Key Terms You Must Know

📖 Key Terms You Must Know

Declaration of Breda (April 1660)

The document issued by Charles II in exile before his return to England, containing four key promises: a general pardon for those who had fought against his father, religious tolerance for different Protestant groups, fair settlement of disputed land rights, and payment of army arrears. Crucially, Charles left the details of each promise to Parliament — which meant Parliament, not the King, would decide how generous the terms would be. The Declaration made his return politically safe by reassuring former enemies.

Regicide

The killing of a king. The 59 men who signed Charles I's death warrant in January 1649 were known as regicides. In 1660, they were excluded from the general pardon. Thirteen were executed (hanged, drawn and quartered); others were imprisoned for life or fled abroad. The corpses of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw were dug up and symbolically "executed" at Tyburn in 1661 — a posthumous act of revenge against the leaders of the Civil War.

Restoration Settlement

The political, legal, financial, and religious arrangements made when Charles II returned to the throne in 1660. Key elements: Charles received a permanent income (customs and excise) of approximately £1.2 million per year; prerogative courts (Star Chamber) remained abolished; the king could not raise extra taxes without Parliament; Church of England was re-established. The settlement reflected Parliamentary power gained during the Civil War — it was not a return to pre-war absolutism.

Cavalier Parliament

The Parliament elected in 1661, heavily Royalist and Anglican in composition. It lasted until 1679 — unusually long — giving Charles a more reliable Parliament than he had expected. It was responsible for the Clarendon Code, the series of acts that persecuted Protestant Dissenters.

General Monck (Duke of Albemarle)

Commander of the Parliamentary army in Scotland who marched south in 1660, restored a full Parliament, and effectively organised Charles II's return. He was rewarded with the Dukedom of Albemarle. Without Monck's intervention, the political chaos of 1658-60 might have continued much longer.

Indemnity and Oblivion Act (1660)

The Act of Parliament that gave legal effect to the Declaration of Breda's promise of pardon. It pardoned all acts committed during the Civil War period — except for the regicides. The phrase "indemnity for the King's enemies, oblivion for his friends" was a bitter joke suggesting that Royalists who had suffered were forgotten, while former enemies were pardoned.