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King Charles II |
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Born 1630, died 1685. Charles II was an easy-going man, and is known in history as the "Merry Monarch", with religious toleration dominating the political scene during his reign. The king had numerous mistresses and illegitimate children, and loved racing and gambling which this led to him having a considerable influence on Restoration art and literature. He spent part of the English Civil War as Prince of Wales fighting on his father's behalf (King Charles I) in the West of England. Charles's foreign policy was a wavering balance of alliances with France and the Dutch and his reign also saw the rise of colonisation and trade in India, the East Indies and America, and the passage of Navigation Acts that secured Britain's future as a sea-power. His desire to become an absolute monarch caused him to favour Catholicism for his subjects as most consistent with absolute monarchy, converting from a Protestant to a Catholic on his deathbed. His reign was also distinguished by occurrence of the plague, the great fire of London and the passing of the Habeas Corpus Act, one of the great bulwarks of English liberty next to the Magna Charta. |