The Oxford Parliament, also known as the Third Exclusion Parliament, was an English Parliament assembled in the city of
Oxford
Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town.
The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
for one week from 21 March 1681 until 28 March 1681 during the reign of
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
. This was the last time Parliament met outside
Westminster
Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...
.
Summoning Parliament to meet in Oxford, a Royalist stronghold which had been
Charles I's capital during the Civil War, was designed to deprive the Whig opposition of the grassroots support from the London masses, which was an important factor in earlier stages of the
Exclusion Crisis
The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion Bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, ...
.
Succeeding the
Exclusion Bill Parliament, this was the fifth and last parliament of the King's reign. Both Houses of Parliament met and the King delivered a speech to them on the first day. The
Speaker was
William Williams, who had been the Speaker in the previous Parliament. He was elected unanimously and delivered a speech on 22 March. The Oxford Parliament was dismissed after another Exclusion Bill was presented with popular support. Charles dissolved it after securing the necessary funds from King
Louis XIV of France
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
.
In the Glorious Revolution
During the
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...
, surviving members of the Oxford Parliament met again in December 1688, following the flight of
King James II – leading to the election of the irregular
Convention Parliament (1689), which conferred the throne jointly on William III and Mary II.
In literature
The events of the Oxford Parliament are described in the final part of
Robert Neill's historical novel ''The Golden Days''.
See also
*
List of parliaments of England
*
1681 English general election
*
Oxford Parliament (1258)
*
Oxford Parliament (1644)
References
External links
British History Online information
1681 in England
Parliament (1681)
Political history of England
Parliaments of Charles II of England
1681 in politics
17th century in Oxfordshire
The Restoration
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