during the earlier
part of the century.

It was to escape these oppressive laws that many emigrated to the
colonies in America and established new settlements. Not only was the
stream of emigration kept up by religious persecutions, but the
prosperity and abundant opportunity for advancement furnished by the
colonies attracted great numbers. The government of the Stuart kings,
as well as that of the Commonwealth, constantly encouraged distant
settlements for the sake of commerce, shipping, the export of English
manufactured goods, and the import of raw materials. The expansion of
the country through its colonial settlements therefore still
continued.

The great literature which reached its climax in the reign of
Elizabeth continued in equal variety and abundance throughout the
reigns of James and Charles. The greater plays of Shakespeare were
written after the accession of James. Milton belonged to the
Commonwealth period, and Bunyan, the famous author of _Pilgrim's
Progress_, was one of those non-conformists in religion who were
imprisoned under Charles II. With this reign, however, quite a new
literary type arose, whose most conspicuous representative was Dryden.

In 1685 James II succeeded his brother. Instead of carrying on the
government in a spirit of concession to national feeling, he adopted
such an unpopular policy that in 1688 he was forced to flee from
England, and his son-in-law and daughter, William and Mary, were
elected to the throne. On their accession Parliament passed and the
king and queen accepted a "Bill of Rights." This declared the
illegality of a number of actions which recent sovereigns had claimed
the right to do, and guaranteed to Englishmen a number of important
individual rights, which have since been included in many other
documents, especially in the constitutions of several of the American
states and the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the United
States. The Bill of Rights is often grouped with the Great Charter,
and these two documents, along with several of the Acts of the
Parliaments of Charles I accepted by the king, make the principal
written elements of the English constitution. The form and powers
attained by the English government have been, however, rather the
result of slight changes from time to time, often without intention of
influencing the constitution, than of any deliberate action. Important
examples of this are certain customs of legislation which grew up