Restoration: Fun, Plague, and Revolution

England once banned all fun—theaters closed, parties forbidden. Then King Charles

II returned, and the country went from zero to a hundred. The Restoration

era was a wild rebound from strict Puritan rule. Theaters reopened with a bang,

and for the first time ever, women were allowed to act on stage. Playwrights like

Aphra Behn, a former spy turned writer, created scandalous comedies mocking

the rich and their love lives. But it wasn't all parties. London was devastated

by a massive plague and then a giant fire. Amidst the chaos, England’s first

political parties formed, leading to a bloodless revolution that limited the king's