Constitutional
Monarchy in
England
The Tudors
• The Tudor dynasty ruled
England from 1485-1603
– Henry VIII
– Elizabeth I
– The Tudors respected and
consulted Parliament and
the two sides worked well
together
– In 1603, Elizabeth died
without an heir; throne
passed to her cousin, a
member of the Stuart
family
King James I
• 1566 – 1625
• First king of a “United
Kingdom” of “Great
Britain” (England,
Scotland, & Ireland)
• Clashed with Parliament
over money and foreign
policy, wanted more
control as king
• Eventually dismissed
Parliament
King James I & Religion
• Persecuted Puritan
religious dissenters,
causing many of them to
flee England (including
the Pilgrims who settled
in Massachusetts
• James also ordered a new
translation of the Bible
(The King James Version)
that reinforced the
practices of the Church of
England
The Gunpowder Treason
• Plot by Catholics to blow up
King James and Parliament
in order to place a Catholic
on the throne
• November 5, 1605
Remember, remember the fifth
of November
Gunpowder, treason and plot.
I see no reason, why the
gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.
• The plot failed, leading
to a crackdown on
Catholicism
Guy Fawkes
• 1570 – 1606
• Former soldier assigned to
carry out the Gunpowder Plot,
but was caught in the act
• Tortured into confession
• Sentenced to be hung, drawn,
& quartered, Fawkes
deliberately jumped from the
scaffold and broke his own
neck
• Continues to be a sort of “folk
hero” in England for his
willingness to take action
against a government he did
not support
King Charles I
• 1600 – 1649
• Tried to diminish the power
of Parliament and establish
himself as an absolute
monarch
• Violated the Magna Carta
and imprisoned his political
enemies without trial
• By 1628, however, England
was broke and Charles was
forced to convene
Parliament and ask for an
increase in tax rates to keep
the country running
Charles & Parliament
• Parliament demanded
that Charles agree to not
imprison anyone without
cause and to respect
Parliament’s right to
control the tax rate in
exchange for raising
taxes; Charles agreed
• As soon as the new taxes
were approved, Charles
dissolved Parliament
again, this time for 11
years
Descent into War
• In 1640, a Scottish rebellion
forced Charles to reconvene
Parliament once again
• Parliament quickly moved
to arrest and execute
Charles’ top advisors and
declared that the king no
longer had the power to
dissolve Parliament
• Parliament also raised its
own army to stand against
the king’s, forcing England
into civil war
The English Civil Wars
• 1642-1649
• Cavaliers (pro-king) vs.
Roundheads (pro-Parliament)
• Roundheads were led by
Oliver Cromwell, a Puritan
• King Charles was captured by
Roundheads and given a
chance to accept a
constitutional monarchy, but
refused
• Charles I was tried, convicted
of treason, and beheaded in
1649 – the first European king
to be executed by his own
people
The Commonwealth
•
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After executing Charles, the House
of Commons (the lower house of
Parliament) abolished the
monarchy, the House of Lords (the
upper house of Parliament), and
the Church of England
Oliver Cromwell was named Lord
Protector, the country’s new leader
When Catholic Ireland and Calvinist
Scotland rebelled; Cromwell put
down these rebellions harshly
Cromwell quickly became a tyrant,
losing the support of the people
After Cromwell died in 1658,
Parliament softened and invited
Charles II (Charles I’s son) to return
and resume the throne in 1660
The Strange Tale of Cromwell’s Head
• After the restoration of
the monarchy,
Cromwell’s body was
dug up, publicly hung,
and then decapitated.
• The head was publicly
displayed on a pole for
25 years, before being
stolen and traded by
private collectors until
1960
King Charles II
• 1630 – 1685
• Catholic sympathizer
• His reign is known as
“The Restoration Period”
• Despite having many
(illegitimate) children, he
left no legitimate heir at
his death, so he was
succeeded on the throne
by his brother James
King James II
• 1633 – 1701
• Had converted to Catholicism
and tried to diminish the power
of the Church of England
• Maintained a standing army
with many Catholic officers
• Openly promoted the idea of
the “divine right” of kings
• His oldest daughter, Mary, was a
Protestant, but once James
produced an heir by his second
(Catholic) wife, Parliament
became worried that the
monarchy might become
Catholic for the long-term
The Glorious Revolution
• Parliament secretly
negotiated with James’
Protestant daughter
Mary and her husband
William III of Orange to
replace James as rulers
• In 1688, fearing
execution, James
abdicated and fled to
France
William III & Mary II
• William III (1650 – 1702)
• Mary II (1662 – 1694)
• In order to take the throne, had
to agree to the conditions laid out
by Parliament in the English Bill of
Rights
• William ruled while Mary
managed the Church of England
• Granted the charter which
founded the College of William &
Mary in the Virginia Colony in
1693
• Mary died from smallpox with no
children, so the Stuart dynasty
ended upon William’s death
The English Bill of Rights
• Parliament is superior to the
king
• Parliament must be allowed to
meet regularly
• House of Commons controls
the treasury (taxes)
• King can not dismiss or
interfere with Parliament
• King can not suspend laws
• King can not be Catholic
• King can not maintain a
standing army
• King can not quarter soldiers
in people’s private homes
The English Bill of Rights
• Citizens get trial by jury
• No cruel or unusual
punishment
• Writ of Habeas corpus –
no one can be arrested
and imprisoned without
being charged with a
crime
• Citizens have the right
to bear arms