Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- BOOK XVI THE LATER YEARS OF CHARLES II, 1675—1685 WHIGS AND TORIES
- INTRODUCTION
- CHAP. I Parliament in 1675. Formation of new parties
- CHAP. II The fourteen months' prorogation. Parliamentary Session of 1677
- CHAP. III Dynastic and political alliance of Charles II with the Prince of Orange
- CHAP. IV Complications at the conclusion of the Peace of Nimuegen. Alliance of Louis XIV with the Parliamentary opposition in England
- CHAP. V Denunciation of a Jesuit conspiracy. Last Session of the Parliament of the Restoration
- CHAP. VI Parliament of 1679
- CHAP. VII Parliamentary interim, 1679, 1680
- CHAP. VIII The Parliamentary Session of 1680
- CHAP. IX Parliament at Oxford, March 1680, 1681
- CHAP. X Antagonism of the Prince of Orange and the Duke of York
- CHAP. XI Reaction against the Whigs. Rye-House Plot. Execution of Lord William Russell
- CHAP. XII End of Charles II's Government
- BOOK XVII REIGN OF JAMES II, FEBRUARY 1685 TO SEPTEMBER 1688
- BOOK XVIII THE FALL OF JAMES II IN ITS CONNEXION WITH THE EUROPEAN CONFLICTS WHICH MARKED THE CLOSE OF 1688
- BOOK XIX COMPLETION OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE THREE KINGDOMS, 1688—1691
CHAP. II - The fourteen months' prorogation. Parliamentary Session of 1677
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2011
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- BOOK XVI THE LATER YEARS OF CHARLES II, 1675—1685 WHIGS AND TORIES
- INTRODUCTION
- CHAP. I Parliament in 1675. Formation of new parties
- CHAP. II The fourteen months' prorogation. Parliamentary Session of 1677
- CHAP. III Dynastic and political alliance of Charles II with the Prince of Orange
- CHAP. IV Complications at the conclusion of the Peace of Nimuegen. Alliance of Louis XIV with the Parliamentary opposition in England
- CHAP. V Denunciation of a Jesuit conspiracy. Last Session of the Parliament of the Restoration
- CHAP. VI Parliament of 1679
- CHAP. VII Parliamentary interim, 1679, 1680
- CHAP. VIII The Parliamentary Session of 1680
- CHAP. IX Parliament at Oxford, March 1680, 1681
- CHAP. X Antagonism of the Prince of Orange and the Duke of York
- CHAP. XI Reaction against the Whigs. Rye-House Plot. Execution of Lord William Russell
- CHAP. XII End of Charles II's Government
- BOOK XVII REIGN OF JAMES II, FEBRUARY 1685 TO SEPTEMBER 1688
- BOOK XVIII THE FALL OF JAMES II IN ITS CONNEXION WITH THE EUROPEAN CONFLICTS WHICH MARKED THE CLOSE OF 1688
- BOOK XIX COMPLETION OF THE REVOLUTION IN THE THREE KINGDOMS, 1688—1691
Summary
The adjournment of Parliament was a decisive step for European politics. Occupied with the war against Sweden, and robbed at the same time of the help of England, the allies were not capable of accomplishing much against Louis XIV. Their successes were limited to the capture of Philipsburg. On the other hand the French maintained their hold upon Maestricht; they took Aire, Bonchain, Condé, and, what was most important to them, were able, at the beginning of the year 1677, to strike a decisive blow against Valenciennes. Their most splendid success in the year 1676 was obtained at sea. The Dutch had joined with the Spaniards to defend Sicily; three times the allied squadrons were beaten by the French, who, with a comparatively untried fleet, remained masters of the Mediterranean.
Whilst Louis XIV filled the world with the fame of the French arms, and maintained his preponderance in the face of a great continental coalition, Charles II gave himself up to the enjoyments of peace. He gave his desires full scope, and they became, as is so often the case with princes, the subject of calculation and intrigue.
In January 1676 there arrived in London Hortensia, the niece of Cardinal Mazarin, of whose marriage with Charles II there had formerly been so much talk. She had been married by her uncle to Armand de la Meilleraye, who took the title of Duke of Mazarin, but she had left him again, because he indulged too much for her taste in religious rhapsodies; she now came from Italy to England, ostensibly to visit her cousin, the Duchess of York.
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- A History of EnglandPrincipally in the Seventeenth Century, pp. 20 - 32Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2010First published in: 1875