Restoration England

 

Restoration England

By the term Restoration England, we mean England of the period between 1660 and 1688. All the practices which were suppressed during the Puritan regime were restored after Charles II was brought back of England as its king. Political monarchy, Parliament and Law were all brought back to their former status.

After the death of Oliver Cromwell there was a confusion and chaos in England. Richard Cromwell came to power. He was incompetent. Unable to bear pressures so he retired from politics. The conventional Parliament was headed by General Monk. He sensed the growing discontentment of the people. He planned to bring Charles II to the English throne. Charles II accepted the Monk’s invitation to be the king of England.

The restoration of Charles II marked the restoration of Parliamentary democracy. The powers of Parliament were considerably weakened during the commonwealth period. During the restoration period the House of Lords was restored. The House of Commons was more powerful than the House of Lords.

The Convention Parliament (1660 - 61) placed Charles II on the throne. It was summoned without a royal writ. It passed many important Acts. The parliament was dissolved in 1661 and a new parliament was elected and continued for 18years. It was called Cavalier Parliament. During Charles II’s reign, divisions arose on religious grounds. Charles II was a staunch Catholic. After his death, his brother James ascended the throne.

The Puritan age was noted for its excessive restraint. The table turned in the opposite extreme in the Restoration period. Restraint was replaced by the utter abandon in the new age. All theatres were closed down in the Puritan age as they were believed to breed immortality. Theatres were re-opened in the Restoration age, with major changes. The Restoration theatre was roofed in. Plays were staged at night in candle light. Another major change was that women’s roles were played by actresses and not by boys.

Two great national calamities of the Restoration period were the Plague and the Great Fire. The plague of 1665 carried away nearly one-fifth of the London population. The Great fire of 1666 raged for five long days, destroying all the churches and other buildings of the city. The Great fire was in a sense a blessing in disguise because the reconstruction of the city on modern lines was possible after this calamity. The reconstruction of London was accomplished in a comparatively short period of four or five years.