1. Absolutism and Civil War
In England

2. Background: The Magna Carta
In 1215, the English monarchy was checked by the creation of the Magna Carta (Great Charter)
Forced King John II to sign
Made the King responsible to the law of the land
Free men not allowed to be punished by the king arbitrary
Although parts have been repealed or changed, it is still a mark of the power of the common man over the divinity of kings

3. Queen Elizabeth I (r – 1603)
Tudor family – ruled after half-brother Edward VI and half-sister Mary (Bloody Mary)
Height of English Absolutism
An accomplished, rational ruler – tolerant, flexible
Had good advisors
Allowed for religious tolerance in a time of turmoil
Allowed for flexing of England’s military might (naval)
Stability led to strength of culture
Encourages exploration on behalf of English crown

5. Liz’s Successor: King James I of Scotland (r. 1603 – 1625)
James was Elizabeth’s cousin of the Stuart family of Scotland
He was not magnanimous and clung to the idea of the divine right of kings (he only had to answer to God)
Could not relate to the common man but because he kept taxes down, he was well liked
Was left with a sizeable debt by Elizabeth, but unlike her, he was not adept with money and he spent it lavishly to gain favor among the nobles

7. Charles I (r – 1649)
Continued a trend of being cut off from his subjects
Had a reputation for being deceptive, mean and treacherous
Put belief in his ministers but they were also out of touch with commoners
Puritans and other Calvinists felt persecuted by constant updates to the Church of England’s policies
He dismissed Parliament away for ten years after they questioned his policies
1641 – Triennial Act – King had to call Parliament at least once every 3 years

8. Civil War – 3 separate stages of fighting
1642 – 1651:
Fighting for control of government between
Roundheads (Parliamentarians) and Cavaliers (Royalists)
Territorial areas like Ireland and Scotland also having uprisings at the same time
Roundhead name coming from hairstyle of the Puritans
Jan 30, 1649 – King beheaded, his son fled country
died in all in England
Ireland saw 600,000+ deaths (40% of its population)

10. Theories on why it went to war…
The Civil War was a class war, in which the despotism of Charles I was defended by the reactionary forces of the established Church and conservative landlords, Parliament beat the King because it could appeal to the enthusiastic support of the trading and industrial classes in town and countryside, to the yeomen and progressive gentry, and to wider masses of the population whenever they were able by free discussion to understand what the struggle was really about.

11. Leader of the Roundheads – Oliver Cromwell
Opportunistic aristocrat
Employed the New Model Army
Period of his control was called Interregnum by later historians because it breaks up 2 different monarchical reigns
HE called it the Protectorate and it was set up to be a republic, but it was more of a military dictatorship

12. Cromwell’s England
As a Puritan, he believed in a strictness not before seen on a state level in England
He declared martial law when parliament would not back his ideas
England was divided into 12 districts
Censorship of the press, theater and forbade sports
Navigation Acts to make sure English goods were protected
He allowed for religious tolerance of Protestant sects only
All Catholics were put down with great force
Irish Catholics were put down with such great cruelty that their relationship with England would never be the same.

13. Post Cromwell
Once he died, there were very few who wanted to keep his ideas going.
Return of the monarchy with Charles II, who was easygoing, tolerant and likeable
Created a cabinet of 5 advisors, laying group for something that would become commonplace later on