The archaeology of this text was begun by Peter Laslett in his edition of 1960 (Locke #118). He argued that each treatise bore a special relationship to the works of Sir Robert Filmer. The first treatise, a detailed refutation of Filmer’s Patriarcha, first published in 1680, had probably been written at that time. The second treatise, a more general discussion of the origin and purpose of government, contains passages directed at other works by Filmer, originally published during the Interregnum and republished by supporters of Charles II’s government in 1679. Laslett argued that the second treatise had been written in 1679-80 and that the first treatise had been added later after the appearance of Patriarcha. The work was thus written during the period of Shaftesbury’s opposition to Charles II, was directed at an author popular in Royalist circles, and was completed before Locke retired to Holland in 1683. The manuscript was probably left in England where the “middle” was lost.

Other scholars have proposed variations on this story. Hinton sees the Filmer passages in the second treatise as additions made around 1680 to a text written in the 1670s. Thompson argues that the chapter on conquest might date from 1689. Ashcraft contends that the treatises were written after 1681, i.e., after Shaftesbury’s supporters had lost the battle in Parliament and were moving towards rebellion against the government. Since no drafts of the work survive, there is little concrete evidence. It does seem clear, however, that the manuscript was begun sometime before Locke left England in 1683 and thus belongs in the context of the opposition to Charles II. On the other hand, it is also evident that Locke withheld publication until 1689, when the work could be issuedöwith several revisions pointing up the contemporary relevance of his arguments — as a defense of the revolution accomplished by William of Orange.