Transcript Absolutism in England

Absolutism in
England
Restoration to Glorious
Revolution
Section 3 (cont.)
Life in the 17th Century: Clothing
• At the beginning of the
1600s there was only
one word to describe
the clothing of the
upper classes.
– STIFF!
Early 17th Century Clothing: Men
No such thing as
underwear. – You wore
a short chemise that
went down to the midthigh.
Served as your
nightshirt too.
Rarely changed
your “linens.”
Men’s Clothing in the early 17th
Century
• Over the undershirt men
would put padding to make
it look like they had a belly
and padding for the roll.
– Often so stuffed – they
couldn’t sit down!
• Held their stockings up with
colored garters.
• Shoes had no heels and
there were no left or right
foot shapes.
• Ruffs were wired to hold
their shape.
• Doublets and jerkins
finished the “look.”
Women’s Clothing: At the beginning
of the 17th century:
• Chemises were often
full length.
• Wore lots of wire and
whale bone to make
their clothes stiff.
History of the Corset
• Tended to deform
women’s rib cages and
shift organ alignment.
– Probably played a
big part in the
number of
miscarriages and
deaths in childbirth.
Transformation (for awhile) in the
17th Century
• Clothing became
softer and easier to
wear.
• Wearing lace and
color a sign of your
power and wealth.
Women’s Clothing
• Empire waists.
• Corsets were a bit looser.
• Lace was detachable on
the dress to make it look
different.
– Pearl jewelry was the
rage.
– HORROR!
Women were cutting
bangs and frizzing their
hair!
• It was the age of the
décolletage.
– Low, LOW necklines that lace
was worn over.
Men’s Clothing: The Cavalier
• Boots were usually favored
by men.
• The waistcoat was long
and coats were “cutaway”
so you could see the
richness of the waistcoat
and lace.
• Hats were very big and
worn inside as well as out.
• Stockings were held up by
colorful garters under their
breeches.
Shoes / Boots / Gloves
• Red heeled shoes were
allowed ONLY for royalty.
• Still no left nor right foot.
• Bucket topped boots for
men.
• Gloves were also important
for the nobles to wear.
– Handmade for the
individual.
– Often given as
engagement gifts – you
would exchange one
glove.
The other “style” of the time:
• WIGS!
Men wore wigs
• Personal hygiene was not
very good.
• Elaborate long hair was the
rage to wear.
• It was easier to shave your
head and keep wigs.
– Hairspray? Mousse?
Gel? – they used butter
and lard.
• Size of the wig showed
your social status.
– King’s had to be the tallest!
– Louis XIV had over 300 wigs.
The poor?
• Covered their hair to
keep lice and other
vermin from the oily
hair.
• Often wore the same
thing until it rotted
away.
England 1660: The Return of a King
• THE RESTORATION
• King Charles II is
brought back to rule
England.
Charles II: An absolute monarch –
that knew limits.
• Charles believed in his
Divine Right to rule.
• But he seemed to know
that there needed to be
limits.
– Self-imposed limits.
Charles II: Childhood
• Unusual for his time, his
parents were loving to their
children.
• But as the first born son,
Charles had special
attention.
– As a boy unusually tall
and strong.
– Unusually physically
active for a prince.
• Took after his
Grandfather Henry IV
of France.
Charles II
• Privilege ended
abruptly when his
father was beheaded.
• 19 years old – a prince
without a country or
money.
– Treated as a poor
relation in France.
What happened to his mother?
• Henrietta Maria did not
handle exile and losing
her husband very well.
– Petitioned Cromwell
to give her her
“widow’s right” of the
money from tin
mines in England.
• Traditionally what
widowed queens
lived off of.
What do you think Cromwell said?
• He said it was true – he
would give a widowed
queen her rightful legacy IF
….
– She was a QUEEN of
England.
• Remember?
– Henrietta Maria
had refused to be
crowned in a
Protestant
ceremony.
Henrietta Maria
• Spent most of the rest
of her life crying over
her lost husband.
– Tried to have him
made into a saint.
– Her tears and
refusing to be in any
house she had been
in with her husband
made her a less than
welcome guest.
Charles II
• Didn’t get much
supervision.
• Had to take over as the
head of the family.
• An unemployed prince
had to learn a lot of
humility and doing
without things.
– Also freed him up to
see how other
people lived.
Charles II
• Kept lines of
communication open
with England.
• 1659 was offered the
chance to come back
to England IF:
– Signed the Petition
of Right that his
father had thrown
away.
Charles II:
• Charles agreed IF:
– Parliament wouldn’t
interfere with his
Divine Right.
– He could take
revenge on the men
who had signed his
father’s death
warrant.
The Regicides
• Of the 59 men who had
signed Charles I death
warrant in 1649, 35 were
still alive in 1660.
• Most chose to immigrate to
Europe or the Americas.
• Some were hanged.
• Some were hanged, drawn
and quartered.
• Others imprisoned for life.
• One was pardoned.
– He had helped Charles
II in exile.
King Charles did not treat his return
as a time to “get even” with people.
• For an absolute
monarch he was pretty
fair.
• Spent part of the tax
money on improving
the life of his people.
• Had some religious
tolerance.
Religion under King Charles II (1660
– 1685)
• Return to the Anglican
Faith as the religion of the
country.
• Some tolerance for
Catholics.
• Puritans could practice
their religion BUT:
– Ministers couldn’t live closer
than 7 miles to their
parishioners.
– You couldn’t be married or
buried in your church.
• Had to use the Anglican
Church
• Continued until 1888!
The Restoration: 1660 - 1685
• PARTY TIME!
• After all the restrictions
under the Puritans,
people were ready to
have a good time.
• Charles definitely knew
how to do that!
The Restoration: 1660 - 1685
• Clothing and morals
were “looser.”
• Dancing, Theatre,
Music were
encouraged.
And HORROR to the Puritans!
• 1661 WOMEN were
allowed to act on the
stage!
– Nell Gwynn – one of
the first actresses
and one of King
Charles’ many,
many, many
mistresses!
King Charles wasn’t all about having
a good time!
• Interested in science.
– Founded The Royal
Society.
• England’s first
scientific “club.”
• Interested in scientific
equipment.
• Did go out among the
people to see how his rules
were being accepted by the
people.
– Some brothels too!
Trivia: King Charles outlawed something we use
quite regularly today.
• Felt Coffee Houses
were a place where
politics was discussed
more than it should be!
Charles II: The Merry Monarch
• We get the phrase:
“Eat, drink, and be
merry.”
• “Restless he rolls
from whore to whore
A merry monarch,
scandalous and
more.”
– Song from the
Restoration.
Charles II
• Married Catherine of
Braganza after seeing
her portrait.
– Didn’t marry for love,
it was politics.
– But said it was a
face he could trust.
Catherine of Braganza
• Catholic, but didn’t
flaunt her religion about
England.
• Was a good wife to her
husband, except in one
way:
– She never had a
child.
– Always miscarried.
The Merry Monarch
• Had LOTS of flings – but
did have FIVE OFFICIAL
mistresses.
– 12 children.
– Made mistresses and
children “royal” with
titles and wealth.
• Didn’t make
Parliament happy to
have to bankroll all
these kids!
Mistress #1: Barbara Villiers
• Made her the Countess
of Castlemaine.
– Dukes of Cleveland.
– 5 children
Mistress #2: Catherine Pegge
• No pictures are known
of her:
– 2 children
• Charles
FitzCharles.
• A daughter
Mistress #3: Louise de Kerouaille
• Duchess of Portsmouth
– One son: Charles,
Duke of Richmond
Mistress #4: Lucy Walter
• A Welsh middle gentry
woman that became a
courtesan:
– Son Charles, Duke
of Monmouth.
– One daughter
– Died before the
Restoration.
Mistress #5: Nell Gwynn
• The actress!
• Made their sons the
Duke of St. Albans and
the Earl of
Beauclerc.(Beauclerk)
• But died before he
could give her a title.
– “Don’t let poor Nell
starve.” – Charles
II’s last words.
Descendents of King Charles II
Charles II dies
• Stroke at 54
• May have been
brought on by a kidney
malfunction?
• Four days to die:
– “I apologize for being
so long a dying.”
Historical RUMOR:
• Did Charles II turn
CATHOLIC before he
died?
– Still a great deal of
anti-Catholic
sentiment in
England.
– Rumors of being
poisoned in a
Catholic plot to take
the throne.
Because next in line was his brother
JAMES
• James II
• A CATHOLIC king???
James II King 1685 - 1689
• James in exile was
even more “forgotten.”
– He was a younger
son, an unemployed
prince without much
parental guidance in
European exile.
Prince James
• Became a Catholic as
a teenager.
• Married a member of
the lower nobility, Anne
Hyde.
– Had eight children
before she died in
1671.
• She never “fit in”
with the
Restoration.
King Charles
• Sympathized with his
brother – but had to
look to the future of the
Stuart line.
• Two daughters of
James and Anne lived.
• Ordered that they be
raised as Protestants.
– Princess Mary
– Princess Anne
King James II and VII (England and
Scotland)
• The last Catholic king
of England, Scotland,
Wales and Ireland.
James II
• Tried to tell the English
people he would be
Catholic, but his
successor daughters
would be Protestants.
• That seemed to assure
a nervous England –
UNTIL …
King James remarried!
• A Catholic.
• Mary of Modena
• Was NOT popular with
the Protestant English.
• There had been
pregnancies, but had
all ended with stillbirths
and miscarriages.
Then came the Warming Pan Plot!
• Mary of Modena
became pregnant
again in 1688.
• She went into
premature labor.
• When her son James,
was born, only
Catholics were present
as witnesses to the
birth.
King James makes BIG mistakes!
• Announces his son is the
next ruler of England.
– He would be raised as a
Catholic.
– He began appointing
Catholics to high offices.
– Had a statement of
religious tolerance read
from all Anglican pulpits.
One person in particular didn’t like
what was happening!
• James’ eldest daughter
– Mary.
• Had expected to
become queen after
her father.
• She had been
preparing for the
moment all of her life.
Mary Stuart
• She had been raised
Protestant.
• Married to her first cousin,
William of Orange, when
she was 15.
– Cried all through the
wedding.
– She didn’t particularly
like her husband.
– He didn’t particularly like
her either.
William and Mary
• For 15 years they had
been putting up with
each other for one
reason.
– They would
someday become
the King and Queen
of England.
But now a baby boy stood in their
way.
• What is a dysfunctional
couple supposed to
do?
A rumor was put out about Mary of
Modena …
• She had only
PRETENDED to be
pregnant.
• During her delivery – a
bed warming pan had
been called for.
It gets even better!
• There had been a baby
boy hidden in the pan.
• The boy wasn’t royal at
all.
• James II and the
Catholics were plotting
the complete take over
of England.
William and Mary ride to the rescue!
• The GLORIOUS
REVOLUTION.
• William and Mary
gathered a Protestant
army.
• Anti-Catholic riots
broke out in the streets.
King James ran away • By leaving, his
daughter said he lost
the right to rule.
• Became Queen Mary II
and King William III.
• She was coming to
England to “save the
Protestant religion.”
William and Mary instituted AntiCatholic laws:
– No Catholic could sit in
Parliament.
– Catholics could not vote.
– No Catholic could be in
the army or navy.
– No royal was allowed to
marry a Catholic.
• The only law that still
applies in 2008!
To get Parliament to agree to what
they did they gave up some rights.
• Agreed to the Petition
of Right.
• Agreed that Parliament
had the right to make
laws that the monarchy
had to follow.
– The Declaration of
Right.
• Established
Constitutional
Monarchy
The Rise of the Jacobites
• The baby James III and his
son, Charles III got a “raw
deal.”
• Some people in Ireland,
Scotland and England
agreed.
• For 80 years those that
tried to “restore the TRUE
Stuarts” to the throne were
fighting against William,
Mary, later Queen Anne
and two king Georges.
Queen Anne: The last Stuart
monarch
Ruled 1707 –1714
More power for Parliament.
Silly woman who is
remembered for her
attempts to have a child.
17 pregnancies or births.
No child lived beyond one
who made it to seven years
of age.
Anne decided who comes after her:
• Instead of choosing her
half-brother (Catholic),
she chose her distant
cousin George who
didn’t even speak
English, but was
Protestant.
– He gave Parliament
even more power.
Changes that happened at this time
• Limited Monarchy
– Kings and Queens
had to obey laws.
Changes that happened in England
• Political Parties Emerge:
– Tories
• Tended to be
aristocrats and
wanted to keep noble
privileges
– Whigs
• More the policies of
the Glorious
Revolution.
• Favored Parliament
over the Crown.
• Merchants and
townspeople.
Changes that happened in England
• The Cabinet System:
– Parliament advisors
that set the policy of
the country.
– The Prime Minister
leads the Cabinet
and is the real leader
of the country.
BUT!
• This was hardly a
democratic system of
government.
• Oligarchy – a
government in which
the ruling power
belongs to a few
people.
• Landowning aristocrats
believed they were the
“natural” ruling class.
Oligarchy in 18th Century England
• Right to vote was for
wealthy landowning
Protestant men.
• But change was on the
way!