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198-507: The Stuart period in London began with the reign of James VI and I in 1603 and ended with the death of Queen Anne in 1714. London grew massively in population during this period, from about 200,000 in 1600 to over 575,000 by 1700, and in physical size, sprawling outside its city walls to encompass previously outlying districts such as Shoreditch , Clerkenwell , and Westminster . The city suffered several large periods of devastation, including

396-540: A Parliament in 11 years, and was badly in need of funds. In this year, he asked the City of London for a loan of £100,000, and when that was refused, the demand increased to £200,000 and then £300,000. Four aldermen were imprisoned as punishment for refusing to pay. From 1642, tensions between King Charles I and his Parliament broke out into the English Civil War. London's pro-Royalist Lord Mayor, Richard Gurney ,

594-461: A black pageboy, and in 1662, Lord Sandwich bought "a little Turk and a negro" for his daughters. The diarist Samuel Pepys had a black kitchen maid, and the naval officer William Batten had a black manservant called Mingo. In 1684, the Barbados planter Robert Rich brought an enslaved woman called Katherine Auker to his house in London. She was mistreated and thrown out onto the streets, where she

792-605: A box underneath a staircase containing the skeletons of two children. These were presumed to be the Princes in the Tower , 15th-century royal boys who were thought to have been murdered on the orders of Richard III . The bodies were buried in Westminster Abbey with royal honours. Duelling , either with pistols or with swords, was a popular way for upper-class men to settle arguments, although they were not legal. In 1694,

990-493: A conflict with Parliament and agreed to abide by the statute. The primary reason the English elite called on William to invade England in 1688 was to overthrow the king James II, and stop his efforts to reestablish Catholicism and tolerate Puritanism. However the primary reason William accepted the challenge was to gain a powerful ally in his war to contain the threatened expansion of King Louis XIV of France . William's goal

1188-491: A conspiracy of Catholics plotting to overthrow King Charles II in favour of his brother, the Catholic James II. Parliament empowered Oates with a band of armed men and permission to root out the conspirators. Godfrey was found murdered and an anti-Catholic panic quickly set in amongst Londoners. People were arrested simply for being in contact with Catholics, and Oates named five noblemen, one of whom, Lord Stafford ,

1386-509: A counter play. William was usually supported by the English leadership, which saw France as its greatest enemy. But eventually the expenses, and war weariness, but the second thoughts. At first, Parliament voted him the funds for his expensive wars, and for his subsidies to smaller allies. Private investors created the Bank of England in 1694; it provided a sound system that made financing wars much easier by encouraging bankers to loan money. In

1584-650: A crime for nonconformist clergymen to be within 5 miles of their old parish. The Puritans still controlled the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Connecticut Colony , but they kept a low profile during the interregnum. Charles II cancelled their charters and imposed centralised rule through the Dominion of New England . His colonial policies were reversed by William III. Most of the smaller independent religious factions faded away, except for

1782-546: A duel took place between John Law and Beau Wilson in Bloomsbury Square. Wilson was killed and Law convicted of his murder and sent to Newgate Prison . Each of the City's wards had a constable whose job was to keep order by breaking up fights and, if necessary, making arrests. There was a town watch made up of selected men who patrol the streets armed with halberds. From the Interregnum period, London also had

1980-865: A far-flung naval war, but France still had superiority on land. William wanted to neutralise that advantage by allying with Leopold I , the Habsburg Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1658–1705), who was based in Vienna, Austria. Leopold, however, was tied down in war with the Ottoman Empire on his eastern frontiers; William worked to achieve a negotiated settlement between the Ottomans and the Empire. William displayed in imaginative Europe-wide strategy, but Louis always managed to come up with

2178-548: A foal in the font. The removal of scaffolding caused sections of the roof to collapse, and slum houses were built against the outer walls. Parliamentary soldiers rioted through the streets of London, and destroyed the Salisbury Court Theatre . On Sunday, 2 September 1666 the Great Fire of London broke out at one o'clock in the morning at a house on Pudding Lane in the southern part of the City. Fanned by

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2376-839: A highly favourable opinion of the king: Anne became queen in 1702 at age 37, succeeding William III whom she hated. For practically her entire reign, the central issue was the War of the Spanish Succession in which Britain played a major role in the European-wide alliance against Louis XIV of France . Down until 1710, the Parliament was dominated by the " Whig Junto " coalition. She disliked them and relied instead on her old friends Duke of Marlborough (and his wife Sarah Churchill ), and chief minister Lord Godolphin (1702–1710). She made Marlborough captain-general and head of

2574-573: A king (1642–1653) or when there was a military dictator (1653–1660). The Tory perspective involved a greater respect for the king, and for the Church of England. The Whig perspective involved a greater respect for Parliament. The two perspectives eventually coalesced into opposing political factions throughout the 18th century. The second lesson was that the highly moralistic Puritans were too inclined to divisiveness and political extremes. The Puritans and indeed all Protestants who did not closely adhere to

2772-599: A lively debate—dubbed the " Storm over the gentry "—about the theory that the rising gentry class increasingly took power away from the static nobility, and generally reject it. Both the gentry and the nobility were gaining power, and the English Civil War was not a battle between them. In terms of religious affiliation in England, the Catholics were down to about 3% of the population, but comprised about 12% of

2970-667: A long and bloody struggle for their rights in France. The main contents were: The Edict of Nantes helped to end the Wars of Religion in France, which had been raging for decades. It also ensured that the Protestant minority in France would have a measure of religious and political freedom, and helped to establish France as a more tolerant and pluralistic society. However, the Edict was eventually revoked by King Louis XIV in 1685, leading to

3168-564: A market in Spital Square in 1682. A great deal of rebuilding took place in the aftermath of the Great Fire of London in 1666. St. Paul's Cathedral was rebuilt under the architect Christopher Wren between 1670 and 1711. He also rebuilt another 51 City churches, plus three outside the bounds of the Fire ( St. Anne Soho , St. Clement Danes , and St. James Piccadilly ), for which he worked unpaid, although he did receive generous bribes from

3366-405: A mass exodus of Huguenots from France and a loss of talent and resources for the country. In this edict , Henry aimed primarily to promote civil unity. The edict separated civil from religious unity, treated some Protestants for the first time as more than mere schismatics and heretics and opened a path for secularism and tolerance. In offering a general freedom of conscience to individuals,

3564-587: A modern economy, with the founding of the Bank of England in 1694, and the early development of the stock market and insurance markets such as Lloyd's of London . London's merchants often met in the newly-introduced coffeehouses , and the city became the hub of an emerging global empire, with the headquarters of colonial institutions such as the East India Company . London saw a flourishing of literature, philosophy, theatre and art during this time, as

3762-448: A much larger population in 1750. Historians have recently placed stress on how people at the time dealt with the supernatural, not just in formal religious practice and theology, but in everyday life through magic and witchcraft . The persecution of witches began in England in 1563, and hundreds were executed. England was spared the frenzy on Continental Europe ; with over 5% of Europe's population in 1600, England executed only 1% of

3960-521: A new group called the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge was founded at St. Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside. The society in turn founded several charity schools, at which the students received a free uniform in a distinctive colour, often gaining a nickname such as " Bluecoats " or "Greencoats". The Grey Coat Hospital School was one of these, founded by eight Westminster shopkeepers in order to educate

4158-532: A new law of his allowing greater toleration for Catholics and Nonconformists, and were imprisoned in the Tower of London, but were found not guilty. Londoners celebrated their release in the streets. In 1688, several politicians contacted the husband of James' sister, William of Orange , inviting him to seize the throne. He brought an army across the English Channel , arriving in London in November in what

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4356-517: A noted patroness of theatre, poetry and music. She subsidised George Frideric Handel with £200 a year. She began the practice of awarding high-quality gold medals as rewards for outstanding political or military achievements. They were produced at the Mint by Isaac Newton and engraver John Croker . Scotland and England were entirely separate countries, having the same ruler since 1603. Queen Anne, ruling both countries, worked to bring them together in

4554-585: A parliament was raising money. The crown was in debt nearly £1.2 million; financiers in the City refused new loans. Charles saved money by signing peace treaties with France in 1629 and Spain in 1630, and avoiding involvement in the Thirty Years' War . He cut the usual budget but it was not nearly enough. Then he discovered a series of ingenious methods to raise money without the permission of Parliament. They had been rarely used, but were nevertheless legal. He sold monopolies, despite their unpopularity. He fined

4752-660: A permanent military state. Ultimately, however, Cromwell's failure to support his men, sacrificing them to his opponents, caused their demise. The First Anglo-Dutch War broke out in 1652, against the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands , eventually won by the Royal Navy under Admiral Robert Blake in 1654. Cromwell was aware of the contribution that Jewish financiers made to the economic success of Holland, now England's leading commercial rival. It

4950-430: A price tag of about £1100. The vast land holdings seized from the monasteries under Henry VIII of England in the 1530s were sold mostly to local gentry, greatly expanding the wealth of that class of gentlemen. The gentry tripled to 15,000 from 5000 in the century after 1540. Many families died out, and others moved up, so that 6 and 7 of the peers in 1714 had been created by Stuart kings since 1603. Historians engaged in

5148-514: A ring around the City from Tothill Fields to the Tower in the north and from Vauxhall to Tooley Street in the south. This period saw the first major development of what is now known as London's West End. Aristocrats and land developers bought chunks of farmland and countryside around Westminster and built houses on it, hoping to turn a profit renting or leasing those houses. Unlike previous London townhouses, these new building efforts were generally in brick or stone rather than wood. In particular,

5346-584: A ring of defences, often built by ordinary Londoners, including women and children. Parliament captured the king, and in 1647 he was imprisoned in Hampton Court Palace for several months. The Parliamentary New Model Army used Putney as their headquarters from November 1647, and held a series of meetings there to discuss the future of the country called the Putney Debates . In 1648, Henry Rich attempted to create an uprising in favour of

5544-434: A sanhedrin as the precondition of Christ's rule on earth – he was attracted by the idea of an assembly made up of a cross-section of sects. However, its failure to deal with the complex political, legal and religious problems facing England soon led to its closeure. In December 1653 Cromwell was appointed Lord Protector, with powers akin to those of a monarch. Cromwell's power was buttressed by his continuing popularity among

5742-548: A series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists, with most of the fighting in England. The first (1642–1646) and second (1648–1649) wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament , while the third (1649–1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament . The war ended with

5940-498: A series of pretenders to the English throne, all based in France. William III focused most of his attention on foreign policy and foreign wars, spending a great deal of time in the Netherlands (where he continued to hold the dominant political office). His closest foreign-policy advisers were Dutch, most notably William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland ; they shared little information with their English counterparts. The net result

6138-561: A southeasterly wind the fire spread quickly among the timber and thatched-roof buildings, which were primed to ignite after an unusually hot and dry summer. Burning for several days, the Fire destroyed about 60% of the City, including Old St Paul's Cathedral , 87 parish churches, 44 livery company halls and the Royal Exchange . An estimated 13,200 houses were destroyed across 400 different streets and courts, leaving 100,000 people homeless. Huge camps of displaced Londoners formed around

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6336-403: A standing army. The militia acts of 1661 and 1662 prevented local authorities from calling up militia and oppressing their own local opponents. Calling up the militia was possible only if the king and local elites agreed to do so. However, King Charles managed to pull together four regiments of infantry and cavalry, calling them his guards, at a cost of £122.000 from his general budget. This became

6534-595: A trained band of soldiers who drilled in Finsbury Fields who marched about the city with pikes once a week. There were 800 Parliamentary soldiers who were stationed in the Old St Paul's Cathedral as it was a central meeting place at the time. Religion was very important in Stuart London, with one's chosen sect of Christianity often being a matter of life or death. Anti-Catholic feeling in particular

6732-468: A usurper who had illegally taken the throne from the legitimate king James II and ought to be overthrown. In May 1689, William, now king of England, with the support of Parliament, declared war on France. England and France would be at war almost continuously until 1713, with a short interlude 1697–1701 made possible by the Treaty of Ryswick . The combined English and Dutch fleets could overpower France in

6930-557: A voice in the affairs of Great Britain. The long-term economic benefits took a couple of generations to be realised, and long-standing distrust continued for generations. The risk of war between the two was greatly diminished, although Jacobite raids launched from the north hit England for another forty years. The new Britain used its power to undermine the clanship system in the Scottish Highlands Ambitious Scots now had major career opportunities in

7128-475: A year. The generals not only supervised militia forces and security commissions, but collected taxes and insured support for the government in the English and Welsh provinces. They were resented by provincials. Many members of Parliament feared the generals threatened their reform efforts and authority. Their position was further harmed by a tax proposal by Major General John Desborough to provide financial backing for their work, which Parliament voted down for fear of

7326-459: Is forbidden as well to perform any function of the said religion in our court or retinue, or in our lands and territories beyond the mountains, or in our city of Paris, or within five leagues of the said city.... XVIII. We also forbid all our subjects, of whatever quality and condition, from carrying off by force or persuasion, against the will of their parents, the children of the said religion, in order to cause them to be baptized or confirmed in

7524-530: The Acts of Union 1707 . Public opinion in Scotland was generally hostile, but elite opinion was supportive, especially after the English provided generous financial terms and timely bribes. The Parliament of Scotland agreed to the terms and disbanded. The new Parliament of Great Britain was in practice simply the old Parliament of England augmented by 45 Scots elected to Commons; it selected 16 Scottish peers for

7722-529: The Church of England on religion was strengthened by the suppression of the last remnants of Catholicism, and the powerful forces of Puritanism and Nonconformism . Constitutionally, the wars convinced everyone that an English monarch cannot govern alone, nor could Parliament. They were both essential. In 1649–59 the dominant figure in England—although he refused the offer of kingship—was Oliver Cromwell ,

7920-637: The Council of the North . Parliament watched Charles' ministers closely for any signs of defiance, and was ready to use the impeachment procedure to remove offenders and even to pass bills of attainder to execute them without a trial. Religious issues proved the most difficult to resolve. Charles reinstated the bishops, but also tried to reach out to the Presbyterians . Catholics were entirely shut out of opportunities to practice their religion or connect to

8118-668: The Earl of Bedford, Francis Russell , commissioned Inigo Jones to turn fields and orchards west of the City into Covent Garden , a square of aristocratic townhouses surrounding a marketplace. Jones based the project on the piazza in Livorno in Italy and the Place des Vosges in Paris, making the houses identical in order to give the impression that they were a single large mansion. This was to become

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8316-659: The English Civil War and the Great Fire of London , but new areas were built from scratch in what had previously been countryside, such as Covent Garden , Bloomsbury , and St. James's , and the City was rebuilt after the Fire by architects such as Christopher Wren . London was also struck by waves of disease during this time, most notably the Great Plague in 1665.The period saw several attempts to enforce uniformity of worship from Catholics , Anglicans and Puritans . Both Catholics and Nonconformist Protestants were persecuted during this period. This resulted in some of

8514-522: The Globe . Famous pupils of the school from this era include John Milton , Samuel Pepys , John Churchill , and Edmond Halley . The Shakesperean actor Edward Alleyn founded Dulwich College as a school for poor boys in the 1610s. The Latymer School in Fulham received its first students in 1627. Colfe's School was refounded in 1652, and Haberdashers' Aske's School was established in 1690. In 1698,

8712-637: The Lord Mayor had golden state barges to carry them about the Thames. The most common boat on the Thames was a wherry - a river taxi that can seat up to five people. There was a ferry at Westminster called the Horseferry , which crossed the river back and forth at Westminster. Construction began on turning the River Fleet into a canal lined with wharves in 1670. By 1640, Charles I had not called

8910-598: The Marranos and Moriscos were expelled from Spain. The original act that promulgated the edict has disappeared. The Archives Nationales in Paris preserves only the text of a shorter document modified by concessions extracted from the King by the clergy and the Parlement of Paris , which delayed ten months before finally signing and setting seals to the document in 1599. A copy of the first edict, sent for safekeeping to

9108-603: The Papal States in Rome. The Royalists won a sweeping election victory in 1661 ; only 60 Presbyterians survived in Parliament. Severe restrictions were now imposed on the Nonconformist Protestant bodies in England, preventing them from holding scheduled church services, and prohibiting their members from holding government offices at the national or local level. For example, The five-mile law in 1665 made it

9306-561: The Siege of La Rochelle , in which Cardinal Richelieu blockaded the city for fourteen months. During the remainder of Louis XIII's reign, and especially during the minority of Louis XIV, the implementation of the Edict varied year by year, voiced in declarations and orders, and in case decisions in the Council, fluctuating according to the tides of domestic politics and the relations of France with powers abroad. In October 1685, Louis XIV ,

9504-604: The Toleration Act 1688 , 20 years later. The whole congregation of a Seventh Day Baptist church in Bulstake Alley, Whitechapel, was arrested and sent to Newgate Prison , and their preacher, John James, was found guilty of treason, and hanged, drawn and quartered at Tyburn . Capital and corporal punishments were widely used. Tyburn , the main execution ground after 1660, had a unique three-sided gallows to allow 24 people to be hanged simultaneously. For example,

9702-420: The nouveau riche financiers in London. Marxist historiography itself lost much of its intellectual support after the 1960s. " Revisionists " came to the fore, rejecting both Whig and Marxist approaches because they assumed historical events were the automatic playing out of mysterious forces such as "liberty"and "class conflict." New microscopic local studies demonstrated that the class differences between

9900-596: The religious liberty of Roman Catholics, non-trinitarians , and those of non-Christian faiths. In December 1689, one of the fundamental constitutional documents in English history, the Bill of Rights , was passed. The Act restated and confirmed many provisions of the earlier Declaration of Right , and established restrictions on the royal prerogative . It provided that the Sovereign could not suspend laws passed by Parliament, levy taxes without parliamentary consent, infringe

10098-435: The right to petition , raise a standing army during peacetime without parliamentary consent, deny the right to bear arms to Protestant subjects, unduly interfere with parliamentary elections, punish members of either House of Parliament for anything said during debates, require excessive bail or inflict cruel and unusual punishments . William was opposed to the imposition of such constraints, but he chose not to engage in

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10296-467: The 1640s. In Ireland he retained the men currently in power. The King and Parliament agreed on a general pardon, the Indemnity and Oblivion Act (1660). It covered everyone, with the exception of three dozen regicides who were tracked down for punishment. The terms of the settlement included giving the King a fixed annual payment of £1.2 million; Scotland and Ireland added small additional amounts. It

10494-479: The 1660s, there were about 9,000 horse-drawn coaches on the streets of London, both privately-owned and hired. Londoners could hail one of 400 hackney cabs that operated on the streets. To get to and from London from the rest of the country, there were about 300 stage wagons , taking up to 20 people at a time. There were stagecoaches operating to towns such as Dover, Exeter, Bristol, Chester, York, and Edinburgh. These would take passengers to and from coaching inns ,

10692-411: The 1670s, and Downing Street was built in 1682. Queen Anne's Gate was built c.1704. From the 1670s, sash windows were increasingly used on upmarket houses such as Montagu House and palaces like Hampton Court . Further west, in 1677, Thomas Grosvenor married Mary Davies, and thus gained her inheritance of 500 acres of marshland to the west of London. The family would go on to turn this land into

10890-527: The 1790s private clubs had become more popular and the penny coffee houses largely closed down. In science, the Royal Society was formed in 1660; it sponsored and legitimised a renaissance of major discoveries, led most notably by Isaac Newton , Robert Boyle and Robert Hooke . New scientific discoveries were made during this period, such as the laws of gravity and motion , Boyle's law and microscopy among many others. The period also witnessed

11088-423: The 40,000 witches killed in the period 1400–1800. The government made witchcraft a capital crime under Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1563. King James VI and I made the suppression of witchcraft a high priority in both Scotland, and (in 1604) in England. Judges across England sharply increased their investigation of accused 'witches', thus generating a body of highly detailed local documentation that has provided

11286-517: The Catholic Apostolic and Roman Church; and the same is forbidden to those of the said religion called Reformed, upon penalty of being punished with especial severity.... XXI. Books concerning the said religion called Reformed may not be printed and publicly sold, except in cities and places where the public exercise of the said religion is permitted. XXII. We ordain that there shall be no difference or distinction made in respect to

11484-465: The Catholic James II became king in 1688, London Catholics were able to openly celebrate Mass, with the diarist John Evelyn "not believing I should ever have lived to see such things in the King of England's palace, after it had pleased God to enlighten this nation". 1678 saw the anti-Catholic mania of the Popish Plot . A man called Titus Oates went before the magistrate Edmund Godfrey to report

11682-419: The Church of England, were put under political and social penalties that lasted until the early 19th century. Even more severe restrictions were imposed on Catholics and Unitarians. The third lesson was that England needed protection against organised political violence. Politicized mobs in London, or popular revolts in the rural areas, were too unpredictable and too dangerous to be tolerated. The king's solution

11880-499: The City at Moorfields , St. George's Fields in Southwark, and to the north extending as far as Highgate . Despite the destruction, the official death toll was only 4 people, likely an inaccurately low number. Because of London's centrality as a port and financial center, the destruction of the fire affected the entire national economy. Losses were estimated at between £7 and £10 million according to contemporary estimates. Although

12078-480: The City was estimated at 1,688- mostly French and Dutch, with some Belgians, Italians, Spaniards, Germans, and Poles. A number of Greek Christian refugees arrived in London in the 1670s fleeing persecution from the Ottoman Empire , and were permitted to build their own church. London had some inhabitants from Turkey, who brought new businesses such as London's first coffeeshop and its first Turkish bath . After

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12276-560: The Edict within a week of the assassination of Henry, stilling Protestant fears of another St. Bartholomew's Day massacre . The subsidies had been reduced by degrees, as Henry gained more control of the nation. By the Peace of Montpellier in 1622, concluding a Huguenot revolt in Languedoc, the fortified Protestant towns were reduced to two, La Rochelle and Montauban . The brevets were entirely withdrawn in 1629, by Louis XIII , following

12474-574: The English Civil War and in the Interregnum period, as they were put to use by Parliament's army or destroyed for ideological reasons. Charing Cross was demolished in 1647. St. Paul's Cathedral was in a state of disrepair throughout the first half of the period, having been struck by lightning in 1561. In 1648, soldiers from the New Model Army used it as a stable, smashing the stained glass, ripping up pews for firewood, and even baptising

12672-430: The French state guaranteed protection of French Protestants travelling abroad from the Inquisition . "This crucifies me", protested Pope Clement VIII upon hearing of the edict. The last two parts consisted of brevets ( letters patent ), which contained the military clauses and pastoral clauses. Both brevets were withdrawn in 1629 by Louis XIII after a final religious civil war. The two letters patent supplementing

12870-542: The Great Fire is by far the most well-known, it was by no means the only fire to destroy large parts of London in this period. Fires destroyed Hungerford House in 1669; the Theatre Royal in 1672; 30 houses in Seething Lane , and about 100 in Shadwell in 1673; Goring House in 1674; 624 properties in Southwark in 1676; Montagu House in 1686; Bridgewater House in 1687; and the Palace of Whitehall in 1698. There were large storms which caused building damage in this period, including in 1662, 1678, and 1690. In 1703, there

13068-481: The House of Lords. Scotland was much smaller in terms of population and wealth. Its colonial venture in the Darien scheme had been a major financial and humanitarian disaster. The Acts of Union refunded the losses of the Scottish investors in Darien. In basic terms, Scotland retained its own Presbyterian established church, and its own legal and educational systems, as well it is its own separate nobility. The Scots now paid English taxes, although in reduced rates, and had

13266-399: The Native American woman Pocahontas and her son Thomas Rolfe arrived from Virginia ; in 1682, two ambassadors arrived from Banten in Indonesia called Kyayi Ngabehi Naya Wipraja and Kyayi Ngabehi Jaya Seidana; and in 1698, the Russian tsar Peter the Great stayed in Sayes Court in Deptford for four months. Although Jewish people were officially forbidden from living in England at

13464-431: The Parliamentarian victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651. Historians debate whether the main determinant of the outcome was based on superior operational decisions and decisive battlefield events (as argued by Malcolm Wanklyn), or rather Parliament's long-run superiority in manpower and money (as argued by Clive Holmes ). The overall outcome was threefold: the trial and execution of Charles I (1649);

13662-634: The Parliamentarians over the Royalists (often called " Cavaliers "). The Parliamentarians were often called " Roundheads " because of their short practical haircuts. The Second English Civil War was fought in 1648–1649; Charles lost and the execution of Charles I took place in January 1649. The monarchy was temporarily displaced by the Commonwealth of England from 1649 to 1660. Oliver Cromwell ruled directly from 1653 to his death in 1658, whereupon his Commonwealth disintegrated. The Convention Parliament welcomed Charles II , son of Charles I, to return from exile and become king. The war period (1642–1651) saw

13860-399: The Protestant Geneva , survives. The provincial parlements resisted the edict. The most recalcitrant of them was the Parlement of Rouen , which unreservedly registered the edict only in 1609. The location of the signing is uncertain. The edict itself stated merely that it was "given at Nantes , in the month of April, in the year of Our Lord one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight". By

14058-474: The Protestant nations bordering France more hostile to his regime. Upon the revocation of the edict, Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg issued the Edict of Potsdam , which encouraged Protestants to come to Brandenburg-Prussia . Freedom to worship and civil rights for non-Catholics in France were not restored until the signing of the Edict of Versailles , also known as the Edict of Tolerance , by Louis XVI 102 years later, on 7 November 1787. This edict

14256-614: The Quakers. The Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and Baptists remain, and were later joined by the Methodists. These non-Anglican Protestants continued as a political factor, with its leaders moving toward what became the Whig party. The country gentry continued to form the basis of support for the Church of England, and for what became the Tory party . Parliament was especially alarmed at

14454-706: The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, thousands of French Protestants called Huguenots fled to Britain, many coming to London, and in particular, Spitalfields. In 1697, there were 22 French Protestant churches in London. Dutch, Italian, and Danish communities were also permitted to establish their own churches. Thanks in part to immigrant communities, the population of the East End increased over 400% in this period, from 21,000 in 1600 to 91,000 in 1700. Short-term visitors arrived in London from further afield. In 1616,

14652-634: The Short Parliament. It assembled on 3 November 1640 and quickly began proceedings to impeach and remove the king's leading counsellors for high treason. Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford was taken into custody on 10 November; William Laud , the Archbishop of Canterbury was impeached on 18 December; John Finch, 1st Baron Finch , now Lord Keeper of the Great Seal , was impeached the following day, and he fled to Holland . To prevent

14850-505: The Stuart period. Anne's intimate friendship with Sarah Churchill turned sour in 1707 as the result of political differences. The Duchess took revenge in an unflattering description of the Queen in her memoirs as ignorant and easily led, which was a theme widely accepted by historians until Anne was re-assessed in the late 20th-century. Anne took a lively interest in affairs of state, and was

15048-479: The Swedish conquest in 1656, needed new settlers and a specific clause in the city ordinance allowed Protestants other than Lutheran to live in the city. This exodus deprived France of many of its most skilled and industrious individuals, some of whom thereafter aided France's rivals in the Netherlands and in England. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes also further damaged the perception of Louis XIV abroad, making

15246-407: The Thames. The Sacheverell Riots took place in 1710 in support of Henry Sacheverell , whose anti-Nonconformist sermons were thought seditious by the government. Nonconformist buildings and the homes of politicians were attacked. Sacheverell was found guilty, but given a very light sentence, and his supporters celebrated the verdict all over London. In 1674, workmen at the Tower of London discovered

15444-619: The Three Henrys (1585–1589) Coutras ; Vimory ; Auneau ; Day of the Barricades Succession of Henry IV of France (1589–1594) Arques ; Ivry ; Paris ; Château-Laudran ; Rouen ; Caudebec ; Craon ; 1st Luxembourg ; Blaye ; Morlaix ; Fort Crozon Franco-Spanish War (1595–1598) 2nd Luxembourg ; Fontaine-Française ; Ham ; Le Catelet ; Doullens ; Cambrai ; Calais ; La Fère ; Ardres ; Amiens The Edict of Nantes ( French : édit de Nantes )

15642-464: The Western Islands of Scotland , Johnson noted that Scotland was "a nation of which the commerce is hourly extending, and the wealth increasing" and in particular that Glasgow had become one of the greatest cities of Britain. The total population of England grew steadily in the 17th century, from 1600 to about 1660, then declined slightly and stagnated between 1649 and 1714. The population

15840-457: The abolition of the monarchy, and was imprisoned in the Tower as a result. Woolwich was established as a military base in 1671, storing ordnance and experimental armaments. In 1685, the Catholic James II came to the throne, which angered anti-Catholic Anglicans and Dissenters. After a failed rebellion by the Duke of Monmouth , James stationed troops outside London. Seven bishops refused to accept

16038-703: The age may be Thomas Sydenham , known as "the English Hippocrates " due to his relatively high success rate. In 1674, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries first opened their Physic Garden in Chelsea in order to grow plants for medicine. The garden may have included England's first greenhouse , which was recorded there by John Evelyn in 1685. In 1611, the former monastery buildings at London Charterhouse were bought by Thomas Sutton , who died shortly afterwards. In Sutton's will, he left

16236-406: The alleyways. Many businessmen conducted their affairs there, and some even kept scheduled hours. Historian Mark Pendergast observes: Lloyd's Coffee House opened in 1686 and specialised in providing shipping news for a clientele of merchants, insurers, and shipowners. In a few years it moved to a private business office that eventually became the famous insurance exchange Lloyd's of London . By

16434-505: The apparent recognition of Protestantism as a permanent element in French society and still hoped to enforce religious uniformity. Protestants aspired to full parity with Catholics, which the edict did not provide. George A. Rothrock wrote : "Toleration in France was a royal notion, and the religious settlement was dependent upon the continued support of the crown". Re-establishing royal authority in France required internal peace, which

16632-454: The army, which he had built up during the civil wars, and which he subsequently prudently guarded, and during his period of dictatorship he divided England into military districts ruled by Army Major Generals who answered only to him. The 15 major generals and deputy major generals—called "godly governors"—were central to Cromwell's moral crusade beginning in October 1655. They lasted less than

16830-405: The army; his brilliant victories boded well for Britain at first. But the war dragged on into an expensive stalemate. The opposition Tories had opposed the war all along, and now won a major electoral victory in 1710. Anne reacted by dismissing Marlborough and Godolphin and turning to Robert Harley . She had 12 miscarriages and 6 babies, but only one survived and he died at age 11, so her death ended

17028-609: The baby as well as the mother. To preserve their trade secret, they transported the forceps in an overly large wooden case. The secret was so well-kept that no one else discovered it until after the last member of the family died without an heir in 1728. The most prestigious medical practitioners were the Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians , who could be hired to see private clients for large fees, and most of whom were based in London. The most celebrated single physician of

17226-546: The beggar children of the area. In the next 12 years, 80 such schools were founded across London. In October 1605, a search carried out in the basement of the Houses of Parliament revealed a man called Guy Fawkes with matches in his pocket and 36 barrels of gunpowder. Fawkes had been recruited to join the Gunpowder Plot by a group of fellow Catholics including Robert Catesby , Thomas Percy , and John Wright. The king

17424-520: The beginning of the period, there was a small group of Jewish families from Portugal and Spain living in London, outwardly professing to have converted to Catholicism. This group included the merchant Antonio Fernandez Carvajal . In 1656, the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell made it known that he would no longer enforce the ban, and invited Jews to return. The first synagogue of this period was built in 1657 on Creechurch Lane,

17622-698: The benefit of the boys of the middle classes, and a few were opened for girls. The rich and the nobility relied on private tutors. Private schools were starting to open for young men of the upper classes, and universities operated in Scotland and England. The University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge provided some education for prospective Anglican ministers, but otherwise had academic standards well below their counterparts in Scotland. Historians have looked at local documents to see how many men and women used their signature and how many used X's. Literacy rates were very low before 1500, but grew steadily in

17820-501: The bulk of his estate, including the buildings at Charterhouse, to establish Charterhouse School for 40 boys and almshouses for 80 pensioners. These were opened in 1614. In 1603, James I knighted 133 men in a single evening in its Great Hall, and its governors included famous figures of the day such as Francis Bacon , William Laud , and the Duke of Monmouth . The boys at St. Paul's School were known for their plays, which were attended by talent scouts from professional theatres such as

18018-443: The cadre to 7,000 in 1697. Scotland and Ireland had theoretically separate military establishments, but they were unofficially merged with the English force. The British have always regarded the overthrow of King James II of England in 1688 as a decisive break in history, especially as it made the Parliament of England supreme over the King and guaranteed a bill of legal rights to everyone. Steven Pincus argues that this revolution

18216-429: The center of this world was a libertine court – a society of Restoration rakes given more to drinking, gambling, swearing and whoring than to godliness – presided over by the King himself and his equally rakish brother James, Duke of York." England never had a standing army with professional officers and careerist corporals and sergeants. It relied on militia organised by local officials, private forces mobilised by

18414-403: The community and therefore more likely to arouse feelings of both hostility and guilt, and less likely to have defenders of importance inside the community. Witchcraft accusations were the village's reaction to the breakdown of its internal community, coupled with the emergence of a newer set of values that was generating psychic stress. Historian Peter Homer has emphasised the political basis of

18612-608: The country. In spite of the prohibition, the renewed persecution – including many examples of torture – caused as many as 400,000 to flee France at risk of their lives. Most moved to Great Britain , Prussia , the Dutch Republic , Switzerland , South Africa and the new French colonies and the Thirteen Colonies in North America. Some moved to Denmark, where the city of Fredericia , laid waste after

18810-500: The death of Queen Anne and the accession of King George I from the German House of Hanover . England was ruled at the national level by royalty and nobility, and at the local level by the lesser nobility and the gentry. Together they comprised about 2% of the families, owned most of the good farmland, and controlled local government affairs. The aristocracy was growing steadily in numbers, wealth, and power. From 1540 to 1640,

19008-414: The districts of Mayfair , Belgravia and Pimlico , much of which is still owned by the family today. The builder Thomas Young laid out Kensington Square in 1685, and the royal court moved to the new Kensington Palace a few years later, increasing demand for houses in the area. The area known as Bloomsbury began to be built on in this period; Southampton Square was built in 1660. Red Lion Square

19206-518: The dynasty of the House of Stuart . The period was plagued by internal and religious strife, and a large-scale civil war which resulted in the execution of King Charles I in 1649. The Interregnum , largely under the control of Oliver Cromwell , is included here for continuity, even though the Stuarts were in exile. The Cromwell regime collapsed and Charles II had very wide support for his taking of

19404-590: The early 17th century and caused the Civil War, the current approaches depict the early Stuart period as marked by harmony, good government, and popular support. How then could there be a civil war? The current scholarly solution is to emphasise what historians call the "British problem", involving the impossible tensions occurring when a single person tried to hold together his three kingdoms with their entirely different geographical, ethnic, political, and religious values and traditions. Widespread dissatisfaction with

19602-580: The edict granted the Protestants safe havens ( places de sûreté ), which were military strongholds such as La Rochelle , in support of which the king paid 180,000 écus a year, along with a further 150 emergency forts ( places de refuge ), to be maintained at the Huguenots' own expense. Such an act of toleration was unusual in Western Europe , where standard practice forced subjects to follow

19800-561: The edict offered many specific concessions to the Protestants, such as amnesty and the reinstatement of their civil rights , including the right to work in any field, even for the state, and to bring grievances directly to the king. It successfully marked the end of the French Wars of Religion , which had afflicted France during the second half of the 16th century. The Edict of St. Germain , promulgated 36 years earlier by Catherine de Médici , had granted limited tolerance to Huguenots but

19998-631: The emerging standards of middle-class masculine civility and politeness. Downtown London boasted about 600 by 1708. Admission was a penny for as long as a customer wanted. The customers could buy coffee, and perhaps tea and chocolate, as well as sandwiches and knickknacks. Recent newspapers and magazines could be perused by middle-class men with leisure time on their hands. Widows were often the proprietors. The coffeehouses were quiet escapes, suitable for conversation, and free of noise, disorder, shouting and fighting in drinking places. The working class could more usually be found drinking in pubs, or playing dice in

20196-477: The end of the period, Queen Anne's Bounty saw new churches built to cope with London's growth in population, including St. Anne's Limehouse , designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor ; and St. Paul's Deptford , designed by Thomas Archer . The last church built in this period was St. John's Smith Square , also designed by Thomas Archer. During the English Civil War, Parliament's forces built forts around London to reinforce it against sieges. Earthworks were constructed in

20394-474: The exercise of the same has been interrupted, in order that it may be peaceably and freely exercised, without any trouble or hindrance; forbidding very expressly all persons, of whatsoever estate, quality, or condition, from troubling, molesting, or disturbing ecclesiastics in the celebration of divine service, in the enjoyment or collection of tithes, fruits, or revenues of their benefices, and all other rights and dues belonging to them; and that all those who during

20592-597: The exile of his son, Charles II (1651); and the replacement of English monarchy with, at first, the Commonwealth of England (1649–1653) and then the Protectorate under the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell (1653–1658). When Cromwell died his son Richard Cromwell was incapable of governing, and the Puritan army directly ruled the three kingdoms, to the growing disgust of all classes of people. The monopoly of

20790-609: The existing religious settlement. In frustration, Cromwell eventually dismissed the Rump Parliament in 1653. He summoned a new Parliament, whose members were all nominated. Sometimes known as the Parliament of Saints, it was also called the Barebones Parliament . The Parliament was based on an idea of Major-General Thomas Harrison 's for a " sanhedrin " of saints. Although Cromwell did not subscribe to Harrison's apocalyptic, Fifth Monarchist beliefs – which saw

20988-774: The famous highwayman Claude Duval was hanged at Tyburn in 1670. Beheading was used as a punishment for those convicted of treason, such as the explorer Walter Raleigh , who was beheaded at the Old Palace Yard in Westminster in 1618. A particularly famous executioner of the period was Jack Ketch , who beheaded the Duke of Monmouth in 1685. The heads of people sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered were displayed on spikes over London Bridge or Temple Bar . When Charles II returned to London in 1660, those that had signed his father's death warrant were sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered at Charing Cross . Burning at

21186-482: The fast-growing overseas British colonies , and in the rapidly growing industrial and financial communities of England. Scotland benefited, says historian G.N. Clark, gaining "freedom of trade with England and the colonies" as well as "a great expansion of markets." Clark argued that in exchange for the financial benefits and bribes that England bestowed, what it gained was: By the time Samuel Johnson and James Boswell made their tour in 1773, recorded in A Journey to

21384-554: The first Jewish burial ground opened in the same year on Mile End Road , and Bevis Marks synagogue was built 1700-1701. In 1660, there were about 35 Jewish families, mostly Polish and German, living in the East End . There were small numbers of black people living in London during this period, mostly enslaved people working in the houses of people who owned plantations in the Caribbean, and freed domestic servants. Charles II bought

21582-729: The first part of this period, such as the Queen's House in Greenwich and Banqueting House in Whitehall Palace . Jones brought a new style of architecture to London, based on Italian Renaissance styles by Sebastiano Serlio and Andrea Palladio . London's architects began to abandon the Gothic architecture style in favour of a classical one in this period. However, some Gothic churches were still built, such as St. Mary Aldemary (c.1629) and St. Alban Wood Street (1633-34). Towards

21780-526: The first time, bringing a centralised government to the entire island, and successfully disarmed the native lordships. The great majority of the Irish population remained Catholic, but James promoted Protestant plantations from Scotland into the Ulster region. The colonisers were known as Scots-Irish or Scotch-Irish. In turn many of them migrated to the new American colonies during the Stuart period. King James

21978-528: The foundation of the permanent British Army , By 1685 it had grown to 7500 soldiers in marching regiments, and 1400 men permanently stationed in garrisons. A rebellion in 1685 allowed James II to raise the forces to 20,000 men. There were 37,000 in 1678, when England played a role in the closing stage of the Franco-Dutch War . In 1689, William III expanded the army to 74,000 soldiers, and then to 94,000 in 1694. Parliament became very nervous, and reduced

22176-543: The gentry and nobility. James VI, king of Scotland, also became king of the entirely separate kingdom of England when Elizabeth I of England died. He also became king of Ireland, but the English were just reestablishing lost control there. The English re-conquest was completed after victory in the Nine Years' War , 1594–1603. James' appointees in Dublin as Lord Deputy of Ireland established real control over Ireland for

22374-475: The grandson of Henry IV, renounced the Edict and declared Protestantism illegal with the Edict of Fontainebleau . This act, commonly called the ' revocation of the Edict of Nantes ,' had very damaging results for France. While the wars of religion did not re-ignite, intense persecution of Protestants took place. All Protestant ministers were given two weeks to leave the country unless they converted to Catholicism and all other Protestants were prohibited from leaving

22572-584: The growth of a culture of political news and commentary on political events. This was engaged in by both elites and laypeople, often involving a critical view or "skeptical reading". The custom of the Grand Tour – where upper-class Englishman travelled to Italy – were a largely 18th century phenomenon. However, it originated in the 17th century with some of the earliest precedents set by Thomas Howard when he travelled to Italy in 1613. The travelogue Coryat's Crudities (1611), published by Thomas Coryat

22770-487: The highly successful Parliamentarian general. He worked hard at the time to ensure good publicity for his reign, and his successful wars. He remains a favourite topic of historians even as he is one of the most controversial figures in British history and his intense religiosity has long been out of fashion. After the execution of the King, a republic was declared, known as the Commonwealth of England . A Council of State

22968-549: The home of writers and artists such as William Shakespeare , John Milton , John Dryden , John Bunyan , Aphra Behn , Thomas Hobbes , John Locke , Anthony van Dyck , Peter Lely , Peter Paul Rubens , and Grinling Gibbons . The first English opera, The Siege of Rhodes , was produced in London in 1656. The city was home to important scientists such as William Harvey , Robert Hooke , Isaac Newton , John Flamsteed , and Edmond Halley . London experienced massive population growth during this period. In 1600, London's population

23166-403: The ills that beset England. When Parliament twice opened impeachment proceedings, the king simply prorogued (suspended) the Parliament. Buckingham was assassinated in 1628 by John Felton , a dissatisfied Army officer. The assassin was executed, but he nevertheless became a heroic martyr across the three kingdoms. Like his father, King Charles believed in the divine right of kings to rule, and he

23364-442: The infinite benefits which it has pleased God to heap upon us, the most signal and precious is his granting us the strength and ability to withstand the fearful disorders and troubles which prevailed on our advent in this kingdom. The realm was so torn by innumerable factions and sects that the most legitimate of all the parties was fewest in numbers. God has given us strength to stand out against this storm; we have finally surmounted

23562-486: The joint rule of William and Mary, William made the decisions when he was in Britain; Mary was in charge when he was out of the country and also handled Church affairs. William encouraged the passage of major laws that protected personal liberties. of the Toleration Act 1689 , which guaranteed religious toleration to Protestant nonconformists . It did not, however, extend toleration as far as he wished, still restricting

23760-619: The king from dissolving it at will, Parliament passed the Triennial Act , which required Parliament to be summoned at least once every three years, and permitted the Lord Keeper and 12 peers to summon Parliament if the king failed to do so. The Act was coupled with a subsidy bill, and so to secure the latter, Charles grudgingly granted royal assent in February 1641. The First English Civil War of 1642–1645 ended in victory for

23958-404: The king of a land deeply involved in a European war and rent by escalating religious controversies. Buckingham and Charles developed a foreign policy based on an alliance with France against Spain. Major foreign adventures against Cádiz in 1625 and in support of French Huguenots in 1627 were total disasters. Widespread rumour shaped public opinion that blamed Buckingham, rather than the king, for

24156-648: The king's imposition of the Book of Common Prayer , which threatened to undermine the religion of the people. The Scots drove English forces out and forced the king to subsidise the insurgents who were now occupying part of northern England. A major revolt among Catholics in Ireland killed thousands of Scots Irish—there was no doubt it had to be suppressed and new taxes would be needed to pay the costs of military action. A new Parliament had to be called. The Long Parliament elected in 1640 proved just as difficult for Charles as had

24354-490: The king, resulting in the Battle of Surbiton. However, he was summarily defeated and Londoners generally did not join the rebellion, and Charles was executed on 30 January, 1649, outside Banqueting House . Without a king, England entered an Interregnum period in which the country was controlled by Parliament, particularly its military leader, Oliver Cromwell , until his death in 1659. The Lord Mayor of London refused to proclaim

24552-503: The lack of the king led to the Restoration in 1660, which was based on strong support for inviting Charles II to take the throne. The restoration settlement of 1660 reestablished the monarchy, and incorporated the lessons learned in the previous half century. The first basic lesson was that the king and the parliament were both needed, for troubles cumulated when the king attempted to rule alone (1629–1640), when Parliament ruled without

24750-401: The landowner William Newton. The East End was similarly developed, although with working-class houses rather than aristocratic ones. Hoxton Square and the nearby Charles Square were both built in the 1680s. The fields around St. Mary Spital church were filled in with houses, becoming Spitalfields , particularly after the influx of French Huguenot migrants in the 1680s and the establishment of

24948-657: The landowners for supposedly encroaching on the royal forests. Compulsory knighthood had been established in the Middle Ages when men of certain wealth were ordered to become knights in the king's service, or else pay a fine. When knighthood lost its military status, the fines continued for a time, but they had been abandoned by 1560. James reinstated the fine, and hired new officials to search local records to find wealthy men who did not have knighthood status. They were forced to pay, including Oliver Cromwell among thousands of other country gentlemen across rural England. £173,000

25146-666: The late 19th century the Catholic tradition cited the signing in the Maison des Tourelles, the home of the prosperous Spanish trader André Ruiz, which was destroyed by bombing during the Second World War . The Edict remained unaltered in effect, registered by the parlements as "fundamental and irrevocable law", with the exception of the brevets, which had been granted for a period of eight years, and were renewed by Henry in 1606 and in 1611 by Marie de Médecis , who confirmed

25344-432: The long-running Nine Years' War (1688–97) his main strategy was to form a military alliance of England, the Netherlands, the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, and some smaller states, to attack France at sea, and from land in different directions, while defending the Netherlands. Louis XIV tried to undermine this strategy by refusing to recognise William as king of England, and by giving diplomatic, military and financial support to

25542-456: The longrunning French Wars of Religion . King Henry IV also had personal reasons for supporting the edict. Prior to assuming the throne in 1589, he had espoused Protestantism , and he remained sympathetic to the Protestant cause. It was widely believed that he converted to Catholicism in 1593 only to secure his position as king. The edict succeeded in restoring peace and internal unity to France but pleased neither party. Catholics rejected

25740-417: The main basis for recent historical research on the topic. Historians Keith Thomas and his student Alan Macfarlane study witchcraft by combining historical research with concepts drawn from anthropology . They argued that English witchcraft was endemic year in and year out, rather than happening in epidemic outbursts. Older women were the favourite targets because they were marginal, dependent members of

25938-518: The male warders with female nurses, and establishing a fund to provide clothing for the inmates. During this period, the Chamberlen family of midwives pioneered the use of forceps during a difficult birth. Before the use of forceps, a child who could not be born was pulled out of the mother with hooks or cut up into smaller pieces, whereas the Chamberlens' method offered a chance of saving

26136-525: The medieval concept of the king as the unquestionable voice of God . Historians became increasingly uncomfortable with the writing of history as a predetermined search for an idealistic goal , and the Whig approach lost favour after the First World War (1914–1918). Meanwhile, in the late 19th century, the remarkably high quality scholarship of archivally oriented historians, especially Samuel Rawson Gardiner and Charles Harding Firth had provided

26334-542: The mentally ill. The most famous was also the most notorious- St. Mary of Bethlehem , better known as Bedlam. Inmates at Bedlam were able to be viewed by the public in return for a donation. During this period, the hospital moved from its first location on Bishopsgate to a site in Moorfields . In 1684, the hospital gained a new governor in Edward Tyson , who attempted to reform the institution somewhat by replacing

26532-540: The model for future efforts: In 1690, the Reverend R. Kirk wrote, "Since the burning, all London is built uniformly, the streets broader, the houses all of one form and height". Pall Mall and The Mall are built in 1661. St. James' Square is built in 1665 under Henry Jermyn, Earl of St. Albans . Three large mansions were built along Piccadilly - Burlington House , Clarendon House , and Berkeley House . Leicester Square , Soho Square and Golden Square are built in

26730-407: The month of August, notwithstanding all decrees and judgments to the contrary.... XIII. We very expressly forbid to all those of the said religion its exercise, either in respect to ministry, regulation, discipline, or the public instruction of children, or otherwise, in this our kingdom and lands of our dominion, otherwise than in the places permitted and granted by the present edict. XIV. It

26928-643: The most famous conflicts and uprisings of the period, such as the Catholic-led Gunpowder Plot , the anti-Catholic Popish Plot , and the ousting of the Catholic king, James II , in favour of the Protestant William III in the Glorious Revolution . Capital and corporal punishment was often used as a penalty for crimes, with Tyburn being a popular location for hangings. London's trade began to develop into

27126-477: The most important role went to Edward Hyde , who was made Earl of Clarendon and Lord Chancellor in 1660. He was largely in control of royal affairs, especially after his daughter Anne Hyde married the king's brother James (he became king in 1685). When the Second Anglo-Dutch War ended in failure in 1667, the king removed Clarendon in a severe confrontation; the earl was accused of treason and

27324-481: The next three centuries, with men twice as likely to be literate as comparable women. In 1500, literacy rates for women were 1%; by 1560 they had reached 5%; by 1640 about 10%; by 1710 about 25% (versus 50% for men). Two forces were at work: Protestant religion called for the ability to read the Bible , and changing social and economic conditions. For example, towns grew rapidly, providing jobs in retailing in which literacy

27522-494: The nobility, or on hired mercenaries from Europe. Cromwell changed all that with his New Model Army of 50,000 men, that proved vastly more effective than untrained militia, and enabled him to exert a powerful control at the local level over all of England. At the restoration, Parliament paid off Cromwell's army and disbanded it. For many decades the Cromwellian model was a horror story and the Whig element recoiled from allowing

27720-537: The number of peers (dukes, earls, marquises, viscounts, and barons) grew from 60 families to 160. They inherited their titles through primogeniture , had a favoured position in legal matters, enjoyed the highest positions in society, and held seats in the House of Lords. In 1611, the king looking for new revenue sources created the hereditary rank of baronet , with a status below that of the nobility, and no seat in Lords, and

27918-460: The one remaining survival of which in London is the George Inn , built from 1676. In 1711, London saw its first turnpike road , with toll booths placed on part of the modern-day Edgware Road in order to pay for the road's upkeep. Londoners often used boats to get across, or up and downriver, particularly as there was only one bridge across the river in the city at this time. Both the king and

28116-485: The other hand, as long as enemy nations such as Spain and France, had large standing armies, England was practically defenceless on land. King and Parliament all agreed on the wisdom of a strong expanded Royal Navy . But while the king tried to build up a small standing army, Parliament kept a very close, nervous watch. Puritanism was entirely out of fashion, as the royal court introduced a level of hedonism that far exceeded anything England had ever seen. Harris says, "At

28314-429: The overthrow of an outdated feudal order by the new middle class. The class conflict interpretation was vigorously challenged by conservative scholars, such as Hugh Trevor-Roper , who argued that the gentry was not rising but instead felt that its status was being undermined. It fought back against its exclusion from the power, patronage and payoff by an extravagant court, by the king's swelling state bureaucracy and by

28512-585: The parish authorities. King Street and Queen Street were both created in the aftermath of the Fire, and many churches, livery halls and the Royal Exchange were rebuilt. After the Fire, laws were passed ensuring that new houses are built in stone or brick rather than wood. The Monument to the Fire was completed in 1676. In 1661, the King Charles Block of Greenwich Palace was built, designed by John Webb . The old, disused Greenwich Palace

28710-473: The passing of the Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 . Witchcraft was a minor issue of little importance in Ireland. However, Scotland was a major centre of suppression; 3900 Scots were tried; two thirds were convicted and executed, the last of whom was Janet Horne in 1727. There was no free schooling for ordinary children, but in the towns and cities small local private schools were opened for

28908-433: The recollection of everything done by one party or the other between March, 1585, and our accession to the crown, and during all the preceding period of troubles, remain obliterated and forgotten, as if no such things had ever happened.... III. We ordain that the Catholic Apostolic and Roman religion shall be restored and reëstablished in all places and localities of this our kingdom and countries subject to our sway, where

29106-606: The religion of their ruler under the application of the principle of cuius regio, eius religio . While it granted certain privileges to Huguenots , the edict upheld Catholicism's position as the established religion of France. Protestants gained no exemption from paying the tithe and had to respect Catholic holidays and restrictions regarding marriage. The authorities limited Protestant freedom of worship to specified geographic areas. The edict dealt only with Protestant and Catholic coexistence and made no mention of Jews or Muslims , who were offered temporary asylum in France when

29304-458: The rich details on national politics, practically on a day-by-day basis. Scholars, however, generally neglected the local dimension. In the post-war era (1945–), the class conflict of the Marxist interpretation emerged as a powerful explanation that seemed to tie all the details together. It portrayed a battle between the declining Crown and upper class feudalistic aristocracy , versus

29502-516: The riots. On St. David's Day in 1662, the Welshmen of London celebrated by wearing a leek in their hats, while the English put up mocking dolls and scarecrows with leeks in their hats. While drunk, an English cook put a leek in his own hat and addressed a Welsh lord as his "fellow countryman". The mockery turned into a fight with swords drawn, and the Welsh lord and his retinue were forced to flee onto

29700-544: The rising middle class gentry . Marxists downplayed the religious dimension. On one side, influential names included R. H. Tawney , Lawrence Stone , and the Marxist Christopher Hill . The main argument was that the Civil War was a challenge launched by the rising gentry class to overcome the power of the Crown and the aristocracy. Marxists like Hill saw the war as England's bourgeois revolution—that is,

29898-604: The river's edge as a warning to other would-be pirates. Captain William Kidd was executed in this manner in 1701. Those who refused to plead in court were sentenced to suffer peine forte et dure - being crushed under heavy stones and starved to death. This was carried out on two men called David Pearce and William Stoaks after they refused to swear at the Old Bailey in 1673. Stuart period The Stuart period of British history lasted from 1603 to 1714 during

30096-517: The road. After 1662, main roads were required to have lanterns burning over the doors of houses until 9 p.m., an early form of street lighting. Many of the landmarks in Stuart London dated from before the period, such as the Tower of London , London Stone , the Royal Exchange , Baynard's Castle , the Guildhall , and London Bridge . Several of London's buildings suffered serious damage during

30294-466: The said religion called Reformed to live and abide in all the cities and places of this our kingdom and countries of our sway, without being annoyed, molested, or compelled to do anything in the matter of religion contrary to their consciences, ... upon condition that they comport themselves in other respects according to that which is contained in this our present edict. VII. It is permitted to all lords, gentlemen, and other persons making profession of

30492-402: The said religion called Reformed, holding the right of high justice [or a certain feudal tenure], to exercise the said religion in their houses.... IX. We also permit those of the said religion to make and continue the exercise of the same in all villages and places of our dominion where it was established by them and publicly enjoyed several and divers times in the year 1597, up to the end of

30690-665: The sheriff pelted with stones. In 1661, a Christian sect called the Fifth Monarchists rioted in the streets for two days in London. They were led by a wine merchant called James Venner, and believed that they must pave the way for the return of Christ and the Fifth Monarchy prophesied by Daniel in the Bible. They opposed the Restoration of Charles II and the Church of England . About 40 people were killed during

30888-427: The south. However, the inhabited region expanded well beyond the bounds of the walls to Wapping in the east and Westminster in the west. Settlements that had previously been separate from London, like Shoreditch and Clerkenwell , began to be subsumed by London's sprawl. Ordinary houses were often built of wood, with each storey projecting out from the stories below, such that in some places, they almost touched over

31086-464: The stake was used as a punishment for women convicted of treason, such as Sarah Elston, who was burned at Kennington Common in 1678 for the murder of her husband. Pirates, having committed their crimes outside the British mainland, were generally hanged at Wapping on the water's edge, at low tide. Their bodies were left on the gallows until the tide had risen over them three times. Some were then dipped in tar and displayed in cages called gibbets along

31284-406: The state. What they got instead was the vision of William of Orange, shared by most leading Englishmen, that emphasised consent of all the elites, religious toleration of all Protestant sects, free debate in Parliament and aggressive promotion of commerce. Pincus sees a dramatic transformation that reshaped religion, political economy, foreign policy and even the nature of the English state. During

31482-401: The success of Cromwell's New Model Army , which demonstrated that a well-organized, well-led professional army was far superior to poorly trained militia units. Cromwell had used his standing army to take full personal control, and so it was much to be feared as a threat to traditional liberties. The New Model Army was permanently disbanded, and all the soldiers received their full back pay. On

31680-495: The throne in 1660. His brother James II was overthrown in 1689 in the Glorious Revolution . He was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary II and her Dutch husband William III . Mary's sister Anne was the last of the line. For the next half century James II and his son James Francis Edward Stuart and grandson Charles Edward Stuart claimed that they were the true Stuart kings, but they were in exile and their attempts to return with French aid were defeated. The period ended with

31878-409: The troubles have taken possession of churches, houses, goods or revenues, belonging to the said ecclesiastics, shall surrender to them entire possession and peaceable enjoyment of such rights, liberties, and sureties as they had before they were deprived of them.... VI. And in order to leave no occasion for troubles or differences between our subjects, we have permitted, and herewith permit, those of

32076-418: The two sides varied greatly from place to place, and did not explain very much. Once The revisionists had dispatched the older models, the "post-revisionists" began to offer a multiplicity of small-scale explanations that fitted particular localities. Historians now give much more emphasis to religiosity , and to the diversity of local situations. Instead of an argument that massive popular anger had built up in

32274-450: The various factions in Parliament began to fight each other. On his return, Cromwell tried to galvanise the Rump into setting dates for new elections, uniting the three kingdoms under one polity, and to put in place a broad-brush, tolerant national church. However, the Rump vacillated in setting election dates, and although it put in place a basic liberty of conscience, it failed to produce an alternative for tithes or dismantle other aspects of

32472-472: The waves and made our port of safety,—peace for our state. For which his be the glory all in all, and ours a free recognition of his grace in making use of our instrumentality in the good work.... We implore and await from the Divine Goodness the same protection and favor which he has ever granted to this kingdom from the beginning.... We have, by this perpetual and irrevocable edict, established and proclaimed and do establish and proclaim: I. First, that

32670-434: The witchcraft issue in the 17th century, with the Puritans taking the lead in rooting out the Devil 's work in their attempt to depaganise England and build a godly community. As the process of psychological modernisation reached more and more people, fears of witchcraft and magic tended to steadily diminish. After 1660 Puritans were largely excluded from the judiciary and lost their power to investigate. In 1712, Jane Wenham

32868-451: Was "convulsions", or fits ; the third was "ague and fever", which includes malaria ; followed by "griping in the guts" ( dysentery ), smallpox and measles , rotten or abscessed teeth, old age, and dropsy . The preparations for the coronation of King James I and Anne of Denmark in 1603 were interrupted by a severe plague epidemic (which may have killed over 30,000 people) and by threats of assassination. The Royal Entry to London

33066-477: Was a standing army , a professional force controlled by the king. This solution became highly controversial. The Restoration of 1660 was a deliberate return to the stability of the early 17th century. There was very little recrimination. King Charles acted with moderation and self-restraint, and with energy and attention to details. The king reached out to everyone, finding high positions for his old friends and allies as well as places for his former enemies. By far

33264-407: Was a distinct advantage. When the Puritans fell out of power, the tight social norms gave way to more liberal pleasures. The theatres returned, and played a major role in high society in London, where they were patronised by royalty. Historian George Clark argues: The first coffee houses appeared in the mid-1650s and quickly became established in every city in many small towns. They exemplified

33462-433: Was a hurricane which pulled the roofs off houses, toppled chimneys and church spires, pushed ships in the Thames from London Bridge down to Limehouse , and killed several people. London's first new church since 1550 was the Queen's Chapel opposite St. James' Palace, built in the 1620s and designed by Inigo Jones . Jones became the Surveyor to the King's Works in 1615, and so constructed several important new buildings in

33660-436: Was about 200,000. By 1650 it was about 375,000, and by 1700 it was 575,000, making it by far the largest city in England throughout the period. Between 1670-1700, its population was 420% greater than the next ten largest places in England put together. The average height for male Londoners was 5'7½" (172 cm) and the average height for female Londoners was 5'2¼" (158cm). In 1639, the number of foreigners living in Westminster and

33858-414: Was about 4.2 million in 1603, 5.2 million in 1649, 5.1 million in 1660, 4.9 million in 1688, and 5.3 million in 1714. By 1714 the Greater London area held about 674,000 people, or one in nine of England's population. The next cities in size were Norwich and Bristol (with a population of about 30,000 each). About 90% of the people lived in rural areas in 1500, compared to 80% of

34056-579: Was also an early influence on the Grand Tour. The first mention of the term can be found in Richard Lassels ' 17th century book The Voyage of Italy. The Grand Tour experienced considerable development after 1630. Edict of Nantes Third; 1568–1570 Jarnac ; La Roche-l'Abeille ; Poitiers ; Orthez ; Moncontour ; Saint-Jean d'Angély ; Arney-le-Duc Fourth; 1572–1573 Mons ; Sommières ; Sancerre ; La Rochelle Fifth; 1574–1576 Dormans Sixth; 1577 La Charité-sur-Loire ; Issoire ; Brouage Seventh; 1580 La Fère War of

34254-435: Was appointed to manage affairs, which included Cromwell among its members. His real power base was in the army; Cromwell tried but failed to unite the original group of 'Royal Independents' centred around St John and Saye and Sele, but only St John was persuaded to retain his seat in Parliament. From the middle of 1649 until 1651, Cromwell was away on campaign. In the meantime, with the king gone (and with him their common cause),

34452-404: Was banished to France. Charles was willing to talk to every faction in England, Ireland and Scotland, even with the Quakers , who were hated by practically everyone else. Charles gave out high offices in England with an eye toward favouring his longtime allies, and making sure his erstwhile enemies received at least some symbolic positions. In Scotland he included all of the important factions from

34650-492: Was based on limited toleration enforced by the crown. Since royal troops could not be everywhere, Huguenots needed to be granted strictly-limited possibilities of self-defense. The Edict of Nantes that Henry IV signed had four basic texts, including a main text made up of 92 articles that was largely based on unsuccessful peace treaties signed during the recent wars. The edict also included 56 "particular" (secret) articles dealing with Protestant rights and obligations. For example,

34848-430: Was built in Spitalfields in 1612. The Quaker movement was founded based on the preacher George Fox's teachings in the 1640s, but was heavily suppressed both legally and socially. Meetings of five or more Quakers were made illegal from 1662, and so many were imprisoned in London based on this law. A Quaker meeting house was built in London in 1668, despite the fact that attending meetings there did not become legal until

35046-416: Was built in the 1680s under the speculator Nicholas If-Jesus-Christ-had-not-died-for-thee-thou-hadst-been-damned Barbon . Barbon also had George Street, Villiers Street , Duke Street, Of Alley , and Buckingham Street built around the area of the Strand between 1674 and 1676. Lord Hatton had a row of townhouses built called Hatton Garden , and Lincoln's Inn Fields and Great Queen Street were built under

35244-690: Was converted into the Royal Hospital for Seamen in 1694, designed by Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor . This was not a hospital in the modern sense of the word, but a place where retired or disabled sailors could have somewhere affordable to live. A similar project was the Royal Hospital Chelsea , begun in 1682, but for soldiers rather than sailors. Other major new works in this period include Ham House (1610), Charlton House (1612), Forty Hall (begun 1629), Eltham Lodge (1663), Lindsey House (1675), Gray's Inn (1676-1685), Valentines Mansion (1690), Fenton House (1693), Schomberg House (1698), Burgh House (1703), and Marlborough House (1709). In

35442-491: Was deferred until 15 March 1604. Major epidemics of plague occurred in 1603, 1625, and most notably, 1665, known as the Great Plague . Modern estimates place the number of deaths in the Great Plague at upwards of 100,000, over one-quarter of London's total population. London's two main hospitals were St. Bartholomew's and St. Thomas' . There were a number of leper hospitals, including at Highgate (closed in 1653), and Kingsland in Hackney . London had several hospitals for

35640-444: Was due to visit Parliament and Fawkes' plan was to blow the place up with the king inside. Several of the conspirators, including Fawkes, were hanged, drawn and quartered in Old Palace Yard in Westminster. A riot of London apprentices took place on Shrove Tuesday in 1617. The Cockpit Theatre on Drury Lane was stormed, and the mob destroyed the actors' costumes, sets and scripts. In Wapping , several houses were pulled down and

35838-471: Was enacted by parlement two months later, less than two years before the end of the Ancien Régime and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen of 1789 would fully eliminate religious discrimination in France. These are the principal and most salient provisions of the edict as promulgated in Nantes, Brittany, probably on 30 April 1598: Henri, by the grace of God king of France and of Navarre, to all to whom these presents come, greeting: Among

36036-540: Was executed. By 1681, 35 people had been executed as a result of Oates' fabrications. Nonconformist Protestants were similarly heavily persecuted, particularly after the Restoration of 1660, as nonconformists were thought to be particularly anti-monarchy. Under the 1665 Five Mile Act , nonconformist preachers and schools were banned from operating within five miles of the city walls, so chapels were often set up in London's outlying villages, in places like Highgate , Hampstead , and Chelsea . England's first Baptist church

36234-408: Was failing in physical and mental strength, because of this decision-making was increasingly in the hands of Charles and especially George Villiers (1592–1628), (he was Earl of Buckingham from 1617 and Duke from 1623). Buckingham showed a very high degree of energy and application, as well as a huge appetite for rewards and riches. By 1624 he was effectively the ruler of England. In 1625 Charles became

36432-445: Was illegal to use dubious non-parliamentary fund-raising such as payments for knighthood, forced loans, and especially the much-hated ship money. Parliament did impose an entirely new excise tax on alcoholic beverages that raise substantial sums, as did the customs, for foreign trade was flourishing. Parliament closed down the harsh special courts that Charles had used before 1642, such as the Star Chamber , Court of High Commission , and

36630-407: Was impeached by its pro-Parliament Common Council , but refused to give up his insignia of office. In that year, Royalist forces marched on London from the west. They seized Syon House and bombarded Parliamentary barges on the Thames. In November 1642, the Royalist Prince Rupert looted Brentford, but they were prevented from getting any closer to the capital. In 1643, the City of London organised

36828-401: Was imprisoned for vagrancy. Rich and his wife then returned to Barbados, leaving Auker imprisoned. She petitioned to be discharged from his service, but the court only released her "until such time as the said Rich shall return from Barbados". In the Stuart period, the City of London was still surrounded by its Roman city wall on three sides, with the river Thames making the fourth side to

37026-404: Was known as the Glorious Revolution . Afterwards, Parliament passed a law banning Catholics from taking the throne, and supporters of James and his descendants, known as Jacobites , continued to fight for the next 70 years. In non-plague years, the biggest cause of death in London from the 1660s-1690s was tuberculosis , being named as the cause of 18% of all deaths on average. The second-biggest

37224-568: Was not hereditary. Instead Cromwell was to nominate his own successor. Cromwell's new rights and powers were laid out in the Humble Petition and Advice , a legislative instrument which replaced the 1653 Instrument of Government . The older historiography came in two flavours: The Whig history interpretation and the Marxist historiography interpretation. The Whig model, dominant in the 19th century, saw an inherent conflict between irresistible, truly English ideals of liberty and individualism represented by The Puritans and Roundheads, overcoming

37422-451: Was overtaken by events, as it was not formally registered until after the Massacre of Vassy on 1 March 1562, which triggered the first of the French Wars of Religion. The Edict of Fontainebleau , which revoked the Edict of Nantes in October 1685, was promulgated by Louis XIV, the grandson of Henry IV. This act drove an exodus of Protestants and increased the hostility of Protestant nations bordering France. The edict aimed primarily to end

37620-465: Was raised, in addition to raising bitter anger among the gentry. The king finally crossed the line of legality when he began to levy " ship money ", intended for naval defences, upon interior towns. Protests now escalated to include urban elites. All the new measures generated long-term outrage, but they did balance the short-term budget, which averaged £600,000, without the need to call Parliament into session. Revolts broke out in Scotland in response to

37818-426: Was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots , substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantly Catholic . While upholding Catholicism as the established religion, and requiring the re-establishment of Catholic worship in places it had lapsed, it granted religious toleration to the Protestant Huguenots, who had been waging

38016-445: Was that the Netherlands remained independent, and France never took control of the Spanish Netherlands. The wars were very expensive to both sides but inconclusive. William died just as the continuation war, the War of the Spanish Succession , (1702–1714), was beginning. It was fought out by Queen Anne, and ended in a draw. Historian Stephen B. Baxter is a leading specialist on William III, and like nearly all his biographers he has

38214-418: Was the first modern revolution; it was violent, popular, and divisive. He rejects older theories to the effect that it was an aristocratic coup or a Dutch invasion. Instead, Pincus argues it was a widely supported and decisive rejection of James II. The people could not tolerate James any longer. He was too close to the French throne; he was too Roman Catholic; and they distrusted his absolutist modernisation of

38412-409: Was the last woman found guilty of witchcraft in England. In 1735 Parliament no longer believed that witchcraft was real—despite the efforts of James Erskine, Lord Grange , the Scottish Lord who made a fool of himself speaking in opposition. Parliament passed the Witchcraft Act 1735 which made it a crime to accuse someone of witchcraft. The laws against witchcraft were not fully repealed until 1951 with

38610-427: Was this that led to his encouraging Jews to return to England , 350 years after their banishment, in the hope that they would help speed up the recovery of the country after the disruption of the Civil Wars. In 1657, Cromwell was offered the crown by a re-constituted Parliament; since he had been instrumental in abolishing the monarchy he said no after long deliberation. He ruled as king in all but name, but his office

38808-441: Was to build coalitions against the powerful French monarchy, protect the autonomy of the Netherlands (where William continued in power) and to keep the Spanish Netherlands (present-date Belgium) out of French hands. The English elite was intensely anti-French , and generally supported William's broad goals. For his entire career in Netherlands and Britain, William was the arch-enemy of Louis XIV. The French king denounced William as

39006-535: Was unable to work successfully with Parliament. By 1628 he and Buckingham had transformed the political landscape. In 1629 the king dissolved parliament and began a period of eleven years of personal rule. English government was quite small, for the king had no standing army, and no bureaucracy stationed around the country. Laws were enforced primarily by local officials controlled by the local elites. Military operations were typically handled by hired mercenaries. The greatest challenge King Charles faced in ruling without

39204-411: Was very strong. In 1662, the Act of Uniformity ordered everyone to worship according to the Church of England 's 1662 Book of Common Prayer , and Charles II's attempts to introduce complete religious toleration in 1672 were thwarted due to anti-Catholic feeling, although non-demoninational Protestants were allowed to worship in licensed buildings, and Catholics were allowed to worship in private. When

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