Treaty of Breda (1650)
Signed | 1 May 1650 |
---|---|
Location | Breda, Dutch Republic |
Parties | Charles II; Kingdom of Scotland |
Languages | English |
The Treaty of Breda (1650) was signed on 1 May 1650 between
The Scots had previously allied with English Royalists to restore Charles I to the throne in the 1648 Second English Civil War. Following their defeat, Charles was executed in January 1649, leading to the establishment of the Commonwealth of England. For various reasons, the Scots objected to the execution, and the Treaty of Breda led to the Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652). This time, defeat meant Scotland was incorporated into the Commonwealth.
Although Scotland regained its independence after the 1660 Stuart Restoration, his experience of the alliance meant Charles II remained hostile to Presbyterianism throughout his reign,[why?] and restored bishops to the Church of Scotland in 1662.[1]
Background
Victory in the 1639 and 1640
However, the pact had limited support in England, particularly from religious
His refusal to convert to Presbyterianism led to a stalemate between Charles and the Scots, who in 1647 handed him over to Parliament in exchange for £400,000.
However, they were excluded from negotiations by the victorious English Parliament and by 1647, they despaired of achieving their political goals – the establishment of Presbyterianism in the Three Kingdoms and asserting the civil authority of the Scots Parliament and the General Assembly of the Scottish Kirk (Presbyterian Church). They even suspected that the Parliamentarians would annex Scotland and impose their own "Independent" religious settlement. For this reason, one faction of the Covenanters, the Engagers, signed a secret deal with Charles I called the "Engagement". However, they were defeated in an attempted invasion of England and even came to blows with fellow Covenanters who wanted a more forthright deal with the King.
Treaty
When Charles I was executed in 1649, the radical Covenanters, or "Kirk Party", moved to do a new deal with Charles II, the son of the dead King, who was in exile in Breda. The treaty basically granted everything the Kirk Party wanted. Charles II undertook to establish Presbyterianism as the national religion and to recognise the authority of the Kirk's General Assembly in civil law in England as it already was in Scotland. Charles also took the Solemn League and Covenant oath of 1643.
Charles was
Under the
After being restored to his throne in 1660 King Charles completely reneged on the Treaty of Breda, seeking to restore an Episcopalian church structure in Scotland.
References
- ^ Davies & Hardacre 1962, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Royle 2006, pp. 215–216.
- ^ Hutton 2021, p. 136.
- ^ Royle 2006, p. 457.
Sources
- Davies, Godfrey; Hardacre, Paul (1962). "The Restoration of the Scottish Episcopacy, 1660-1661". Journal of British Studies. 1 (2): 32–51. S2CID 144583746.
- Hutton, Ronald (2021). The Making of Oliver Cromwell. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0300257458.
- Royle, Trevor (2006) [2004]. Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms 1638–1660. Abacus. ISBN 978-0-349-11564-1.