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The Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 was one of the most dramatic turning points in English history. After years of civil war, the execution of Charles I in 1649, and over a decade of republican rule under Oliver Cromwell and briefly his son Richard, England invited Charles II back to reclaim the throne. This lesson covers the events leading to the Restoration, the Declaration of Breda, and the early days of Charles II's reign.
After the death of Oliver Cromwell in September 1658, his son Richard Cromwell succeeded him as Lord Protector. However, Richard lacked his father's authority and political skill. He was unable to manage the competing interests of the army, Parliament, and the people.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| September 1658 | Oliver Cromwell dies; Richard Cromwell becomes Lord Protector |
| May 1659 | Richard Cromwell resigns; the Rump Parliament is recalled |
| October 1659 | The army dissolves the Rump Parliament again |
| February 1660 | General George Monck marches from Scotland to London |
| April 1660 | Charles issues the Declaration of Breda |
| May 1660 | Charles II arrives in London and is proclaimed King |
By early 1660, the country was in political chaos. There was no stable government, the army was divided, and many people longed for the return of order and tradition that monarchy represented.
Key Figure: General George Monck was the Commander of the army in Scotland. He marched south to London in February 1660 and played a crucial role in arranging free elections, which led to the Convention Parliament that invited Charles II to return.
Before returning to England, Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda from the Netherlands on 4 April 1660. This was a carefully crafted document designed to reassure as many people as possible that the Restoration would be peaceful and inclusive.
The Declaration made four key promises:
| Promise | Detail |
|---|---|
| General pardon | Amnesty for almost all actions during the Civil Wars and Interregnum, except those Parliament specifically excluded |
| Liberty of conscience | Religious toleration, as long as it did not disturb the peace |
| Settlement of land disputes | Issues over confiscated Royalist lands would be settled by Parliament |
| Payment of army arrears | Soldiers would receive the wages owed to them |
Exam Tip: The Declaration of Breda is a common exam topic. You should be able to explain each of the four promises and evaluate whether Charles kept them. In practice, religious toleration was quickly restricted, and many land disputes were never fully resolved.
Charles II entered London on 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday, to huge crowds and celebrations. The diarist Samuel Pepys recorded the joy in London, describing streets lined with cheering people, flowers, and tapestries.
The coronation took place on 23 April 1661 at Westminster Abbey, with elaborate ceremony designed to reassert the grandeur and legitimacy of the monarchy.
Several factors contributed to the Restoration:
Exam Tip: When explaining why the monarchy was restored, make sure you discuss multiple factors and try to reach a judgement about which was most significant. Examiners reward answers that weigh up different causes rather than simply listing them.
Question: "The Declaration of Breda was the main reason Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660." How far do you agree? Explain your answer.
A complex answer with a sustained line of reasoning would acknowledge that the Declaration of Breda of 4 April 1660 was significant, while arguing that it was not the main reason for the Restoration. The Declaration was carefully drafted by Edward Hyde (later Earl of Clarendon) and offered a general pardon, liberty to tender consciences, settlement of land disputes through Parliament, and payment of arrears to the army. These promises neutralised potential opposition: regicide-fearing soldiers, Presbyterians worried about persecution, and Royalists who had lost land under the Commonwealth could all find something reassuring in the document. However, the Declaration only became politically effective because the domestic situation was already unstable. The death of Oliver Cromwell in September 1658 had removed the one figure capable of holding the Protectorate together; Richard Cromwell's resignation in May 1659 left the army and the recalled Rump Parliament in direct conflict. The decisive military act was General George Monck's march from Coldstream in January 1660, which produced free elections and the Convention Parliament. Without Monck's willingness to use military force in support of a political settlement, the Declaration would have been merely a document of exile. Therefore, while the Declaration of Breda shaped the terms on which Charles returned and reassured moderate opinion, the underlying cause of the Restoration was the collapse of the Protectorate combined with Monck's intervention. The Declaration was the instrument of Restoration, not its cause. This distinction between underlying causes and enabling instruments is precisely what separates a Level 4 response from a Level 3 response at AQA.
Grade 4 (simple): "Charles II was restored in 1660 because people were fed up with Cromwell. Richard Cromwell was weak and could not control the army. General Monck helped Charles come back. The Declaration of Breda promised a pardon and religious toleration. Charles arrived in London on 29 May 1660. Lots of people celebrated. So the Restoration happened because people wanted a king again." This response identifies relevant features but remains descriptive. It lists events without weighing them against each other, and it does not engage with the demands of a Q8 judgement. The student knows there was a Declaration of Breda but does not quote any of its four specific promises or evaluate whether those promises were kept.
Grade 6 (developed): "The main reason for the Restoration of 1660 was political instability after Cromwell's death in 1658. Richard Cromwell could not hold together the army, the Rump Parliament, and the Protectorate; by 1659 England had no stable government. General Monck's march from Scotland in February 1660 and the Convention Parliament's free elections allowed Charles II to be invited back. The Declaration of Breda (April 1660) reassured moderates with four promises: pardon, liberty to tender consciences, land settlement by Parliament, and payment of army arrears." This response develops its explanation with precise dates and factors, and uses connectives ("because", "as a result") to show causal thinking. It moves beyond narrative into analysis but does not yet sustain a line of reasoning.
Grade 9 (complex with sustained line of reasoning): "The Restoration of 1660 is best understood as the convergence of three conditions: the structural collapse of the Protectorate, the opportunistic intervention of General Monck, and the conciliatory framing of the Declaration of Breda. None of these alone would have produced a Restoration. Oliver Cromwell's death in September 1658 exposed the Protectorate as a personal regime; Richard's resignation by May 1659 left the constitution in legal limbo. Monck's march in early 1660, coordinated with Presbyterian political networks, converted this vacuum into a political opportunity. The Declaration of Breda, drafted at Hyde's direction, then ensured that the Restoration took place on terms acceptable to moderate opinion. Therefore, while the Declaration was the document that made Restoration palatable, its underlying cause was the failure of republican government." This response sustains an argument, subordinates facts to analysis, and reaches a supported judgement.
Students aiming for Level 4 need precise factual anchors. The Restoration period opens on 29 May 1660, when Charles II entered London on his 30th birthday; the formal coronation followed at Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661. Oliver Cromwell had died on 3 September 1658 — a date deliberately chosen by Cromwell as auspicious because it was the anniversary of his victories at Dunbar (1650) and Worcester (1651). Richard Cromwell, born in 1626, resigned the Protectorate on 25 May 1659 and lived on quietly until 1712. General George Monck (1608–1670) was created Duke of Albemarle in July 1660 in reward for his role. The Declaration of Breda was dated 4 April 1660 from Breda in the Spanish Netherlands, drafted in part by Edward Hyde (1609–1674), who was elevated to Earl of Clarendon in 1661. The Convention Parliament sat from 25 April to 29 December 1660 and was succeeded by the Cavalier Parliament, elected in May 1661, which sat until 1679. The Act of Indemnity and Oblivion received royal assent on 29 August 1660. Thirteen regicides were executed, starting with Major-General Thomas Harrison on 13 October 1660. The posthumous execution of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw took place on 30 January 1661 — the anniversary of Charles I's execution in 1649. Samuel Pepys (1633–1703) began his diary on 1 January 1660 and recorded the Restoration celebrations in detail. These precise dates, numbers, and names are the kind of specific detail that AQA examiners use to distinguish Level 3 from Level 4 responses.
AQA mark schemes for the British Depth Study consistently reward four things. First, sustained line of reasoning: examiners want an argument that develops from introduction to conclusion, not a collection of paragraphs. Second, specific factual anchors: dates, names, numbers, and short quotations — "29 May 1660", "Declaration of Breda of 4 April 1660", "thirteen regicides executed" — are worth more than general statements. Third, evaluation of significance: for Q7 (importance) and Q8 (judgement), top-band answers explain not just what happened but why it mattered and for whom. Fourth, counter-argument and judgement: Level 4 responses acknowledge alternative interpretations and resolve them with a clear, supported verdict. Avoid narrative drift, avoid "throwing in" facts without linking them to the question, and avoid concluding with the word "overall" unless genuine weighing has taken place.
Historians have interpreted the Restoration in different ways. Tim Harris, in Restoration: Charles II and His Kingdoms, 1660–1685 (2005), argues that the Restoration was never as conservative as it appeared: the political divisions of the 1640s persisted beneath the surface and resurfaced during the Exclusion Crisis. John Miller, in Charles II (1991) and After the Civil Wars (2000), portrays Charles II as a more calculating and politically skilled monarch than earlier historians allowed, arguing that his willingness to dissemble was a rational response to his weak position. Steven Pincus, in 1688: The First Modern Revolution (2009), places the Restoration within a longer arc leading to the Glorious Revolution, arguing that the tensions between absolutist and constitutional conceptions of monarchy were only resolved in 1688–1689. For GCSE, students do not need to master these debates in detail, but referencing the idea that "historians such as Tim Harris have argued the Restoration was less stable than it appeared" is a route to Level 4 in interpretation questions.
AQA's 16-mark judgement question (plus 4 marks for SPaG) requires a structured response that moves deliberately from introduction through analysis to conclusion. A recommended structure is: introduction stating a clear position (approximately 60 words); first body paragraph developing the factor named in the question with precise evidence (approximately 180 words); second body paragraph considering an alternative factor (approximately 180 words); third body paragraph weighing a further alternative or a counter-argument (approximately 180 words); conclusion reaching a supported judgement (approximately 80 words). This structure fits the typical 40-minute Q8 time allocation and allows for the sustained line of reasoning AQA describes as characteristic of Level 4 responses. For the Restoration of Charles II, a typical Q8 structure might run: introduction arguing the Declaration of Breda was significant but not decisive; paragraph on the Declaration itself; paragraph on the collapse of the Protectorate; paragraph on Monck's intervention; conclusion returning to the original judgement with a refined verdict. The 4 SPaG marks reward accurate spelling, punctuation, grammar, and use of specialist terminology such as "regicide", "interregnum", "prerogative", and "indemnity". Candidates should practise writing Q8 responses under timed conditions, focusing particularly on the opening sentence of each paragraph, which should explicitly name the factor being considered and signal its relationship to the question. Phrases such as "The Declaration of Breda undoubtedly contributed to the Restoration because...", "However, a more fundamental cause was...", and "Nevertheless, the decisive factor was arguably..." help examiners track the argument. Avoid formulaic conclusions that begin "In conclusion..."; instead, return to the specific wording of the question and give a precise, evidence-based verdict.
This content is aligned with the AQA GCSE History (8145) specification.