The act fulfilled the suggestion given in the
Declaration of Breda that reprisals against the establishment which had developed during the
English Interregnum would be restricted to those who had officiated in the
regicide of King
Charles I. The passage of the act through the
Convention Parliament was secured by Lord
Clarendon, the first minister of King
Charles II, and it became law on 29 August 1660 during the first year of the
English Restoration. The lands of the Crown and the established Church were automatically restored, but lands of Royalists and other dissenters confiscated and sold during the
Civil War and interregnum were left for private negotiation or litigation, meaning that the government would not help the Loyalists in regaining their property. Disappointed Royalists commented that the act meant "indemnity for [Charles'] enemies and oblivion for his friends". Historians, on the other hand, have generally praised the King and Clarendon for the generosity and clemency of the act, in an age not normally noted for mercy. Twenty years later, during the
Popish Plot, Charles tried unsuccessfully to stand against the relentless demand for the execution of
Catholic priests, and reminded the public sharply of how many of them had previously benefited from his reluctance to shed blood. The act is often viewed from the perspective of those who were not pardoned and thus condemned to death. However, the debate in Parliament continued almost every day for over two months and names were added and taken off the list of those who were not to be pardoned. Initially, there were only seven on the list:
Thomas Harrison,
William Say,
John Jones Maesygarnedd,
Thomas Scot,
John Lisle,
Cornelius Holland, and
John Barkstead. On 7 June, the Commons, mindful of the Declaration of Breda, stated they as the Commons could add to the list others who would not be covered by the general pardon. They immediately added
John Cooke,
Andrew Broughton,
Edward Dendy, and the "Two Persons who were upon the Scaffold in a Disguise" (i.e. the
executioners). On 8 June, the Commons voted "That the Number of Twenty, and no more, (other than those that are already excepted, or sat as Judges upon the late King's Majesty) shall be excepted out of the Act of general Pardon and Oblivion, for and in respect only of such Pains, Penalties, and Forfeitures, (not extending to Life) as shall be thought fit to be inflicted on them by another Act, intended to be hereafter passed for that purpose". One of the people to benefit directly from the act was
John Milton, who was released from prison. ==Overview of sections==