The History of England

The very same day that the Seven Bishops were acquitted, another seven men met at a secret meeting, and together composed as letter. The ex-admiral, Arthur Herbert, smuggled it to the Netherlands, to present it to William of Orange. The Immortal Seven had sent William the invitation he needed.

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Full of confidence at his progress, in 1688 James decided he would suffer no more equivocation from the Church of England. The Indulgence was re-issued, this time with a command that it be read by every priest from every pulpit - thus aligning them with a policy they detested, making them royal servants. The atmosphere was hot with conflict - and everything was heightened by the news of a birth - of a royal prince and heir. The Thr...

1686 had seen progress for James - but he was puzzled and frustrated by Anglican opposition from the English and Scottish parliaments. 1687 saw a continuation of the old strategy to raise the status of Catholics, and stifle independence of civil and military institutions. But it would also see a new strategy - to bypass parliament, and appeal to Dissenters as well as Catholics.

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From a happy start in 1685, James had begun to hit resistance in England to his campaign for Catholic emancipation. In 1686, he planned to accelerate the process. He expected rapid success in Ireland and Scotland, and confidently expected that education, propaganda, and the reality of supreme royal authority would subdue any resistance in England and Wales. 

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As the English parliament was preparing to sit, news came in of a protestant cataclysm in the making in October 1685, and soon after refugees started arriving with horror stories of persecution. The rumours were confirmed. Louis XIV had revoked the Edict of Nantes which protected 800,000 French Protestants, and made their religion illegal. Nor was this the only matter on the minds of MPs as they assembled, and heard their King addr...

At the parliament on April 1685, Scotland demonstrated how loyal subjects should treat their king - an example which was duly followed by their southern neighbours soon afterwards. Yet despite this enthusiastic reception, within weeks James faced two rebellions. In Western Scotland the Earl of Argyl raised the fiery cross to summon the clans, and in South West England the Duke of Monmouth was joined by thousands of rebels eager to ...

The reign of James II and the Glorious Revolution was a central part of the national story built by Whig historians. But since the 20th century the picture has been heavily revised with new perspectives, such as the view from all three kingdoms, a more nuanced view of James and his intentions, criticisms of the idea of a bloodless revolution, how much the voice of the people mattered - and was it a Revolution at all? Or a conserati...

The Dutch raid on the Medway effectively brought the Second Anglo Dutchto an end, and also the honeymoon period. From 1667 to 1681, Charles sought to play off factions in parliament, to keep his freedom of action, enhance royal power where he could and court the French - their friendship, and bribes. The public announcement of James' catholicism in 1677 became the driving factor in an increasingly unruly politics, of Whig and Tory....

After dismissing parliament of Oxford in 1681, Charles pursued alliance with the Tories and emasculation of the Whigs and Dissenters at all political levels. He pursued a strategy with determination and consistency he had rarely shown at any other point.

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In 1680 and 1681, Shaftesbury led an increasingly shrill and effective campaign, asppeling to popular opinion to force Charles into calling a new parliament. There he could be forced to learn about the power of the exlusionist movement which could be brought to bear. But Charles would learn a different lesson, and at Oxford in 1681, would start his own campaign.

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In 1678 a fantasist and charlatan, Titus Oates, made a series of wild and dramatic accusations of a Catholic plot to assasinate the king. A series of extraordinary co-incidences seemed to confirm his accusations, and the public mood became hysterical. The fevered atmosphere gave wings to a new political objective - to exclude James from the succession.

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In 1677, Danby finally seemed to have cracked Charles' problem with parliament - until a diplomatic game of will-he-won't-he in the Anglo Dutch war rose to the level of farce, and derailed everything. In the middle of it all - a 15 year old girl was pushed weeping into a highly significant marriage for which she had no wish

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Thomas Osborne, Earl of Danby had a plan as Charles' new 'Prime Minister', to repair the damage from the disastrous Third Anglo Dutch War. To rebuild his master's prestige on the pillars of financial stability, and Anglican alliance, and alliance with the Dutch.

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In 1672, Charles sought to put the Treaty of Dover into operation; to join Louis XIV in making war on the Dutch Republic. The plan was to replace de Witt's government with William of Orange as Stadholder, capture key Zealand ports for England, and secure further financial support from Louis. And thus have a free hand with parliament. All that was needed was victory at sea for the Anglo French fleet.

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Roifield and David talk about 5stories of England as part of the Very English Chat project, to tell stories of England in 50 objects.

‘A very English chat’ works is a wonderful project to escape division and polarisation, and the arid quarrels about flags - to build and celebrate a sense of Englishness, as part of a build up to England's national day, St George's Day on 23rd April. We are all invited to share our own...

After a half an episode on the really important stuff - Nell Gwyn, Aphra Behn and Restoration theatre, we reach possibly the most remarkable treaty any British monarch has made, ever. The Treaty of Dover.  

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1667 had not been a great year for Charles, with the humiliation at the Medway, and his pro French strategy in ruins. So he needed a scapegoat, and he needed to re-assert the primacy of the Royal Prerogative.

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The period from 1670 to 1714 is a period of astounding and dramatic change; the Exclusion crisis, the Glorious Revolution, years of war, the formation of Geat Britain - and the birth of sulphurous party politics. George Owers has written a book on it - and he talks to me about the period 

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