Unit 4 Enlightenment
and Absolutism
Lesson 4 England Rejects Absolutism (REJECTED)
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
Review of ENGLAND
Answer on your handout
 1. What is the divine right of kings?
 2. What happened every time Charles I asked
Parliament for money?
 What was the Spanish Armada
 What is a limited monarchy?
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
Learning Target
Students can explain the cause and effect events lead to
the English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
R – Royal Jewels
 Charles I did not pay attention to Parliaments demands of
the Petition of Right
 Charles began to raise money to find the Scottish who
refused to become members of the Anglican Church
 In 1639, Charles again asked Parliament for money but
they worked to limit his power
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
E – English Civil War
 The king tried to arrest the leaders of Parliament. This was
too much for the English people
 Charles was forced to leave London and civil war broke out
between Parliament and king
 Supporters of the King (Cavaliers) fought against supporters
of Parliament (Roundheads)
 Cavaliers were rich Catholics and Anglicans the Roundheads
were simple Puritans
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
J – Just Watch Us!
 Oliver Cromwell led the Roundhead army and defeated the
Cavaliers
 His army was better than the kings and he defeated the
Cavaliers
 The winners put Charles on trial, found him guilty of treason,
and executed him
 The execution of a king had never taken place before a
crowd of people
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
E – England becomes a military dictatorship
 Oliver Cromwell takes control of the English government by
force
 The Puritans began to change English society (closed
theaters and disallowed sports)
 After Cromwell’s death, tired of Puritanism, Parliament voted
to restore the monarchy
 Charles son, Charles II is made King this is called the
“Restoration of England”
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
C – Charles II was Tolerant
 Charles II denied the divine right of kings
 Charles II asked for tolerance between Catholics and
Puritans (religious tolerance)
 Charles II encouraged theater, sports, and entertainment he
was called the Merry Monarch
 Parliament passed the Habeas Corpus Act (protected citizens
from unlawful imprisonment)
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
T – The Glorious Revolution
 When Charles died his brother James II (Catholic) became
king and wanted more power
 Two political groups controlled England the Tories (king) and
Whigs (Parliament)
 They agreed on one thing – they did not want a Catholic
King
 James was old and his daughters were protestant (hooray!)
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
T – The Glorious Revolution
 The Tories and Whigs believed that after the king’s death,
they would have a Protestant ruler.
 James’ wife however gave birth to a son (Catholic king)
 The Tories and the Whigs joined together and said that Mary,
James’ older daughter, should be queen
 Mary and her husband, William, arrived in England with an
army; James had no support, so he fled the country
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
T – The Glorious Revolution
 Parliament then said that William and Mary were the king
and queen of Scotland and England
 The English had rebelled against their king without anyone
being killed
 Historians call this even the “Glorious Revolution”
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
E – English Bill of Rights
 When William and Mary took over they had to sign the
English Bill of Rights
 This document said that only Parliament can make laws and
that the king must obey the laws that parliament passes
 This document gave the Parliament members the right to
speak freely in Parliament (the king could not arrest them)
England Rejects Absolutism
(REJECTED)
D – Democracy Triumphs
 Within a year Parliament passed:
1. Petition of Right
2. Habeas Corpus Act
3. English Bill of Rights
 These documents proved that England rejected absolutism
 England wanted both a democracy and a king this form of
government is called a “constitutional monarchy”, that is a
body of laws and elected officials to protect citizens rights