Teaching & Learning Guide for: Between Revolutions: Re‐Appraising the Restoration in Britain
Authors: De Krey Gary S. 
Published: February 2009

Author's Introduction

This article is intended to introduce the Restoration and the last generation of historical scholarship about it. Opening with a critical literature review, it thereafter focuses on a series of questions about the fragile character of the Restoration settlement and about the unsettling political and religious issues of the reign of Charles II. The article employs a three‐kingdom approach and integrates the Restoration histories of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It concludes with an appraisal of James II and the origins of the Glorious Revolution.

Focus Questions

How has the political and religious history of the Restoration been reconceived in the last twenty‐five years?

What were the principal factors that contributed to political instability during the Restoration?

How successful were the established Episcopal churches of England, Scotland, and Ireland in maintaining their positions against other religious interests?

What were the principal dimensions of the crisis that began in England in 1679, and to what extent did this crisis become a general crisis of church and state in all three kingdoms?

Was the Glorious Revolution a reaction to a Stuart drive for absolutism in the three kingdoms? Consider evidence that supports and contradicts such an interpretation.

Author Recommends

Tim Harris, Restoration: Charles II and His Kingdoms, 1660–1685 (London: Allen Lane, 2005) and Revolution: The Great Crisis of the British Monarchy, 1685–1720 (London: Allen Lane, 2006).

Tim Harris's two‐volume study of Britain in the era of the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution is now the standard survey. These volumes are the first to provide a three‐kingdom framework for the study of the era, and they provide insightful treatment of both Charles II and James II.

Gary S. De Krey, Restoration and Revolution in Britain: A Political History of the Era of Charles II and the Glorious Revolution (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2007).

My survey of British political history is intended to help students and non‐specialists master the era of the Restoration and the Glorious Revolution. It integrates the histories of England, Ireland, and Scotland, and it explores connections between political divisions and religious disagreements.

John Spurr, England in the 1670s: ‘This Masquerading Age’ (Oxford: Blackwell, 2000).

A comprehensive survey of the history of the second decade of Charles II's rule. Spurr examines both the unsettled parliamentary politics at the beginning of the decade and the crisis of politics and religion with which the decade concluded.

William A. Speck, Reluctant Revolutionaries: Englishmen and the Revolution of 1688 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988).

William Speck's history of the Glorious Revolution was written for its tercentenary. The book remains a student‐friendly survey of the era of James II and the Revolution. It pays significant attention to the issues of the 1680s and to the perspectives of critical political actors.

Edward Vallance, The Glorious Revolution: 1688 – Britain's Fight for Liberty (London: Little, Brown, 2006).

A recent history of the Revolution that begins with the Popish Plot. Vallance's well‐written narrative is intended for a broad audience. It challenges numerous assumptions about the Glorious Revolution, including the idea that it was a relatively bloodless affair.

Mark Goldie, ‘John Locke and Anglican Royalism’, Political Studies, 31 (1983): 61–85; and ‘The Unacknowledged Republic: Officeholding in Early Modern England’, in T. Harris (ed.), The Politics of the Excluded, c.1500–1850 (Basingstoke: Palgrave, 2001), 153–94.

Two influential essays (of dozens) authored by one of the most penetrating historians of Restoration politics, religion, and political theory. The first defines the political ethos of Anglican royalism, which was challenged both by John Locke and by dissenting authors. The second examines office‐holding in early modern England and analyzes the implications of its broad extent.

Steven Pincus, ‘The European Catholic Context of the Revolution of 1688–89: Gallicanism, Innocent XI, and Catholic Opposition’, in A. I. Macinnes and A. H. Williamson (eds), Shaping the Stuart World, 1603–1714: The Atlantic Connection (Leiden: Brill, 2006), 79–114.

An important restatement of the absolutist interpretation of James II in the broader context of European affairs by another leading Restoration‐era historian. The essay previews arguments that the author will further develop in future work.

Clare Jackson, Restoration Scotland, 1660–1690: Royalist Politics, Religion and Ideas (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2003).

A critical volume in the current revival of interest in Restoration Scotland. Jackson examines the relationship between royalist politics, religious ideas, and political theory as well as the collapse of the royalist paradigm in the reign of James II and the Glorious Revolution.

Restoration Ireland: Always Settling and Never Settled, ed. Coleman A. Dennehy (Aldershot, Hants: Ashgate, 2008).

An anthology of essays by established and junior scholars that builds upon the renewal of interest in Irish history between the 1640s and the 1690s. Comprehensive in scope, the volume covers political, religious, social, and intellectual history.

Online Materials

http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/g04.pdf

Quick overview of the reign of James II, the Glorious Revolution, and its constitutional aftermath for the absolute beginner.

http://www.british‐history.ac.uk/Default.aspx

Essential research site with digital copies of some of the most important printed primary sources from the Middle Ages through the modern period. Its premium content (available by subscription) includes the Calendar of State Papers for the reigns of Charles II and James II.

http://www.constitution.org/liberlib.htm

The ‘Liberty Library of Constitutional Classics’ maintained by The Constitution Society includes digital copies of important constitutional documents like the Habeas Corpus Act (1679) and the Bill of Rights (1689) and of important political treatises like Algernon Sydney's Discourses concerning Government, Robert Filmer's Patriarcha, and John Locke's Letter concerning Toleration.

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/plague/index.html

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/fire/index.html

Useful overviews of the two great disasters that befell London in 1665–66: the Plague and the Fire, with contributions by historians and other experts.

http://www.strecorsoc.org/index.html

Devoted to texts produced by radical political and religious groups, the site provides copies of numerous tracts from the 1640s through the early eighteenth century. A rich source for Quaker writings, including George Foxe's Journal. Complete text of Thomas Babington Macaulay's classic History of England from the Accession of James II.

http://www.pepys.info/index.html

http://www.johnbunyan.org/bunyan.html

http://www.luminarium.org/eightlit/dryden/

http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/phl302/philosophers/locke.html

These sites provide online copies of the Diary of Samuel Pepys and of important works by John Bunyan, John Dryden, and John Locke.

Sample Syllabus

* Adapted from the author's intermediate‐level undergraduate seminar about Restoration British Politics and Religion

Course Bibliography

Principal Historical Writing, Major Restoration Works, and Contemporary Fiction:

Gary De Krey, Restoration and Revolution in Britain (2007).

Gary De Krey, ‘Between Revolutions: Re‐Appraising the Restoration in Britain’, History Compass, 6 (May 2008), 738–73.

John Milton, Samson Agonistes (1671).

John Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress (1678).

John Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel (1681).

Thomas Otway, Venice Preserved (1682).

John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (1690) and A Letter concerning Toleration (1689).

Rose Tremain, Restoration (1989).

Additional Primary Sources of note:

Nathaniel Hodge's account of the Great Plague (1665).

John Evelyn's account of the Great Fire of London (1666).

The Earl of Shaftesbury, Excerpts from A Letter from A Person of Quality (1675).

Samuel Parker, Excerpts from A Discourse of Ecclesiastical Politie (1670).

Andrew Marvell, Excerpts from An Account of the Growth of Popery (1677).

John Nalson, Excerpts from The Common Interest of King and People (1677).

William Penn, Excerpts from One Project for the Good of England (1679).

Introduction

Part One: The Early Restoration, 1658–72

Focus: Why is the British Restoration a period worth studying in the twenty‐first century? Why was Charles II restored to the rule of England, Scotland, and Ireland; and how did he begin to undermine the circumstances of his restoration almost from the beginning of his reign? We will examine how the revolutionary experiences of the 1640s and the 1650s shaped the Restoration. We will look at religion as a critical issue in the politics of all three kingdoms. We will also examine how the revolutionary poet, John Milton, reflected upon revolution and the Restoration in his poetic drama Samson Agonistes.

1. Course Introduction

De Krey, ‘Between Revolutions’, section 1, 738–43.

2. Why Study the British Restoration?

The English Bill of Rights, 1689:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/17th_century/england.asp.

John Locke's Right of Revolution, 1689:

http://press‐pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/v1ch3s2.html

(Paragraphs 149, 155, 168 only).

The American Declaration of Independence, 1776:

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/declare.asp.

The American Bill of Rights, 1789

http://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/rights1.asp.

The Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom, 1786

http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/sacred/vaact.html.

Mark Kishlansky, Monarchy Transformed (1996), 1–10.

3. Charles II and the Restoration, 1658–61

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 1, pp. 1–31.

Kishlansky, Monarchy Transformed, 34–41.

4. The Triumph of the Cavaliers, 1661–65

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 1, pp. 31–52.

De Krey, ‘Between Revolutions’, section 2, 744–7.

Kishlansky, Monarchy Transformed, 23–31, 50–5.

5. Courting Disaster, 1665–67 (and the present)

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 2, pp. 53–75.

BBC Channel 4 Plague Web site at:

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/plague/index.html.

Nathaniel Hodge's account of the Great Plague, 1665.

John Evelyn's account of the Great Fire of London, 1666.

Reading about current pandemic response planning.

6. Dissent and Diplomacy, 1667–72

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 2, pp. 75–98.

De Krey, ‘Between Revolutions’, section 3, pp. 748–53.

Selection from A Pepys Anthology (1987), ed. R. L. Latham: ‘Deb Willet’, 255–69.

Lawrence Stone, ‘Samuel Pepys’, in Family, Sex, and Marriage (1977), 552–61.

7. Milton, Samson Agonistes I

Old Testament: Book of Judges 13–16.

Samson Agonistes, lines 1–870.

Lawrence Stone, ‘The Reinforcement of Patriarchy’, in The Family, Sex, and Marriage, abridged ed. (1979), 109–13, 136–42.

8. Milton, Samson Agonistes II

Samson Agonistes, lines 871 to end

David Loewenstein, Representing Revolution in Milton and his Contemporaries (2001), 269–74, 276–7, 281–3.

Part Two: Church and Country, 1673–78

Focus: Examination of the origins of the parliamentary opposition to the government of Charles II and the Episcopal leadership of the Church of England. What political ideas and experiences produced this opposition, and how have these ideas become a part of Anglo‐American political experience? How did Episcopal leaders defend monarchy and a coercive established church? We will examine how conflicts between Court and Country came to bear upon the Popish Plot, one of the most peculiar episodes in British history. Students will work with classic tracts by Andrew Marvell and the Earl of Shaftesbury and with Anglican defenses by leading Restoration churchmen. These sources will be analyzed in a writing assignment.

9. The Country and the Church

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 3, pp. 99–125.

Earl of Shaftesbury, excerpts from A Letter from A Person of Quality (1675).

Samuel Parker, excerpts from A Discourse of Ecclesiastical Politie (1671).

10. Court vs. Country: The Fear of Popery

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 3, pp. 125–44.

Andrew Marvell, excerpts from An Account of the Growth of Popery (1677).

John Nalson, excerpts from The Common Interest of King and People (1677).

11. Source Analysis due

Part Three: John Bunyan and the World of Dissent

Focus: The Pilgrim's Progress has been one of the most frequently republished books in the English language, and it has been translated into more languages – including Yoruba and Dakota – than any other English book. What does John Bunyan's allegory about Christian life tell us about the experiences and beliefs of Restoration Protestants who dissented from the established Church of England? What does it tell us about the Restoration? Why does it have such universal appeal? Part III concludes with the writing of an essay.

12–14. Bunyan, Pilgrim's Progress

Additional reading: R. H. Tawney, ‘The Triumph of the Economic Virtues’, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (1922), 228–32, 240–2, 244–5, 252–3.

15. Interpretive Essay due about Religion and Politics in the Early Restoration

Part Four: Restoration Society in Film and Fiction

Focus: The Restoration has recently become a setting for contemporary fiction and film. An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears attracted much literary attention in 1998; and Neal Stephenson's Quicksilver (2003), the first volume in his Baroque Cycle, starts in Restoration England. The BBC offered a new mini‐series about Charles II in 2003. Johnny Depp and John Malkovich starred as the Earl of Rochester and Charles II in the 2005 box‐office flop, ‘The Libertine’.

We will study Rose Tremain's 1989 novel Restoration, which was short‐listed for the Booker Prize, and we will view the 1995 film adaptation of the novel, with Sam Neill, Robert Downey Jr., Meg Ryan, and others. The novel will help us look at some topics in the social and cultural history of the Restoration, especially madness, pregnancy, and childbirth. We will evaluate the historical accuracy and comprehensiveness of Tremain's depiction of the Restoration on the basis of what we have learned so far. We will start the process for the research papers due at the end of the semester. Part IV will conclude with an in‐class mid‐term exam.

16–19. Rose Tremain, Restoration

Additional Reading:

William French, ‘Harvey, William’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

Michael Mullett, ‘George Fox and the Origins of Quakerism’, History Today, 41 (May 1991): 26–31.

Michael Macdonald, ‘Stress, Anxiety, & Family Life’, Mystical Bedlam (1981), 72–85.

Antonia Fraser, The Weaker Vessel (1984), 59–80, 440–54.

20. Mid‐term exam

Part Five: The Restoration Crisis, 1679–83

Focus: The ‘Restoration Crisis’ is not exactly a household phrase today, but ideas that developed during the crisis are still with us. The crisis was the climax of Charles II's reign and saw the emergence of two political parties, the Tories and the Whigs, who worked for and against the succession of Charles's brother, the Catholic James II. During this crisis, John Locke developed his political ideas about consent and the origins of government, natural rights, and the legitimacy of resistance to tyranny. We will not study Locke until Part VII, but we will analyze John Dryden's great satirical poem, Absalom and Achitophel, which was written in defense of Charles II and against Whig critics like Locke.

21. Restoration Crisis I

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 4, pp. 145–75.

De Krey, ‘Between Revolutions’, section 4, pp. 753–8.

Jonathan Scott, Algernon Sidney and the Restoration Crisis (1991), 9–17.

22. Restoration Crisis II

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 4, pp. 176–96.

William Penn, One Project for the Good of England (1679).

23. Dryden, Absalom and Achitophel

Part Six: The Tory Reaction and the Reign of James II, 1683–88

Focus: After outmaneuvering the Whigs, Charles II re‐established the authority of the crown by 1685 and was succeeded by his brother James II. But did Charles and James also develop an absolutist framework of government in their kingdoms? And was James II, a Catholic monarch, attempting to re‐establish Roman Catholicism in Britain? We will examine these and other historical questions. We will also read Thomas Otway's Venice Preserved, a play written in defense of Charles II and in condemnation of his Whig political opponents. The section will conclude with the writing of a historiographic essay, which will help students identify the main issues for the final research paper.

24. The Tory Reaction and James II, 1683–86

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 5, pp. 197–221.

25. James II: Enlightened Despot or Arbitrary Ruler?

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 5, pp. 221–50.

De Krey, ‘Between Revolutions’, section 5, pp. 759–63.

26. Otway, Venice Preserved I: Acts 1–3

27. Otway, Venice Preserved II: Acts 4–5

28. Historiographic Essay due

Part Seven: The Glorious Revolution and John Locke

Focus: James II was overthrown in 1688–89 by his nephew, William of Orange, who became William III. This revolution was not restricted to England. It was accompanied by revolutions in Ireland and Scotland and by a transformation of British commercial, religious, and intellectual life. Modern Britain, British Protestant culture, and the subsequent British Empire were all shaped by the revolutionary experiences that began in 1688 and that continued thereafter. In addition to the history of these events, we will look at John Locke's Second Treatise of Government and his Letter concerning Toleration, each of which became a central text of the Enlightenment in Britain and elsewhere.

29. Glorious Revolution I: England and the Empire

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 6, pp. 251–70, 289–96.

De Krey, ‘Between Revolutions’, section 6, pp. 763–4.

30. Glorious Revolution II: Ireland, Scotland, and Ideas

De Krey, Restoration and Revolution, ch. 6, pp. 270–89, 296–304.

31–33. John Locke, Second Treatise of Government & A Letter concerning Toleration

Part Eight: Research Papers and Presentations