Stuart Britain and Ireland

Overview

• early Stuarts (1603-1642)

• Wars of Three Kingdoms (1642-1649)

• interregnum (1649-1660)

James VI/I

• song of Mary Queen of scots

• James I: King of England and wales, Scotland, Ireland

• 1603: Union of the Crowns (england and scotland) (Great Britain)

• had already been a king but had not known england

James VI/I: Religion

• 1604: Hampton Court Conference-James was raised calvanist, but resisted pressure from the english puritans to get rid of Bishops

• “No bishop, no kings”: if religious hierarchy is gone, monarch will follow

• 1605: Gunpowder Plot-James backtracked on toleration of Catholics

• few extremists wanted to blow up king and parliament, but plot failed

• 1611: King James (or authorized) bible

James VI/I: Government

• Theory of Divine Right of Kings (King was gods rep) vs Constitutional monarchy (King in conjunction w parliament)

• James and other stuarts wanted absolute monarchy, but English kings has no standing army and limited powers regarding raising taxes

James VI/I: Coloinization

• 1607: Jamestown became first permanent english settlement in New World

  • went for political and religious freedom

• 1619: arrival of women and slaves

  • plantation system

  • House of Burgesses: somewhat modeled on English system, their version of Parliament

• 1620: began settling in New England

  • religious dissenters (pilgrims, puritans, etc)

Charles I: Religion

• (r. 1625-1649)

• was an Anglican (c of E/high church): favored bishops, rituals, protestant but looked catholic

• Henrietta Maria: his wife was a French catholic

• william Laud: Archbishop of canterbury, like charles favored “the beauty of holiness” (high church, icons, etc)

• Puritans opposed, thought he was a catholic

Charles I: Government

• strong support of Divine right

• 1629-40: personal rule-King ruled without parliament

  • couldn’t raise taxes nut used loophole by extending ship money across country

• 1637: tries to impose book of common prayer in Scotland (and bishops), leads to bishop’s war

• 1640: Charles forced to call parliament for money, initially dissolved but recalled “young parliament”

  • promised bigger role of parliament

• 1641: Irish rebellion, based on political and religious grievances

• debate over who will control army

Wars of the Three Kingdoms

• issues: absolutism vs constitutional monarchy/ Anglicanism vs puritanism

• Cavaliers (royals) vs Roundheads (puritans/parliament)

• King had advantages in first years

• Rise of the new model army under Oliver Cromwell

  • Puritan, raised better trained army

• 1646: Charles defeated and ongoing negotioations

War of Provinces (second civil war)

• 1648

• charles was defeated

• put on trial for treason

• changed definition of treason to mean going against the country not the king

• 1649: charles beheaded

• monarchy abolished, house of lords abolished, and Church of England established

Interregnum/The Republic

• ruled by parliament and army

• country is adrift, Cromwell becomes lord protecter (1654-1658)

• king in all but name

• Period of “puritan rule” putting down uprising specifically in Ireland and scotland

• harsh moral code and building of the British navy (Western design)

• wanted to seize Caribbean but failed, did take Jamaicia

• Cromwell’s son rules for a year but is ineffective, Stuarts are in exile

• 1660: charles invited to come back-restoration

Restoration/Charles II (1660-1685)

• all major institutions restored, reaction to puritan period

• charles wise enough to not push absolutism, but tried to minimize parliament

• wild guy, much different for puritan time

• 1662: C of E restored as state church, with penalties for catholic and protestant dissenters

1665-1667

• 65: plague hit london, last great outbreak

• 66: Fire hits london, large areas destroyed

  • rebuilding of london (c. wren) done in baroque styles

• 67: at wart with netherlands (anglo-dutch wars)

  • dutch victory

Exclusionist crisis

• attempts to exclude james (charles brother who became catholic) from ascending to the throne

  • efforts were not successful

James II (1685-1688)

• catholic and absolutist, pushed it more than charles II

• had two daughters w first wife: mary and anne(protestant)

• first wife dies, marries catholic woman, has catholic son james in 1688

Glorious revolution

• mary marries William (netherlands)

• elite send message asking william to invade

• william and mary were co-rulers

• some attempts by heirs of james to retake the throne

reign of william and mary (1688/89-1702)

• revolution settlement: established constitutional monarchy and parliaments power grew

• Toleration act: C of E tolerates all protestant just not non-Christians and catholics

  • heir has to be protestant

• william had most power

• led british/dutch coalition vs france (Louis XIV)

Queen anne (1702-1714)

• had 14 pregnancies but all kids die

• takes throne w no living children

• 1707: act of union/union of the parliaments- England and scotland=Great britain

  • some opposition by scots, but pos effect bc no more trade barriers

  • allowed britain to become a world power

• annes death marked end of Stuart dynasty, hanoverians followed

Hanoverians (Germans)

• ascended the throne in 1714

• With George I followed by many Georges

• Georgian period (1714-1830)