This key facts covers Key Events of the Exclusion Crisis within The Exclusion Crisis for GCSE History. Revise The Exclusion Crisis in Restoration England 1660-1685 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 4 of 18 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.

📌 Key Events of the Exclusion Crisis

Date	Event	What Happened
May 1679	First Exclusion Bill	Passed the Commons. Charles dissolved Parliament before the Lords could vote on it.
Oct 1679	Meal-Tub Plot (fabricated "Catholic plot against Protestants" invented by informer Thomas Dangerfield)	Fake Presbyterian conspiracy "discovered" — discredited Whig tactics and showed two could play at inventing plots.
Nov 1680	Second Exclusion Bill	Passed the Commons. Rejected by the Lords — the Earl of Halifax argued brilliantly against it.
March 1681	Oxford Parliament	Third attempt. Held in Oxford (away from London crowds). Charles dissolved it after just one week. No more Parliaments in his reign.

Practice questions for The Exclusion Crisis

Why did Whig MPs attempt to pass the Exclusion Bills between 1679 and 1681?

A. They wanted to give Parliament the power to raise its own taxes without royal consent
B. They feared that James, Duke of York, as a Catholic, would threaten Protestant liberties if he became king
C. They believed Charles II had broken the terms of the Restoration Settlement by tolerating Dissenters
D. They wanted to replace James with Charles II's illegitimate son, the Duke of Monmouth, who was already widely popular

1 markfoundation

What did Charles II do at the Oxford Parliament in March 1681?

A. He agreed to limit James's powers as king once he succeeded to the throne
B. He called a general election to seek a more favourable Parliament before the bill could be voted on
C. He dissolved Parliament after just one week, before a third Exclusion Bill could be passed, and called no more Parliaments for the rest of his reign
D. He accepted a compromise that placed regency powers with a Protestant council during any future Catholic reign

1 markfoundation

Quick recall flashcards

What was the Exclusion Crisis?

1679-81: three successive Parliaments tried to pass Exclusion Bills to bar Catholic James, Duke of York, from succeeding to the throne. Charles dissolved all three Parliaments rather than allow the bills to pass. This was the most serious constitutional crisis of his reign.

Who led the Whigs?

Anthony Ashley Cooper, Earl of Shaftesbury — nicknamed 'Little Sincerity' by his enemies. Led the campaign to exclude James from the succession. After the Oxford Parliament's dissolution (1681) he fled to Holland, where he died in 1683.

The Key Constitutional Question

Whigs vs Tories: The First Political Parties

Key Events of the Exclusion Crisis