The Crown's Servants is a major new study of English central government and the royal court from the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to the death of Charles II in 1685. A sequel to the author's two earlier studies, of royal officials under Charles I (1625-1642) and office-holders under the Commonwealth and the Cromwellian Protectorate (1649-1660), it sets out to explore the extent to which the restoration of the monarchy undid the changes brought about under the Republic. The author looks at the institutions of government, its methods and procedures, the terms and conditions of service, and its personnel both collectively and individually. He considers the policies, tasks, successes, and failures of the regime, and relates these to the process of state formation and to the impact of the state on society. This is both the culmination of a lifetime's work and a crucial contribution in its own right to the history of seventeenth century England and the development of English government.

Abstracts of dissertations available on microfilm or as xerographic reproductions.

Armies and Political Change in Britain, 1660 -1750 argues that armies had a profound impact on the major political events of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century Britain. Beginning with the controversial creation of a permanent army to protect the restored Stuart monarchy, this original and important study examines how armies defended or destroyed regimes during the Exclusion Crisis, Monmouth's Rebellion, the Revolution of 1688-1689, and the Jacobite rebellions and plots of the post-1714 period, including the '15 and '45. Hannah Smith explores the political ideas of 'common soldiers' and army officers and analyses their political engagements in a divisive, partisan world. The threat or hope of military intervention into politics preoccupied the era. Would a monarch employ the army to circumvent parliament and annihilate Protestantism? Might the army determine the succession to the throne? Could an ambitious general use armed force to achieve supreme political power? These questions troubled successive generations of men and women as the British army developed into a lasting and costly component of the state, and emerged as a highly successful fighting force during the War of the Spanish Succession. Armies and Political Change in Britain, 1660 - 1750 deploys an innovative periodization to explore significant continuities and developments across the reigns of seven monarchs spanning almost a century. Using a vivid and extensive array of archival, literary, and artistic material, the volume presents a striking new perspective on the political and military history of Britain.