But Wait! A Restoration Is Needed! Quiz

Answer: Richard Cromwell's incompetencies

After the English Civil War, the new government, called the Protectorate, that was established by Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, was very strict and rigid. His two main objectives were to "heal the wounds" caused by the Civil War and execution of Charles I, and to promote spiritual and moral reform.

His religious preference, Puritanism, was forced upon the people; people who did not keep the Sabbath in the way expected could be fined, whipped, or put in the stocks. When Cromwell was offered the throne he declined; he did, however, ask to name his son, Richard, as his successor.

As it turned out, Richard was a weak leader. He could not control Parliament or the military, and when the army threatened him, Richard resigned his office after holding it for nine months, and left England.

It is interesting to note that some believed that the Restoration was the result of divine intervention. In other words, God believed that monarchy was the best form of government for England!

Answer: Stuart

The Stuart family ruled England after Elizabeth I died without an heir. The first Stuart monarch, James I, was Elizabeth's cousin from Scotland. His mother, Mary, Queen of Scots, was the niece of Henry VIII, as her grandmother, Margaret Tudor, was Henry's sister. James I, who also ruled Scotland as James VI, was the closest legitimate heir to the throne of England.

While James was viewed in England as being financially extravagant, he was deemed generally likeable due to the fact that he was a Protestant married to a Protestant.

His son, who became Charles I, however, was constantly at odds with Parliament and viewed with suspicion when he married a Catholic and appointed an Archbishop of Canterbury who many believed would lead England back to Catholicism. Charles I was executed during the English Civil War, and after the failure of the Protectorate his son, Charles I, was invited to return to England (in 1660) to reign as king.

Answer: Execution of traitors

Amazingly, after Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda, Parliament issued a decree that said that he had been the rightful king since the day his father had been executed. In other words, it did away with the time of the Interregnum, from the death of Charles I to the return of Charles II, as if it had never happened.

The Declaration apparently answered questions that concerned Parliament, but rather than providing for the execution of the traitors who had killed his father, Charles II promised that if they would recognize him as the lawful monarch, those who had committed crimes during the Civil War would receive a general pardon.

There was a clause in the statement, however, that left open a loophole - "excepting only such persons as shall hereafter be excepted by parliament".

Answer: Oak Apple Day

Also called Royal Oak Day, the public holiday on May 29 celebrated the return of Charles II to rule England. Parliament's original decree stated that the day was "to be for ever kept as a day of thanksgiving for our redemption from tyranny and the King's return to his Government, he entering London that day". On that day, people who were not wearing oak leaves or apples could expect to be pinched - or worse! The holiday was abolished in 1859, although it is still celebrated in the local traditions of some areas of England.

Answer: Cavalier Parliament

The Cavalier Parliament remained in session from May 8, 1661, until January 24, 1679, and carried out the work which was originally started by the Convention Parliament, which had proclaimed that Charles II had been the rightful king since his father's death. Republican sympathizers at all levels of the government could expect to lose their job, and anyone with a good Royalist reputation could expect to find it! Charles II was given control of all of the military forces and was protected, as much as was possible, from anti-Royalist sentiments and actions.

It was expected that Charles would allow Parliament to meet once every three years and the Cavalier Parliament maintained control of the king's finances.

Answer: True

Remember the loophole? While it appeared that the Indemnity and Oblivion Act had forgiven crimes against the king, the people who had been involved in the trial and execution of Charles I were excluded. That included the fifty-nine judges who signed the 1649 death warrant of the king, and thirty-one of them were still living.

Many of them were still considered to be threats to the new king. They were hanged and drawn and quartered. Some of the bodies of the deceased judges, like Oliver Cromwell, for example, were exhumed and put in chains for all to see; some who had tried to flee England found they were not safe in other countries.

A few of the remaining regicides were imprisoned for life. There is still much discussion concerning this action and its apparent violation of what Charles II had signed in the Declaration of Breda, but many believe that there never was an intention of allowing the regicides to go unpunished.

The exceptions also included some people who had held high office under Cromwell.

For example, John Milton's name was on the original list but was removed, thanks to the intervention of friends. His writings had, however, already been publicly burnt.

Answer: The Church of England once again became the Established Church.

The issues with the Church that were caused by the first two Stuart monarchs were also addressed in the Declaration of Breda. It was stated that there would be religious toleration as long as it did not disturb the peace; it was decided shortly after, however, that non-Anglican officials did threaten the peace. Parliament passed the Clarendon Code, which limited the rights of Roman Catholics and other groups, especially the Puritans who had become so unpopular during the Interregnum. Along with the Clarendon Code, the Act of Uniformity of 1662 restored the Church of England as the Established Church.

Answer: Happy days are here again!

If one can imagine what it was like to live during the rule of Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, it's not difficult to believe that the people thought "Happy days are here again!" Oliver Cromwell had essentially established a police state, where even preachers and teachers were closely watched to ensure that they were godly and upholding moral standards. Feast days had been turned into fast days, and being caught swearing could land a person into prison. Even celebrating Christmas in the traditional ways was outlawed. Roasting a goose was believed to lead to gluttony and instead of drinking, people were to think about the birth of Christ. Charles II wasn't called the "Merrie Monarch" simply because he was happy! His court was known to be lively and pleasure-seeking. Life had returned to a normalcy that had been lacking since the strict Cromwell rule, and the change happened almost overnight! Theater productions became popular once again, and were more racy than ever! Even women (can you believe it?) were allowed to perform on stage! By the late 1660s a few actresses even bared their breasts briefly at the very end of plays - to wild applause.

Answer: He attempted to grant religious freedom to Catholics.

James II issued the Declaration of Indulgence in 1687, which was seen as an attempt to grant religious freedom in England. It was viewed by many as a way that James could encourage the growth of his own religion, Roman Catholicism. The law basically said that people could worship privately in their homes and did away with the requirement for government officials to take a religious oath.

Many people, like the famous Quaker William Penn, for example, thought that granting religious toleration to all religions in the kingdom should be encouraged, but others believed that it would undermine religious values and the government as well. If everyone had total religious freedom, wouldn't that allow other religions, even paganism to take hold in England? If the king was able to issue the declaration, didn't that take away the right of Parliament to pass or suspend laws? Maybe asking Charles and James to come back to rule England hadn't been such a good idea after all!

Answer: Glorious Revolution

In 1688, the birth of James II's son displaced his heir, Mary, who was a Protestant. Many believed that the new heir would continue James's Catholic inclinations. William, Prince of Orange, who was Mary's husband, was asked to bring his army to England; when William and his army arrived in England, James was allowed to flee the country.

He was given asylum in France by his cousin, Louis XIV. The Convention Parliament that was convened announced that James had abdicated the throne, and his Protestant daughter, Mary, was named Queen. Upon her insistence, both she and her husband, William of Orange, became joint monarchs, William III and Mary II. Why was the Revolution Glorious? It was essentially bloodless (compared to the English Civil War and the aftermath), and it effectively ended any further threat of Catholicism coming back to England.