- Cabal Ministry
The Cabal was a group of high councillors who held power in
England from1668 to approximately1674 .Members and Rise to Power
Following the end of the
Clarendon Ministry in1667 , conduct of the government of Charles II fell to a group that came to be known as theCabal . This group consisted of fivePrivy Councillor s (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, and Lauderdale) who formed the council's Committee for Foreign Affairs. Through that committee and their own offices, the five members were able to direct government policy both at home and abroad. The notion of an organised group in government, as opposed to a single royal favourite holding clear power, was seen by many as a threat to the authority of the throne. Others saw it as subverting the power of the Council or of Parliament, whilst Buckingham's close relationship with the King made the Cabal unpopular with some reformers. The title "Cabal"; resulted from the perception that they had conspired together in Clarendon's fall and prosecution, and in its increasingly secretive conduct of government, and was helped by the fact that the initial letters of their names could be arranged to form CABAL as anacronym . However, there were sharp ideological divisions between the five, ranging from the Parliamentary idealism of Ashley to the autocratic absolutism of Lauderdale.Buckingham's only office was
Master of the Horse , with responsibility for overseeing the King's travel arrangements; but he was in constant contact and clear favour with the King, and he was the centre of the Cabal's grip on power. Between them, Arlington and Lauderdale had, for several years, held two of the three Secretaryships of State, despite Clarendon's objections. Lauderdale now had an even freer hand inScottish affairs and increased his standing at the Court, whilst Arlington took the leading role in foreign affairs. Though the Duke of Albemarle was First Lord of the Treasury Commission until his death in1670 , he had already retired from public life and Treasury matters were left to the other three commissioners: the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Ashley; the Comptroller of the Household, Sir Thomas Clifford; and Ashley's deputy at the Exchequer, Sir John Duncombe. The role of Lord Chancellor was initially filled by Sir Orlando Bridgeman, the Royalist lawyer who had prosecuted theRegicide s; but he only held office as Lord Keeper.Fall from Power
The Cabal began to split in
1672 , particularly over the autocratic nature of the King'sRoyal Declaration of Indulgence , the financing of theThird Anglo-Dutch War , and Britain's relationship withFrance . Personal rivalries and a conflict over foreign policy between Buckingham and Arlington escalated. The Ministry became very unpopular, characterised by arbitrary rule. Towards the end of the year, Ashley, now the Earl of Shaftesbury, became Lord Chancellor, leaving Treasury matters to Clifford and the Exchequer to Duncombe. He pressed publicly for greater reform of government, taking the side of the Opposition against his colleagues and the King. Clifford resigned over the in-fighting and retired from public life. Shaftesbury was replaced by Viscount Osborne, soon to become Earl of Danby, in the summer of1673 . Danby immediately established his authority over the remaining members of the Cabal. Buckingham's feud with Arlington saw him leak the details of theTreaty of Dover and fall from favour in1674 . Arlington survived as Southern Secretary until September of that year. Lauderdale retained his position and his relatively power inScotland , becoming an enemy of Shaftesbury. Shaftesbury began to agitate against Charles and his successor, James II; he briefly returned to government in thePrivy Council Ministry and took a lead in forming the partisan group that would eventually become known as the Whigs.The Ministry
These five members made up the "cabal" (Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, Lauderdale), which held most of the power within the government.
The remaining members of the ministry, as would be expected, held less power than the cabal.
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