Editing Charles II of England (section)

== Conflict with Parliament ==
Although previously favourable to the Crown, the Cavalier Parliament was alienated by the king's wars and religious policies during the 1670s. In 1672, Charles issued the [[Declaration of Indulgence (1672)|Royal Declaration of Indulgence]], in which he purported to suspend all [[penal law (Britain)|penal laws]] against Catholics and other religious dissenters. In the same year, he openly supported Catholic France and started the [[Third Anglo-Dutch War]].<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1979|pp=305–308}}; {{harvnb|Hutton|1989|pp=284–285}}.</ref>

The Cavalier Parliament opposed the Declaration of Indulgence on constitutional grounds by claiming that the king had no right to arbitrarily suspend laws passed by Parliament. Charles withdrew the Declaration, and also agreed to the [[Test Act]], which not only required public officials to receive the [[Eucharist|sacrament]] under the forms prescribed by the Church of England,{{sfn|Raithby|1819|pp=782–785}} but also later forced them to denounce [[transubstantiation]] and the Catholic Mass as "superstitious and idolatrous".{{sfn|Raithby|1819a| pp=894–896}} Clifford, who had converted to Catholicism, resigned rather than take the oath, and died shortly after, possibly from suicide. By 1674, England had gained nothing from the Anglo-Dutch War, and the Cavalier Parliament refused to provide further funds, forcing Charles to make peace. The power of the Cabal waned, and that of Clifford's replacement [[Lord Danby]] grew.

[[File:Charles-pineapple.jpg|thumb|right|Charles was presented with the first [[pineapple]] grown in England in 1675. Painting by [[Hendrick Danckerts]].|alt=Charles accepts a pineapple from a kneeling man in front of a grand country house.]]	
Queen Catherine was unable to produce an heir; her four pregnancies had ended in [[miscarriage]]s and [[stillbirth]]s in 1662, February 1666, May 1668, and June 1669.{{sfn|Weir|1996| pp=255–257}} Charles's [[heir presumptive]] was therefore his unpopular Catholic brother, James, Duke of York. Partly to assuage public fears that the royal family was too Catholic, Charles agreed that James's daughter [[Mary II of England|Mary]] should marry the Protestant [[William III of England|William of Orange]].<ref>{{harvnb|Fraser|1979|pp=347–348}}; {{harvnb|Hutton|1989|pp=345–346}}.</ref> In 1678, [[Titus Oates]], who had been alternately an Anglican and [[Jesuit]] priest, falsely warned of a "[[Popish Plot]]" to assassinate the king, even accusing the queen of complicity. Charles did not believe the allegations, but ordered his chief minister Lord Danby to investigate. While Danby seems to have been rightly sceptical of Oates's claims, the Cavalier Parliament took them seriously.{{sfn|Hutton|1989|pp=359–362}} The people were seized with an anti-Catholic hysteria;{{sfn|Fraser|1979|p=360}} judges and juries across the land condemned the supposed conspirators; numerous innocent individuals were executed.{{sfn|Fraser|1979|p=375}}

Later in 1678, the House of Commons impeached Danby for [[high treason]]. Although much of the nation had sought war with Catholic France, Charles had secretly negotiated with Louis XIV, trying to reach an agreement under which England would remain neutral in return for money. Danby had publicly professed that he was hostile to France, but had reservedly agreed to abide by Charles's wishes. The House of Commons did not view him as a reluctant participant in the scandal, instead believing that he was the author of the policy. To save Danby from the impeachment trial, Charles dissolved the Cavalier Parliament in January 1679.{{sfn|Miller|1991|pp=278, 301–304}}

The new English Parliament, which met in March of the same year, was quite hostile to Charles. Many members feared that he had intended to use the standing army to suppress dissent or impose Catholicism. However, with insufficient funds voted by Parliament, Charles was forced to gradually disband his troops. Having lost the support of Parliament, Danby resigned his post of [[Lord High Treasurer]], but received a pardon from the king. In defiance of the royal will, the House of Commons declared that the dissolution of Parliament did not interrupt impeachment proceedings, and that the pardon was therefore invalid. When the [[House of Lords]] attempted to impose the punishment of exile—which the Commons thought too mild—the impeachment became stalled between the two Houses. As he had been required to do so many times during his reign, Charles bowed to his opponents' wishes, committing Danby to the [[Tower of London]], in which he was held for another five years.<ref>{{harvnb|Hutton|1989|pp=367–374}}; {{harvnb|Miller|1991|pp=306–309}}.</ref>