On Feb. 16, 1677, Anthony Ashley Cooper, the first Earl of Shaftesbury, found himself under arrest and locked away in the Tower of London. Cooper came from a family of substantial landowners and had entered political life when he won a seat in the House of Commons in 1640. When the English Civil War erupted, he initially threw his support behind Charles I — but it wasn't long before he switched allegiances, convinced that the king's policies posed a grave threat to both religion and the state.
For a time, Cooper operated behind the scenes before eventually being named to a law reform commission. He went on to serve on the Council of State, though he ultimately stepped down from that role in protest against Oliver Cromwell's increasingly dictatorial governance.
In 1659, General George Monck recruited Cooper to assist in his effort to restore the monarchy. Once the restoration was achieved, Cooper received the appointment of Chancellor of the Exchequer. His deep commitment to religious tolerance, however, put him at odds with the Earl of Clarendon. Though Cooper weathered that conflict, King Charles II harbored a lack of trust toward him and deliberately kept him in the dark regarding the Treaty of Dover. Despite all of this, Cooper continued to back the king's policies.
This loyalty earned him the title of Earl of Shaftesbury along with the powerful position of Lord Chancellor. Yet when he began voicing concerns about the king's brother James and the influence James was wielding, he was promptly dismissed from office.
In the aftermath of his removal, Cooper pushed for the king to summon a new parliament to address the matter. His followers rallied behind this cause and began wearing green ribbons as a symbol of their movement, likewise demanding that the king act. Growing increasingly worried about the possibility of rebellion, the king ordered Cooper's arrest and imprisonment in the Tower of London on Feb. 16, 1677. A year later, the Earl of Shaftesbury was set free, and the king's brother was sent to live abroad.