Absolutism in England

Restoration to Glorious Revolution

Section 3 (cont.)

Life in the 17th Century: Clothing• At the beginning of the

1600s there was only one word to describe the clothing of the upper classes.– STIFF!

Early 17th Century Clothing: MenNo such thing as

underwear. – You wore a short chemise that went down to the mid-thigh.

Served as your nightshirt too.

Rarely changed your “linens.”

Men’s Clothing in the early 17th Century• Over the undershirt men would

put padding to make it look like they had a belly and padding for the roll.– Often so stuffed – they

couldn’t sit down!• Held their stockings up with

colored garters.• Shoes had no heels and there

were no left or right foot shapes.

• Ruffs were wired to hold their shape.

• Doublets and jerkins finished the “look.”

Women’s Clothing: At the beginning of the 17th century:

• Chemises were often full length.

• Wore lots of wire and whale bone to make their clothes stiff.

History of the Corset• Tended to deform

women’s rib cages and shift organ alignment.– Probably played a

big part in the number of miscarriages and deaths in childbirth.

Transformation (for awhile) in the 17th Century

• Clothing became softer and easier to wear.

• Wearing lace and color a sign of your power and wealth.

Women’s Clothing• Empire waists.• Corsets were a bit looser.• Lace was detachable on the

dress to make it look different.– Pearl jewelry was the rage.– HORROR!

Women were cutting bangs and frizzing their hair!

• It was the age of the décolletage.– Low, LOW necklines that lace

was worn over.

Men’s Clothing: The Cavalier• Boots were usually favored

by men.• The waistcoat was long

and coats were “cutaway” so you could see the richness of the waistcoat and lace.

• Hats were very big and worn inside as well as out.

• Stockings were held up by colorful garters under their breeches.

Shoes / Boots / Gloves• Red heeled shoes were

allowed ONLY for royalty.• Still no left nor right foot.• Bucket topped boots for

men.• Gloves were also important

for the nobles to wear.– Handmade for the

individual.– Often given as

engagement gifts – you would exchange one glove.

The other “style” of the time:• WIGS!

Men wore wigs• Personal hygiene was not

very good.• Elaborate long hair was the

rage to wear.• It was easier to shave your

head and keep wigs.– Hairspray? Mousse?

Gel? – they used butter and lard.

• Size of the wig showed your social status.– King’s had to be the tallest!– Louis XIV had over 300 wigs.

The poor?• Covered their hair to

keep lice and other vermin from the oily hair.

• Often wore the same thing until it rotted away.

England 1660: The Return of a King• THE RESTORATION• King Charles II is

brought back to rule England.

Charles II: An absolute monarch – that knew limits.

• Charles believed in his Divine Right to rule.

• But he seemed to know that there needed to be limits.– Self-imposed limits.

Charles II: Childhood• Unusual for his time, his

parents were loving to their children.

• But as the first born son, Charles had special attention.– As a boy unusually tall

and strong.– Unusually physically

active for a prince.• Took after his

Grandfather Henry IV of France.

Charles II• Privilege ended

abruptly when his father was beheaded.

• 19 years old – a prince without a country or money.– Treated as a poor

relation in France.

What happened to his mother?• Henrietta Maria did not

handle exile and losing her husband very well.– Petitioned Cromwell

to give her her “widow’s right” of the money from tin mines in England.• Traditionally what

widowed queens lived off of.

What do you think Cromwell said?• He said it was true – he

would give a widowed queen her rightful legacy IF ….– She was a QUEEN of

England.• Remember?

– Henrietta Maria had refused to be crowned in a Protestant ceremony.

Henrietta Maria• Spent most of the rest

of her life crying over her lost husband.– Tried to have him

made into a saint.– Her tears and

refusing to be in any house she had been in with her husband made her a less than welcome guest.

Charles II• Didn’t get much

supervision.• Had to take over as the

head of the family.• An unemployed prince

had to learn a lot of humility and doing without things.– Also freed him up to

see how other people lived.

Charles II• Kept lines of

communication open with England.

• 1659 was offered the chance to come back to England IF:– Signed the Petition

of Right that his father had thrown away.

Charles II: • Charles agreed IF:

– Parliament wouldn’t interfere with his Divine Right.

– He could take revenge on the men who had signed his father’s death warrant.

The Regicides• Of the 59 men who had

signed Charles I death warrant in 1649, 35 were still alive in 1660.

• Most chose to immigrate to Europe or the Americas.

• Some were hanged.• Some were hanged, drawn

and quartered.• Others imprisoned for life.• One was pardoned.

– He had helped Charles II in exile.

King Charles did not treat his return as a time to “get even” with people.

• For an absolute monarch he was pretty fair.

• Spent part of the tax money on improving the life of his people.

• Had some religious tolerance.

Religion under King Charles II (1660 – 1685)• Return to the Anglican Faith

as the religion of the country.

• Some tolerance for Catholics.

• Puritans could practice their religion BUT:– Ministers couldn’t live closer

than 7 miles to their parishioners.

– You couldn’t be married or buried in your church.

• Had to use the Anglican Church

• Continued until 1888!

The Restoration: 1660 - 1685• PARTY TIME!• After all the restrictions

under the Puritans, people were ready to have a good time.

• Charles definitely knew how to do that!

The Restoration: 1660 - 1685• Clothing and morals

were “looser.”• Dancing, Theatre,

Music were encouraged.

And HORROR to the Puritans!• 1661 WOMEN were

allowed to act on the stage!– Nell Gwynn – one of

the first actresses and one of King Charles’ many, many, many mistresses!

King Charles wasn’t all about having a good time!• Interested in science.

– Founded The Royal Society.

• England’s first scientific “club.”

• Interested in scientific equipment.

• Did go out among the people to see how his rules were being accepted by the people.– Some brothels too!

Trivia: King Charles outlawed something we use quite regularly today.

• Felt Coffee Houses were a place where politics was discussed more than it should be!

Charles II: The Merry Monarch• We get the phrase:

“Eat, drink, and be merry.”

• “Restless he rolls from whore to whoreA merry monarch, scandalous and more.”– Song from the

Restoration.

Charles II• Married Catherine of

Braganza after seeing her portrait.– Didn’t marry for love,

it was politics.– But said it was a

face he could trust.

Catherine of Braganza• Catholic, but didn’t

flaunt her religion about England.

• Was a good wife to her husband, except in one way:– She never had a

child.– Always miscarried.

The Merry Monarch• Had LOTS of flings – but

did have FIVE OFFICIAL mistresses.– 12 children.– Made mistresses and

children “royal” with titles and wealth.

• Didn’t make Parliament happy to have to bankroll all these kids!

Mistress #1: Barbara Villiers• Made her the Countess

of Castlemaine.– Dukes of Cleveland.– 5 children

Mistress #2: Catherine Pegge• No pictures are known

of her:– 2 children

• Charles FitzCharles.

• A daughter

Mistress #3: Louise de Kerouaille• Duchess of Portsmouth

– One son: Charles, Duke of Richmond

Mistress #4: Lucy Walter• A Welsh middle gentry

woman that became a courtesan:– Son Charles, Duke

of Monmouth.– One daughter– Died before the

Restoration.

Mistress #5: Nell Gwynn• The actress!• Made their sons the

Duke of St. Albans and the Earl of Beauclerc.(Beauclerk)

• But died before he could give her a title.– “Don’t let poor Nell

starve.” – Charles II’s last words.

Descendents of King Charles II

Charles II dies• Stroke at 54• May have been

brought on by a kidney malfunction?

• Four days to die:– “I apologize for being

so long a dying.”

Historical RUMOR:• Did Charles II turn

CATHOLIC before he died?– Still a great deal of

anti-Catholic sentiment in England.

– Rumors of being poisoned in a Catholic plot to take the throne.

Because next in line was his brother JAMES

• James II• A CATHOLIC king???

James II King 1685 - 1689• James in exile was

even more “forgotten.”– He was a younger

son, an unemployed prince without much parental guidance in European exile.

Prince James• Became a Catholic as

a teenager.• Married a member of

the lower nobility, Anne Hyde.– Had eight children

before she died in 1671.• She never “fit in”

with the Restoration.

King Charles• Sympathized with his

brother – but had to look to the future of the Stuart line.

• Two daughters of James and Anne lived.

• Ordered that they be raised as Protestants.– Princess Mary– Princess Anne

King James II and VII (England and Scotland)

• The last Catholic king of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.

James II• Tried to tell the English

people he would be Catholic, but his successor daughters would be Protestants.

• That seemed to assure a nervous England – UNTIL …

King James remarried!• A Catholic.• Mary of Modena• Was NOT popular with

the Protestant English.• There had been

pregnancies, but had all ended with stillbirths and miscarriages.

Then came the Warming Pan Plot!• Mary of Modena

became pregnant again in 1688.

• She went into premature labor.

• When her son James, was born, only Catholics were present as witnesses to the birth.

King James makes BIG mistakes!• Announces his son is the

next ruler of England.– He would be raised as a

Catholic.– He began appointing

Catholics to high offices.– Had a statement of

religious tolerance read from all Anglican pulpits.

One person in particular didn’t like what was happening!

• James’ eldest daughter – Mary.

• Had expected to become queen after her father.

• She had been preparing for the moment all of her life.

Mary Stuart• She had been raised

Protestant.• Married to her first cousin,

William of Orange, when she was 15. – Cried all through the

wedding.– She didn’t particularly

like her husband.– He didn’t particularly like

her either.

William and Mary• For 15 years they had

been putting up with each other for one reason.– They would

someday become the King and Queen of England.

But now a baby boy stood in their way.

• What is a dysfunctional couple supposed to do?

A rumor was put out about Mary of Modena …• She had only

PRETENDED to be pregnant.

• During her delivery – a bed warming pan had been called for.

It gets even better!• There had been a baby

boy hidden in the pan.• The boy wasn’t royal at

all. • James II and the

Catholics were plotting the complete take over of England.

William and Mary ride to the rescue!• The GLORIOUS

REVOLUTION.• William and Mary

gathered a Protestant army.

• Anti-Catholic riots broke out in the streets.

King James ran away - • By leaving, his

daughter said he lost the right to rule.

• Became Queen Mary II and King William III.

• She was coming to England to “save the Protestant religion.”

William and Mary instituted Anti-Catholic laws:

– No Catholic could sit in Parliament.

– Catholics could not vote.– No Catholic could be in

the army or navy.– No royal was allowed to

marry a Catholic.• The only law that still

applies in 2011!

To get Parliament to agree to what they did they gave up some rights.• Agreed to the Petition of

Right. • Agreed that Parliament

had the right to make laws that the monarchy had to follow. (English Bill of Rights)– The Declaration of

Right.• Established

Constitutional Monarchy

The Rise of the Jacobites• The baby James III and his

son, Charles III got a “raw deal.”

• Some people in Ireland, Scotland and England agreed.

• For 80 years those that tried to “restore the TRUE Stuarts” to the throne were fighting against William, Mary, later Queen Anne and two king Georges.

Queen Anne: The last Stuart monarchRuled 1707 –1714More power for Parliament.Silly woman who is

remembered for her attempts to have a child.17 pregnancies or births.No child lived beyond one who made it to seven years of age.

Anne decided who comes after her:• Instead of choosing her

half-brother (Catholic), she chose her distant cousin George who didn’t even speak English, but was Protestant.– He gave Parliament

even more power.

Changes that happened at this time• Limited Monarchy

– Kings and Queens had to obey laws.

Changes that happened in England• Political Parties Emerge:

– Tories• Tended to be

aristocrats and wanted to keep noble privileges

– Whigs• More the policies of the

Glorious Revolution.• Favored Parliament

over the Crown.• Merchants and

townspeople.

Changes that happened in England• The Cabinet System:

– Parliament advisors that set the policy of the country.

– The Prime Minister leads the Cabinet and is the real leader of the country.

BUT! • This was hardly a

democratic system of government.

• Oligarchy – a government in which the ruling power belongs to a few people.

• Landowning aristocrats believed they were the “natural” ruling class.

Oligarchy in 18th Century England• Right to vote was for

wealthy landowning Protestant men.

• But change was on the way!