The Coming of the Simps
From Stuarts to Simps: the Beginning of the Tumultuous 18th Century in Britain (and France)
A dynasty is a series of rulers coming from a particular royal family. The family part is important because as the ruler is formed in a particular family, the virtues or vices of that family can uplift or ruin a state. At the least, a good family dynamic is better than a bad one, even if neither is an absolute guarantee of success or failure. Sometimes, a dynastic problem has to do with changes in society or the strategic situation abroad, which wrecks the old assumptions of the impact of the ruling family’s philosophy or outlook. And sometimes they are the problem. A change in dynasty is a change in family, and that change, like all families, can be a mess.
The problems with the House of Stuart (reigned 1603-1714 in England and 1371-1714 in Scotland) eventually led to the Act of Settlement (1701) and Act of Union (1707) and ultimately brought the House of Hanover to the throne — began with trouble between the Churches and the Crowns. The Stuarts, who came down from Scotland to rule England in 1603, had been Protestant for two generations but turned toward Catholicism after the radical Puritan Revolution murdered King Charles I in 1649.
