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By Suresh Naidu
Mr. Naidu is a professor at Columbia University.
In 1672, Charles II unilaterally suspended repayment of 1.2 million pounds to London’s private bankers. Having run up this debt, and unable to finance a flotilla of ships to fight the Dutch, Charles became neither the first nor the last absolute monarch to break his word. James II, his sibling successor, went further, claiming royal prerogative to bypass laws and purge Protestant judges, generals and functionaries. The solemn oaths he made at his coronation, to respect Parliament and the Church of England, wound up being worth not very much.
