England’s Reaction to Absolutism

and the Glorious Revolution

From Queen Elizabeth I to William of

Orange

Queen Elizabeth I

Daughter of Henry VIII

Battle w/Parliament over

finances

Protestant

No heirs (“Virgin Queen”)

Cousin James inherits the

throne

James

“Kings are justly called

gods, for that they exercise

a manner or resemblance

of divine power on earth.”

Ignored Parliament

Upset the Puritan controlled

Parliament by not ridding the

English church of Catholics

or making Puritan moral

reforms

Charles I

Constantly at war with France & Spain

Needed tons of $ to finance wars

Parliament would not grant him the $ until he

signed the Petition of Right

Could not imprison subjects w/o due cause

Could not tax w/o Parliaments consent

No quartering

No martial law in times of peace

Charles I

Charles signed, but ignored the document

In order to get his funding, Charles establishes fees

& fines

Charles becomes extremely unpopular

Charles still needs more $$$$$

Parliament opposes him

Mobs take to the streets

Charles flees London & gathers army of loyalists

English Civil War1642-1649

Cavaliers (Royalists) vs.

Roundheads (Puritans)

Oliver Cromwell

Becomes general of the

Roundheads

Defeats Cavaliers, arrests

Charles, and tries him for

treason

Charles is found guilty and

sentenced to death

*first time a king is publicly

put on trial and executed

Oliver Cromwell

Abolishes monarchy and establishes House of

Lords

England is now a commonwealth and has the first

European constitution

Cromwell decides that he likes having power

Tears up constitution

Makes himself military dictator

Abolishes entertainment (theatre)

Tolerant to all religions besides Catholicism

Charles II

Cromwell dies in 1658 and

the government collapses

The English want the

monarchy restored after

experiencing the military

dictator.

The son of Charles I,

Charles II, is restored to

the throne

The Restoration

Sports & theatre restored

Women are allowed to act on stage for the first time

The arts are promoted and flourish

We’ve got ourselves a “sticky wicket”

Who’s to rule?

Charles had NO legitimate children

He had a brother James, but he was Catholic and since

England was mostly anti-Catholic, they were not happy

with him ruling.

James II

James becomes king, but

flaunts his Catholicism

Appoints Catholics to high

government positions,

despite a law that prohibited

Catholics from holding

office

Parliament protests James

actions and ends up

dissolving Parliament

Bye-Bye Dad!

Many English feared a succession of Catholic kings

James II had a Protestant daughter who married

William of Orange, a Protestant prince from the

Netherlands

Parliament asks them to come to England with an

army to overthrow James in the name of

Protestantism

Glorious Revolution

The army is never needed

James flees to France

This bloodless overthrowing of King James II is

called the Glorious Revolution

But not so fast…

In order to become king

William and Mary had to

agree to a Bill of Rights,

which limited the power of

the monarchy and

increased the power of

Parliament.

The English Bill of Rights

Result of the Glorious Revolution

Growing trade and industry led to an increasing middle

class

They favored expansion of trade

Britain was a world power