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Essay A* student - How accurate is it to say that the main cause of political instability in England was power 1665-88?
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How accurate is it to say that the main cause of political instability in England in the years1665-88 was power?
The restoration of Charles II failed to restore political stability and by 1665 there were tensions between
parliament and the monarchy over issues of prerogative power, money and religion. Consistent abuses of
power by both Charles II and James II caused conflicts and eventually led to the Glorious Revolution in
1688 which aimed to limit the monarch’s power. However, there were other sources of instability such as
money problems, worsened by wars which made the monarch financially dependant on parliament.
Although power and money both contributed to instability, religious disputes were the main cause for
instability. This is because religion was the root cause of many issues and issues over power and money
only highlighted the growing tensions between conservative Anglicans and the monarchy that wanted
religious toleration for dissenters and catholics. Religion was a widespread and longer term issue due to its
effects on the political nation and the wider civilian population, resulting in more significant tensions and
political instability. The following criteria will be used to conclude which factor caused most political
instability: increased lack of support, divisions in parliament, tensions and discontent.
It is accurate to an extent to say that power was the main cause of political instability because it was a
significant source of divisions between the monarch and parliament. There were ideological differences
between monarchy and parliament over the concept of Divine Right which led to tensions in the Exclusion
Crisis in 1679. The Whig faction of parliament tried to exclude James II from the line of succession. This
challenged the hereditary right of James to succeed the throne, which created deep divisions in parliament
between the liberal Whigs and conservative Tories who believed in Divine Right. There was limited co-
operation due to divisions in parliament which increased instability within the political nation. This led to the
purging of Whig members out of office reducing the power of parliament and allowed Charles to have a
personal rule from 1681 which increased instability as parliament were discontent with their limited power.
On the other hand, religion is more significant because parliament could not have challenged the power of
James without differences over James’ catholic religion. The increased fear of a catholic monarch was the
root cause for the Exclusion Crisis, which shows how religious tensions led to instability because it
consequently led to challenges of power. Leading on, during James’ reign, he restored the Court of
Ecclesiastical Commission in 1687 which had been removed during the Civil War. By restoring the
Prerogative Courts, James increased his prerogative power and created fears of absolute rule that led to
decreased support for the monarchy and instability, causing the Glorious Revolution and the alienation of
the entire political nation from monarchical government. Therefore, power can be considered a great
contributor to political instability throughout the period. However, the issues over power were caused by
religious conflicts. The use of the prerogative courts was only a major issue to parliament due to the
religious connections between catholicism and absolute rule and abuses of power. The reputation of Louis
XIV of France and his persecution of Protestants when he revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, highlighted
fears of a catholic monarch which caused widespread hysteria and lack of support for James when he used
his prerogative power to give toleration to dissenters. Although power was a contributor to political
instability, religious differences between the monarchy and parliament led to breaches of power and
disputes, thus religion can be considered the root cause for disagreements over power.
Religion can be considered the main reason for political instability. The Great Plague (1665) and the Great
Fire of London (1666) caused anti-catholic fears among the political nation and civilians who were effected.
Many believed that the events were a punishment from God for allowing toleration of catholics or were plots
by catholic France to take over the Anglican throne. This only increased fears towards Charles and James
as suspicions of their catholic sympathies increased. These religious fears decreased support for the
monarch which led to less co-operation with parliament. Greater religious conflicts between crown and
parliament created disagreements over legislation leading to the Declaration of Indulgence in 1672 which
attempted to suspend the Act of Uniformity against the consent of parliament. With less willingness to work
together, there was more instability. It can also be argued that the declaration challenged parliament’s
power which created instability, therefore, highlighting that religions as the root cause for power
disagreements. Additionally, the effects of religion were widespread because they fuelled hysteria among
civilians experiencing the plague and great fire and by the political nation who believed catholics were trying
to invade England as both a domestic threat (James/Charles) and a foreign threat (France). Furthermore, the
conversion of James to catholicism (1668) triggered the Exclusion Crisis which introduced party politics and
greater conflicts in parliament. The Country and Court Party began to form (later known as the Whigs and
Tories) over the issue of religion and James’ succession. Consequently, there was a polarised parliament
that could not decide on the Exclusion Bills which led to instability. The issue over the religion of James had
a long-lasting impact because it led to the radical Glorious Revolution in 1688. This was a significant period
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