8. The Seventeenth Century - the Rise of Puritanism. The Civil War; the Restoration. The Great Plague, the Great Fire of London

A Puritan of 16th and 17th century England was any person seeking "purity" of worship and doctrine. Puritans justified separation from the Church of England following the Eliz.Religious Settlement. The central tenet of Puritanism was God's supreme authority over human affairs, expressed in the Bible. On the individual level, the Puritans emphasized that each person should be continually reformed by the grace of God to fight against indwelling sin. Many Puritans emigrated to North America in the 1620-1640s because they believed that the Church of England was beyond reform. However, most Puritans in both England and New England were non-separatists. The Great Migration of Puritans was relatively short-lived and not as large as is often believed. It began in earnest in 1629 with the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Civil War; the Restoration.

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts that took place between Parliamentarians (known as Roundheads) and Royalists (known as Cavaliers) from 1642 until 1651. The first (1642 - 1645) and second (1648 - 1649) civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war (1649 - 1651) saw fighting between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The Civil War ended with the Parliamentary victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September 1651.

The Civil War led to the trial and execution of Charles I, the exile of his son Charles II, and the replacement of the English monarchy with the Commonwealth of England (1649 - 1653) and then with a Protectorate (1653 - 1659), the personal rule of Oliver Cromwell. The monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England came to an end. Constitutionally, the wars established a precedent that British monarchs could not govern without the consent of Parliament.

The English Restoration, or simply Restoration, was an episode in the history of England beginning in 1660 when the English monarchy, Scottish monarchy and Irish monarchy was restored under King Charles II after the English Civil War.

The Great Plague, the Great Fire of London.

The Great Plague (1665-1666) was a massive outbreak of disease in England that killed 75,000 to 100,000 people. The disease is generally believed to have been bubonic plague (transmitted via a rat vector).("Black Death"- outbreak of disease in Europe 1347 -1353)

Possible Causes. This episode of plague in Britain is thought to have arrived with Dutch trading ships carrying bales of cotton from Amsterdam. Outbreak. By July 1665, plague was in the city of London itself. King Charles II of England, his family and his court left the city for Oxford. However, the Lord Mayor of the city and the aldermen stayed at their posts. A small number of clergymen, physicians and apothecaries chose to remain, as the plague raged throughout the summer.

Several public health efforts were attempted. Physicians were hired by city officials, and burial details were carefully organized. Authorities ordered fires to be kept burning night and day, in hopes that the air would be cleansed. London residents, including young children, were strongly urged to smoke tobacco.

The outbreak affected other areas of the country. Perhaps the most famous example was the village of Eyam in Derbyshire. The plague arrived in a parcel of cloth sent from London. 50% of its inhabitants dead.

Records state that deaths in London crept up to 1000 persons per week, then 2000 persons per week and, by September 1665, to 7000 persons per week. By late autumn, the death toll began to slow until, in February 1666, it was considered safe enough for the King and his entourage to return to the city.

On September 2nd and 3rd, the Great Fire of London destroyed many of the most crowded housing and business areas of the city. This event seems to have effectively stopped the plague outbreak, probably due to the destruction of London rats. After the fire, London was rebuilt on an urban plan originally drafted by architect Christopher Wren which included widened streets, reduced congestion and basic sewage-drainage systems. Thatched roofs were also forbidden within the city, and remain forbidden under modern codes. The second rebuilding of the Globe Theatre in 1997 required a special permit to have a thatched roof.

The Great Fire of London. The fire started at the bakery of Thomas Farriner (or Farynor) in Pudding Lane shortly after midnight on Sunday, 2 September, and spread rapidly. The use of the major firefighting technique of the time, the creation of firebreaks by means of demolition, was critically delayed due to the indecisiveness of the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Thomas Bloodworth. The fire pushed north on Monday into the heart of the City. On Tuesday, the fire spread over most of the City, destroying St. Paul's Cathedral. Coordinated firefighting efforts were simultaneously mobilising. The battle to quench the fire is considered to have been won by two factors: the strong east winds died down, and the Tower of London garrison used gunpowder to create effective firebreaks to halt further spread eastward.