ABSTRACT
Between 1656 and 1660, the Presbyterian Church in Ireland began to change significantly for the better. Previous discussions between the government and Ulster Presbyterians had attempted to gain an assurance from Presbyterians that, although they would not recognise the government in the form that it took, they would live in peace under the regime and not encourage armed insurrection. The protesters who did not support Gillespie also wished to rekindle the covenanted Anglo-Scottish relationship for their own advantage. To prevent Resolutioners from gaining support from the London Presbyterians, Samuel Rutherford wrote to Simeon Ashe dissuading English Presbyterians from supporting Sharp on the grounds that the Resolutioners had sided with malignants who had abandoned the Covenant. Gillespie tried to save face by declaring a wish to preserve the traditions of the Kirk, but there had been a seismic shift in allies of both parties at Whitehall during the summer and autumn of 1657.
