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Unit 7: John Locke

bring economic prosperity. Shaftesbury’s commitment to toleration for dissenters made him Notes
campaign vigorously for toleration and the freedom of the press. This became evident from An
Essay Concerning Toleration (1667). Shaftesbury’s position during the Exclusion crisis of 1680
impressed upon Locke the need for consent as the basis of a legitimate political system. The earl
was the rallying figure during the Exclusion crisis. Shaftesbury was Locke’s mentor, friend,
philosopher and guide. He played a profound role in shaping Locke’s political perceptions and
establishing his reputation as an eminent theorist.
In 1683, Locke went into exile in Holland, fearing implication in the Rye House Plot. The British
government tried to get him extradited but was unsuccessful. His studentship of Christchurch
College was withdrawn in 1684 on a royal command from Charles II. All these punitive measures
were taken because Locke had participated actively in the movement for curtailing royal power
and supporting the Monmouth’s rebellion. Meanwhile, Lord Shaftesbury died in 1683. This
explained the anonymity of the Two Treatises and the complete secrecy that Locke maintained with
regard to his work and activities. This was partly political and partly psychological. He was
known to be excessively secretive, and this trait got attenuated due to the volatile and turbulent
political phase of the 1680s. He took considerable efforts to conceal his real intentions and activities,
and the execution of Alegernon Sidney cautioned all radicals including Locke who was in exile.
After the success of the Glorious Revolution, Locke came to prominence. He returned to England.
Three of his works were published, making him famous and distinguished. He spent the remaining
part of his life in the household of Sir Francis and Lady Masham in the countryside far north of
London. Locke shared a close relationship with Lady Masham before her marriage. She was
Damaris Cudworth, daughter of the Cambridge Platonist Ralph Cudworth.

During his exile in ‘Holland, Locke completed his Essay Concerning Human
Understanding (which he had begun writing in 1671), and The Letter on Toleration,
published anonymously in 1689.

Locke, in the later part of his life, was the Commissioner for Appeals and Trade, who dealt with
the problems of the English colonies. He opposed the colonial policy from 1668 to 1675. He looked
upon the colonization of America as a solution to the economic crisis in England following the
Great Plague of 1665. He opposed colonization for it depleted England of good people. He also
feared that colonies would become independent of the mother country and compete with it.
Locke played an influential role in the repeal of the Act for the Regulation of Printing in 1695 and
in the re-coinage of the debased English currency in the 1690s. Before his death, he attained fame,
both nationally and internationally. Some of his minor works, like Raising the Value of Money and
Some Considerations on the Lowering of Interests appeared in print in 1691, though these were written
in 1668. This was followed by the Second Letter on Toleration (1691) and the Third Letter on Toleration
(1692), written in response to the criticism made by Jonas Proast. In 1693, Some Thoughts on Education
and in 1695, The Reasonableness of Christianity were published. Locke died on October 29, 1704.

7.2 Locke and the Glorious Revolution

The historical background of the Second Treatise was the years of rebellion and revolution against
the English throne, which, however, was not revealed in its preface. Locke stated his objective in
writing the text, namely to establish the throne of King William and “... to justify to the World, the
People of England, whose love of their” Just and Natural Rights, with their Resolution to preserve
them, saved the nation when it was on the very brink of slavery and Ruins”.

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