Parliament Limits the English Monarchy

TUDOR

DYNASTY

Queen Elizabeth I: Tudor Dynasty

• Many conflicts with Parliament, mostly over money

• Parliament’s financial power was one obstacle for England’s rulers, prevented absolutism

• 1603 she died, no children • closest relative was cousin

James Stuart

King James I: Stuart Dynasty

• He was also king of Scotland

• He inherited Elizabeth’s problems-mainly over money w Parliament

• Offended Puritan members of Parliament because he refused to make Church reforms

• Died in 1625

King Charles I: Stuart Dynasty

• Son of James I• Always needed money

because war with Spain and France

• several times parliament refused to give him money so he dissolved parliament

Petition of Right

• 1628 Parliament forced him sign the Petition of Right– King can’t imprison subjects without due cause– Can’t levy taxes without parliament’s consent– Can’t house soldiers in private homes– Can’t impose martial law during peacetime

• Charles I ignored the petition, but it was important because set forth idea that law is higher than the king, contradicted theories of absolute monarchy

• 1629 he dissolved parliament, imposed fees/fines for money, decreased popularity

English Civil War (1642-1649)

• 1637 Charles tried to force Presbyterian Scots to accept Anglican prayer book, Scots rebelled

• Charles needed money…• Autumn 1641 Parliament passed laws to limit

royal power, Charles tried to arrest them• Charles fled to N. England where ppl loyal to him• People loyal to Charles were Royalists or

Cavaliers vs. Puritan supporters of Parliament, called Roundheads

English Civil War and Death of a King

• 1644 Roundhead’s general Oliver Cromwell helped win war– his New Model Army began

defeating the Cavaliers, held Charles I prisoner by 1647

• 1649 Charles I on trial for treason against Parliament, found guilty, and executed

• Revolutionary because no King had ever faced public trial and execution before

Cromwell’s Rule

• 1649 Cromwell abolished the monarchy and House of Lords

• Est. a commonwealth, a republican form of government

• Drafted a constitution– first written constitution of

any modern European state• Eventually Cromwell tore it

up and became a military dictator

Puritan Morality

• Cromwell and the Puritans sought to reform society by promoting Puritan morality and abolishing activities they saw as sinful

• Cromwell was strict Puritan but allowed religious tolerance for all Christians except Catholics

The Restoration: Charles II

• Cromwell died in 1658, his gov’t collapses, new parliament

• 1659 parliament asks Charles I’s oldest son to rule England

• Charles II restores the monarchy, so the period of his rule is called the Restoration

Habeas Corpus

• During his reign parliament passes an important guarantee of freedom: habeas corpus: 1679– every prisoner has the right to obtain a document

ordering that the prisoner be brought before a judge to specify the charges against the prisoner

– prisoners can’t be held indefinitely without trial• Charles II had no child, so heir was brother James,

who was Catholic• Whigs opposed James, the Tories supported him– England’s first political parties

James II

• 1685 Charles II died, James II becomes King

• Offends ppl by displaying Catholicism, appointed Catholics to office, dissolves Parliament when they protest

• James’s second wife has a son, ppl are terrified of possibility of line of catholic kings

The Glorious Revolution

• James’s older daughter, Mary, was a Protestant, married to William of Orange, a prince of the Netherlands

• Parliament invited William and Mary to overthrow James for sake of Protestantism

• 1688 William led army into England, James fled, bloodless overthrow of King James II: the Glorious Revolution

Limit’s on Monarch’s Power• William and Mary set up a constitutional monarchy: laws limit the

ruler’s power; they recognized parliament as their partner in governing

1689 Parliament drafted a Bill of Rights to make clear limits of royal power; ruler can not:

-No suspension of parliament’s laws-No levying taxes without grant from parliament-No interfering w freedom of speech-No penalty for citizens who petitions king w grievances

Cabinet System Develops

• After 1688 Parliament and the monarch had to rule together, if disagreed=standstill

• This issue remedied with cabinet: a group of government ministers, or officials; link between monarch and majority party in Parliament

• Over time cabinet became center of power and policymaking; leader of the majority party in parliament heads the cabinet, is called the prime minister

England Today

Queen Elizabeth IIWindsor Dynasty1952-

Prime Minister: David Cameron 2010-