British history Quote by Simon Schama

“The irony about Charles II is not that he came to the throne because England needed a successor to Charles I, but because England needed a successor to Oliver Cromwell.” quote by Simon Schama — Download Open image

“The irony about Charles II is not that he came to the throne because England needed a successor to Charles I, but because England needed a successor to Oliver Cromwell.”

Simon Schama

About This Quote

Source Book: A History of Britain, 2002

England's monarchy shifted from a republic to a restored monarchy, highlighting the political need for continuity after upheaval.

In simple terms: England needed a new king after the republic.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how political needs drive leadership changes.

Themes

politics history leadership continuity

Mood

reflective analytical

Type

historical political

When to use this quote

government transitions
historical analysis
political strategy

Key Concepts

monarchy republic succession

Questions to Reflect On

How do societies choose leaders after crisis?
What other factors influence succession?

A Different Perspective

The quote may oversimplify complex power dynamics.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 2.6 out of 5 (6 ratings)

British history Charles i Charles Ii Cromwell England History Irony Irony Charles Needed Needed Successor Oliver Cromwell Successor Charles Successors Thrones

More by Simon Schama

Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…

Simon Schama

Image

The difficulty with poetry is that it doesn't have the life that Shakespeare or Jane Austen have beyond the page. You can't make a…

Simon Schama

Image

Taxation, the very thing that had triggered the British civil wars, would do so again, this time in America. The taxes may have been…

Simon Schama

Image

Anyone can write an academic piece directed at other academics. To write something that delivers an argument and a gripping storyline to someone's granny…

Simon Schama

Image

In its Greek origins, historia meant inquiry, and from Thucydides onwards, the past has been studied to understand its connections with the present.

Simon Schama

Image

Jewish history turns out not to be an either/or story - as in, either pure Judaism detached from its surroundings or else assimilation -…

Simon Schama

Image

Growing up in Britain as a rather loose Jew, the two things that didn't belong together were freedom and religious intensity. In America, they…

Simon Schama

Image

In the end, history, especially British history with its succession of thrilling illuminations, should be, as all her most accomplished narrators have promised, not…

Simon Schama

Image

From 1789, perhaps even before that, it had been the willingness of politicians to exploit either the threat or the fact of violence that…

Simon Schama

Image

The default mode of modern writing about art is to despise any notion of singularity as so much overheated genius-fetishism.

Simon Schama

Image

The synagogues of late antiquity and the early medieval period were built around imagery: imagery of remembering the Temple, but also of the celestial…

Simon Schama

Image

At 11, 12, I thought I was clumsy, ugly, a mess, an unappealing person, but I did have the gift of the gab. I…

Simon Schama

Image

Explore all 109 Simon Schama quotes

More British history quotes

We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…

Gordon Brown

Image

Taxation, the very thing that had triggered the British civil wars, would do so again, this time in America. The taxes may have been…

Simon Schama

Image

Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…

David Cannadine

Image

In Great Britain, woman was subordinate and confined. But at least she was also safe.

Linda Colley

Image

Compare the scale and magnifcence of Versailles with St James's - the brick-built hovel in which the 18th-century kings of England lived. What was…

David Starkey

Image

Virtually every war fought since the Act of Union had gone badly at some stage, but before 1783 none had ended in defeat. Nor…

Linda Colley

Image

“The period of which I write was an overshadowed one in British history, and especially in the history of the northern provinces. War was…

Charlotte Brontë

Image

If there is a single trait in our character that has historically set us apart from other nations, it is our determination to limit…

Billy Bragg

Image

Lord Beaverbrook was fundamentally a lonely man, with a low sense of his own self-worth, who was incapable of forming a stable, loving relationship…

David Cannadine

Image

In the end, history, especially British history with its succession of thrilling illuminations, should be, as all her most accomplished narrators have promised, not…

Simon Schama