ABSTRACT
The main difference among historians has been whether the English Revolution was a turning point in the history of Britain. The lack of an efficient central bureaucracy and the dependence of the government on the personality and ability of the monarch for the time being meant that only rarely did later Stuart governments have coherent 'policies' about domestic or foreign affairs. Attempts to impose on Charles II limitations like those set out in the Treaty of Newport of 1648 and in earlier parliamentarian proposals for a settlement with the king came to nothing. Many of the weaknesses of the Stuart monarchy, also remained after 1660. Chief among these was the persistent fear that the crown was intent on promoting 'absolutism'. The history of Restoration England makes it clear that religion, far from losing its importance, remained a powerful political and social force.
