• Parliament nature of→12 different sessions - often prorogued due to conflict between King and MPs

• Exclusion bill→attempting to exclude King's Brother (James) from royal line of succession.

• Second Parliament→known as first exclusion bill parliament - comes together in 1679 and is dissolved only four months later

• Third Parliament→in 1680 second exclusion bill parliament - three months before dissolution

• Fourth→third exclusion bill parliament 1681 lasts for a week

Impeachment→Impeach Danby in 1979 - the King's treasurer and King responds with charging Shaftesbury with treason in 1681.

Attempted Goals→to exclude James II as result of their consitutional beliefs that blood is not the most determining factor in succesion and Britain remaining protestant is more important

• Years 1664-5→Parliament relatively united in support for the Second anglo-dutch war for its expected great profit, although some opposition from Clarendon

• Positive views→Supported mercantilism and pressure was on parliament for war from companies such as the East India Company

• Unavoidable→after passing of Navigation Act in 1660 and Staple Act in 1663 - both furthered protectionism and struck at Dutch interests

• Financial aid→from 1664-7 parliament provided over £5 million.

• Bad outcomes→in war led to diplomatic isolation, near financial collapse for the government, tension between King and Parliament

• Poor economic climate for landowners
  

  • Royalist landowners→heavily in debt during the revolution with universal belief that rents were falling therefore did not want continuation of the war
    

• Edward Hyde - Clarendon→sacrificed by Charles to achieve greater relations with Parliament as he was unpopular after arranging Charles' marriage and blamed for selling Dunkirk - blamed for english failure in the war

• Treaty of Dover→signed by Charles with Louis containing joint resolution to reignite hostilities with the Dutch - promise from Louis to pay Charles £225,000 p.a. during the war and from Charles to declare himself publicly Catholic when "his country's affairs permit". Louis ended paying £150,000 and 6000 troops. War was declared as a result in 1672 again

• End of third anglo-dutch war→due to financial problems causing bad parliament sessions due to war and new view that Charles promoted popery and absolutism after revelation that the Kings brother was catholic after the 1673 Test Act

Third Anglo Dutch war→many MPs unhappy that it was partly designed to aid Catholic france

• March 1672 new declaration of indulgence
  

  • suspended all penal laws
    

  • allowed Roman catholics to worship in their own homes
    

  • offered licences for Protestant dissenters to hold public worship
    

  • Caused most of political nation to unite against charles
    

  • Lasted until Charles was forced to call parliament through financial necessity (a year)
    

Attempts to replace indulgence→Parliamentary toleration for Protestants, passed in commons in March but it was blocked in Lords by the King and Bishops

• Test Act 1973
  

  • Forced public offcie to deny the key Catholic doctrine of Transubstantiation
    

  • Treasurer, Duke of York, the Lord Admiral were forced to resign
    

• Popish Plot
  

  • Aug 1678 Titus Oates approached Godfrey (London Magistrate) with  story of plot organised by Jesuits and the French to murder Charles and replace him with James.
    

  • Gained credibility after murder of Godfrey and letters about link with these groups and parliament
    

  • Led to full scale political crisis
    

  • Exclusion Bill→May 1679 drafted by Parliament, second bill defeated in lords under King, WHigs passed another bill and Charles dissolved Parliament and ordered arrest of Shaftesbury for treason 
    

  • Exclusion crisis→occurred by wide popular engagement with politics - London coffee houses, Whig periodicals and newspapers.