The year 1649 marked a decisive change in Milton's life. Charles I was executed, with Milton probably in attendance. The murder of a king was shocking to the people of a country that had always lived under a monarchy and for whom the king had an aura of divinity. Milton attempted to justify the situation with his Tenure of Kings and Magistrates.
This pamphlet, along with Milton's other work for the Puritans, resulted in his being offered the position of Secretary for the Foreign Tongues. Milton now assumed full-time political office, corresponding with heads of states or their secretaries in Latin, the lingua franca of the day. Among other duties, he also responded to political attacks on the new Cromwellian government, particularly those attacking the philosophy and morality behind the violent overthrow of the monarchy. To this end, Milton wrote Eikonoklastes in response to Eikon Basilike, supposedly written by Charles the night before his execution, and Defensio pro populo Anglicano in response to Salmatius' Defensio Regia. During this period, Milton worked out of official lodgings in Scotland Yard.
