1660-1688
1660
The monarchy was restored, Charles II came to the throne and the Lords were summoned to Parliament again.
1661
The Cavalier Parliament first met and sat until January 1679: The bishops sat again in the Lords and the Act of Uniformity enforced conformity to the English Church.
1670
Charles II agreed in the secret treaty of Dover to convert to Catholicism in exchange for French subsidies.
1673
Parliament passed a Test Act to prevent Catholics from holding office, by which the successor to the throne, James, Duke of York, had to resign.
1677
Four peers were imprisoned by the House of Lords for claiming that Parliament was automatically dissolved because it had not met for over a year.
1678
Parliament passed a Test Act to prevent Catholics from sitting in Parliament.
1679
The first Exclusion Parliament met: the Commons drafted a Bill to exclude the Duke of York from the succession.
1680
The second Exclusion Parliament met: the Exclusion Bill was defeated in the Lords.
1681
The third Exclusion Parliament met at Oxford for only a week, the last time Parliament met outside Westminster.
1681-4
The "Tory reaction", saw purges, prosecutions, and executions of prominent Exclusionists, or Whigs, as they were now called.
1685
Charles II died in February and James II's Parliament first met in May, but after November was continuously prorogued until it was dissolved in July 1687.
1686
Godden v Hales allowed James II to dispense individuals from Test Acts. The bishop of London was suspended from his office for not taking action against an anti-Catholic preacher.
1687
James II issued his Declaration of Indulgence for Nonconformists and sent agents to find potential MPs who would vote for repeal of the Test Acts.
June 1688
The "Seven Bishops" prosecuted by James II for refusing to announce the Declaration of Indulgence in their churches were acquitted. The "Immortal Seven" sent their invitation to William of Orange to invade England after the birth of James II's son.
Nov.-Dec. 1688
The "Glorious Revolution" - William of Orange invaded England and James II fled to France. A Convention was summoned to decide the political settlement.