posted on May, 22 2003 @ 11:08 AM
Hi Everybody
Just got this off a friend. Looks like the early history of the Cabal. Enjoy!
Cabal, name given to the group of leading ministers who advised Charles II of England from 1667 to 1673, and the initials of whose names spelt the
word: Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley Cooper, and Lauderdale. This gave a new meaning to an existing word for secret plots, related to the
Hebrew Kabbalah, but the actual Cabal was less secret and united than the word implies.
On the fall of Charles II�s first minister Edward Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, those who had successfully plotted his political downfall gained power;
principally one of the secretaries of state, Sir Henry Bennett, promoted Earl of Arlington, and George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, son and heir
of his namesake, the great favourite of Charles I. To them were added Sir Thomas Clifford (by 1672 Lord Clifford), a Catholic courtier and diplomat,
useful in the king�s negotiations with France for his conversion to Roman Catholicism; Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, an ex-supporter of Oliver Cromwell
and First Lord of the Treasury, who was created Earl of Shaftesbury in 1672; and John Maitland, Duke of Lauderdale, who ruled Scotland for the king.
None was a practising Anglican. This diverse group of often rival politicians, under the personal direction of the king, cannot realistically be seen
as a proto-Cabinet committee, as some historians have viewed the Cabal in the past.
Using individual ministers, some in but others outside the Cabal, Charles II changed his domestic and foreign policies after 1668. He was attracted to
a closer alliance with Louis XIV of France, whom he admired and who could offer substantial subsidies to the financially hard-pressed English Crown.
In return Charles II agreed to work for the toleration of Roman Catholics at home and war with the United Provinces (modern Holland) abroad. Clifford
and the king�s sister Henrietta, Duchess of Orleans, negotiated the secret treaty of Dover (1670) to achieve this end. In 1672 war was declared on
the United Provinces, initiating the third Anglo-Dutch War; the king issued his Declaration of Indulgence, suspending the penal laws against
Dissenters, including Catholics; and the Crown reneged on its debts. None of these measures was popular, and fear of France and French influence
(through the Cabal or other channels) grew, apparently confirmed by French inaction in some of the fighting between the English and Dutch fleets.
Parliament was so disapproving of religious toleration of Catholics that it passed the Test Act in 1673 to prevent them holding office: the major
victim was the king�s catholic brother James (later James II), who was forced to resign his post as Lord High Admiral.
In 1674 Buckingham and Lauderdale were removed from the council, Ashley Cooper moved into opposition and was dismissed, and Arlington was impeached.
The king was forced to give up toleration and the Dutch war. The Cabal was abandoned, along with the royal policies associated with it.
Well, hope you all liked it...
[edit: title - all caps]
[edit on 27-4-2008 by 12m8keall2c]