The English Monarchy

1603

1689

The Tudors1485-1603Henry VII was a shrewd

businessman who did not levy taxes nor deplete the treasury

Henry VIII waged wars but had profited greatly from the seizure of Church lands and wealth during the Reformation

Elizabeth I often needed to deal with Parliament in terms of domestic issues and raising funds

Elizabeth died without any direct heirs to succeed her

THE STUART DYNASTYThe closest relative

with royal blood was King James VI of Scotland

James moved to England

James I of England Crowned in 1603Scotland and England

were not unitedRaised as a Catholic

but supported Anglican Church more power

1605 – Gunpowder Plot

The True Law of Free Monarchies James was a staunch

proponent of divine right absolutism

Wrote a book declaring his opinions on government

Gave power and lavish gifts to his favorite courtiers

Duke of Buckingham Refused to discuss policy

with Parliament Dissolved Parliament and

collected his own taxes violated the principles of the Magna Carta

Also clashed with Puritans over the Anglican Church

Puritans were influential in the House of Commons

The Rights of Englishmen In 1625, Charles I became king continued the policies of his

father. Charles supported divine right and Anglicanism 1628 – Charles needed to call Parliament because of La Rochelle

and economic decline due to the Thirty Years’ War Parliament insisted that Charles sign the Petition of Right which

required him to gain consent for taxes and respect due process of law

Charles signed it but dissolved Parliament and did not call on it for 11 years

In 1637, Charles and his Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, tried to force the Calvinist nobles of Scotland to accept the Church of England Scots rebelled and threatened northern England

Charles called Parliament into session in 1640, but Parliament was unwilling to help Charles and tried and later executed Laud and other royal ministers

The English Civil War, 1642-49

In 1642, Charles tried to arrest the leaders of Parliament

Civil war erupted between factions supporting Parliament and Puritan reforms and the Royalists who supported Charles I and the Anglican Church

Roundheads and Cavaliers Cromwell and the New Model Army fought for

Parliament Battles of Marston Moor and Naseby turned the tide In 1647, Charles was captured by Parliamentarian

forces Charles was executed for tyranny in 1649

Commonwealth of EnglandThe House of Commons

eliminated the monarchy, House of Lords, and the Anglican Church

Formed a republic5% of population votedSupporters of Stuarts

caused unrest in Scotland and Ireland

Oliver Cromwell suppressed Irish and Scottish

Levellers wanted universal suffrage

Cromwell dissolved Parliament and ruled as dictator in 1653

The Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England

The Puritan RevolutionCromwell ushered in a new era of law and order

based on the values of puritanical ProtestantsClosed theaters, banned gambling, outlawed

drinking, prohibited dancing, and enforced the Sabbath

Promoted literacy and public educationWomen were still subordinate to menPersecuted Catholics throughout the British

IslesTolerant towards Protestants and JewsCromwell died in 1658His son, Richard, was a weak and ineffective

leaderGeneral George Monck welcomed Charles II of

the Stuart dynasty back to England

Charles II assumed the throne in 1660

Merry MonarchSpent time in the court

of Louis XIVSupported divine right

absolutismCatholic sympathiesWar with the Dutch

over trade and mercantilism

Avoided struggles with Parliament

Habeas Corpus ActDid not have children

The Glorious

Revolution James, brother of Charles II, became

monarch in 1685 James II was openly Catholic Violated the Petition of Right and

Elizabeth’s Act of Uniformity Parliament divided into parties Tories supported the succession of

James Whigs opposed his succession and

would eventually support revolution James had a son who was baptized as

a Catholic Parliament feared a Catholic dynasty

and country Invited James’s Protestant daughter

and her Dutch husband to rule England

John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough, led the English army

He did not support James and did not resist the arrival of William and Mary

James fled England without a fight but later incited rebellion in Ireland with the support of Louis XIV

English Bill of Rights William III and Mary II agreed to

sign a “bill of rights” when they took their thrones

Agreed to not levy taxes without consent of Parliament, to enforce and not suspend laws, to respect freedom of speech in Parliament, protect due process of law (habeas corpus), and not permit cruel and unusual punishment

Also passed the Toleration Act Disallowed a Catholic monarch of

England and did not permit religious freedom for Catholics

Mary died in 1696 and William reigned until 1702

William renewed the Anglo-Dutch alliance and became the fiercest enemy of Louis XIV in the Wars of the Palatinate and Spanish Succession

John Churchill became the military hero of England by defeating French and Spanish forces in the Netherlands

Mary’s sister, Anne, ruled England until 1714 when she died and the Stuart dynasty ended

The Constitutio

nal Monarchy of Great Britain

Parliament was now the higher political institution in England

The government’s power was defined and limited by the “rule of law”

In 1707, England, Wales, and Scotland unified into one kingdom under the English monarch and Parliament

The Hanovers of Germany replaced the Stuart dynasty

The House of Lords and Commons supplied ministers to be the official advisers to the monarchs Cabinet

Prime Minister Robert Walpole

Great Britain, the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and later, the United States of America inspired the movement toward constitutional government across the globe