1 of 3

The year 1660 was a catastrophe for radical Puritans. The return of the monarchy under Charles II spelled disaster for people like John Milton, who had written passionate tracts defending religious liberty, republican government, and the legitimacy of killing a king. He made a last-minute plea, urging the nation to rally to "the good old cause." Having set out for the Promised Land by "turning regal bondage into a free commonwealth," it would be folly to return to the servitude of Egypt.

Despite his warnings, the monarchy was restored and a warrant was issued for Milton's arrest. He survived, thanks to influential friends, but other Puritan revolutionaries were put to death in gruesome public executions or locked up in the Tower of London.

Moderate Puritans, like Richard Baxter, did not share Milton's despair in May 1660. Although Baxter had been a supporter of Parliamentary causes during the English Civil War, he was no anti-monarchist and deplored the execution of Charles I. While his ministry had flourished under Cromwell, he was no great admirer of the Lord Protector. The return of the Stuart dynasty promised an end to years of political and religious upheaval, and initially Baxter looked forward to the restoration of a comprehensive national church encompassing both Puritans and Anglicans. In June 1660, he was appointed a chaplain to the new king, and he preached before Charles II in July.

In October, leaders who favored a church led by bishops met to negotiate with those who favored a church ruled by elders (presbyters). The king declared that the restored church would be governed by bishops and presbyters and would allow considerable latitude on matters of ceremony. Baxter was offered a bishopric, and although he turned it down, he recommended others who might be willing to accept. The Presbyterians were willing to agree to a church governed by bishops so long as they did not impose strict conformity on "tender consciences."

But the hopes of moderate Puritans were quickly dashed.

Puritanism was associated in the minds of many with revolution in church and state, and Puritans soon faced a popular backlash. Almost 700 Puritan ministers were ousted from their parishes in 1660 alone—Baxter himself was deprived of his living in Kidderminster, and not allowed even to deliver his farewell sermon. During negotiations with the bishops in March 1661, he finally recognized that they were determined to enforce conformity to the Prayer Book and unwilling to accommodate the consciences of English Puritans. With the election of the monarchist "Cavalier" Parliament, hard-line Anglicans were on the rise, and over the next few years Parliament enacted a series of punitive laws against religious dissent. The centerpiece of the legislation was the Act of Uniformity (1662), which required all clergy to be ordained by bishops, to renounce earlier commitments to reform, and to assent to the new Prayer Book. The Act forced more than 1000 Puritan ministers out of their parishes, bringing the total number ejected to just over 2000 (around one-fifth of the total number of clergy).

England now witnessed a persecution of Protestants by other Protestants without parallel in 17th-century Europe. Thousands of Puritans were arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned. Hundreds of meetings were violently broken up, and nonconformists were even attacked by organized gangs and angry mobs. The statistics for Quakers alone are startling: Around 15,000 suffered imprisonment or fines, 450 died in jail, and 200 more were banished.

next page... |  1 of 3

share this page

RSS Feed   RSS Help