The Convention Parliament of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

(25 April 1660 – 29 December 1660) followed the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

that had finally voted for its own dissolution on 16 March that year. Elected as a "free parliament", i.e. with no oath of allegiance to the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

or to the monarchy, it was predominantly

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

in its membership. It assembled for the first time on 25 April 1660. After the Declaration of Breda had been received, Parliament proclaimed on 8 May that King Charles II had been the lawful

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

since the death of Charles I in January 1649. The Convention Parliament then proceeded to conduct the necessary preparation for the Restoration Settlement. These preparations included the necessary provisions to deal with land and funding such that the new régime could operate. Reprisals against the establishment which had developed under

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

were constrained under the terms of the Indemnity and Oblivion Act which became law on 29 August 1660. Nonetheless there were prosecutions against those accused of regicide, the direct participation in the trial and

execution of Charles I Charles_I_of_England, Charles I, King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, was executed on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall, London. The execution was ...

. The Convention Parliament was dissolved by Charles II on 29 December 1660. The succeeding parliament was elected in May 1661, and was called the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

. It set about both systematically dismantling or recasting all legislation and institutions which had been introduced during the

Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...

, and confirming of the Acts of the Convention Parliament.

Legislation

In legal statutes, the Convention parliament is cited as 12 Cha. 2 (parliamentary session of the "12th

regnal year A regnal year is a year of the reign of a sovereign, from the Latin meaning kingdom, rule. Regnal years considered the date as an ordinal, not a cardinal number. For example, a monarch could have a first year of rule, a second year of rule, a t ...

of Charles II"). Among the acts passed by it were: *

Parliament Act 1660 The Parliament Act 1660 (12 Cha. 2. c. 1) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Convention Parliament (England)#Convention Parliament of 1660, Convention Parliament of Kingdom of England, England of 1660. The act declared the ...

(c.1) * An Act for putting in execution an Ordinance mentioned in this Act * An Act for the Continuance of Processe and Judiciall Proceedings * Tunnage and Poundage Act (c.4), with schedule of very high

customs duties A tariff or import tax is a duty (tax), duty imposed by a national Government, government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods ...

, which remained largely unchanged until the 18th century. * Continuation of Excise Tax until 20 August 1660 * An Act for the present Nominating of Commissioners of Sewers. * An Act for unto James Marquesse of Ormond etc. * An Act for continuing of the Excise till the five and day of December One thousand six hundred and sixty. * Establishment of a

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

(c.9) to pay off the disbanding of the

New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...

* An Act for supplying and explaining certaine defects in an Act entituled An Act for the speedy provision of money for disbanding and paying off the forces of this kingdome both by Land and Sea. * Indemnity and Oblivion Act (c.11) * Legal Proceedings During Commonwealth Act 1660 (c.12) * An Act for restraining the takeing of Excessive Usury * An Act for a Perpetuall Anniversary Thanksgiveing on the nine and day of May * An Act for the speedy disbanding of the Army and Garrisons of this Kingdome * An Act for inabling the Souldiers of the Army now to be disbanded to exercise Trades * An Act for the Confirming and Restoreing of Ministers * the

Navigation Act The Navigation Acts, or more broadly the Acts of Trade and Navigation, were a series of English laws that developed, promoted, and regulated English ships, shipping, trade, and commerce with other countries and with its own colonies. The laws al ...

(c.18) * An Act to prevent Fraudes and Concealments of His Majestyes Customes and Subsidyes * * * An Act for the Regulating of the Trade of Bay makeing in the Dutchy Bay Hall in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

* A Grant of certaine Impositions upon Beere Ale and other

Liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

s for the encrease of His Majestyes

Revenue In accounting, revenue is the total amount of income generated by the sale of product (business), goods and services related to the primary operations of a business. Commercial revenue may also be referred to as sales or as turnover. Some compan ...

dureing His Life * Tenures Abolitions Act (c.24) * An Act for the better Ordering the Selling of

Wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

s by

Retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

e, and for preventing Abuses in the Mingling Corrupting and Vitiating of Wines, and for Setting and Limitting the Prices of the same * * An Act for granting unto the Kings Majestic Fower hundred and twenty thousand pounds by an Assessment of three score and ten thousand pounds by the moneth for six moneths for disbanding the remainder of the Army, and paying off the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

* * * * * * Prohibition of

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

exports (c.32) * An Act for Confirmation of Marriages * Prohibition of

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

plantations in British Isles (c.34)"An Act for Prohibiting the Planting Setting or Sowing of Tobaccho in England and Ireland"
originally compiled by John Raithby * Establishment of the

General Post Office The General Post Office (GPO) was the state postal system and telecommunications carrier of the United Kingdom until 1969. Established in England in the 17th century, the GPO was a state monopoly covering the dispatch of items from a specific ...

(c.35) * An Act impowering the

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales ...

for the time being to make Leases for yeares in order to new build the old houses belonging to the Rolls As all the acts of the Commonwealth parliaments were obliterated from the legal record, the Convention Parliament replicated some of the legislation they wanted to keep (e.g. the Navigation Act 1651) in new acts.

References

{{reflist 1660 in England 17th-century English parliaments Constitutional conventions (political meeting) The Restoration

Legislation

See also

References