restoration (redirected from undercontoured restoration)

Restoration, in English history

Restoration, in English history, the reestablishment of the monarchy on the accession (1660) of Charles II after the collapse of the Commonwealth (see under commonwealth) and the Protectorate. The term is often used to refer to the entire period from 1660 to the fall of James II in 1688, and in English literature the Restoration period (often called the age of Dryden) is commonly viewed as extending from 1660 to the death of John Dryden in 1700.

Restoration of Charles II

After the death of Oliver Cromwell in Sept., 1658, the English republican experiment soon faltered. Cromwell's son and successor, Richard, was an ineffectual leader, and power quickly fell into the hands of the generals, chief among whom was George Monck, leader of the army of occupation in Scotland. In England a strong reaction had set in against Puritan supremacy and military control. When Monck marched on London with his army, opinion had already crystallized in favor of recalling the exiled king.

Monck recalled to the Rump Parliament the members who had been excluded by Pride's Purge in 1648; the reconvened body voted its own dissolution. The newly elected Convention Parliament, which met in the spring of 1660, was overtly royalist in sympathy. An emissary was sent to the Netherlands, and Charles was easily persuaded to issue the document known as the Declaration of Breda, promising an amnesty to the former enemies of the house of Stuart and guaranteeing religious toleration and payment of arrears in salary to the army. Charles accepted the subsequent invitation to return to England and landed at Dover on May 25, 1660, entering London amid rejoicing four days later.

Politics under Charles II and James II

Control of policy fell to Charles's inner circle of old Cavalier supporters, notably to Edward Hyde, 1st earl of Clarendon, who was eventually superseded by a group known as the Cabal. The last remnants of military republicanism, as exemplified in the Fifth Monarchy Men, were violently suppressed, and persecution spread to include the Quakers. The Cavalier Parliament, which assembled in 1661, restored a militant Anglicanism (see Clarendon Code), and Charles attempted, although cautiously, to reassert the old absolutist position of the earlier Stuarts.

The crown, however, was still dependent upon Parliament for its finances. The unwillingness of Charles and his successor, James II, to accept the implications of this dependency had some part in bringing about the deposition (1688) of James II, who was hated as a Roman Catholic as well as a suspected absolutist. The Glorious Revolution gave the throne to William III and Mary II.

England during the Restoration

The Restoration period was marked by an advance in colonization and overseas trade, by the Dutch Wars, by the great plague (1665) and the great fire of London (1666), by the birth of the Whig and Tory parties, and by the Popish Plot and other manifestations of anti-Catholicism. In literature perhaps the most outstanding result of the Restoration was the reopening of the theaters, which had been closed since 1642, and a consequent great revival of the drama (see English literature). The drama of the period was marked by brilliance of wit and by licentiousness, which may have been a reflection of the freeness of court manners. The last and greatest works of John Milton fall within the period but are not typical of it; the same is true of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress (1678). The age is vividly brought to life in the diaries of Samuel Pepys and John Evelyn, and in poetry the Restoration is distinguished by the work of John Dryden and a number of other poets.

Bibliography

See A. Nicoll, A History of Restoration Drama (1923); B. Willey, The Seventeenth Century Background (1934); D. Ogg, England in the Reign of Charles II (2 vol., 2d ed. 1955); G. N. Clark, The Later Stuarts (2d ed. 1956); C. V. Wedgwood, Seventeenth-Century English Literature (2d ed. 1970).

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Restoration, in French history

Restoration, in French history, the period from 1814 to 1830. It began with the first abdication of Emperor Napoleon I and the return of the Bourbon king, Louis XVIII, but was interrupted (1815) by Napoleon's return (the Hundred Days). After Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, Louis XVIII was again restored as king of France. The Bourbon regime was responsible for considerable French economic recovery and expansion and for the restoration of French prestige abroad. These years also saw the growth of the romantic movement in French literature and arts. However, the period marked the failure of the attempt to reconcile the royalist and Revolutionary traditions. Increasing political influence was exerted upon the moderate Louis XVIII by the ultraroyalists, dominated by his brother, the comte d'Artois, who succeeded (1824) Louis as King Charles X. The ultraroyalists sought a return to the ancien régime. They were aware, however, that this could not be achieved and acted instead to ensure their own political and social predominance. Their power was finally broken by the July Revolution of 1830.

Bibliography

See N. Hudson, Ultra-Royalism and the French Restoration (1936); G. de Bertier de Sauvigny, France and the European Alliance (1958), D. P. Resnick, The White Terror and the Political Reaction after Waterloo (1966); J. H. Stewart, The Restoration Era in France (1968).

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restoration, in art

restoration, in art: see art conservation and restoration.

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Restoration

Restoration of the monarchy in England in 1660. It marked the return of Charles II as king (1660–85) following the period of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. The bishops were restored to Parliament, which established a strict Anglican orthodoxy. The period, which also included the reign of James II (1685–88), was marked by an expansion in colonial trade, the Anglo-Dutch Wars, and a revival of drama and literature (see Restoration literature).

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restoration [‚res·tə′rā·shən]

(ecology)

A conservation measure involving the correction of past abuses that have impaired the productivity of the resources base.