Magna Carta “Great Charter” – 1215
● First time limiting king’s power and making sure the law applies to him, as well –
first “check” of king’s power
● Protected rights and liberties of nobles and ordinary people
● Texas legislation required consent of great council
● King couldn't refuse or delay justice
● Entitled to a trial by a jury by peers
● King had to obey laws as wells
James I (1603 – 1625)
● Sons of Mary Queen of Scots and a Stuart
● Came after Elizabeth
● Supporter of Anglicanism
● Translated Bible to English (King James Bible)
● Repressed both Catholics and Protestants
● Maintained divine right of kings – resisted the Magna Carta
Marriage & the Anglican Church
● Catholics don’t believe in divorce, argued marriage is a spiritual bond, one which
cannot be severed by earthly occurrences
● King Henry VIII formed his own church, the Anglican church, to get around the
inability to separate from his wives.
● Protestantism was forced upon people by the British
The True Law of Free Monarchies
The Divine Right of Kings
Conflict with parliament
Religion
Money
Foreign Policies
1689 - 1763 English/French Wars
England neglected the colonies
England tried to reestablish mercantilism
Restrictions on manufacturing
Purchase only from England
Could only ship to England
Could only use English ships
1651 Dutch navigation Act
Parliament laws from 1650s - 1770s strict regulations on commerce
Free will – the power of acting without the constrictions of necessity or fate; acting with
one’s own discretion
Freedom – ability to do what we want as long as it doesn’t infringe on someone else’s
freedom
Thomas Hobbes ( - )
● People tend toward anarchy
● A stable society is achieved by giving absolute power to a monarch
Both
People 1st, live individually then make an unwritten social contract
John Locke ( + )
● People are inherently good
● In entering in a social contract, people retain rights they can expect a ruler to
uphold
● People have a right to overthrow a ruler who violates their rights