Parliament Limits the
English Monarchy
Parliament’s Financial Power
• Parliament is England’s legislature; they
controlled “held the purse strings”
• Parliament’s financial power was an obstacle to
English rulers becoming absolute monarchs
• In 1603, James I becomes king; doesn’t want to
share any power with Parliament
• Also fought with Puritans who wanted the
church to be less like Catholic churches (more
pure)
Charles I Fights Parliament
• 1625 Charles I becomes king; also an absolute monarch
• Charles needs money for war with Spain and France
• When Parliament refuses to give him money, he
dissolves it (cancels it)
• 1628 - he needs Parliament to give him money
• Parliament won’t give it to him until he signs the
“Petition of Right” in which he agrees not to raise taxes
without Parliament’s consent
• Charles signs it, then ignores it
Charles I Unpopular
• Petition of Right important
– Idea that the law was higher than the king
– Contradicted theories of an absolute monarchy
• 1629 – Charles dissolves Parliament again and
refuses to call it back
• Gets money by fees and fines on the English
people
• Makes him very unpopular
English Civil War
• Puritans and Protestants in Scotland unhappy with
Charles trying to make them all follow the Anglican
church
• Scots rebel and Charles needs money to fight them
• Needs to call Parliament, which sees this as an
opportunity to oppose him
• Parliament passes laws limiting royal power
• Charles tries to arrest Parliament’s leaders, but they
escape
• Riots force Charles to flee London and raise an
army in the north
English Civil War
• Charles fights back and Civil War begins (1642 –
1649)
– Supporters of Charles and the monarchy – Cavaliers
– Supporters of Parliament – Roundheads
• Leader of the Roundheads – Oliver Cromwell,
Puritan
• Roundheads defeat Cavaliers
Roundheads and Cavaliers
Charles I Executed
• Charles I is tried for treason against Parliament
and executed
• First time in Europe that a ruling monarch had
been tried publicly and executed by his own
people
• Parliament shows that in England, no ruler can
claim absolute power and ignore the rule of law
Execution of Charles I
Oliver
Cromwell
Cromwell’s Rule
• After Charles is executed, Cromwell abolishes
the monarchy
• Declares England a republic, called the
Commonwealth,
• 1653 – Cromwell sends home Parliament
• The first constitution of any modern European
state is written, but Cromwell eventually tears it
up and becomes a military dictator
Puritan Morality
• In England, Cromwell and Puritans want to
reform society by promoting Puritan morality
– No theater, sports or dancing
– Religious toleration for all Christians except
Catholics
Restoration and Revolution
• After Cromwell dies, people tired of strict
Puritanism and strict military rule
• Parliament asks Charles I’s son to rule England
• Charles II comes to London amid cheering and
happiness; becomes monarch in 1660
• Called the Restoration because the monarchy
was restored
Charles II Reigns
• Under Charles II, Parliament passes an
important guarantee of freedom, habeas
corpus
– Prisoners have right to know the charges against
them and could not be held indefinitely without a
trial
– A monarch could not put someone in jail simply for
opposing the ruler
• Heir was his brother James, a Catholic
James II and the Glorious Revolution
•
•
•
•
Next, James II becomes king; openly Catholic
Appoints Catholics to high office
Parliament protests, so James dissolves it
Worried Protestants ask his daughter Mary and her
husband William, who are Protestants, to become
ruler
• William leads his army into London in 1688
• James II flees – becomes known as the Glorious
Revolution, the bloodless overthrow of the King
James II
Coronation of William and Mary
Limits on Monarch’s Power
• William and Mary promise to accept Parliament as a
partner in governing
• England becomes a constitutional monarchy,
where laws limit the ruler’s power
• Parliament writes the English Bill of Rights in
1689, listing things a monarch could not do:
–
–
–
–
Suspend any of Parliament’s laws
No levying taxes without Parliament’s approval
No interfering with freedom of speech in Parliament
No penalty for citizens who petitions the king about
grievances (complaints)
A Cabinet System Develops
• After 1688, no British monarch could rule
without the consent of Parliament
– And Parliament could not rule without the consent
of the monarch
– If they disagreed, government came to a standstill
• Settled by development of a cabinet, a group
of officials who acted in ruler’s name
So…
England differs from most of Europe at the
time by NOT having an absolute monarchy
Instead, they have a constitutional
monarchy in which the monarch’s
power is limited by a constitution!