THE EARLY RESTORATION AND

THE ANGLO-DUTCH WARS

c. 1660-1674

Politics in the 1660s

1. King Charles II, his leading minister Edward Hyde (the

first Earl of Clarendon), and the Cavalier Parliament govern

England under an Anglican-Royalist consensus for much
of the 1660s.
2. The legislation that comprises the Clarendon Code
which secures the Church of Englands supremacy over the
countrys religious life is passed in the first half of the
1660s.
3. The Clarendon Code consists of:
3.1. the Corporation Act of 1661
3.2. the Act of Uniformity of 1662
3.3. the Conventicle Act of 1664
3.4. the Five Mile Act of 1665

Edward Hyde, the first Earl of Clarendon

Politics in the 1660s, continued

4. 1661: Charles II is granted an income as well as the

revenue from customs taxation (taxes on overseas trade).

5. The Navigation Act and other navigation laws are
renewed in 1660 and 1663.
6. The Restoration regime continues to develop and
expand Englands naval-industrial complex. James, Duke
of York, serves as the Lord High Admiral of the Royal
Navy.
7. 1665-1667: the Second Anglo-Dutch War results in a
Dutch victory.

James, Duke of York, as Lord High Admiral

Politics in the 1660s, continued

8. 1667: threatened with impeachment, the Earl of

Clarendon goes into exile.

9. 1668: the Triple Alliance (between England, the
Netherlands, and Sweden) is formed against France.
Many in the English political nation fear that Louis XIVs
France is pursuing a universal monarchy.
10. Divisions begin to emerge between the Court of
Charles II and the Anglican Royalists who dominate the
Cavalier Parliament and the broader landed elite.

Louis XIV: the absolute monarch of Bourbon France, Europes

greatest power

Politics in the early 1670s

1. 1670: the Secret Treaty of Dover is concluded between

Charles II and Louis XIV of Bourbon France.

2. 1672: England allies with France against the
Netherlands and the Third Anglo-Dutch War commences.
3. 1672: Charles II issues the Declaration of Indulgence,
which suspends the penal laws against Protestant
Nonconformists and relaxes the penal laws against
Roman Catholics.
4. 1672: the Royal African Company is founded.

The naval battles of the

Third Anglo-Dutch War, 1672-1674

Politics in the early 1670s, continued

5. 1673: Parliament forces Charles II to withdraw the

Declaration of Indulgence.
6. 1673: Parliament passes the Test Act, which prevents
Roman Catholics and Protestant Nonconformists from
holding office. This legislation confirms the Anglican
monopoly on public office.
7. 1674: the Third Anglo-Dutch War comes to an end.
Public opinion was opposed to continuing the war with the
Dutch Republic and heavily in favor of war with Bourbon
France.