King of Great Britain and Ireland (1660-1685). The son of Charles I, he retired to France after the Civil War.
Suppoerted by the Covenanters, Charles landed in Scotland and was crowned King in 1650. After his defeated at the battle of Worcester in
1651, he escaped to seek refuge in France.
see: Charles II's Escape to Europe (1651)
On his Restoration in 1660, he attempted to secure religious toleration for Roman Catholics but set on foot intolerant measures against the
Nonconformists and the Covenanters were persecuted in Scotland.
The disasters of the Dutch Wars (1665-7) caused Charles to dismiss Clarendon. The succeeding Cabal Ministry gave France control of English
foreign policy by the Treaty of Dover.
The "Popish Plot " played into the hands of Protestant exclusionists who sought
to bar Charles's brother, James, from the succession to the throne. Charles managed to win back the support of the nation, particularly on the
discovery of the "Rye House Plot " in 1683. from then onwards, Charles
endeavoured to restore Catholicism.
His reign was marked by the further transfer of power to parliament, by progress in the administration of the Treasury, the Navy, the Colonies and
by a gradual increase in social toleration.
'Feudal Incidents' continued long after the demise of the feudal system and wardship and marriage proved the most burdonsome. They were finally abolished on the accession of King Charles II when they were replaced by poundage and tonnage for life and a grant of £100,000 per annum.
| William Seymour (1588 - 1660), Duke of Somerset |
| William married Arabella Stuart and lived in exile in Paris from 1610 until 1616. In 1621 he inherited the earldom of Hertford and was made a marquess in 1640. He faught for the Royalists in the Civil War and was made Duke of Somerset in 1660 by Charles II who revived the title. |
| Lucy Walter |
| The king's mistress for a short time who bore the eldest of his 12 illigitmate children, the Duke of Monmouth. |
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Charles was born on May 29th, 1630, at St James's Palace in London, the sone of the Protestant king Charles I of England and the Catholic Henrietta Maria.
From his earliest years, Charles was indoctrinated by his father into the thoery of the Divine Right of Kings and the prince was only a year old when Charles I dissolved parliament. By the time he was ten years old, the Stuart family had fled from the capital to Hampton Court as Civil War between monarch and parliament loomed large. Charles accompanied his father to his first battle at Edge Hill where the parliamentary forces were defeated but the king could not secure London.
Charles was 18 years old when the Stuarts were forced to flee to Europe, first to Paris where his mother set up an alternative court and later to The Hague with his sister Mary.
| Retribution Against the Commonwealth |
The new king sought some measure of retribution against those who had prosecuted the
Civil War against and executed his father,
king Charles I and served the republican
Commonwealth which followed;-
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Notes
CURRENCY
Silver pennies ceased to be produced during the reign of Charles II although their copper replacements were not produced until 1797.
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