Restoration England 1660-1685Topic Summary
Knowledge Organiser: The Exclusion Crisis, 1679-81
This topic summary covers Knowledge Organiser: The Exclusion Crisis, 1679-81 within The Exclusion Crisis for GCSE History. Revise The Exclusion Crisis in Restoration England 1660-1685 for GCSE History with 8 exam-style questions and 4 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 18 of 18 in this topic. Use this topic summary to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 18 of 18
Practice
8 questions
Recall
4 flashcards
Knowledge Organiser: The Exclusion Crisis, 1679-81
Key Terms
- Exclusion Crisis: Three attempts (1679, 1680, 1681) to exclude Catholic James from the succession — all failed
- Oxford Parliament (1681): Final Parliament of the crisis; dissolved after one week; no more Parliaments until Charles's death
- Personal rule (1681-85): Charles governed without Parliament, funded by French subsidies
- Rye House Plot (1683): Alleged Whig assassination plot; used to destroy Whig leadership
- Duke of Monmouth: Charles's illegitimate Protestant son; Whig candidate for succession; executed after 1685 rebellion
Key Dates
- May 1679: First Exclusion Bill — Charles dissolves Parliament before Lords vote
- November 1680: Second Exclusion Bill — defeated in Lords by Halifax's speech
- March 1681: Oxford Parliament — dissolved after one week
- 1681-85: Charles's personal rule — no Parliament, French subsidy
- 1683: Rye House Plot — Whig leaders prosecuted and executed
- February 1685: Charles II dies; James II succeeds peacefully
- 1688: James II overthrown — Glorious Revolution
Key People
- Earl of Shaftesbury: Whig leader; drove Exclusion campaign; fled to Holland, died 1683
- Earl of Halifax: Tory; his speech defeated the Second Exclusion Bill in the Lords (1680)
- Duke of Monmouth: Charles's Protestant illegitimate son; Whig candidate; executed 1685
- Louis XIV: French king who paid Charles £385,000 (1681-85), enabling personal rule
- James, Duke of York: Catholic heir; survived the crisis; became James II 1685
Must-Know Facts
- Three Exclusion Bills: 1679 (dissolved), 1680 (Lords rejected), 1681 (Oxford, dissolved after 1 week)
- FTWM: French money, Tories, War fear, Whig Mistakes — why Charles won
- French subsidy: ~£385,000 (1681-85) = financial independence from Parliament
- Personal rule 1681-85 — no Parliament for 4 years
- Rye House Plot 1683 — destroyed Whig leadership
- James succeeded peacefully 1685 — short-term success
- James overthrown 1688 — shows Charles postponed, not solved, the problem
- Birth of Whigs and Tories — most lasting consequence for English political history
Cross-Topic Links
- → Popish Plot (Topic 58): The Popish Plot was the direct trigger for the Exclusion Crisis — Oates's fabrications created the parliamentary panic that Shaftesbury and the Whigs then exploited to push for Exclusion.
- → Religious Settlement (Topic 51): The Test Act 1673 (part of the religious settlement) exposed James as Catholic, making him the target of Exclusion — the crisis is the long-term consequence of the failed religious settlement.
- → Charles's Court (Topic 50): Charles's political skill — playing Whigs against Tories, using French subsidies to achieve independence, dissolving Parliaments at strategic moments — is the same court craft that won him the Exclusion Crisis.
- → Dutch Wars (Topic 52): Parliament's growing assertiveness during the Dutch Wars (forcing peace in 1674) emboldened the Whigs to attempt Exclusion — the wars demonstrated Parliament's power over royal foreign and financial policy.
- → Charles's Legacy (Topic 61): The Exclusion Crisis's resolution — Charles winning, but James then losing the throne in 1688 — is central to evaluating whether Charles's reign was a success or merely postponed constitutional crisis.
Common Mistakes
- Saying the Exclusion Crisis was "about religion": It was fundamentally a constitutional crisis about who controls the succession — could Parliament override hereditary right? Religion was the context, but the question of parliamentary versus royal power was the real issue.
- Confusing Whigs and Tories: Whigs supported Exclusion (Parliament should control succession); Tories supported hereditary right and royal prerogative — these are the origins of the two-party system; always explain what each side stood for, not just that they existed.
- Forgetting that Charles dissolved three Parliaments: Charles prorogued and dissolved the Oxford Parliament (1681), ending the crisis by refusing to let Parliament sit — this shows his political skill but also his willingness to govern without Parliament using French subsidies.
- Treating Charles's victory as permanent: James II was excluded from nothing — he became king in 1685 and was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688; Charles won the battle but the war continued, which is essential context for evaluating his legacy.
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Practice Questions for The Exclusion Crisis
Why did Whig MPs attempt to pass the Exclusion Bills between 1679 and 1681?
What did Charles II do at the Oxford Parliament in March 1681?
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.
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