western ci

Henry VIII:

1500s, the Protestant Reformation took root in Europe England remained solidly Catholic Henry VIII (1509-1547) established Tudor Dynasty; desired a male heir wanted an annulment from Catherine of Aragon (mother of Mary I) wanted to marry Anne Boleyn (mother of Elizabeth I ) broke from the Roman Catholic Church denied papal authority in English religious matters declared himself the “supreme head” of the Church of England 1534, confirmed by Parliament passing the Act of Supremacy confiscated monastic lands as a source of revenue married more 4xs (Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Catherine Howard, Katherine Parr) 1537, Jane Seymour produced a male heir, Edward VI 1547, Henry died; his children Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth followed him on the throne

Edward VI:

  • Edward VI (1547-1553)

  • 9 yrs old when he assumed the throne

  • raised as a Protestant, made England more Protestant

  • 1549, instituted the Church of England’s Book of Common Prayer 

  • dictated England’s only legal form of worship

  • eradicated aspects of Roman Catholic practices (including statues and stained glass) 

  • marriage of clergy allowed

  • 1553, died from tuberculosis

  • succeeded by Lady Jane Grey

  • ruled for 9 days (July 10–19, 1553)

  • overthrown by the more popular Mary I (1553–1558)

Mary I:

  • Mary I (1553-1558)

  • Queen of England and Ireland

  • Queen of Spain through marriage to Philip II

  • Protestants referred to her as “Bloody Mary”

  • attempted to forcibly restore Catholicism as official faith

  • burned 300 Protestant heretics in 3 yrs

  • began to reverse Edward’s Protestant reforms

  • restored papal supremacy in England

  • abandoned the title of Supreme Head of the Church

  • reintroduced Roman Catholic bishops

  • began the slow reintroduction of monastic orders

  • 1558, Mary died

  • 1559, Elizabeth I succeeded her

Elizabeth I:

  • Elizabeth I (1558-1603) 

  • Queen of England and Ireland 

  • last monarch of the Tudor Dynasty

  • known as the "Virgin Queen"

  • ruled for nearly 50 yrs 

  • completed the Reformation her father started

  • had frequent conflicts with Parliament over finances 

  • died in 1603, left a huge debt for her successor 

  • Parliament’s “power of the purse” = one obstacle to English rulers’ becoming absolute monarchs 

  • struggle had serious political consequences for England

  • Elizabethan Settlement (2 parts)

  • created a moderate Protestant Church of England

  • Act of Supremacy 1558

  • declared Elizabeth the “Supreme Governor of the Church of England”

  • instituted an Oath of Supremacy

  • required civil officials and church clergymen to swear allegiance to the monarch as head of the Church and State

  • Act of Uniformity of 1559 

  • laid groundwork for the Elizabethan (Anglican) church

  • restored the 1552 version of the English Book of Prayer 

  • kept many of the familiar old practices

  • allowed for two interpretations of communion, one Catholic and one Protestant

King James (1603-1625)

King James VI of Scotland (son of mary, queen of scots)

  • Became James I (1603-1625) of england, rules 22 years

    • Cousin and heir apparent to Elizabeth I

    • Inherited issues from Elizabeth's reign

    • Understood little english laws, institutions, and customs

    • Strong advocate of royal absolutism

      • Espoused a belief in the divine right of kings

        • Kings receive their power directly from god

        • Kings are responsible to no one except god

      • Viewpoint alienated parliament

  • Worst struggles with parliament were over finance

    • Parliament's established monopoly of granting taxes made its assent necessary for the improvement of the crown's finances

  • King james’s policies isolated religious communities 

    • Offended puritan members of Parliament

    • Puritans wanted to reform the Anglican Church

      • Wanted to remove remaining catholic practices

  • James I ordered a new translation of the bible

    • Refused to make additional puritan reforms 

      • Some groups fled england as the saw the anglican church as corrupt 

  • Many of England’s gentry (well-to-do-landowners) had become puritans 

    • Many were members of the house of commons (parliament's lower house)

      • Held important local positions (justices of the peace and sheriffs)

  • It was politically unwise to alienate puritans

    • Many beloved the powers of the church and king were too closely linked

      • Disliked the episocal system: bishops (episcopos) played a major administrative role

      • Favored the presbyterian model: ministers and elders (presbyters) played a major administrative role

        • James I refused change as crown appointed bishops reinforced monarchical authority 

  • Efforts to encourage European peace irritated also protestants and Catholics

    • 1604, ended long- running war with Spain

    • Attempted to arrange a marriage between his son and the spanish Infanta 

    • Married his daughter Elizabeth to protestant german elector frederick

  • Treatment of catholic led to the gunpowder plot (1605)

    • A failed attempt to assassinate King James I

      • Organized by devout Catholic Robert Catesby

        • Hoped to establish catholic rule in England 

Charles I (1625-1649)

  • 1625, James I died

    • Charles I assumed the throne, 2nd in stuart dynasty

    • King of england, scotland, and ireland

  • Tensions between the king and parliament centered around finances and religion

    • Reign was plagued by war with spain and france

    • Parliament refused to provide funds several times

      • Charles responded by dissolving Parliament

        • Imposed a forced loan, which his judges declared illegal

        • Dismissed the chief justice and ordered the arrest of @ 70 knights and gentlemen who refused to contribute money

  • Charles I high0lamded actions were discussed int he next parliament 

  • 1682, Charles I was forced to call parliament again 

    • Refused to grant him funds until he signed the petition of right

      • Prohibited taxation without parliament's consent

  • The king agreed to four points:

    • He would not imprison subjects without due cause

    • He would not levy taxes without parliament's consent

    • He would not quarter soldiers in private homes

    • He would not impose martial law in peacetime 

  • Charles I initially agreed to the petition, later ignored it

    • Reneged because of its limitations on royal power

  • 1629, Charles I discovered Parliament

    • Decided that he could not work with the legislature

      • Would not summon it to meet

  • 1629 to 1640, Charles I pursued a course of personal rule

    • Had to find ways to cool taxes without the cooperation of parliament

      • Imposed fees and fines (ex. Ship money)

        • Aroused opposition from middle class merchants and indeed gentry

        • Objected to the king’s attempts to tax without parliament's consent

  • Charles I’s popularity annually decreased 

  • Religious policy also proved disastrous 

    • Controversial marriage to Henrietta Maria, Catholic sister of king Louis XIII (France)

    • Offended puritans by upholding the rituals of the Anglican Church

    • Wanted both england and scotland to follow one religion

      • 1637, Charles I tried to force the Presbyterian Scots to accept a version of the Anglican prayer book

        • The Scots rose up in rebellion against the king

          • The scots assembles a huge army and threatened to invade england

            • Charles I was financially strapped and unable to raise troops 

              • Called the short parliament into session to raise funds 

  • Charles I’s desperate situation gave Parliament a chance to oppose him

    • November 1640 to September 1641, the long PArliament passed laws which placed severe limitations on royal authority 

      • Abolished arbitrary courts

      • Abolished taxes that the king has collected without parliament's consent would be abolished (ex. Ship money)

      • Passes the revolutionary triennial act

        • Specified that parliament must meet at least once every three years, with or without the king’s consent


  • January 1642, Charles I tried to arrest several parliamentary leaders but they escaped

    • Fighting broke out and charles feld london 

      • Raised an army in the north of England, where people were loyal to him

  • From 1642 to 1649, supporters and opponents of Charles I fought the English war

    • Was polarized society largely along class lines

      • Crowned supports (royalists aka cavaliers) 

      • Puritan supporters of parliament (roundheads)  

  • At first neither side could gain an advantage 

    • Parliament proved victories in the 1st phase of the war

      • 1644, the puritans found a savvy general in Oliver Cromwell

      • Parliament created the new model army

        • Composed of mostly extreme puritans (independents )

  • 1645, the tide turned toward the Puritans when their army began defeating the cavaliers 

  • A split now occurred in the parliamentary forces

    • Presbyterian majority wanted to disband the army

      • Wanted to restore charlies I with a presbyterian state church

        • Began negotiations with the king

  • Charles I took advantage of this division

    • Fled and sought help from the scots

      • Enraged by the king’s treachery, Cromwell and the army enraged in a second civil war (1648)

        • Ended with Cromwell's victory and the capture of the king

          • Presbyterian members of parliament were purged, leaving a “rump parliament”

            • Wanted to remove the royalist supporters with intentions to try king charles I for hight reason 

Oliver Cromwell (1649-1658)

  • Now held the reins of power

    • 1649, Charles I was put on trial for treason against parliament

    • Found guilty and sentenced to death

      • Execution of Charles I was revolutionary

        • Never before had a reigning monarch faced a public trial and execution

  • 1649, Cronwell abolished the monarchy and the house of lords

    • Established a commonwealth ( a republican form of government) 

      • The commonwealth lasted from 1649-1653)

  • Cromwell with eventually become the head of state (lord protector )

    • Executive power was vested in the lord protector 

    • Legislative power was vested in a reconstituted parliament

  • New system didn't work

    • Cromwell found it difficult to work with parliament

      • Members debated his authority 

        • 1655, Cromwell dissolved parliament

          • Divided the country into 11 regions, each ruled by a major general who served as a virtual military governor

          • Levied a 10% land tax on all former Royalists to finance cost 

  • Establishing authority 

  • Cromwell and the puritans sought to reform society

    • Promoted education and established new schools

    • Reduced punishments for minor crimes

    • Favored religious tolerance for all christians except catholics

      • Allowed expelled jews to return to england

    • Made laws that promoted puritan morality

      • Abolished activities (theater, sporting events, and dancing ) 

  • 1658, Cromwell died

  • The English were sick of military rule

  • His policies wore arbitrary policies then Charles I 

    • The government Cromwell established collapsed

    • A new parliament was selected

      • 1659, Parliament voted to restore the english monarchy ending the interregnum

        • Asked the older son of charles I to rule england

          • 1660, reign of Charles II began 

          • Period known as the restoration 

Charles II (1660-1685)

  • The restoration of the monarchy and house of lords did not mean that the work of the english revolution was undone

    • Parliament retained much of the power it had won (ex. taxation)

    • 1679, passes an important guarantee of freedom known as habeas corpus

      • Habeas corpus= a fundamental right in the constitution that protects against unlawful and indefinite imprisonment 

        • Gave every prisoner the right to obtain a writ (a document ordering that the prisoner be brought before a judge to specify the charges against them)

  • Religious problems plagued Charles II’s reign

  • 1661, anglican church restored as the official church of england

  • Charles II attempted to push his own agenda

    • Some ideas were distasteful to the English people

      • Charles was sympathetic toward catholicism

        • 1672, issued the declaration of indulgence, which suspended the laws that parliament has passed against catholics and puritans

          • Parliament passed the Test act of 1673

            • Only Anglicans could hold military and civil offices 

  • Parliament debated who should inherit Charles II’ throne

    • Feared the possibility of a catholic dynasty

      • Charles II had no legitimate child

        • Heir was his brother James (Catholic)

  • Parliament to attempt to pass a bill that would have barred james from the throne

    • Although these attempts failed, the debate over the bill created two political groupings

      • Whigs opposed James

      • Teries supported him

  • To foil these efforts, Charles II dismissed Parliament in 1681, relying on French subsidies to rule alone

James II (1685-1688)

  • Accession of James II (1685-1688), virtually guaranteed a new constitutional crisis for England

    • Open and devout Catholic; offended subjects

    • Attempted to further Catholic interests

      • Once again made religion a primary cause of conflict between king and parliament

  •  Violated the test act

    • Appointed several catholics to high positions in the government, army and navy and universities

      • When parliament protested the appointments, James II dissolved it

  • In 1688, James II’s second wife gave birth to a son 

    • English protestants became terrified at the prospect of a line of catholic kings 

William and Mary (1689-1702)

  • James II had an older daughter, Mary (protestant)

    • His wife of william of orange (prince of the netherlands)

  • Parliament invited William and Mart to overthrow James II for the sake of Protestantism

    • 1688, William led his army to london

    • James fled to france

  • Parliament offered the throne to william and mary 

    • Accepted it along with the provisions of a declaration of rights (Bill of rights)

      • Bloodless overthrow of king james II (the glorious revolution)

  • The revolution Settlement confirmed william and mary as monarchs


The glorious revolution 

  • William and Mary vowed to recognize parliament as their partner in governance

  • Bill of rights (1689) helped fashion a government system based on rule of law and a ferry elected parliament - foundation for a constitutional monarchy

    • The document made it impossible for kings to oppose or do without parliament

      • No suspending of parliament's laws

      • No levying of taxes without a specific grant from parliament

      • No interfering with freedom of speech in parliament

      • No penalizing a citizen who petitions the king about grievances

      • The rights of citizens to keep arms, have a jury trial, and not be subjects to excessive bail were also confirmed 

  • Bill of rights did not settle the religious questions

    • The tolerance act of 1889 granted puritan dissenters the right of free public worship

      • Catholics were still excluded

        • Did not have full civil and political equality since the test act was not repealed 

  • By deposing one king and establishing another (William), parliament had demolished the divine right theory of kingship and confirmed its right to participate in the government

  • After 1688, no British monarch could rule without the consent of parliament

    • At the same time, parliament could not rule without the consent of the monarch

      • If the two disagreed, government came to a standstill

        • 1700s this potential problem was remedied by creation of the cabinet ( a group of government ministers)

          • Ministers acted in the ruler’s name but in reality represented the majority party of parliament

          • Became the link between the monarch and the majority party 

            • The leader of the majority party in parliament heads the cabinet (the prime minister)

  • The cabinet slowly became the center of power and policymaking 

  • The English revolutions of the 17th century prompted very different responses from two english political thinkers Thomas hobbes (1588-1679) and john locke (1632-1704)

    • Hobbes:leviathan (1651)

    • Locke: two treatises of government (1689)

  • The writing of both men would have a significant impact on both sides of the atlantic ocean