance to the invasion, because of the majority of Catholics people in Ireland. It was led by Richard Talbot. -
Treaty of Limerick
After the Battle of the Boyne, the Treaty of Limerick marked an end to Irish rebellions for about a century. -
Act of Settlement
By 1700, William's health was declining, but because they had no children that was still aline, the Parliament was afraid that the throne would go to catholics. So, they drew up an act of succession, going from William, to Mary Stuart's sister to Sophia of Hanover, changing to dynasty. -
Act of Union
Since the change in regime was not a very popular move in Scotland, English monarchs had trouble making sure that their authority were unchallenged in Scotland, so they decided to unite their countries with the Act of Union. There were a few problems at first, but Queen Anne engaged England in an economic warfare with Scotland, leading Scottish elites to give up. They negociated a few things in the Act of Union, such as the kirk staying unchallenged, or the Scottish own system and courts.