1. English Constitutional Monarchy

2. Background
( )

3. Magna Carta, 1215 A list of demands made by the nobility.
Created a CONTRACT between the king and the aristocracy.
Established principles which limited the power of the king:
Established basic legal rights.
The king must ask for popular consent for taxes.
Accused must have jury trial.
King John I forced to accept it!

4. Model Parliament, 1295
King Edward I brought his military leaders and nobility together as a Parliament to ask their consent to new taxes
Established the principle of parliamentary “power of the purse”

5. Elizabeth I (r )
Established secure Church of England and avoided religious wars
Stamped out political and religious dissent
Fought wars to secure power
Established East India Company in 1600
Virgin Queen – Married to England!
Used veto power frequently, but was smart enough to work with Parliament

6. The Elizabethan “Bargain”
Parliament:
Had the power to tax.
Could debate and amend disputed bills.
The Monarch:
Had the royal perogative [right/choice] on foreign policy.

7. The Early Stuarts
( )

8. The Stuart Monarchy

9. James I [r. 1603-1625] James I’s speech to the House of Commons:
I am surprised that my ancestors should ever have permitted such an institution to come into existence. I am a stranger, and found it here when I arrived, so that I am obliged to put up with what I cannot get rid of!

10. James I [r. 1603-1625] Wanted absolute power!
The True Law of Free Monarchies (1598)
Quickly alienated Parliament!
England accustomed to “balance polity” under Tudors

11. James I [r ]
Alienated the Puritans by his strong defense of the Anglican Church
Many of England’s gentry [mostly rich landowners below the level of the nobility] became Puritans
Formed an important and large part of the House of Commons
It was NOT WISE to alienate them!

12. Gunpowder Plot, 1605
An attempt by some provincial Catholics to kill King James I and most of the Protestant aristocracy
Planned to blow up the House of Lords during the state opening of Parliament
Guy Fawkes

13. Executions of the Gunpowder Plotters

14. James I [r. 1603-1625] Problems he faced: Large royal debt
He wasn’t English  he didn’t understand English law
Believed in Divine Right
Pro-Catholic sympathies
Clashed with Parliament

15. Charles I [r. 1625-1649] Pro-ceremonies and rituals.
Uniformity of church services imposed by a church court
Anglican Book of Common Prayer for both England AND Scotland
Seen as too pro-Catholic by the Puritans

16. Archbishop William Laud

17. Charles I & Parliament Constantly at war with Spain and France.
Usually Parliament would give Charles money from taxes to fund his wars.
When Parliament denied funds, Charles would dissolve Parliament and try to rule England without it! (find funds in other ways - Forced “loans,” selling aristocratic titles, etc.)

18. The Petition of Rights, 1628
In return for money to fund his wars, Charles I agreed:
No imprisonment without due cause.
No taxation without Parliament’s consent.
No putting soldiers in private homes.
No martial law during peacetime.
Charles signed it, and then ignored it, dissolving Parliament!

19. Ship Money Assessments, 1636
A medieval tax for coastal cities for defense.
Charles applied them to inland counties as well.
This got him around the need to call Parliament into session!

20. The “Long” Parliament No Parliament since 1629
Rebellion in Scotland in 1640 over Laud issues forces Charles to call Parliament into session
Parliament demands more rights
Charles dismisses them and calls for new elections, but the same members returned
Charles I by Van Dyck (1633)

21. The “Long” Parliament In session from 1640 to 1660 with no elections
Laud executed.
Triennial Act passed  Parliament must be called in session at least once every 3 yrs!
Parliament can’t be adjourned without its own consent!
Charles enters the House of Commons to end the session and arrest Puritan leaders
Backfires and Charles heads north to form an army!

22. The Civil War
( )

23. Royalists (Cavaliers) Parliamentarians (Roundheads)
Civil War ( )
Royalists (Cavaliers)
Parliamentarians (Roundheads)
House of Lords
N & W England
Aristocracy
Large landowners
Church officials
More rural
House of Commons
S & E England
Puritans
Merchants
Townspeople
More urban

24. Playskool Version of the English Civil War
Roundheads
Cavaliers

25. Allegiance of Members of the Long Parliament
( )

26. Oliver Cromwell [ ]
Officer of the Parliamentary army [cavalry the New Model Army] that defeated royal forces and now controlled the government.
He wore…a plain cloth-suit, which seemed to have been made by a poor tailor; his shirt was plain, and not very clean; and I remember a speck or two of blood upon his collar…his face was swollen and red, his voice sharp and untunable, and his speech full of passion. [Sir Philip Warwick, a Royalist, 1640]

27. The English Civil War: 1642-1645

28. The Battle of Naseby [re-enactment], 1645
Charles I is defeated
He is handed over to Parliament.

29. Pride’s Purge, 1648
When Parliament refuses to take action against the king, Cromwell surrounds them and forces out moderates [anyone who isn’t anti-monarchy]
The result is the “Rump” Parliament

30. Beheading of Charles I, 1649
Very controversial! Not much support for the trial or execution.
"tyrant, traitor and murderer; and a public and implacable enemy to the Commonwealth of England."

31. The Interregnum
( )

32. The Puritan Commonwealth [1649-1653]
Cromwell rules with the Rump Parliament in a Constitutional Republic
Created a constitution  Instrument of Government
Executive power through Council of State
No monarch!
Europe is appalled  other nations don’t recognize it!

33. The Coat of Arms & the Flag of the Commonwealth

34. Rebels within a Rebellion: Levellers
John Lilburne was their leader.
The Agreement of the People: Abolishment of corruption, religious tolerance, laws written in the vernacular, and universal suffrage as a “natural right.”

35. Rebels within a Rebellion: Diggers
Agrarian “communists” led by Gerrard Winstanley and William Everard
With Charles I gone, they felt that land should now be distributed to the poor.
They alarmed the Commonwealth government and angered the local landowners who wanted to claim confiscated aristocratic lands for themselves.

36. The Protectorate [ ]
Cromwell dismisses the Rump parliament, tears up the ineffective Constitution and rules as lord protector (military dictator!)
Enforces Puritan morality
Crushes rebellion in Scotland
Replaced Catholic Church with Protestant landlords across Ireland  40% of Irish die in religious fighting!

37. % Of Land Owned by Catholics in Ireland [in green]

38. Cromwell—Lord Protector or King??
England longs for an end to martial law!
Cromwell dies in 1658 and his son, Richard, takes over, but is weak and lasts for only two years.

39. The Restoration
( )
Parliament could no more exist without the Crown than the Crown without Parliament. This was the most important lesson of the English Civil War!

40. King Charles II [r ]
Ends civil war, restores culture, restores authority of Church of England, and enforces religious uniformity.

41. King Charles II [r ]
1661  “Cavalier” Parliament [filled with Royalists]
Disbanded the Puritan army.
Pardoned most Puritan rebels.
Restored the authority of the Church of England.
1662  Clarendon Code [Act of Uniformity]
All clergy & church officials had to conform to the Anglican Book of Common Prayer.
It forbade “non-conformists” to worship publicly, teach their faith, or attend English universities.

42. King Charles II [r. 1660-1685] 1673  Test Act
Parliament excluded all but Anglicans from civilian and military positions. [to the Anglican gentry, the Puritans were considered “radicals” and the Catholics were seen as “traitors!”]
1679  Habeas Corpus Act
Any unjustly imprisoned persons could obtain a writ of habeas corpus compelling the govt. to explain why he had lost his liberty.

43. Charles II’s Foreign Policy
1665 – 1667: Second Anglo-Dutch War
To Charles II, Louis XIV is an ideal ally against the Dutch
1670  Secret Treaty of Dover – Louis XIV would give Charles money if he relaxed laws against Catholics

44. King James II [r ]
Catholic king appointed Catholics to high government and army positions and promoted religious tolerance.
Kept standing army and challenged power of Parliament.
Claimed he had power to act without Parliament.
Tories supported and Whigs opposed

45. The Glorious Revolution
1688

46. The “Glorious” Revolution: 1688
Whig leaders offered the throne jointly to James II’s daughter Mary [raised a Protestant] & her husband, William of Orange.
James II flees to France in a bloodless overthrow
Constitutional monarchy – monarch’s power is limited by LAW!

47. English Bill of Rights [1689]
Parliament drafted to limit royal power and William and Mary agreed to it.
Formed a base for the steady expansion of civil liberties England!

48. English Bill of Rights [1689]
Main provisions:
Parliament had to be called at least every three years
Elections and debate in Parliament could not be interrupted by Crown
The Crown could not interfere in judicial decisions
There was to be no standing army in peacetime.
Other acts: Granted freedom of worship (not political rights) to Protestant dissenters; prohibited a Catholic monarch

49. Cabinet
Group of government ministers who act in the ruler’s name, but represent a majority in Parliament
Head is Prime Minister!

50. The Seesaw of King & Parliament: 1603-1689