Charles II? Now there's a name that doesn't pop up regularly in American history.
Virtually unknown in America -- and hardly a sterling example of British dynastic power -- Charles II changed the world by changing his perspective.
Charles had many problems, one of the most pressing being cash. He, like many other rulers, was always short of it. He couldn't reach into the treasury and pull out a bundle of pounds so he had to borrow them.
That, however, involved paying them back which is painful in any era.
He also had another problem, this one not so great. He, like every other ruler in every other era, had to contend with religious fanatics.
No era is free of large groups of people who have a religious view different from that of the ruler. Usually, as long that group does not become fanatic and advocate the overthrow of the government, the ruler has little choice to bear the indignity of having a block of people in the nation who feels he/she is on the wrong moral path.
What makes Charles II unique was that he was able to solve both of these problems at the same time -- at no expense to himself. He personified a paradigm shift.
That's a pretty clever trick, right?
