The Restoration of England
By Emma, Tabb, & Carmen
The Monarchy Returns
The reasons a restoration was needed in England were many. A main issue was the death of Cromwell, an English political and Military leader, in 1658. This meant his son Richard Cromwell would take his place, causing the government to collapse. After this happened, the parliament had to recover and they ended up voting to bring back the Monarchy. As well as this, the parliament invited the son of Charles the First, who was also named Charles, to be the new king under certain conditions. When he accepted this offer, he was named King Charles the second. This then paved the way for a restoration throughout England.
The Reign of Charles II
Charles II knew that being king was going to be far more difficult with the wreckage the previous rulers had set before him. Therefore, he mainly focused on the largest issues within England: religious tensions still rose, conflict with the Dutch remained, and the role of Parliament was not yet perfected. With these problems came positive and negative outcomes. Overall, the confidence and happiness of England's people had finally began to strengthen. England also had several setbacks during Charles's reign. The bubonic plague returned, killing more than 100,000 individuals in just one city. Within the next year, the Great Fire of London caused major damage- although, the fire also got rid of the deadly spread of rats that came with the plague. Still, Charles II had been the first ruler to even scratch the surface of the beginning of England's restoration.