Template:Declaration of Breda
A document by Charles II agreeing to rule with the consent of Parliament in April 1660
Charles, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, &c. To all our loving subjects, of what degree or quality soever, greeting.
If the general distraction and confusion which is spread over the whole kingdom doth not awaken all men to a desire and longing that those wounds which have so many years together been kept bleeding may be bound up [1], all we can say will be to no purpose; however, after this long silence, we have thought it our duty to declare how much we desire to contribute thereunto; and that as we can never give over the hope, in good time, to obtain the possession of that right which God and nature hath made our due, so we do make it our daily suit to the Divine Providence [2], that He will, in compassion to us and our subjects, after so long misery and sufferings, remit and put us into a quiet and peaceable possession of that our right [3], with as little blood and damage to our people as is possible; nor do we desire more to enjoy what is ours, than that all our subjects may enjoy what by law is theirs [4], by a full and entire administration of justice throughout the land, and by extending our mercy where it is wanted and deserved.
And to the end that the fear of punishment may not engage any, conscious to themselves of what is past, to a perseverance in guilt for the future, by opposing the quiet and happiness of their country, in the restoration of King, Peers and people to their just, ancient and fundamental rights [5], we do, by these presents, declare, that we do grant a free and general pardon[6], which we are ready, upon demand, to pass under our Great Seal of England, to all our subjects, of what degree or quality soever, who, within forty days after the publishing hereof, shall lay hold upon this our grace and favour, and shall, by any public act, declare their doing so, and that they return to the loyalty and obedience of good subjects; excepting only such persons as shall hereafter be excepted by Parliament[7], those only to be excepted.
Let all our subjects, how faulty soever, rely upon the word of a King, solemnly given by this present declaration, that no crime whatsoever, committed against us or our royal father before the publication of this, shall ever rise in judgment, or be brought in question, against any of them, to the least endamagement of them,either in their lives, liberties or estates or (as far forth as lies in our power) so much as to the prejudice of their reputations, by any reproach or term of distinction from the rest of our best subjects [8]; we desiring and ordaining that henceforth all notes of discord, separation and difference of parties be utterly abolished among all our subjects, whom we invite and conjure to a perfect union among themselves, under our protection, for the re-settlement of our just rights and theirs in a free Parliament, by which, upon the word of a King, we will be advised.
And because the passion and uncharitableness of the times have produced several opinions in religion, by which men are engaged in parties and animosities against each other (which, when they shall hereafter unite in a freedom of conversation, will be composed or better understood), we do declare a liberty to tender consciences, and that no man shall be disquieted or called in question for differences of opinion in matter of religion, which do not
disturb the peace of the kingdom [9]; and that we shall be ready to consent to such an Act of Parliament, as, upon mature deliberation, shall be offered to us, for the full granting that indulgence.
And because, in the continued distractions of so many years, and so many and great revolutions, many grants and purchases of estates have been made to and by many officers, soldiers and others, who are now possessed of the same, and who may be liable to actions at law upon several titles, we are likewise willing that all such differences, and all things relating to such grants, sales and purchases,shall be determined in Parliament [10], which can best provide for the just satisfaction of all men who are concerned.
And we do further declare, that we will be ready to consent to any Act or Acts of Parliament to the purposes aforesaid, and for the full satisfaction of all arrears due to the officers and soldiers of the army under the command of General Monk [11]; and that they shall be received into our service upon as good pay and conditions as they now enjoy.
Given under our Sign Manual and Privy Signet, at our Court at Breda, this 4/14 day of April, 1660, in the twelfth year of our reign.
(Charles II’s Declaration from Breda, 4th April 1660)
Analysis
This is an ambiguous document but could it be anything other if you are trying to court a wide as possible constituency of support for the restoration. There was something for everyone in the declaration
- Religious toleration would have satisfied the puritans and maybe the Catholics believed it would extend to them
- Opponents would not be brought to justice or excluded from holding office as long as they swore loyalty to the king
- Royalists and Peers would be restored to office
- The king promised to bring peace back to the land
- The army would be paid
- Parliament was given the power to adjudicate on property disputes, the extent of the amnesty to previous opponents of Charles 1, etc.
This was Charles' best course of action politically he did not personally have to make difficult decisions and choices on these competing promises. The people had no choice but to accept the sovereign power of the Parliament as they had done for the past 10 years and there would be no opposition from within Parliament either.
Leading up to the declaration of Breda, there was somewhat of a power vacuum, with neither Parliament or the army in ascendency. By publishing the declaration he pre-empted any opportunity for the soon to be convened to Convention to set its own terms
- ↑ 1 Charles notes the desire of citizen to get back to normal and who see the past twenty years as an aberration
- ↑ 2 Charles asserts that he obtains his rights from God
- ↑ 3 Stuarts have a lawful right to the throne
- ↑ 4 Promises to rule under the rule of law and justice
- ↑ 5. Not only the King is ti be restored but the Lords and other bodies who had exercised their rights before the interregnum
- ↑ 6. Charles promises a broad and general pardon to those who had opposed the Royalists
- ↑ 6. A pardon so long as they affirm their loyalty. Some regicides did not for instance
- ↑ 7. Charles promises to not exact revenge on his opponents
- ↑ 8. Charles understands that Religion was the cause of the civil war and so that toleration must be a cornerstone of the religious policy
- ↑ 9. This is a difficult subject. Many royalist estates were confiscated and given to republicans who possessed them legally. Parliament said that they would decided the legitimacy of competing claims
- ↑ 10. Charles will make sure that soldiers are paid
| Date"Date" is a type and predefined property provided by Semantic MediaWiki to represent date values. | |
|---|---|
| Act Abolishing the Office of King | 17 March 1649 |
| Army Remonstrance | 18 November 1648 |
| Civil War - Regicide | 6 December 1648 30 January 1649 |
| Civil War - Restoration | 4 April 1660 |
| Commissions of Array | 1 June 1642 |
| Execution of Archbishop William Laud | 10 January 1645 |
| Execution of Charles I | 30 January 1649 |
| Execution of Thomas Wentworth | 12 May 1641 |
| Four Bills | 24 December 1647 |
| Grand Remonstrance | 22 November 1641 |
| Heads of Proposals | 22 September 1647 |
| Instrument of Government | 16 December 1653 |
| Militia Ordinance | 7 December 1641 |
| Naseby | 14 June 1645 |
| National Covenant | 27 February 1638 |
| Newcastle Proposals | 1 July 1646 |
| Nineteen Propositions | 1 June 1642 |
| Petition of Right | 7 June 1628 |
| Petition of the Leveller Women | 11 September 1649 |
| Putney Debates | 1 October 1647 |
| Representation of the Army | 5 June 1647 |
| Root and Branch Petition | 11 December 1640 |
| Saffron Walden | 1 May 1647 |
| Scottish Prayer Book | 23 July 1637 |
| Short Parliament | 13 April 1640 |
| The Bishop's War | 1 January 1639 |
| The Five Members | 4 January 1642 |
| The Second Civil War | 22 February 1648 |
| The Self Denying Ordinance | 19 December 1644 |
| Treaty of Uxbridge | 29 January 1645 |
