Staging the London Charter Crisis and Policing Political Participation in John Crowne’s City Politiques

Abstract: John Crowne’s 1682 play City Politiques is arguably the most specific and topical political play of the Exclusion Crisis. This Tory play, however, was not just a celebration of the fall of the Whig party, as some have argued. Instead, Crowne was actively intervening in a still-ongoing matter: the King’s quo warranto proceedings against the City of London to revoke their charter. Keeping the charter controversy at its center, City Politiques engages and stages broader questions about citizens’ rights to contribute to political discourse. By depicting the misunderstanding and abuse of a city charter, and repeatedly invoking the language of charters and liberties, Crowne attempts to limit both the political participation and literary production of non-elite classes during a period that witnessed a shift towards a more representative government.