Stuart Restoration

The Stuart Restoration was the return in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy to the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, ending the Interregnum and the Commonwealth of England that had been established after the execution of Charles I in January 1649. The Commonwealth had been governed by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and, briefly, his son Richard Cromwell, before political instability and the intervention of General George Monck led to the Declaration of Breda and the return of Charles II from exile. Charles landed at Dover on 25 May 1660 and entered London on 29 May, his thirtieth birthday. He was crowned at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661. The term "Restoration" is also used more broadly to describe the reign of Charles II (1660–1685), and sometimes that of his brother James II (1685–1688). The Restoration had significant political and legal consequences. The Indemnity and Oblivion Act 1660 granted a general pardon to most former opponents of the Crown, but excluded those directly involved in the trial and execution of Charles I. Ten of these regicides were executed in October 1660 at sites including Charing Cross and Tyburn. The exhumed bodies of Oliver Cromwell, Henry Ireton, and John Bradshaw were subjected to posthumous execution in January 1661. A further nineteen regicides were imprisoned for life. The Cavalier Parliament, which first met in May 1661 and sat for over seventeen years, was strongly royalist and oversaw the re-establishment of the Church of England through the Clarendon Code, a series of measures including the Act of Uniformity 1662. Culturally, the Restoration marked a reaction against the stricter moral and social climate associated with Puritanism during the Interregnum. Theatres, which had been closed under the Commonwealth, reopened, and Restoration comedy flourished. Women appeared on the public stage as professional performers for the...