english civil war & enlightenment. charles i son of james i (grandson of mary, queen of scots) ...
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Charles I and Parliament
Parliament opposed his tax measures– Sent him the Petition of Rights
• The king could not tax people without Parliament’s permission
• The king could not declare martial law• He could not board soldiers in private homes during
peace times• The king could not imprison people without a
specific charge• Charles signed petition, but dismissed congress
The Long Parliament
Parliament wanted to be in charge of the army
Charles refused to compromise, led troops into House of Commons to arrest opponents
Neither side would compromise As a result Civil War broke out in 1642
English Civil War Cavaliers
– Called royalists, supported the king Roundheads
– Supported Parliament Oliver Cromwell
– Organized New Model Army and defeated Charles Rump Parliament
– Abolished monarchy and House of Lords– Proclaimed England a commonwealth
Charles I tried for treason, executed
Cromwell’s Commonwealth Raised money from taxes and land sales Army was disciplined and powerful Enemies had no organized army Encouraged trade and manufacturing Ruled harshly for five years
– Known as Protectorate
End of the Revolution
Cromwell quarreled with Parliament– Dissolved it– Cromwell died
Parliament invited son of Charles I to return– Charles II restored monarchy– Policies of religious tolerance fueled Catholic
fear– Had no legitimate children, his Catholic brother
James II assumed power upon his death
The Restoration and the Glorious Revolution Political parties develop
– Tories supported Anglican Church– Whigs opposed having Catholic ruler
The Glorious Revolution– Bloodless transfer of power in English monarchy– William of Orange assumed power
• Protestant Dutch, not English
Changes in English Government Thomas Hobbes – Leviathan
– Said that anarchy was a state of nature Johns Locke – Two Treatises of Government
– Said that people kept rights to life, liberty and ownership of property
– Said that individual rights were more important that those of the government
Habeas Corpus Act and Declaration of Rights– Protected individuals against:
• Unfair arrest and imprisonment• Unfairly high bail• Cruel or unusual punishment
– Lead to English Bill of Rights Toleration Act and Act of Settlement
– Religious freedoms to Dissenters, but not Roman Catholics or Jews
– Act of Settlement kept Catholics from the English throne
Parliamentary Rule
Growing power of Parliament– Monarch must consult with Parliament– Development of cabinet and prime minister
Act of Union– United England and Scotland into Great Britain
Constitutional monarchy– Monarch remained head of state– Royal powers were limited by constitution
The Beginnings of the British Empire Explorers and sea dogs
– English sea captains who challenged the Portuguese and Spanish
• Monopolies of sea trade
• Plundered foreign ships
• Helped defeat Spanish Armada
The British in India– British East India Company
• Unofficial extension of British government
• Dominated European trade in India
The British in America British settlements
– Plymouth• Mayflower Compact – 1620 – first constitution type
document
– Jamestown• 1st English Settlement in Americas – 1607
Mercantilism and the British colonies– Discouraged colonial manufacturing– Forced colonists to sell certain products only to
Britain– Made colonies resent the motherland
Crusaders of the Enlightenment
Believed that natural law governed human behavior and that truth could be determined by logic, secularism, and individualism
Promoted the idea of rationalism– Human behavior could be explained by the
scientific method
Political Criticism Montesquieu
– Government divided into branches to create checks on political power
Voltaire– Criticized intolerance and attempts to suppress personal
freedoms Rousseau
– Distrusted reason– Opposed strong government– Supported popular sovereignty
Mary Wollstonecraft– 1st women’s rights activist