1. Why is England Different?
The un-absolute monarchy.

2. The Magna Carta—the Great Charter
1215—King John I
His nobles forced him to sign it
Gave nobles basic political rights
Jury Trial
No taxes without representation
Protection of law
Limited the king’s power—the king is not above the law

3. Parliament Started as nobles who advised the king
Had the power to approve or deny new taxes
Developed into the House of Lords (upper classes) and House of Commons (normal people)
Today, provides a check on royal power
Most Powerful member is the Prime Minister

4. Elizabeth I

5. James I

6. Charles I fights with Parliament
There was religious turmoil in England
Charles I needed money, but Parliament would not approve new taxes
In 1628 Charles was forced to sign the Petition of Right by Parliament

7. The Petition of Right The King could not . . .
Imprison people without reason
Charge taxes without Parliament’s consent
Force people to house soldiers in their homes
Impose martial law in peacetime

8. More Problems for Charles
Charles ignored the Petition of Right
He dissolved Parliament, and refused to let them come back
To get money he imposed fees on the people
He got less popular every day

9. Religious Problems
Some people in England were Puritan--they wanted to purify the Anglican/English Church
Charles (and most English people) were Anglican (Henry VIII’s Church)
The people in Scotland (owned by England) were Presbyterian
Charles tried to force everyone to follow the same religion (his, of course)—bad idea!

10. More Trouble for Charles
He tried to force the Scots to be more Anglican—they rebelled
Since he needed money to put down the rebellion, he had to call Parliament back
In the fall of 1641 Parliament passed laws to limit royal power
Charles tried to arrest them in January of 1642—resulted in uprisings in London

11. Charles fled to the north where he could find more supporters—called Royalists or Cavaliers
The Puritans were called Roundheads because of their funny haircuts

13. Cromwell Oliver Cromwell was the leader of the Puritans/Roundheads
By 1645 their army was winning

14. Big Big Trouble for Charles
In 1647 the Puritans took the king prisoner
In 1649 they put him on trial for treason
He was executed

15. Cromwell’s Rule Oliver Cromwell took over and ruled as lord protector
Started with a Constitution (the first ever), but Cromwell tore it up and ruled as a dictator
Crushed a rebellion in Ireland
Forced Puritan morality on the English-abolished theater, dancing, drinking, and sports
Allowed all Christian religions except Catholics

16. The Restoration
Cromwell died in 1658, he son ruled for a short time—he was less popular then his dad
Parliament then, sick of military rule, invited the older son of Charles I (who had fled England) to be king
They restored the monarchy!

17. The Restoration

18. Parliament Takes Control
Parliament was not about to let Charles II be an absolute monarch
Passed the law of Habeas Corpus—gives prisoners the right to be brought before a judge and hear the charges against him/her
A monarch could not jail someone for disagreeing them

19. Who’s Next? Parliament debated who should be the next king
Charles had no heir
His brother, James, was Catholic
Charles died in 1685, and James became king because Parliament never made up their mind

20. James II
James annoyed the English by being Catholic and appointing Catholics to high office
He dismissed parliament and would not let them come back
His wife gave birth to a son in 1688

21. The Glorious Revolution
The English feared a long line of Catholic Kings
Parliament invited James II’s older daughter, Mary (a Protestant), to be queen
She and her husband William of Orange of the Netherlands overthrew James II

22. Constitutional Monarchy
William and Mary agreed to share power with Parliament and have limited power
Parliament wrote a Bill of Rights in 1689
The king could not suspend Parliament’s power
No taxes without permission from Parliament
No interfering with Parliament’s freedom of speech
Citizens can complain to the king without punishment

23. Impact
England has a government that represents the people (well, the nobles)
The Prime Minister became a powerful and important job in England (leading person in Parliament)
Nobles in other countries are jealous of England’s freedoms