Cavalier Parliament

Cavalier Parliament

The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from May 8, 1661 until January 24, 1679. It followed the Convention Parliament. It endured for over 17 years of the quarter century reign of Charles II of England. Like its predecessor Parliament of England, it was overwhelmingly Royalist and is also known as the Pensionary Parliament for the many pensions it granted to adherents of the King.

It was responsible for enacting the Clarendon Code, including:
* the Corporation Act 1661
* the Act of Uniformity 1662
* the Conventicle Act 1664
* the Five Mile Act 1665

In January 1661, the Fifth Monarchists led a succession of revolts under the command of Vavasor Powell and Thomas Venner. These rebellions were initiated as an anticipation of the arrival of Jesus to claim the throne.

In 1662 an Act of Settlement (there are several parliamentary acts with this title, most notably the Act of Settlement of 1701 covering succession to the throne) was passed following the demobilization of the army. The 1662 Act of Settlement was intended to assist local authorities to cope with large numbers of displaced disbanded soldiers.

The Licensing Act of 1662 was passed with the following title: "An Act for preventing the frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Bookes and Pamphlets and for regulating of Printing and Printing Presses".

In 1667 Clarendon was impeached and exiled.

In the same year:

* The beginnings of what is now called a cabinet system began to emerge within the government.
* The cabal comprising Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, Lauderdale ascended to power.
* The factions of a "party political" system polarised between "court" supporters (royalists) and "country" supporters (parliamentarians) can clearly be seen to foreshadow the Tory and Whig parties.

In March of 1672, Charles II issued a Royal Declaration of Indulgence for the benefit of nonconformist Protestants and Catholics. Parliament forced the king to withdraw the declaration the following year. In 1673 a Test Act (another title of several different acts) was passed, requiring all those holding office to swear an "oath of allegiance and of supremacy" and to "adjure transubstantiation" and to take the sacrament of the Church of England. Following the Popish Plot of September 1678, a Papists' Disabling Act was passed to exclude Catholics from Parliament.

On January 24, 1679, the seemingly interminable Cavalier Parliament was finally dissolved at the height of the Popish Plot and the onset of the Exclusion Crisis. A few weeks later, on March 6, a new parliament was assembled, but it was prorogued before it could conduct its business. It would not assemble until spring, and it is known as the Habeas Corpus parliament or the First Exclusion Parliament.

ee also

*English Restoration
*List of Parliaments of England


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cavalier Parliament — ▪ English history       (May 8, 1661 Jan. 24, 1679), the first English Parliament after the Restoration of Charles II to the throne. It was originally enthusiastically royalist in tone, but over the years its membership changed and it became… …   Universalium

  • Cavalier (disambiguation) — Cavalier may refer to: * Cavalier, a supporter of the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms * Cavalier poets of the English Civil War * Cavalier Parliament (1661 1679) A Restoration Parliament * cavalryman * paladin, in some… …   Wikipedia

  • Cavalier — was the name used by Parliamentarians for a Royalist supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War (1642 ndash;1651). Prince Rupert, commander of much of Charles I s cavalry, is often considered an archetypical Cavalier. [, Manganiello …   Wikipedia

  • Cavalier — Cav a*lier (k[a^]v [.a]*l[=e]r ), n. [F. cavalier, It. cavaliere, LL. caballarius, fr. L. caballus. See {Cavalcade}, and cf. {Chevalier}, {Caballine}.] 1. A military man serving on horseback; a knight. [1913 Webster] 2. A gay, sprightly, military …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • cavalier — [kav΄ə lir′] n. [Fr < It cavaliere < LL caballarius < L caballus, horse; akin to Gr kaballēs; prob. < native name in Asia Minor] 1. an armed horseman; knight 2. a gallant or courteous gentleman, esp. one serving as a lady s escort 3.… …   English World dictionary

  • Cavalier King Charles Spaniel — Infobox Dogbreed image caption = Cavalier King Charles Spaniel name = Cavalier King Charles Spaniel country = flagicon|England England nickname = king cavalierFact|date=August 2008 fcigroup = 9 fcisection = 7 fcinum = 136 fcistd =… …   Wikipedia

  • cavalier — cavalierism, cavalierness, n. cavalierly, adv. /kav euh lear , kav euh lear /, n. 1. a horseman, esp. a mounted soldier; knight. 2. one having the spirit or bearing of a knight; a courtly gentleman; gallant. 3. a man escorting a woman or acting… …   Universalium

  • cavalier — I. noun Etymology: Middle French, from Old Italian cavaliere, from Old Occitan cavalier, from Late Latin caballarius horseman, from Latin caballus Date: 1589 1. a gentleman trained in arms and horsemanship 2. a mounted soldier ; knight 3.… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Cavalier poet — ▪ English poetry group       any of a group of English gentlemen poets, called Cavaliers because of their loyalty to Charles I (1625–49) during the English Civil Wars, as opposed to Roundheads, who supported Parliament. They were also cavaliers… …   Universalium

  • cavalier — cav•a•lier [[t]ˌkæv əˈlɪər, ˈkæv əˌlɪər[/t]] n. adj. 1) why a horseman, esp. a mounted soldier; knight 2) one having the spirit or bearing of a knight; a courtly gentleman; gallant 3) the male escort or dancing partner of a woman 4) why (cap.) an …   From formal English to slang

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”