The Restoration of the British monarchy in 1660 followed the end of the Interregnum which had seen the various governments of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate. Charles II landed in May 1660 following the march of Governor Monck on London, the election of a convention parliament, which became the (initially at least) enthusiastically royalist "Cavalier Parliament," kept in session from 1661 until 1679, and the acceptance by that parliament of Charles's declaration of Breda, in which he undertook to grant a general pardon and liberty of conscience, and agreed to abide by parliament's decisions concerning the settlement of disputed land and the payment and future disposition of Monck's army.
In succeeding years the Restoration religious settlement was embodied in the Clarendon Code, which contained acts re-establishing the Anglican Church, securing religious conformity, persecuting the Dissenters, abjuring the Covenant (Charles, in exile, had subscribed to it, but upon his return to the throne he had it burned by the public hangman), requiring all persons holding public employment to renounce the Catholic faith (Charles's brother James, the heir to the throne, refused to take the oath) and declaring the unlawfulness of taking up arms against the king.
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Last modified 1988; links last added 21 December 2017