Chapter 14: Catholicism became synonymous with royal absolutism, which contravened the liberties Englishmen had enjoyed since the Magna Carta

Question 1

what did Charles see himself as

Answer 1

as a monarch willed by God and not by parliament

Question 2

what did Charles claim to be when he returned from exile and what did this assert

Answer 2

• claimed to be in the twelfth year of his reign when he returned from exile in 1660
• by doing so he had asserted his supposed divine right

Question 3

when did Charles return from exile

Answer 3

1660

Question 4

what fears surrounded Charles which included Louis XIV

Answer 4

fears that Charles would model himself based on his cousin Louis XIV due to their close links

Question 5

what did the rumours involving the financial and political implications of the Treaty of Dover strengthen

Answer 5

the idea that French subsides would free Charles from his financial dependence on parliaments

Question 6

what was the possibility if Charles was given French subsides

Answer 6

it would mean that Charles could rule without the scrutiny of parliament

Question 7

why did the Declaration of Indulgence 1672 cause opposition

Answer 7

• it gave toleration to English Catholics
• based on a claim that the monarch’s prerogative powers included the right to suspend the operation of acts of parliament

Question 8

how did the parliament view the Declaration of Indulgence 1672

Answer 8

seen by parliament as a direct challenge to its historical rights and the rule of law

Question 9

how did parliament show their opposition to the Declaration of Indulgence 1672

Answer 9

• showed it when Charles was forced to recall parliament
• they demanded that he withdraw the declaration and agree to a Test act in 1673

Question 10

what were the terms in the Test Act 1673

Answer 10

• forced holders of public offices to deny key Catholic doctrine
• led James to resign his position of Lord High Admiral

Question 11

what did the exclusion crisis of 1679-1681 demonstrate

Answer 11

demonstrated that while Charles was willing to compromise in other areas, he was determined to defend the principle of hereditary divine-right monarchy

Question 12

when did Charles dissolve the First Exclusionist Parliament

Answer 12

1679

Question 13

how did Charles apply pressure on the Lords in the second exclusionist parliament

Answer 13

by personally attending debates

Question 14

when did Charles move away from London and to where

Answer 14

moved to Oxford in 1681

Question 15

why did Charles move away to Oxford in 1681

Answer 15

• away from the Whig stronghold of London to avoid possible intervention by the London mob
• dissolved parliament again when they tried to pass another Exclusion Bill

Question 16

what was the Rhye House Plot of 1683

Answer 16

a group of men conspired to assassinate King Charles II and his brother, James, and encourage an uprising

Question 17

consequence of the Rhye House Plot of 1683

Answer 17

• strengthened Charles’s hand
• but Charles has already demonstrated that he would not tolerate a parliamentary challenge to the right of hereditary monarchy

Question 18

what happened after Charles’s defeat of the exclusion parliaments in 1681

Answer 18

Charles ruled without parliament for the last years of his reign with help from French subsides