Which period followed Oliver Cromwell's rule and saw Charles II reestablishing the monarchy as the Merry Monarch?

• A. Restoration
• B. Interregnum
• C. Reformation
• D. Glorious Revolution

Answer: (A)

After the rule of Oliver Cromwell, England entered the Restoration—the period when the monarchy was revived under Charles II. The Restoration began in 1660 with Charles II’s return to the throne and the reestablishment of the monarchy and the Church of England after years of the Commonwealth and Cromwell’s protectorate. The Merry Monarch nickname comes from his lively, royal court after Puritan rule. The Interregnum is the time between kings when England was a republic under the Commonwealth, ending with the Restoration. Reformation refers to 16th‑century religious changes that predates this era, and the Glorious Revolution happened later, in 1688, when William and Mary took the throne and established a constitutional monarchy.