Seventeenth Century Politics:Part I: England

Who Rules the State?

Issues in 17th Century Politics

• Struggle for Stability over war, rebellion and economic chaos

• Struggle to make the State Sovereign, I.e., dominant over its territories and its people

• Struggle over who will control the State: the monarch, the nobility or the wealthy?

England at Midcentury

• Civil War: 1640-1648

• King Charles I executed 1649

• ‘Commonwealth’ ruled by Lord Protector Cromwell & a Puritan Parliament

• 1658: Cromwell dead

• 1661: Monarchy Restored by Parliament

England: Foundations of Constitutional Government

• Magna Carta 1215• Parliament, 13th Century

– Lords: Nobles and Bishops– Commons: Gentry and Merchants– Laws and Extraordinary Taxes

• English Reformation: – Henry VIII becomes Head of the Church

• Elizabeth I: Power through Compromise

The Stuarts

• James I & VI of England and Scotland– Ruled 1603-1625– Asserted Absolute Power– Antagonized People over

• Politics

• Religion

• Taxes

– Spent Lavishly on Court, on Favorites

The Stuarts: Charles I

• Ruled 1625-1649 (executed)• Asserted Absolute Power over

– Finances and taxes– The State– The Church

• Petition of Right 1628• Ruled without calling Parliament until 1639• Civil War 1642-1649

Cromwell’s Commonwealth

• Cromwell, The Lord Protector of the Realm• Imposed Puritan Principles

– No dancing, theatres or card-playing– Sumptuary laws governing dress & styles

• Exiled Opponents in Parliament• Died in 1658• Son Richard stepped aside after ruling until

1660

Restoration: Charles II

• Parliament invited Charles to rule in 1661• Determined to die of natural causes• Personally extravagant, but worked with

Parliament• Accepted Church of England• Married Portuguese Princess, but no legitimate

children• Died in 1685• Converted to Catholicism on Death bed

James II 1685-1688

• Charles’ Catholic younger brother, born 1633; at 52, old by 17th standards

• Widowed with 2 Adult Daughters, but remarried to a Catholic Princess

• Admired France and Louis XIV

• Determined to impose absolute monarchy on England

Glorious Revolution: 1688

• Crisis: Prince Charles born 1688 & baptized in a Catholic ceremony

• ‘Warming Pan Controversy’• Parliamentary Leadership Invited James II’s

elder daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange to take the throne

• James II, wife and baby flee to France• William and Mary take throne

Results of Glorious Revolution

• Government a partnership between Parliament and the Monarch

• Bill of Rights protects life, liberty, property• Parliament to approve taxes• MPs have immunity from arrest and prosecution

for anything said in Parliament• Catholics barred from throne• How Democratic was English Government after

1688?

Constitutional Government

• King ruled with Parliament but

• Parliament controlled by– Lords:

• Hereditary Nobility

• Bishops

– Commons: Men of Property:• Gentry (substantial rural landowners)

• Merchants, bankers, wealthy professionals in towns

Result in England:

• By 1700, English monarchs had lost the struggle for absolute power. Principle was established that royal authority was NOT absolute, but shared with Parliament.

• Foundations existed for additional sharing of power in the future, although it would be the 19th century before average man could vote; 20th before women could vote.

To Think About….

• Why were the English successful in resisting absolutism and in limiting the King’s power?

• Which groups of people participated in political processes in 17th and 18th century England?

• How ‘democratic’ was the Glorious Revolution?