REVOLUTION IN ENGLANDThe English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution

The Tudor monarchs required Parliament to justify their actions and approve taxation policies to finance their spending.

A feeling of trust developed between Parliament and the Tudor monarchs. They became accustomed to

being consulted on important matters.

On Queen Elizabeth’s deathbed she named James VI, King of Scotland, to be the next King of England. King James I, as he was

coroneted, belonged to a family known as the Stuarts.

The Stuart monarchs inherited the problems of the kingdom which were hidden by the Tudors. They were also not skillful at

dealing with Parliament. The result was a “century of

revolution” in England.

Desiring the power wielded by other European monarchies, James tried to install absolute power over England. James lectured Parliament

about the divine rights of kings. “Kings are called gods because

they sit upon God’s throne on Earth.”

Leaders in the House of Commons fiercely resisted the king’s claim to absolute power.

James repeatedly clashed with Parliament over money and foreign policy.

He also faced disputes with Protestants in his kingdom who differed with the Church of England.

One group, called Puritans, sought to “purify” the church of Catholic practices. Puritans called for simpler services and a more

democratic church without bishops. James rejected their demands, vowing to “harry

them out of this land or else do worse.”

In November 1605, a conspiracy of Catholics to topple the English government became known as the Gunpowder Plot.

Guy Fawkes, one of the thirteen conspirators, was planning on blowing up barrels of gunpowder underneath the opening of Parliament.

Fawkes was discovered and the plot was revealed.

The conspirators were then found guilty and executed for high treason.

During these disputes, James was able to achieve two noteworthy things: James called for a new

translation of the Bible. This translation is known as

the King James Bible. James also oversaw the

establishment of a new English colony in the New World, Jamestown.

When James died in 1625, his oldest surviving son, Charles, became King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Charles continued his father’s policies towards Parliament and continued to act as an absolute monarch. He would imprison his foes without trial

and squeezed the nation for money. Parliament demanded that Charles

sign the Petition of Right, which would prohibit the king from raising taxes without the consent of Parliament.

Charles refused to do so and then dissolved Parliament in 1625.

For 11 years, Charles ignored the petition and ruled England without Parliament.

His Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, try to enforce stricter Anglican rules. Many people thought that he was trying to revive Catholic

practices. In 1637, when Charles and Laud tried to impose the

Anglican prayer book on Scotland, the Calvinist Scots revolted. To get funds to suppress the Scottish rebellion, Charles had to

finally summon Parliament in 1640. When it met, however, Parliament launched its own revolt.

The 1640 Parliament became known as the Long Parliament because it lasted on and off until 1653.

The Long Parliament tried and executed agents of the king, including Archbishop Laud.

It also forced Charles to sign a bill stating that only Parliament can decide to dissolve itself.

Charles lashed back. In 1642, he led troops into the House of Commons to arrest the most radical leaders. The leaders escaped out the back door

and soon raised their own army. The clash now moved to the battlefield.

At first, the odds seemed in favor of the Cavaliers, or supporters of Charles I. Many Cavaliers were

wealthy nobles, proud of their plumed hats and fashionably long hair.

They expected a quick victory.

The Cavaliers fought the Roundheads, the forces of Parliament which were composed of country gentry, town-dwelling manufacturers, and Puritan clergy.

The Roundheads were led by Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan general. Cromwell organized the forces of

Parliament into the “New Model Army,” a skilled fighting force.

After a series of decisive battles, the Roundheads defeated the Cavaliers. By 1647, the king was in the hands of

the revolutionary forces.

Eventually, Parliament set up a court to put the king on trial.

It condemned him to death as “a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy.”

On a cold January day in 1649, Charles I was beheaded. The execution sent shockwaves throughout Europe.

For the first time, a monarch had been tried and executed by his own people.

The parliamentary forces had sent a clear signal: In England, no ruler could claim absolute power and ignore the rule of the law.

1. Which dynasty ruled England after the Tudors?2. Identify two impacts of the rule of James I.3. Who were the Puritans?4. What was the Gunpowder Plot?5. Which two groups fought during the English

Civil War?6. What was the main outcome of the English Civil

War?

After the execution of Charles I, the House of Commons abolished monarchy, the House of Lords, and the official Church of England.

It declared England a republic, known as the Commonwealth, under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell.

The new government had many threats. Charles II, the uncrowned heir to

the throne, attacked England by way of Ireland and Scotland.

Cromwell led forces into Ireland to crush the uprising.

He then took harsh measures against the Irish Catholic majority. In 1652, Parliament passed a law

exiling most Catholics to barren lands in the west of Ireland.

Any Catholic found disobeying the order could be killed on sight.

The Commonwealth also faced challenges from within. A group called the Levellers wanted political power to

be spread evenly among the different socioeconomic classes in England.

Female Levellers also demanded the right to petition Parliament.

As the threats to the Commonwealth grew, Cromwell took the title Lord Protector in 1653 and then ruled the country through the army.

Puritan society tried to eliminate the excesses life and build a new world order.

Strict laws were passed regulating activities on the Lord’s Day, theaters were closed, and dancing, gambling, and drinking were discouraged.

Puritans also felt that all Christians should be able to read the Bible. They encouraged education for all people. By mid-century, families from all classes were sending their children to

school, girls as well as boys. Marriage laws were also relaxed so that women could marry for love

and not for business / family interests. Religious toleration in England also spread for other Protestant groups.

Jews were welcomed back to England, after more than 300 years in exile.

Oliver Cromwell died in 1658. Shortly after his death the

Puritans lost power in England. People were tired of their strict

military rule. In 1660, a newly elected

Parliament invited Charles II to return to England from exile.

England’s “kingless decade” ended with the restoration of the monarchy.

Due to his charm and flashing wit, Charles II was a popular ruler.

He reopened theaters and taverns and presided over a lavish court.

He restored the official Church of England but tolerated other Protestant groups in his kingdom.

Charles signed the Petition of Right (limited the power of the king to tax) but also shared his father’s belief in the power of an absolute monarchy.

Additionally, Charles harbored Catholic sympathies.

During the reign of Charles II, a massive fire destroyed much of London. The Great Fire of London began at a

baker’s shop. Houses in London were made of

combustible materials and fires were commonplace.

The main way to fight fires was to collapse nearby houses and create firebreaks.

There were serious delays in implementing this technique in the Great Fire.

• Strong winds helped to fan the flames.

• Firebreaks became ineffective and the fire burned continuously for four days.

• The fire eventually died down when the winds faltered and larger firebreaks could be made.

The Great Fire consumed more than 13,200 houses, 82 parish churches, and 373 acres of the city.

100,000 Londoners were made homeless.

Londoners blamed the Catholics and French for starting the fire.

Sir Christopher Wren was appointed to rebuild the city anew.

Charles’ brother, James II, inherited the throne in 1685.

Unlike Charles, James flaunted his Catholic faith and appointed Catholics to high offices.

Protestants grew fearful that James was going to restore the Roman Catholic Church in England.

In 1688, alarmed parliamentary rulers invited James’ protestant daughter, Mary, and her Dutch Protestant husband, William III of Orange, to become rulers of England.

When William and Mary landed with their army late in 1688, James II fled to France.

The bloodless overthrow of the king became known as the Glorious Revolution.

Before they could be crowned, William and Mary had to accept a series of acts passed by Parliament known as the English Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights ensured the superiority of Parliament over the monarchy.

The English Bill of Rights: Required the king to regularly summon Parliament. Gave parliamentary control over the treasury. Forbade royal interference in Parliamentary debates or suspending laws. Barred any Roman Catholic from sitting on the throne. Established the basic rights of the English citizenry.

This includes the principle of habeas corpus, that no person could be held in prison without first being charged with a specific crime.

The Glorious Revolution did not create a democracy in England, but a type of government called limited monarchy. In a limited monarchy, the power of the king is limited by

a constitution or legislative body. At a time when the rest of Europe was subjected to

absolute monarchs, England stood as an exception. Many of these events in England will impact her

growing American colonies.