The English Civil War
At this time in history, France
was an absolutist government,
whereas England was a
parliamentary monarchy.
What’s the difference?
Major Issues
• King vs. Parliament
– Does the King or Parliament have more
authority?
• What would the Anglican Church look like?
– Presbyterian/Puritan
• Rule by local and regional church officials
– Episcopal/Anglican
• Rule from King, Archbishop, etc.
It all starts after Elizabeth dies…
The Stuart Monarchy
James I (r. 1603-1625)
Son of Mary, Queen of Scots
• Inherited Elizabeth’s issues
– Frustrated Parliament
– Puritans
• Sought to “purify” the Anglican
church of its Catholic elements
• Looked at as an “outsider”
• Believed in Divine Right
• Wanted to tax without
Parliament
• Anglican
– Opposed the Puritans
King James I
• Parliament only met when James wanted
it to. (rarely did)
• Debt problem = impositions (custom
duties)
– Parliament opposed such taxes
• ***Rather then fight with James I, they
simply work behind his back throughout
his reign***
Religion and James I
• Did not give into Puritan demands
– offends them by allowing sports on Sundays
(Book of Sports)
• During his reign religious dissenters
started to leave England (1620, Puritans
set up Plymouth Colony in America)
• New version of the Bible (King James)
King James Bible, 1611
Scandal and Corruption
• Governed by favorites
• Duke of Buckingham (sold titles, angered
nobility)
• James regarded himself as a peacemaker
– 1604, negotiated a peace with Spain (looked
at as a pro-catholic example)
– Did this b/c he didn’t want to rely on
Parliaments approval for tax hikes
• Towards his death, England entered war
with Spain.
Charles I (r. 1625-1649)
• Further challenged
Parliament
• Agreed to sign the
Petition of Right
– Promised to consult
Parliament for taxes
– Ignored it
• 1629-40: Ruled without
Parliament
• Quartered soldiers
• Forced loans (imprisoned
people who didn’t pay)
• “Ship Money”
• Married Louis XIII’s sister
The Petition of Right, 1628
Archbishop William Laud (1573-1645)
• Imposed the Anglican
doctrine on Scotland
(Book of Common
Prayer)
– Scotland revolted,
1638-39
– Now Charles needed
money (Had to call
parliament)
• The Short Parliament,
1640
• The Long Parliament,
1640-1660
The Short Parliament 1640
• Charles needed money for war, asked
parliament, they said he needed to
address their grievances before they
would give money.
• Charles responded by dissolving
parliament.
Long Parliament 1640-1660
• Laud was imprisoned, later executed
• Ship money = illegal
• King couldn’t levy taxes w/o parliament’s
consent
• No more then 3 years could lapse
between meetings, and parliament could
not be dissolve w/o its own consent.
The Start of the Civil War
• 1642: Charles intends
to arrest members of
Parliament
Civil War (1642-1649)
Royalists
(Cavaliers)
Parliamentarians
(Roundheads)
•
House of Lords
•
House of Commons
•
N & W England
•
S & E England
•
Aristocracy
•
Puritans
•
Large landowners
•
Scotland
•
Church officials
•
Merchants
•
More rural, less
prosperous
•
Townspeople
•
More urban, more
prosperous
Civil War
• Two main issues:
– 1. What type of government would rule over
England?
– 2. What would become of English religion?
• Conform to high Anglican, or Presbyterian?
Oliver Cromwell
• Puritan
• Iron discipline
• “New Model” Army
The End of the War
• Charles is taken prisoner in 1648
• “Pride’s Purge” (Thomas Pride)
– Moderates (Presbyterians) are purged from
Parliament
• The “Rump Parliament” (mostly Puritan) votes to
execute Charles I
The Beheading of Charles I, 1649
Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)
The “Interregnum” Period (1649-1660)
The Commonwealth (1649-1653)
-Rule by Parliament
The Protectorate (1654-1660)
-Dictatorship under Cromwell
-Lord Protector
England under Cromwell
•
•
•
•
Strictly Puritan
Conquered Scotland
Brutalized Ireland
Treated the Anglicans much like Charles
treated Puritans
• Banned drunkenness,
theatergoing, and dancing.
The Restoration
King Charles II (r. 1660-1685)
•
Undid Cromwell’s strict rules
•
Favored religious toleration
•
Had secret Catholic sympathies
Charles II’s Foreign Policy
1665 – 1667: Second Anglo-Dutch War
• Fought against the Dutch with Louis XIV
• - in return Charles received money (the
secret Treaty of Dover 1670)
• - he converted on his death bed
King James II (r. 1685-1688)
•
•
•
•
•
Goal was absolutism
Overtly Catholic
Repealed test act
Dissolved parliament
Appointed only
Catholics to high
positions
• Driven out by
Parliament
The “Glorious” Revolution: 1688
• William of Orange
• Mary Stuart (James II’s Protestant
daughter)
• King William III (r. 1688-1702) and Queen
Mary II
English Bill of Rights (1689)
• Established
Parliamentary
authority
Queen Anne (r. 1702-1714)
• The last of the Stuarts
• The Act of Settlement (1701)
– No Catholic monarchs
– No “Pretenders”