CHARLES II
The king would often walk alone or with only a few companions. His brother expressed concern about exposing the royal person to risk.
At the time, almost every nation or colony had an established religion, and there came a group that believed that if there was freedom of conscience, there would be more loyalty and security. The king describes this notion as a “lively experiment” and it was, but it was successful and became the religious model for the new United States.
Nathaniel Bacon had led a rebellion in Virginia and had routed the Governor’s troops and caused him to flee leaving control of Virginia to Bacon and his followers who were far more democratic and advanced. However Bacon succumbed to swamp fever, and his followers could not hold the colony together giving the Governor a chance to establish his authority. He then went on a vengeful reign of terror, executing all of Bacon’s followers he could get his hands on. With no danger to the authority of the Crown, King Charles felt that Berkeley had gone too far. The King’s father Charles I had been executed in the aftermath of the English Civil War, but he had executed far fewer than Berkely had done in Virginia.
Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of Scotland, England and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
