Politics

In less than a decade, the commonwealth of Oliver Cromwell was dramatically transformed into the very different realm of the Restoration monarchy. This is the first detailed account of this vital and eventful period, which witnessed the end of a republic, the reestablishment of royal government, naval wars, plague, religious persecution, and the destruction of the capital in the Great Fire. Drawing on a wealth of public and private manuscript sources to rework each issue anew, Hutton explores the way government policy was set and put into practice during these nine years and how national concerns, local issues, and various social, political, and religious groups all interacted to influence the shifting currents of the nation's affairs.