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of England； he was officially made Lord Protector in the year
1653。 He ruled five years。 He used this period to continue
the policies of Elizabeth。 Spain once more became the arch
enemy of England and war upon the Spaniard was made a national
and sacred issue。
The commerce of England and the interests of the traders
were placed before everything else； and the Protestant creed of
the strictest nature was rigourously maintained。 In maintaining
England's position abroad； Cromwell was successful。 As a
social reformer； however； he failed very badly。 The world is
made up of a number of people and they rarely think alike。
In the long run； this seems a very wise provision。 A government
of and by and for one single part of the entire community
cannot possibly survive。 The Puritans had been a great
force for good when they tried to correct the abuse of the
royal power。 As the absolute Rulers of England they became
intolerable。
When Cromwell died in 1658； it was an easy matter for the
Stuarts to return to their old kingdom。 Indeed； they were
welcomed as ‘‘deliverers'' by the people who had found the
yoke of the meek Puritans quite as hard to bear as that of autocratic
King Charles。 Provided the Stuarts were willing to forget
about the Divine Right of their late and lamented father
and were willing to recognise the superiority of Parliament； the
people promised that they would be loyal and faithful subjects。
Two generations tried to make a success of this new arrangement。
But the Stuarts apparently had not learned their
lesson and were unable to drop their bad habits。 Charles II；
who came back in the year 1660； was an amiable but worthless
person。 His indolence and his constitutional insistence upon
following the easiest course； together with his conspicuous success
as a liar； prevented an open outbreak between himself and
his people。 By the act of Uniformity in 1662 he broke the
power of the Puritan clergy by banishing all dissenting clergymen
from their parishes。 By the so…called Conventicle Act of
1664 he tried to prevent the Dissenters from attending religious
meetings by a threat of deportation to the West Indies。 This
looked too much like the good old days of Divine Right。 People
began to show the old and well…known signs of impatience；
and Parliament suddenly experienced difficulty in providing
the King with funds。
Since he could not get money from an unwilling Parliament；
Charles borrowed it secretly from his neighbour and cousin
King Louis of France。 He betrayed his Protestant allies in
return for 200；000 pounds per year； and laughed at the poor
simpletons of Parliament。
Economic independence suddenly gave the King great faith
in his own strength。 He had spent many years of exile among
his Catholic relations and he had a secret liking for their
religion。 Perhaps he could bring England back to Rome！ He
passed a Declaration of Indulgence which suspended the old
laws against the Catholics and Dissenters。 This happened just
when Charles' younger brother James was said to have become
a Catholic。 All this looked suspicious to the man in the street
People began to fear some terrible Popish plot。 A new spirit
of unrest entered the land。 Most of the people wanted to prevent
another outbreak of civil war。 To them Royal Oppression
and a Catholic Kingyea； even Divine Right；were
preferable to a new struggle between members of the same
race。 Others however were less lenient。 They were the much…
feared Dissenters； who invariably had the courage of their
convictions。 They were led by several great noblemen who did
not want to see a return of the old days of absolute royal
power。
For almost ten years； these two great parties； the Whigs
（the middle class element； called by this derisive name be…
cause in the year 1640 a lot of Scottish Whiggamores or horse…
drovers headed by the Presbyterian clergy； had marched to
Edinburgh to oppose the King） and the Tories （an epithet
originally used against the Royalist Irish adherents but now
applied to the supporters of the King） opposed each other； but
neither wished to bring about a crisis。 They allowed Charles to
die peacefully in his bed and permitted the Catholic James II
to succeed his brother in 1685。 But when James； after threatening
the country with the terrible foreign invention of a ‘‘standing
army'' （which was to be commanded by Catholic Frenchmen）；
issued a second Declaration of Indulgence in 1688； and
ordered it to be read in all Anglican churches； he went just a
trifle beyond that line of sensible demarcation which can only be
transgressed by the most popular of rulers under very
exceptional circumstances。 Seven bishops refused to comply
with the Royal Command。 They were accused of ‘‘seditious
libel。'' They were brought before a court。 The jury which
pronounced the verdict of ‘‘not guilty'' reaped a rich harvest
of popular approval。
At this unfortunate moment； James （who in a second marriage
had taken to wife Maria of the Catholic house of Modena…
Este） became the father of a son。 This meant that the throne
was to go to a Catholic boy rather than to his older sisters；
Mary and Anne； who were Protestants。 The man in the street
again grew suspicious。 Maria of Modena was too old to have
children！ It was all part of a plot！ A strange baby had been
brought into the palace by some Jesuit priest that England
might have a Catholic monarch。 And so on。 It looked as if
another civil war would break out。 Then seven well…known
men； both Whigs and Tories； wrote a letter asking the husband
of James's oldest daughter Mary； William III the Stadtholder
or head of the Dutch Republic； to come to England and
deliver the country from its lawful but entirely undesirable
sovereign。
On the fifth of November of the year 1688； William landed
at Torbay。 As he did not wish to make a martyr out of his
father…in…law； he helped him to escape safely to France。 On
the 22nd of January of 1689 he summoned Parliament。 On
the 13th of February of the same year he and his wife Mary
were proclaimed joint sovereigns of England and the country
was saved for the Protestant cause。
Parliament； having undertaken to be something more than
a mere advisory body to the King； made the best of its
opportunities。 The old Petition of Rights of the year 1628 was
fished out of a forgotten nook of the archives。 A second and
more drastic Bill of Rights demanded that the sovereign of
England should belong to the Anglican church。 Furthermore
it stated that the king had no right to suspend the laws or
permit certain privileged citizens to disobey certain laws。 It
stipulated that ‘‘without consent of Parliament no taxes could
be levied and no army could be maintained。'' Thus in the year
1689 did England acquire an amount of liberty unknown in
any other country of Europe。
But it is not only on account of this great liberal measure
that the rule of William in England