Transcript England and the Triumph of Parliament

The English Civil War
and the rise of
Parliament
Our objectives for this show are:
• You will be able to know the meaning of
Divine Right monarch.
• Identify the major conflicts over money in
the reigns of James I and Charles I
• In what way did Oliver Cromwell
modernize the army?
• You will be able to know the challenges
that Cromwell faced during the
protectorate of England.
Elizabeth I
died in 1603.
She named
James I, son
of Mary
Queen of
Scots as her
heir.
Elizabeth had ruled her country with the
help of advisors. She did not always listen to
Parliament, and over time, Parliament
resented her arbitrary rule.
But they rallied around her when the Armada
attacked.
Elizabeth was
a politique.
She was
flexible and
played fast
and loose
with religious
doctrine.
Elizabeth was a
unique monarch.
She was loved and
feared.
After her death, the Ruling
house of England changed from
Tudor to Stuart.
Spain, England’s rival, diminished as a
European power. . .
•It was highly dependent on
the New World for its
Wealth
•Industry and trade declined
•Yet, in the area of literature
and painting, it was going
through a golden age.
But for the British, the 16th century was
a time of achievement -
•They were proud of
Shakespeare and
Milton
•Music and Science
•Trade—Coal and
Wool
•All contributed to
England’s wealth
For this lecture, we will
now turn to England
and Scotland. It is after
Elizabeth’s death, and
Scotland and England
are now united under
one king, King James.
On the continent, Kings continued
to clash with nobles in the destructive
Thirty Years War. In England, a
workable form of government would
be created.
This is often described in
history books as “The
Rise of Parliament.”
Divine Right Monarchy:
James I and Charles I
James I took the
throne in 1603. He
strongly believed in
the “divine right” idea
of monarchy. Divine
right meant that
Kings were
answerable to God:
God had placed them
on the throne.
Though he was raised a Protestant by the
Scots, when his mother (Mary) was exiled in
England, James saw religion as a state
institution. He resented the extreme
Puritanism=Calvinism=Independence that
was expanding in England.
At the same time, many English migrated to
the new world in the 1600’s seeking great
religious autonomy
The most famous were the pilgrims in 1621.
The thirteen
colonies began
to form.
James asserted
his royal rights.
He also needed
money, and was
cash strapped
due to archaic
systems of money
collection
James was a homosexual. He had many young
favorites, including one called “Steenie,” the
Duke of Buckingham, whom he lavished money
and land grants on. This was a subject of London
gossip, and further weakened the monarchy.
A great
achievement of
James’ reign was
the King James
Bible, which we
will discuss at a
later time.
After many
years of illness,
James died in
1625. His son,
Charles I,
succeeded him.
Like his father,
he needed
money.
Parliament disliked the way that both
Charles and James were insisting that a King
should be able to raise taxes on his authority
Many members of Parliament resented the
Star Chamber, the court set up by Henry
VII, which continued to settle cases.
English Parliament had unique traits.
• There was only one
Parliament.
• And that parliament had
two houses:
• The House of Lords
consisted mainly of
hereditary noblemen
• The House of Commons
consisted of lesser nobles,
merchants, and mayors
Both houses were dominated by
Landowners.
Question: Who gave the landowners
large portions of land in the 1500’s?
Question: And from where
did this land come?
Charles I's third Parliament in
four years met on March 17th
1628, and immediately started
discussing recent grievances
against the way the King had
been treating them.
The Commons leader, Sir Edward
Coke, a lawyer, came up with
the Petition of Right...a
statement of a person's
fundamental rights which the
King should agree to honor.
The Petition of Right made reference
to the rights laid out in another
ancient document—signed in 1215--
What was that document?
Angry about this, and other concessions,
Charles dissolves Parliament in 1629. It will
not meet for 11 years.
Parliament could only meet legally
without a royal summons.
Even today, this
tradition is
honored by
Queen Elizabeth
II, who invites
Parliament to sit
each fall.
Over the next few years, Charles antagonizes
the government.
•He supports
the Church of
England over
the Puritans
•He attempts to
raise funds
without
consent of
Parliament.
The straw that breaks the camels back: the
King needed to modernize the navy with
“ship-money”
•Before, only the coastal towns had provided
ships—Charles wanted all of England to share
in the expense of the navy.
•Those who lived in the middle counties didn’t
want to share the expense
•They asserted the right that TAXES could not
be LEVIED without the permission of
Parliament.
The ability to suppress revolts was weakened
by this deadlock between King and
Parliament.
Charles could not raise the money he
needed.
Let’s review this important difference
about how France and England levied
taxes.
•ENGLAND—consent of Parliament
•FRANCE—King could directly levy Taxes!
The Scots rebelled in 1637 when England
tried to force the Anglican church over the
Presbyterian church as the state religion.
Charles invited Parliament to meet—the
first time in 11 years—remember it had
been dissolved in 1629.
•Parliament proved hostile to his
demands.
•So Charles dissolved it until new
members could be elected—
•The same men were voted in!
This Parliament would be the same
for 20 years—1640 to 1660
In that time, England would suffer a civil war. But we
call this parliament the LONG PARLIAMENT.
The Long Parliament moves on the
King’s prerogatives:
• It abolished the Star Chamber
• It allowed for Royal advisors to be punished
and not have royal immunity
• It abolished the office of Bishop in the
Anglican church
In 1642, The English Civil War begins.
•The Puritans gain
Scottish support by
promising to support
Presbyterianism as a
state religion
•Most of the support is
from the wealthy
south-east of England
• The King drew his
followers from various
nobles and the North
and West of England
The
Parliamentary
forces were called
ROUNDHEADS
The Royal Forces were called Cavaliers.
The Leader of
the Puritans was
Oliver
Cromwell
His military force was called The New
Model Army, nicknamed “The Ironsides.”
Cromwell
defeated the
Royalists and
Charles was
captured.
Cromwell felt that
Charles should be
put to death; when
Parliament hesitated,
he broke it up and
selected those who
were willing to
eliminate the Tyrant.
This was called Pride’s Purge after the man
whom Cromwell appointed to clear out
Parliament
The New Parliament was
now much reduced (to 50
members) but it would now,
at last, agree to the trial of
Charles I. This was called
the Rump Parliament, and it
would have the dubious
honor of trying and
executing a King.
There had never been a formal trial of a
King; old manuscripts had to be looked at to
figure out if it had happened in ancient
Roman times.
Of course, there had
always been
assassinations—but
never a trial.
The trial was held, Charles was found guilty of treason.
He was executed in 1649. His wife and children had
fled to France.
Bloodstained
shirt of Charles I.
Cromwell refused the crown of England,
saying he would be, instead, the Lord
Protector
England was declared a republic. Scotland was
upset, but Cromwell subdued both Scotland and
Ireland by force when they rebelled.
In Ireland, thousands of Catholics died, and
the land was distributed to the Protestants.
Cromwell, an
able and just
man, was
forever stained
by the deeds of
his army in
Ireland.
Cromwell ruled
England with as
much difficulty as
Charles I, the king
he had executed.
He limited Dutch trade, turning a former
ally into an enemy (Navigation Acts)
He gained Jamaica for
the British
But for many, the idea of a Lord Protector
instead of a King seemed extreme.
•There was
lingering
guilt about
Charles I’s
execution.
During this time, Quakers, led by
George Fox, emerged as a religion
The
Levelers,
another
group,
believed in
universal
suffrage
The Diggers
wanted to
occupy and
farm common
lands; they were
against private
ownership of
land.
Finally, there were the
Scientologists, who took
over toothsome
movies stars and their
young girlfriends.
Cromwell opposed all these groups—but
he could not turn to Anglicans and
Royalists for support.
Remember, he had killed
their king.
Over time, Cromwell depended on a
military rule to govern England. He died in
1658, and was succeeded by his son,
Richard.
Richard was
unable to
control the
country
England looked to the dead King’s son,
Charles II to return from France and restore
the Monarchy.
In 1660, Charles II, returns to England to
take the throne. The Restoration begins.
You have just learned:
• the meaning of Divine Right monarch.
• the major conflicts over money in the
reigns of James I and Charles I
• The ways that Oliver Cromwell
modernized the army
• The challenges that Cromwell faced during
the protectorate of England.