Charles II and James II

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  • Created by: lou9119
  • Created on: 30-04-18 20:37

Charles II and James II

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  • Finance: Relied heavily of French money.
  • Foreign Policy: Both pro-French due to Catholic sympathies.
  • Religion: Both wanted religious freedom and each issued Declarations of Indulgences. Suggestion that both Kings were catholics (Secret Treaty of Dover's clause that CII must convert to catholicism in exchange for French subsidies, CABAL's two catholic advisors, Titus Oates' Popish Plot)
  • Character: Both stubborn in terms of the Exclusion Crisis.
  • Relationship with Parliament: Each King welcomed onto the throne by tories, giving them both substantial sums of money to rule. Each King attempted religious freedom that was dislike by P who were Anglican and suspicious of Catholics and dissenters. Both dismissed Parliament as they wished and CII renewed the Triennial act but this didn't enforce the calling of P every three years. (PERSONAL RULE in the last for years of his rule!) Seemed to Parliament that both kings were trying to dispense with the law. Parliament suspicious of absolutist rulers.

Differences

  • Finance: CII struggled significantly with financial policies due to his alliance with France against the Dutch (Stop of the Exchequer)
  • Foreign Policy: JII did little to involve himself in war during his short time as King.
  • Religion: JII pushed for more religious freedom for catholics and was largely viewed as wanting to bring England into a Catholic nation (1685 allowed Catholics to become army officers and announced he wanted to suspend the Test Acts, Godden v Hales 1686, 7 bishops 1688) and mostly ignored the concerns of dissenters. However CII in 1662 issued the 1st Declaration of Indulgence despite Parliamentary resistance. CII allowed Parliament to pass the Clarendon code that moved to restore the CoE to its Anglicanism.
  • Character: JII, much like CI was dismissive of resentment within Parliament. Whereas CII was seen as an attractive and ideological king due to the Declaration of Breda.
  • Relationship with Parliament: Feared JII due to his catholicism and disliked the birth of his son, JII seen as a definite absolutist ruler. For JII Parliament was a threat; particularly the Whig faction.

Overall comparison

Both Kings were very similar in their policies, with an overwhelming inclination of Catholicism and thus a worrying relationship with Parliament - particularly magnified by the Exclusion Crisis - due to fears over catholicism. The most significant difference between the two kings is that James was far more open about his catholicism and lack of ability to level with Parliament over this. 

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