During the period of the Civil War and the Commonwealth, the Baptist churches received a practically full toleration, and increased with great rapidity. This was especially true of the Particular Baptists, who were in closest sym pathy with Puritan movement, At the time of the Restoration (1660), the General Bap tists claimed to have 20,000 members, whence it may bb fairly estimated that there were fully 50,000 Baptists in all at that time. The services of these churches to the cause of English liberty. civil and religious, were heartily recognized. Several of Cromwell's highest officers were Bap tists; some of the most popular preachers of the time were of the same faith; others, like John :Milton. avowed Baptist sentiments, but never were connected with the churches. A few so far forgot their principles as to accept livings in the Established Church, and were even members of Cromwell's Triers, or commission of visitation for the setting in order of the parishes. The great majority, however, remained faithful to their contention, from the first, that the Church as a spiritual body should be entirely separate from the State, and that complete religious lib erty should be given to all, even to Roman Catho lics and Jews. It required two centuries for Eng land to approximate the adoption of this Baptist programme. After the Restoration the Baptists were severely persecuted, the Conventicle and Five-Mile acts being strictly enforced against them. The well-known prolonged imprisonment of John Bunyan is the most conspicuous in stance. Some proved more pliable than lie, and by promise of silence obtained their release; some, like HanserdIlys. were in prison many times; others, like William Kitten, enjoyed the royal favor and escaped with comparative im munity. Under these persecutions the Baptists declined in numbers, and the Revolution (1688) found them greatlydepleted and discouraged. The Act of Toleration secured them from further per secution, but for a whole century thereafter their progress was very slow. A convention of the Particular Baptists, held in 1689, and repre senting over 100 churches, published what re mained for generations their recognized stand ard of doctrine and practice. It was in the main a readoption of the Westminster Confes sion, and differed from the Confession of 1644 chiefly in being silent on the question of hap t ism (immersion) before communion. Until the great Wesleyan revival, in the middle part of the Eighteenth Century, there was no further progress among the English Baptists. Amogg the Particular churches a form of hyper-Calvin ism was common, which prohibited more than the preaching of the law to the unconverted, and dis couraged all direct appeals to men to accept Christ as their Saviour. The result was paralysis to most churches, and death to not a few. Among the General Baptists, Soeinian views made rapid progress, and in the end a large part of their churches became Unitarian. The Wesleyan re vival greatly affected the Baptist churches. A
more evangelical type of preaching was revived in both wings of the denomination. Under the leadership of Dan Taylor, a converted miner, the New Connection of General Baptists was organ ized, and became a flourishing and influential body. But the most important result of this new quickening of spiritual life was the under taking of work in foreign missions, under the leadership of William Carey. The English Bap tist Missionary Society was organized October 2, 1792, and the following year Carey was able to begin his labors in India. At his death, in 18:34, not only had many converts been made, but versions of the Scriptures had been issued under his supervision in 40 different dialects, spoken by one-third of the people in the world; and 212, 000 copies of these versions had been printed. The great increase of the modern missionary cause is directly traceable to the work of Carey and the English Baptists. The reflex influence of this missionary enterprise upon the English Baptists themselves is equally remarkable. More than 100 new churches were organized in the last two decades of the Eighteenth Century— nearly equaling the increase of the entire cen tury preceding this Hine—while in the first half of the Nineteenth Century 700 new churches were constituted. The most important step in the unification of the English Baptists was the for mation of the Baptist Union, in 1832. Into this all the various societies for missionary and edu eational purposes have been merged; and. finally. in 1891, the long-separated General and Particu lar Baptists became one body. Of the men whom these churches have produced during the last hundred years three stand forth preihninent: Andrew Fuller (1754-1815), Robert Hall (1764 1831). and Charles Haddon Spurgeon (18:34-92).
The first Baptist church in Wales of which record remains was formed at or near Swansea, in 1649. The growth of Baptists in that princi pality was greatly promoted by the labors of Vavasor Powell, who was baptized about 1655, and thereafter preached throughout the land. establishing 22 churches, some of which had several hundred members. The progress of Bap tist churches in Wales was steady but slow until 1800. Of the 821 Welsh churches now in exist ence, 640 were founded in the Nineteenth Cen tury. Until lately these churches have belonged to the strict communion wing; in recent years, some of the city and town churches have adopted 'open' principles.
The first Baptist church in Scotland was founded in Caitlinesshire in 1750, but progress was very slow until Archibald McLean and the Haldane brothers began their work as evangel ists—the first quarter of the last century. Scot land is naturally Presbyterian, and the growth of Baptist churches has been very slow, an average of 10 to the decade for the last hundred years. Ireland has also been an unpromising field. The oldest church dates from 1653. Two-thirds of the existing churches have been established since 1850.