ABSTRACT
The peaceable Sir Thomas Browne wrote sadly: 'There is like to be very great endeavouring for the places, which will keep open divisions which were too wide before and make it a country of Guelphs and Ghibellines. Danby had embraced a policy of support for the Church and hostility to Dissent and had concentrated patronage on those he judged loyal to the court. This alienated those opposed to the persecution of Dissent and created fears that he might undermine the independence and integrity of Parliament and facilitate the establishment of 'arbitrary government'. Charles II was not as isolated politically as his father had been in 1640, but much needed to be amended; his brother was a serious political liability. A number of Catholics were executed for treason and a new Test Act was passed, excluding Catholics from both Houses of Parliament and from the king's court and presence.
