page_title: Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury
section_title: Opposition to Catholicism and break with Charles II, 1673–1674
hierarchical_section_title: Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury / Biography / Restoration politician, 1660–1683 / Opposition to Catholicism and break with Charles II, 1673–1674
caption_attribution_description: English: Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles (1599-1680)
context_page_description: Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury PC, known as Anthony Ashley Cooper from 1621 to 1630, as Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Baronet from 1630 to 1661, and as The Lord Ashley from 1661 to 1672, was a prominent English politician during the Interregnum and the reign of King Charles II. A founder of the Whig party, he was also the patron of John Locke.
  Cooper was born in 1621. Having lost his parents by the age of eight, he was raised by Edward Tooker and other guardians named in his father's will, before attending Exeter College, Oxford, and Lincoln's Inn. He married the daughter of Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry in 1639; that patronage secured his first seat in the Short Parliament. He soon lost a disputed election to the Long Parliament. During the English Civil Wars he fought as a Royalist then as a Parliamentarian from 1644. During the English Interregnum, he served on the English Council of State under Oliver Cromwell, although he opposed Cromwell's attempt to rule without Parliament during the Rule of the Major-Generals. He also opposed the religious extremism of the Fifth Monarchists during the Barebones Parliament.
context_section_description: Following Shaftesbury's fall from royal favour, Arlington attempted to effect a reconciliation, in November 1673 convincing the French ambassador to offer Shaftesbury a bribe in exchange for supporting the French party at court. Shaftesbury refused this offer, saying he could never support "an interest that was so apparently destructive to [England's] religion and trade." Instead, he allied himself with the Spanish party at court, and urged peace with the Netherlands. He also continued to urge the king to divorce and remarry.
  In the session of the Cavalier Parliament that began on 7 January 1674, Shaftesbury led the charge to keep England free from popery. He coordinated his efforts with a group of other peers who were displeased with the possibility of a Catholic succession; this group met at the home of Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, and included Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, Thomas Belasyse, 2nd Viscount Fauconberg, James Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, and George Savile, 1st Viscount Halifax. On 8 January 1674, Shaftesbury gave a speech in the House of Lords warning that the 16,000 Catholics living in London were on the verge of rebellion, which caused the Lords to pass an address expelling all Catholics from within 10 miles of London. On 12 January, he introduced a measure that would require every peer, including the Duke of York, to take the Oath of Allegiance renouncing the pope and recognising the royal supremacy in the church (the oath was first required by the Popish Recusants Act of 1605). On 24 January, the Earl of Salisbury introduced a bill requiring that any children of the Duke of York should be raised as Protestants. His proposed legislation further provided that neither the king nor any prince of the blood could marry a Catholic without parliamentary consent, on pain of being excluded from the royal succession. Shaftesbury spoke forcefully in favour of Salisbury's proposal; he was opposed by the bishops and Lord Finch. By February, the opposition lords were considering accusing the Duke of York of high treason, which resulted in the king proroguing parliament on 24 February to protect his brother.
  Shaftesbury's actions in the 1674 session further angered Charles II, so on 19 May 1674, Shaftesbury was expelled from the privy council, and subsequently sacked as Lord Lieutenant of Dorset and ordered to leave London.
caption: Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles (1599–1680), whose London home was used by opposition peers to plan a strategy to counter the growth of Catholic influence in England.
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