Stuarts and English Civil War

Anglican

Member of the Church of England, a moderate Protestant faith that kept many Catholic traditions under Stuart rule.

Petition of Right

1628 document limiting the king's power by requiring Parliament's consent for taxes and banning arbitrary imprisonment.

Personal Rule

Period from 1629-1640 when Charles I governed without Parliament, using alternative revenues like ship money.

Oliver Cromwell

Leader of Parliament's forces and later Lord Protector of England, ruling as a Puritan military dictator.

Levellers

Radical political movement within the New Model Army calling for equality before the law, male suffrage, and religious freedom.

Thomas Hobbes

Political philosopher who wrote Leviathan arguing for absolute government to control humanity's selfish nature.

John Locke

Enlightenment thinker who argued for natural rights (life, liberty, property) and government by consent of the governed.

James I

First Stuart monarch of England who believed in the divine right of kings and clashed with Parliament over taxes and religion.

Puritans

English Protestants who sought to purify the Church of England from Catholic practices and emphasize moral discipline.

Presbyterian

Calvinist Protestant denomination governed by elders instead of bishops, dominant in Scotland.

Charles I

Stuart king who ruled without Parliament for 11 years, enforced religious conformity, and was executed after the Civil War.

Ship Money

Tax for naval defense traditionally on coastal towns but extended inland by Charles I without Parliament's approval.

Triennial Act

1641 law requiring that Parliament be called at least every three years to check royal authority.

New Model Army

Professional, Puritan-led army created by Parliament during the English Civil War, led by Oliver Cromwell.

Rump Parliament

Parliament remnant after Pride's Purge that tried and executed Charles I and abolished the monarchy.

House of Commons

Lower house of Parliament representing gentry and commoners; gained power during and after the Civil War.

House of Lords

Upper house of Parliament made up of nobles and clergy; abolished during the Commonwealth and later restored.

Republic or Commonwealth

Government established after Charles I's execution (1649-1660) that abolished monarchy and House of Lords.

Charles II

King restored to the throne in 1660; known for political pragmatism and restoring the Church of England.

James II

Catholic king whose pro-Catholic policies and assertion of royal power led to his overthrow in the Glorious Revolution.

Test Act of 1673

1673 law requiring officeholders to swear allegiance to the Church of England, excluding Catholics from public positions.

William of Orange

Dutch prince who invaded England in 1688 and took the throne with his wife Mary II in the Glorious Revolution.

Mary II

Protestant daughter of James II who ruled jointly with William III after accepting limits on royal power.

Glorious Revolution

1688 bloodless overthrow of James II that established parliamentary sovereignty and constitutional monarchy.

English Bill of Rights

1689 document limiting royal power, affirming Parliament's authority, and protecting individual rights.

Toleration Act of 1689

Granted limited religious freedom to Protestant dissenters, though not to Catholics.