in English ships or forfeit all goods and the ship, one half of
which goes to the one who seizes the goods and prosecutes. None
may be imported from Europe except in English ships or ships from
the country of origin of the goods. No salt fish may be imported
or exported but in English vessels.
There is a 10 pound reward for discovery of highwaymen and
burglars or persons who break and enter into houses and there use
violence.
No cart or wagon or carriage on the road may be drawn by more than
five horses or six oxen and a horse except for military vehicles.
Notice of intended marriages shall be published once a week for
three weeks in a public meeting place called church or a public
market place next to church. Exceptions to the marriage shall be
noted by the Register and considered by the Justice of the Peace
before the marriage is performed. The words used shall be:
"...promise to be unto thee a loving and faithful husband..." and
"promise to be unto thee a loving, faithful, and obedient
wife...".
There shall be no cock-fighting because it disturbs the peace and
usually is accompanied by gaming, drinking, swearing, and
quarreling.
Anyone challenging or accepting a challenge to duel shall be
imprisoned for six months without bail, and must acquire two
sureties for a year. Anyone fighting a duel in which death ensues,
shall be banished for life.
Horse races were forbidden in 1654 for six months to discourage
mischievous plots and designs by enemies of the state. The penalty
was forfeiting the horse. Attendees were to be brought to justice.
As of 1657, a house or building built within ten miles of the
walls of the City of London not having at least four acres had to
pay a fine of one year's rent. All houses within London or
Westminster or the suburbs must be brick or stone, and built
straight up without protruding into the street or forfeit 100
pounds.
As of 1657 persons living extravagantly without visible estate or
calling may be made by Justices of the Peace to acquire sureties
for good behavior or go to gaol. They would also be sent to the
house of correction to work for three months for the first offense
and for a time specified by the Justice of the Peace for the
second offense.
Anyone winning at betting or playing at cards, dice, tennis, and
horse races shall forfeit double his winnings.
Excluded from pardon were buggery with man [sodomy] or animal
[bestiality], carnal ravishment of women, and bigamy.
Drunkenness was much punished.
Husbands were responsible for their wives' oaths and fathers for
their daughters'.
- Judicial Procedure -
The Protector is the supreme magistrate of the Commonwealth, with
power to pardon all crimes, except murder and treason.
Parliament was no longer a court.
Use of the torture was proscribed in 1649.
In 1652, the justices were given a salary of 1,000 pounds and
forbidden to take fees or rewards. They also got tenure, thus
freeing them from government pressure. Now civil justice was
honestly dispensed and justices were learned and honest.
The jurisdiction of Admiralty court was defined to include: ships
and vessels with tackle, apparel and furniture thereof; repairing,
victualling, and furnishing provisions of ships and vessels for
sea; all cases of bottomry [ship-owner indemnified if the vessel
were lost, but paid over a substantial share of the profits if it
reached its destination safely], contracts beyond the seas
concerning shipping or navigation; charter, parties, contracts for
freight; bills of lading; mariners wages; damage of goods on board
ships; and damage by one ship to another including by anchors or
want of laying buoys. It did not include contracts between
merchants.
- - - Chapter 17 - - -
- Times: 1660-1702 -
The monarchy was restored and Charles II came to the throne. The
episcopacy of the bishops and the Book of Common Prayer were
restored. This book retained all its ceremonies, despite
opposition by the Presbyterians. The confiscated Royalist, church,
and Crown lands were ordered to be restored, and most were.
Charles II was presented with the traditional rights of choosing
his own Privy Council, ministers of state, and justices; making
foreign policy; controlling the armed forces; and approving
statutes. He was also presented with the power to call and dismiss
Parliament, but later, in 1694, a statute required that Parliament
be held at least once every three years, to avoid royal schemes of
non-parliamentary government. The House of Lords was reestablished
and there were again bishops in it, though fewer than before
(about 1/8 instead of about 1/3). There were 160 peers for the
next century. The House of Commons was elected in the usual way,
but without a king's writ. The Commons was composed mostly of
royalist established church members. Its leaders were important
members of the King's Privy Council.
The feudal tenures of the crown, such as knights' service, were
converted into free socage. They were discharged of homage,
reliefs, escuage, and aids. Charles relinquished purveyance,
wardships, and forfeitures of marriage. In return, Parliament
granted him a fixed yearly income of 100,000 pounds from excise
tax on beer, cider, and tea.
Several hundreds of dissenter ministers and school teachers were
ejected, but later those who were not Baptists were returned by
statute of Parliament. (Baptists did not believe in an established
church.)
Charles II was an easygoing and kindly man and hard to ruffle. He
had a weariness in the folly of men and a cynical disbelief in
human virtue. His wit and great sense of humor softened many a
potentially tense situation. His restoration to the throne brought
in a time of enjoyment of life in reaction to the Puritanism of
before. At his succession, the elected Parliament was oriented
toward royalty and the established church. He was voted an income
of 1,200,000 pounds a year. He also sold many of the last crown
lands. But he always had great debts, which he described as a
"desperate but not serious" situation. This was in part due to his
generous maintenance of several successive mistresses and more
than about a dozen illegitimate children. His entourage also
included physicians, surgeons, a librarian, a poet laureate,
chaplains, painters, an historiographer, musicians, a royal
composer, and an astronomer. Charles even joked on his deathbed
that "I am sorry gentlemen, for being such an unconscionable time
a-dying."
The day of Charles II's restoration and birthday was designated as
a day of thanksgiving when all were to participate in prayers and
the singing of psalms at some church or other suitable public
place.
Charles initiated the return of Sunday afternoon wrestling,
archery, music, and dancing. Theaters reopened with actresses
playing women's parts, an audience only in front of the stage
instead of around it, a drop curtain, and painted two-dimensional
scenery. Actresses were allowed pursuant to royal proclamation so
that plays should become "useful and instructive representations
of human life" rather than "harmless delights". Charles went to
plays regularly. Actresses were assumed to be mistresses of
patrons in return for their jobs, but one fourth were actually
chaste women married to actors. Comedies were the preferred plays.
Courtesans were sympathetically and even admirably treated in
plays, which mocked all restraints and glorified immorality with
the exception of pornography, which was banned. Bad actors were
hissed off the stage. Henry Purcell wrote religious music for
churches, ceremonial music for the English court, and theater
music for English opera. Opera made music a vehicle for human
emotions. The gentry sang to the lute and danced to string
instruments. Many owned and played musical instruments. Humble
people had folksongs and instruments like the pipe and tabor for
dancing. Singing in parts was popular in town and country. In 1672
John Banister started the first regular series of public concerts
in his house. There were lovely formal gardens in which to walk,
to see fireworks, and to buy the new ice cream. Charles did much
garden and park planning and let the public enjoy the royal St.
James Park. He loved hunting too and had the royal forests
replenished with deer after poaching during the Cromwell era had
greatly reduced their numbers.
Charles II introduced sailing and yacht racing for pleasure. He
also participated in and promoted horse racing. The breeding of
thoroughbred horses began with breeding to Arab mares. Gelding
horses were now preferred over stallions. There were trotters,
cart horses, and some "fast" race horses. Boxing (with no gloves
nor ring) was a national sport. Ice skating with iron blades was
popular. Valentine's day was celebrated. Italian puppet shows
played in London.
Dress returned to elaborateness. Gentlemen wore Cavalier-style
long wigs with curls, despite the church's dislike of wigs. This
could hide the short hair of a former Puritan Roundhead. In 1666,
Charles introduced a new mode of inexpensive court dress which was
made entirely from English textiles. This gave rise to gentlemen's
weskits to below the knee with a coat of the same length and full
sleeves. Stockings and shoes replaced the long fitted boots.
Charles set a court tradition of men wearing a scarf tied around
the neck. Ladies often wore their hair in masses of ringlets with
little corkscrew curls on each side of their heads, and later
piled their hair up elaborately on their heads. They wore satin or
silk dresses fitted at the waist with a pointed bodice, and full
skirt. The shoulder line was low and the sleeves full and open at
the front with fastenings of jeweled clasps. The only fast colors
were reds, blues, purple, and yellow, but not green. They kept
their hands warm in muffs. Women wore perfume, rouge, and face
patches. Some women put on a lot of make-up. Many men dressed
effeminately with rouge, face patches, heavily scented clothing,
muffs, and many ribbons of many colors. The facial beauty patches
were in shapes such as stars, crescent moons, and hearts; they
diverted attention from the common smallpox scars. There were
Oxford shoes, which laced up the front through eyelets. The
members of the House of Commons dressed like the gentry and
assumed their manners. There was exaggeration in all complimentary
and ceremonial language.
The gentry were beginning to be thought of as a "squirearchy".
They owned about half the land of the country.
The population according to class was as follows:
Number of Social Ranks, Household Household
Households Degrees, Titles size yearly
income
in pounds
160 Temporal lords 40 3,200
26 Spiritual lords 20 1,300
800 Baronets 16 880
600 Knights 13 650
3,000 Esquires 10 450
12,000 Gentlemen 8 280
5,000 Persons in greater offices and places 8 240
5,000 Persons in lesser offices and places 6 120
2,000 Eminent merchants and traders by sea 8 400
8,000 Lesser merchants and traders by sea 6 198
10,000 Persons in the law 7 154
2,000 Eminent clergymen 6 72
8,000 Lesser clergymen 5 50
40,000 Freeholders of the better sort 7 91
120,000 Freeholders of the lesser sort 5.5 55
150,000 Farmers 5 42.5
15,000 Persons in liberal arts and sciences 5 60
50,000 Shopkeepers and tradesmen 4.5 45
60,000 Artisans and handicrafts 4 38
5,000 Naval officers 4 80
4,000 Military officers 4 60
50,000 Common seamen 3 20
364,000 Laboring people and out-servants 3.5 15
400,000 Cottagers and paupers 3.25 6.5
35,000 Common soldiers 2 14
25,000 Vagrants, as gypsies, thieves, beggars
As can be seen, agriculture is still the most common occupation.
Great houses now had a central dining chamber [saloon] for dining,
with sets of lodgings [suites], usually for couples, around it.
Each lodging had an ante-chamber and/or drawing room, and then a
bedchamber, off of which there was a servant's room and a closet
[cabinet]. No longer did personal servants bed down in the drawing
room or outside their master's door or in a trunkle bed at his
feet. The servant's room was connected to a back staircase for use
by servants. Secret guests also used it. The closet room was the
innermost sanctum for privacy and gave its name to the later
cabinet of the government.
There were fewer servants and they were of a lower social status
than before. They were often sons of merchants, clergymen, and
army officers. Gentlemen no longer advanced by service to a great
man, but instead through grammar school and university education,
commerce, the law, or the armed services. This change came about
because the state now maintained reasonable law and order. There
were more female servants, who were paid less to cook and to clean
as well as doing laundry and nursing. Servants were kept more in
the background, preferably out of sight. The elaborate ceremonial
ritual with sewer, carver, and cupbearer was gone. A butler
replaced the yeomen of the buttery, ewery, and pantry, and footmen
began to wait on the table at which the lord, his lady, and other
couples sat. Servants no longer had meals in the hall, which now
had a grand staircase up to the dining chamber. The highest
servants, the officers: clerk of the kitchen, clerk of the check
[comptroller], head cook, butler, and groom of the chambers, and
female housekeeper ate in the gentleman-of the-horse's room,
although at a separate table. The kitchen staff ate in the
kitchen. The footmen, underbutler, porters, coachmen, grooms,
stable-boys, gardeners, maids ate in a servant's room. The steward
was no longer the chief household officer, but had a room near the
kitchen. The bulk of the servants slept in the basement or
subordinate wings of the house.
Great houses of nobles had more rooms, such as a chapel, library,
parlors, dressings rooms, and galleries; there was a variety of
architectural floor plans. The structure of a noble household of
an earl was as follows: The chief official was the receiver
general. He had financial responsibility for the household and
prepared accounts for the household and for the tenants' estates.
These were checked by an auditor. The receiver general was often
the son of a country gentleman and had a salary of 50 pounds
raised to 100 pounds with longevity. He had a servant and an
assistant. If married, he had a house on the property. There was
perhaps an attorney on retainer [paid for a certain number of
hours per week or month}. The gentleman of the chamber [privy
purse] kept the accounts of the family and bought them apparel and
toiletries. He was in close personal attendance upon the earl. His
salary was 20 pounds a year. Besides the receiver general and the
gentleman of the chamber, the tutor and chaplain had the closest
personal contact with the family. The lady had a gentlewoman with
a maid servant. The receiver general supervised most of the staff.
There was a steward of 40 pounds a year. He supervised a clerk of
the kitchen and a house bailiff of 20 pounds a year. The bailiff
had responsibility for the produce of the estate, e.g. the
gardens, the deer park, and the fish ponds. Under the clerk of the
kitchen was the cook man and kitchen boys, the latter of whom were
clothed and fed but not paid. The steward also supervised the 4
pound yearly porters, who kept the gates; the watchmen outside;
and the head housekeeper, usually a woman of 2 to 6 pounds yearly.
She supervised the laundry maid and general maids, who spent much
of their time sewing. The steward was also responsible for the
wine cellar. A dozen footmen belonged partly to the house and
partly to the stables and received 2 to 6 pounds yearly. They
waited on the lord and lady in the house and accompanied them in
travels and did errands for them. The gentleman of the horse
supervised the stables, coach, dogs, kennels, and 16 pound yearly
huntsman. Boy pages also worked partly in the house and partly in
the stables. They were clothed and fed, but not paid. The head
gardener received 80 pounds for tending the flowers, vegetables,
and fruit trees. He had casual workers as needed to assist him.
The steward was also responsible for the London house. Here there
was a housekeeper, a watchman, and a 40 pound a year gardener, all
there permanently. When the lord was there, bargemen were employed
for his barge. The salaries for the family estate totaled about
600 pounds a year. Sometimes married sons' or daughters' families
stayed for months at the family estate; then they would pay for
their part of the food.
Well-to-do people drank imported tea and coffee, sometimes from
porcelain ware, and usually after dinner or supper. Most tea
leaves were brewed first for the family and guests and a second
time for the servants; then they were given to the servants'
relatives or friends. Queen Mary encouraged the fashion of
collecting Chinese porcelain. The rich had red or black and gilt
lacquered cabinets and cupboards. Oak gave way to walnut, with its
variegated surfaces. There were grandfather clocks. Some
fireplaces now had cast-iron firebacks. Stuffing began to be
upholstered to woodwork benches. Chairs were taller in the back.
Ladies did needlework to cover them and also made patchwork
quilts. Cane seats came into fashion.
From the spring of 1665 to the end of 1666 there was a Great
Plague, mostly in London. It was the last and worst plague since
the Black Death of 1348. It lasted over a year and about one-third
died from it. Households with a plague victim were walled up with
its residents inside to reduce contagion, and then marked with a
red cross. Church bells tolling their requiems clanged in
ceaseless discord. The mournful cry "bring out your dead" echoed
in deserted streets. At night groups of people shoveled the
corpses into open graves. To prepare for this revolting task, they
often first became drunk out of their senses. People took wild
beliefs in hope of avoiding the plague. For instance, at one time
it was thought that syphilis would prevent it, so maddened hordes
stormed the brothels. At another time, it was rumored that the
plague could be burned out of the air, and all one day bonfires
blazed outside every door and people sweltered in the heat. Other
localities posted sentries on the road to keep Londoners out of
their areas to prevent the plague from spreading there. Since
sneezing was thought to be the first sign of a person getting the
plague, it became common to ask God to bless a person who sneezed.
In London, statistics were collected on the number of plague
victims and their places of death to try to determine the cause of
the plague.
In 1666 a fire destroyed three-fourths of the City of London. The
blazing buildings were so hot that people with leather buckets of
water, hand squirts, and manually operated water-pumping machines
could not get near them. There was a lot of noise from falling
buildings. Panic and desperation were widespread. There was a lot
of crying out and running about distractedly. People saved some of
their possessions by burying them or removing them from the fire's
path as they moved to different lodgings. The streets were full of
carts piled high with furniture and merchandise. The Thames River
was thick with heavily laden barges. Melting lead from St. Paul's
church ran down the streets in a stream. The Tower of London,
upwind of the fire, was saved by blowing up surrounding buildings.
Eventually the wind abated and the fire was put out. A Fire Court
with royal justices was created to offer settlements that were
free, fair, fast, and final. Army tents and supplies, and soup
kitchens sustained the citizens in the fields.
After the fire, buildings had to be brick or stone rather than
wood, except for doors and windows. Also, more plaster and tile
was used. All roofs had to be of tile or slate, rather than
thatch. There was a general use of tile for roofing. About 1714,
came slate for roofings. All buildings had to be at least two
stories high, with flat facades rather than overhanging upper
floors. They had to have wide brick walls around them to avoid the
spread of fires. Many streets, squares, and alleys were
professionally planned, after the example of Indigo Jones who had
continued his town planning with Lincoln's Inn field's open square
surrounded by houses with iron balconies and Leiscester Square.
Main streets had to be wide enough to stop a fire. The street
selling that had caused so much congestion was removed to new
market places. The massive rebuilding of London ended the monopoly
of the building trade claimed by the Mason's Company. Astronomer
and geometrician Christopher Wren designed and built a new St.
Paul's Cathedral and many churches in London, becoming England's
first architect. He worked up from a square base through all sorts
of shapes to a circular double dome on top. The fire put an end to
Whitehall as a royal residence and St. James Palace was used
instead. But at least one fire hazard remained. That was the
practice of lighting new fires by taking buckets of hot coals from
one room or house to another. This was faster than the several
minutes it took to use a tinder box to start a flame, i.e.
striking a piece of flint upon a piece of steel making a spark
which was dropped onto tinder and then blown upon. Matches were
invented in this period, but expensive and unsafe.
Nicholas Barbon began fire insurance in the 1670s. If fire broke
out on an insured premises, the insurance company's firemen would
come with leather buckets and grappling irons, and later small
hand pumps. Barbon also redeveloped many districts in London,
tearing down old buildings without hesitation. He started the
system of selling off leases to individual builders, who hoped to
recover their building costs by selling their houses before they
were completed and before substantial payments on the lease became
due. Entrepreneurial master-builders subcontracted work to
craftsmen and took a large profit or a large loss and debt.
Aristocrats bought large parcels of land on which they built their
own mansions surrounded by lots to be rented to building
contractors and speculators like Barbon. The houses built on these
lots were sold and the underlying land rented. These rentals of
land made the mansions self-supporting. Barbon built rows of
identical townhouses. Sometimes houses were built on all the lots
around a square, which had gardens reserved for the use of those
who lived on the square. Most of the new building was beyond the
old City walls. Marine insurance for storms, shipwreck, piracy,
mutiny, and enemy action was also initiated. Before the fire, e.g.
in Tudor times, the writing of risks had been carried on as a
sideline by merchants, bankers, and even money-lenders in their
private offices and was a private transaction between individuals.
London was residential and commercial. Around the outside were
tenements of the poor. From 1520 to 1690, London's population had
risen tenfold, while the nation's had only doubled. London went
from 2% to 11% of the nation's population. In 1690, London's
population was about half a million. After 1690, London's
population grew at the same rate as the nation's. The first
directory of addresses in London was published in 1677. Business
began to follow the clock more strictly and many people thought of
their watches as a necessity.