Lesson 5: Parliament Limits the English Monarchy

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Elizabeth I (1558-
1603) died w/out heir
Her cousin, James
Stuart (Scotland) became James I
(1603-1625) of
England.
Angered Puritans in
Parliament and bickered over $$$.

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Charles I (1625-1649) –son of James I needed $$$ b/c war with Sp.& Fr. so he dissolved Parliament.
1628 Petition of Right
Due cause to imprison
No Taxes w/o Parliament
No quartering of soldiers
No peacetime martial law
He ignored it and dissolved
Parl. in 1629 & taxed & fined citizens to get $$$!

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Charles I made everyone mad!
Puritans b/c he upheld Anglican rituals.
Presbyterian Scots b/c he forced Anglican prayer book on them so they rebelled & threatened to invade England.
He needed $$$ & Parliament began to pass laws to limit him. He tried to arrest their leaders & a mob of Londoners surrounded his palace in 1642. He fled north to raise army b/c they were loyal.

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Those loyal to Charles I were called Royalists or Cavaliers.
Puritan supporters of
Parliament were called
Roundheads b/c of their short haircuts.
1645 – General Cromwell began defeating the Cavaliers
& they captured the king in
1647, found him guilty of treason, & sentenced him to death!
Execution of Charles I

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Abolished monarchy & H. of
Lords & sent rest of
Parliament home in 1653.
1649 – brutally crushed Irish rebellion; killed 1000’s.
Laws promoted Puritan morality & banned theater, sports, & dancing, but tolerant of all faiths except
Catholicism.
After his death in 1658 his gov’t collapsed.

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Parliament asked Charles II
(Charles I’s son) to rule
Parl. passed Habeus Corpus
–”to have the body” every prisoner the right to get a writ to go before judge to specify the charges against him.
Charles II had no child & his heir was his Catholic brother James.
Whigs opposed him & Tories for him.
1685 he died & James II became Catholic king

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James II violated law & appointed some Catholics to high office. He flaunted faith.
He disbanded Parliament.
His 2 nd wife gave birth to a son in 1688 & Protestants worried.
James’ older daughter Mary was
Protestant & she was married to
William of Orange, a Dutch prince.
7 in Parl. invited Wm. & Mary to overthrow James for
Protestantism’s sake. They did and he fled to Scotland. A bloodless revolution this time!

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William (1688-1702) & Mary (1688-1694) recognize Parliament as governing partner
England had become a constitutional monarchy not an absolute monarchy.
English Bill of Rts. (1689) listed things a ruler could not do (i.e. no suspending laws, no taxes w/out Parl., freedom of speech, & right to petition king).
1700s – ministers called cabinet would advise the monarch. In time, Prime
Minister would lead majority party.