The Essay

Jonathan Sawday paints a picture of Restoration Britain, 350 years after Charles II returned to the throne. Why did the idea of the contract become so pervasive in society? The King may have been invited home to his rightful place, but some things had changed for good. After 1649, any king had to be aware of the idea of a contract of with his people. After all, that was philosopher Thomas Hobbes' defence of monarchy in the 1650s - and it culminated at the end of this period with John Locke's famous Social Contract and the 1688 Glorious Revolution. Jonathan tells the story of why the idea of the contract become so pervasive in political and mercantile Restoration society. Producer: Hannah Godfrey and Matthew Dodd.