3.2 The English Civil War and Glorious Revolution

time period of absolutism and consitutionalism

1648 - 1815

absolutism

a monarchy with absolute power (everyone like France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia, besides England)

Constitutional government

power of the government was limited by the rule of law

how the constitutional government worked in England

no english monarch could rule absolutely because that monarch was required to share power with the English Parliament, which was a legislative body that represented the interests of the English people

causes of the English Civil War

• Doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings (the King’s authority)

• Thirty Years’ War (the debt)

• The Anglican Church (religious tensions, James I didn’t like Protestants but Charles I married a Catholic)

Doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings

a cause of the English Civil war that was the idea that God granted spiritual authority to the Church while granting political authority to the king (so people needed to see the King as good as well)

Charles I

the big believer of the Divine Right of Kings so the King could do whatever he wanted like take whatever land he wanted but the parliament didn’t let him do that but Charles kept doing whatever he wanted anyway with the excuse that he’s god

House of Commons

the lower house in the English parliament

Thirty Years’ War’s debt

a cause of the English Civil war that was all the debt that came from England’s participation in the Thirty Years’ War (specifically the money Charles I had spent which wasn’t authorized by Parliament) —> caused tensions between the crown and the people all while the parliament was trying to stop the spendings of the King.

Charles’s Personal Rule

Charles’s attempt of dissolving the parliament by refusing to call them into session from 1629-1640 which is when Charles I did whatever he wanted.

short parliament

in 1640 when Charles I called parliament into meeting to address a rebellion in Scotland but parliament didn’t cooperate with the King so he dismissed them AGAIN

long parliament

after dismissing the Short Parliament, he called for elections of yet another parliament however, when Charles I dismissed them as well, they didn’t listen and stayed (TONS OF TENSIONS)

The Anglican Church

a cause of the English Civil war that created religious tensions between Catholics and Protestants (Anglicans) because a group of English Clergy, called the Puritans, demanded the removal of the Catholicness of the Anglican Church to “purify” the Church

Puritans

a group of English Clergy who are Anglican (Protestant)

The English Civil War

a conflict between the King, Parliament, and other elites over their respective roles in the political structure

the English Civil War was fought to answer what question?

Will England be ruled by an absolute monarch or exist as a constitutional monarchy?

New Model Army

the Parliament’s army to fight against Charles I’s army of nobility for 3 years until the New Model Army won

Charles I’s rule

1625 - 1649 (his execution)

Oliver Cromwell

A Puritan parliamentarian took the New Model Army over and completely defeated Charles I’s army and even captured the King during the English Civil War. He removed opposing representatives from Parliament and then tried and found Charles I guilty of treason. He became the “Lord Protector” when England became Protectorate. Then he became a military dictator and basically became Charles I (the guy he fought to abolish)

Rump Parliament

the parliament that was left after Oliver Cromwell removed the representatives who opposed him (all after defeating Charles I’s army completely). This parliament found Charles I guilty for treason and cut his head off.

Protectorate

England became a true republic under Oliver Cromwell. this government (ON PAPER) entrusted legislative authority to the remaining members of Parliament, while executive authority was entrusted to a council.

what happened after the War ended with Oliver Cromwell + Parliament

England was ruled by Cromwell’s army at its head (so basically a military dictatorship, not a constitutional republic that everyone fought for). Oliver Cromwell tried to work with Parliament but then dismissed them (so a repeat of Charles I) —> he ruled England by force for a decade until his death. After he died the protectorate fell apart and the English people were ready for stability.

Oliver Cromwell’s rule

1653-1658

restoration period

in 1660 when the people of England wanted a King to restore the stability after Charles I and Oliver Cromwell.

the next Kings (after Charles I and Oliver Cromwell) + how they did

• Charles II - who schemed with France and didn’t work well with Parliament

• James II - who was worse because he set Catholics as important roles in the government

what did the English Parliament do during James II’s rule

they got sick of James II and offered the throne to James’s daughter Mary & William of Orange —> James II fled

the Glorious Revolution + effects

the transfer of power (James II —> Mary & William of Orange) WITHOUT any bloodshed

effects: because William and Mary are on the throne, the idea of the divine right of kings in England was officially put to death

what condition did Mary and William of Orange have to accept when taking the throne? + its definition

the English Bill of Rights that limited the power of the monarchy and protected the power of parliament

effects of the war

• Oliver Cromwell became a dictator (the thing he fought to abolish)

• England became Protectorate

• Mary and William of Orange take the throne after Mary’s father James II who wouldn’t agree w Parliament)

• the composition of the English Bill of Rights