The monarchy was restored and the revolutionary period in English history ended. The time of Charles II rule is known as the Restoration. James II, who was a devout catholic, succeeded Charles II in 1685. After James abdicated the throne, William and Mary, both Protestants, became joint monarchs in 1688. After their death, Mary's sister, Anne, became queen. In 1714, Queen Anne crated the nation of Great Britain by the union of England and Scotland. This age where people began to show more interest in intellect over feeling is known as the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. .
Swift's father died just before his birth, on November 30, 1667, in Dublin, Ireland, which left him and his family dependent upon his father's family for support. Shortly after his birth, his family moved from their home in Ireland to England. He entered Trinity College at the age of fourteen and was forced to leave early because of financial difficulties. He went to live with and work for one of his mother's relatives, Sir William Temple, in 1689. After ten years of work with Temple, Swift began to engage in politics and public affairs in England and Ireland. Constantly active in literary circles, he soon became famous for his works on literature, politics, religion, and philosophy. Temple died in 1669.
Swift was very intellectually active and did great amounts of reading besides his normal duties, in order to ease his continual restlessness, which was aggravated by a problem in his ear region. This caused attacks of both giddiness and deafness.
In the summer of 1699, Swift became secretary and chaplain to Lord Berkely, one of the lord justices of Ireland. He remained an active author until he was rendered incapacitated by a stroke in 1742.Though A Modest Proposal was the last of his pamphlets that is still widely read today, he continued through the 1730's to write tracts concerning church and state. In 1742, Swift was declared incapable of looking after himself, and had to be cared for by friends for the rest of his life.
