The Glorious Revolution in America

9 His Majesty’s Real Empire in America

9 His Majesty's Real Empire in America Colonies are Contiguous to the Whole The last few years of Charles II's reign were unsettling for Englishmen in both England and America. A number of the difficulties which confronted the colonists in these and the years which followed had their origins in England but reached out to America and frequently affected the turn of events. Central to England's turbulence was, of course, religion, Catholicism, the hard fact that James was a Catholic and at the same time rightful heir to the throne. Charles was only fifty in 1680, but he had been seriously ill before and he would be again, and each indisposition forced the nation to contemplate the real problems of succession. To some it was a simple question: Can a Catholic be King of England? To others it was a good deal more complicated. Although religion was the heart of the problem, it was not an isolated issue; accompanying it was a host of related matters, having to do with politics, the constitution, diplomacy, war, and, surprising to most Englishmen, the empire. Matters of moment which bore on the character of Eng160 His Majesty's Real Empire in America 161 lish government, church, and society affected colonists, too, whether Englishmen were willing to admit it or not. Three thousand miles of ocean were not enough to insulate colonists in America from ideas and events at home, good or bad. Colonists and colonies were sensitive creatures; it was the nature of the empire to make them so. Americans remained vulnerable to the winds of change in England and even in Europe longer than they liked to admit, certainly throughout the colonial period and well into the nineteenth century. Colonies, said a group of Barbadian planters, ought to be considered "contiguous, as if the Sea did not divide them"; they were no less a part of the whole than children who ventured abroad, endeavoring to serve the good of themselves and their family.1 No doubt island colonies were most sensitive to changes at home, yet all colonies and colonists regarded themselves, in some ways at least, "contiguous" to the whole. Even Massachusetts, which prided itself on its independence, found that what occurred in England bore heavily on its livelihood. Revocation of the Massachusetts charter was very good evidence of just how dependent Bay colonists were upon English events and the power and policy of the Crown. The several plots, bloody intrigues, and the business of Exclusion affected the American colonies a good deal more than Englishmen realized. Turmoil in England frequently played into the hands of colonists who had something to gain from disruption and an ability to use it to their own advantage. This was not as true of the Popish Plot as it was of later conspiracies; still, the babbling of Titus Gates and the actions of the government in response brought ordinary colonial business in London to a standstill, postponing, for instance, the treason trial of John Culpeper of Albemarle in Carolina and allowing the government of Massachusetts and its agents a needed, yet not really helpful, respite from the long struggle over the charter. In Maryland the "damnable and hellish plot" for "murthering the King" worked to aggravate anti-Catholic feelings against Baltimore and his oligarchy, for at one time it looked as if the proprietor himself might be implicated in the English conspiracy when his name appeared on a list of suspects. When the danger seemed past, Connecticut ordered a day of humiliation and publicly thanked God for peace and quiet, a good harvest, and the King's escape from the machinations of evil-minded men who plotted against Christ's kingdom in "our nation" "there and heere"— clearly a nod to the idea of contiguity and one nation even among New England Puritans.2 1. Petition of Planters of Barbados, Aug. 25, 1681, BPCol. Wmsbg., v. XXXV. 2. Sec'y Coventry's letters, Add. Mss., 25120, f. 132-33, f. 134, f. 135, f. 138, 162 The GloriousRevolutionin America Before reaction to the Popish Plot had run its course, before all the accusations and recriminations were in, the English nation was shaken again by a strong effort among Whigs and nonconformists to exclude Catholic James from the throne. Leadership fell to the Earl of Shaftesbury , a dominant figure in Restoration government. He had also been a maker of colonial policy...