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This is an account of English politics in the 1660s, the years immediately following the Restoration of Charles II, after the Civil Wars and Interregnum in the course of which the monarchy had been abolished and Charles I executed. It is the first detailed study of Westminster politics in the 1660s for over twenty years, and the first ever in-depth study of the legislation of the 1660s. Dr Seaward shows how these drastic and dramatic events had changed perceptions and attitudes in British politics. He analyses the policies followed by the Restoration government (and in particular those of Charles II's chief minister, Clarendon) in attempting to restore royal power, and the effect of the Civil Wars' legacy of partisan bitterness on relations between government and parliament. The book also describes the breakdown in those relations, which occurred in 1666-7 and during the earlier crisis in 1663, and attempts to discover why relations were soured so quickly after the euphoria of the Restoration in 1660.
List of contents
Acknowledgements; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; Part I. Reconstructed Politics: 2. The making of government policy; 3. Royalism and conservatism in the Cavalier Parliament; 4. The structure of parliamentary politics; Part II. The Reconstruction of the Old Regime: 5. Finance; 6. Government; 7. Religion; 8. Indemnity; Part III. The End of Reconstruction: 9. Faction: 1661-September 1665; 10. War: October 1665-November 1666; 11. Defeat: December 1666-September 1667; 12. Conclusion; Appendix; Select bibliography; Index.
Summary
This book is the first detailed study of Westminster politics in the 1660s for over twenty years, and the first ever in-depth study of the legislation of the 1660s. Dr Seaward shows how these drastic and dramatic events had changed perceptions and attitudes in British politics.
