Declaration of Breda

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The city of Breda in the Netherlands, where King Charles II of England resided during his exile, has given its name to his Declaration of Breda. In this proclamation, issued on April 4, 1660, Charles made known the conditions of his acceptance of the crown of England which he was to accept, or resume, later in the same year. Copies were delivered to both houses of the Convention Parliament by Sir John Grenville. Other copies with separate covering letters were delivered to Lord General George Monck to be communicated to the Lord President of the Council of State and to the Officers of the Army under his command, and to the Generals of the "Navy at Sea" and to the City of London.

The Declaration was drawn up by Charles and his three chief advisors, Edward Hyde, the Marquis of Ormond and Sir Edward Nicholas, in order to express the terms by which Charles hoped to take up "the possession of that right which God and Nature hath made our due"[1]. It guaranteed a "free and general pardon" to any old enemies of the King-to-be and of his father who recognized Charles II as their lawful monarch, with the exception of some of the regicides. It also promised "a free parliament, by which, upon the word of a king, we will be advised" and religious toleration[2]. The Declaration undertook to settle army pay arrears of the soldiers in the service of General Monck. The landed classes were reassured that establishing the justice of contested grants and purchases of estates that had been made "in the continued distractions of so many years and so many and great revolutions" was to be determined in parliament.

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ See the Divine Right of Kings, on which the Stuarts insisted.
  2. ^ " 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"

[edit] External links

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