Western Civilization II
HIS-102
UNIT 2 - Religious Wars And State Building (1540-1660)
Introduction

The period of 1540 to 1660 is considered one of the
most turbulent in European history



It is a period of a sharp rise in inflation and a further deepening
of the gulf between the rich and the poor
It is plagued by a century of violent wars of religion
It is also a period of time of political instability


Old powers fall
A new type of government emerges: the absolute monarchy
Sweeping Changes

Prior to 1540, Europe was enjoying diverse forms of
prosperity

Populations were finally recovering from the 14th century
plague


There was a period of economic growth


With the discovery of the New World, this growth was expected to
continue
Governments were becoming more effective in their
management


From 1450 to 1600, the population went from 50 to 90 million
Thus they were more successful at keeping the inside of their country
stable
So what went wrong?
Price Revolution

Price Revolution


Between 1550 and 1600, prices doubled and even quadrupled
in certain areas
Mainly due to a rise in population but no rise in agricultural
production


The food shortage led to a sharp increase in cost


There were no technological breakthroughs in agriculture to produce
enough food for the population
A larger percentage of people’s incomes were going to food
During this period, wages either stagnated or declined


Increase in population led to an increase in the labor supply
Because there were too many workers, wages either remained
the same or went down
Price Revolution

Devaluation of silver




Only large-scale farmers, landlords, and some merchants
profited from the Price Revolution
The masses were negatively affected


Due to the large influx of Spanish bullion from the New World
These new coins quickly circulated throughout Europe
When disasters hit, people would literally starve to death
Even the monarchies were affected




The governments required a constant income
The taxes were worth less and less as money became devalued
Wars were becoming increasingly more expensive
They responded by levying even higher taxes than before

Peasants during a summer harvest (1568)
Religious Conflict


The religious atmosphere of Europe during this period
was also tense
Catholics and Protestants hated one another


As long as these rivalries remained heated, wars were
inevitable
Leaders also fanned the flames of religious conflict


Many required their states to have a unified religion
Minority religious groups were seen as threats


This led to civil wars in numerous country


Many were kicked out of country
They expanded into international wars in many cases
From 1540 to 1648, Europe was plagued with conflict

Diet of Augsburg (1530)
German Wars of Religion

The religious wars began in Germany



Charles V was busy with more greater threats to his rule



Between the Lutherans and the Catholics
Lutheranism was gaining in popularity with the German princes
This included the French and the Ottoman Turks
He had hoped that the Pope would take care of the situation
In 1547, Charles was able to focus on Germany



With a huge army behind him, he attacked the Protestants
With the help of the pope, Charles was able to defeat
numerous Protestant strongholds by 1547 and force them to
reconvert
But by this point Protestantism was so popular there was
nothing he could do would stop the movement
German Wars of Religion

Revolts continued to break out throughout the Empire


In 1552, the Elector of Saxony had signed an alliance with
King Henry II of France



Even the Catholic princes were fearful of Charles taking away
what little independence they had
This would have brought France into the war
However, by this point, Charles was not up for a heavy war and
had his brother Ferdinand work on a truce
The war finally ended with the Peace of Augsburg (1555)



Lutherans were given equal legal status in the Empire
Cuius regio, eius religio (“whose reign, that religion”)
This was a victory for the independence of the German states
and further weakened the Holy Roman Empire

Henry II of France

(1547-1559)
French Wars of Religion

French Wars of Religion (1562-1598)


Huguenots were the main Protestant group in France




This period is also known as the French Civil War
French Calvinists
They made up 10-20% of the French population by 1562
It became popular amongst the aristocratic women who then
in turn converted their husbands
Under the rule of Henry II, there was an uneasy peace
between the crown and the Huguenots

Huguenots were forced to meet in secret at first but over time
grew in popularity
French Wars of Religion

Expansion of Calvinism



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
On June 30, 1559, Henry II died in a jousting accident
This left his 15-year-old son, Francis II as king



First Huguenot communities were built starting in 1546
In 1555, the first Huguenot church was erected in Paris
By the late 1550s, they demanded freedom of worship
He was a sickly child
Henry’s wife, Catherine de’ Medici, was chosen to be regent
The struggles between the Catholics and the Huguenots
began after Francis took the throne

Francis II

(1559-1560)
French Wars of Religion

One the one side you had the Guise family



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On the other side was Louis, Prince de Condé


Led by Francis Duke of Guise and Charles Cardinal of Lorraine
Believed that the country should be firmly Catholic
Instituted an intense policy of persecution against the
Huguenots
He was the leader of the Huguenot movement
On December 5, 1560, Francis II died

He had an ear infection that led to the formation of an abscess
in his brain
French Wars of Religion

Next up was his ten year old brother, Charles IX


Massacre at Vassy (March 1, 1562)




His mother, Catherine de’ Medici, was again named regent
Duke of Guise attacked a group of Huguenots who were
worshipping inside the city walls
23 Huguenots were killed and over 100 more injured
Prince de Condé called all Protestants to arm themselves in
self-defense
The war went on for eight years with intermittent truces

During this time, the Prince de Condé died and Henry of
Navarre took control of the Huguenots
French Wars of Religion

By 1570, the French treasury was shrinking from the cost
of the war


Peace of Saint-Germain (August 8, 1570)




Charles began negotiations for a peace
Huguenots were given freedom of conscience throughout
France
Were also allowed to hold public office
They retained the right to worship publicly in the regions
allowed before the wars
In order to solidify peace, Catherine arranged for a
marriage

This was to be between her daughter Marguerite to Henry of
Navarre, the Huguenot leader

Marguerite de
Valois
French Wars of Religion

The wedding created a tense situation in Paris



On August 22, 1572, an assassination attempt was made
on one of the Huguenot leaders, the Admiral de Coligny


There were many who would not support the wedding
The Parisians were very uncomfortable with thousands of
Huguenots in the city escorting their prince
Catherine ordered the French guards to attack the Huguenots
as a “preemptive strike” against Huguenot retaliation
St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (August 24, 1572)


All but two of the Huguenot leaders, Henry of Navarre and the
young Henri I, Prince of Condé, were murdered
The Parisian people joined in the fighting

There are estimates that as many of 3,000 Huguenots were murdered
in Paris alone
French Wars of Religion

The fighting spread to the countryside



Charles IX claimed responsibility for the massacre stating
that there had been a plot against the crown
Charles died on May 30, 1574 from tuberculosis


He was only 24
Next in line was his brother Henry III


An additional 10,000 were killed
He was 22 years old when he took the throne but was the
best “king material” out of the four brothers
Henry main goal was to find peace between the Catholics
and Huguenots

The Guise family was not going to make this possible

Henry III

(1574-1589)
French Wars of Religion


In 1576, the Guises formed the Catholic League and
renewed the war
In 1584, Henry’s last brother, François, died



Since Henry III had no children, this meant that the next
person in line for the throne was Henry of Navarre
This would not be tolerated by the Catholics
The Catholic League dominated this phase of the war


Guise marched into Paris with his troops in 1588, forcing
Henry III to flee
Guise also made Henry III sign a number of edicts excluding
Henry of Navarre from the throne along with any heretics
French Wars of Religion

By this point, Henry III was tired of being dominated by
Guise



On December 23, 1588, Henry III had the Guise brothers
assassinated


He discovered that Guise was receiving aid from Philip II of
Spain
Guise also had been negotiating a treaty with Spain declaring
Philip’s daughter to be the heir presumptive
Henry then went on to make an alliance with Henry of
Navarre
On August 1, 1589, Jacques Clément, a fanatical
Dominican friar, stabbed Henry III

Before he died, Henry III declared that Henry of Navarre was
the legitimate heir to the throne

Henry IV

(1589-1610)
French Wars of Religion


Henry IV’s rule marked the beginning of the Bourbon
dynasty
War continued for the next nine years


By this point, the state of France was in a miserable
condition

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Many of the nobility were staunch Catholic and refused to
follow Henry IV
The country was nearly bankrupt
Many farmlands and towns had been abandoned, and many of
the roads were in ruins
Because of the warfare, trade was at a standstill
Henry realized that he had to do something drastic to
win the hearts of the French
French Wars of Religion

On July 23, 1593, Henry converted to Catholicism


On March 22, 1594, Henry was able to finally retake the
city of Paris


Protestantism was more of a “family tradition” rather than a
religious devotion to him
He supposedly said that “Paris is well worth the mass!”
However, Philip II continued to support the Catholic
League and its efforts to oust Henry

In January 1595, Henry declared war against Spain
French Wars of Religion

For the next three years, Henry was fighting the remnants
of the League as well as Spain


Edict of Nantes (April 13, 1598)

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Henry was forced to bribe many Catholic noblemen to lay
down their arms and accept him as king
This was Henry’s “bribe” to the Huguenots
It established Catholicism as the official religion of France
Huguenots allowed to worship, attend universities, and serve as
public officials
It created separate spheres of influence between the two
religions
On May 2, 1598, the war was finally brought to an end

Philip II of Spain

(1556-1598)
Dutch Wars with Spain


One of the most powerful political figures at this time
was Philip II of Spain
He depended heavily on the income from the colonies


The war with France put Spain heavily into debt


However, all of the gold and silver (specie) coming into Europe
devalued the currency
2/3 of Spain’s income went to paying interest on all the loans
taken out by the government
Spain’s main source of income in Europe came from the
Low Countries

This is modern day Belgium and the Netherlands which were
under Spanish control at this time
Dutch Wars with Spain

During the reign of Charles V, this region prospered

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He had allowed the government to essentially run on its own
The southern Low Countries had the greatest per capita
wealth in all of Europe
Antwerp as one of the leading financial and commercial centers
in Europe
On October 25, 1555, Charles gave the Low Countries to
his son, Philip II
Philip hoped to increase the amount of money coming to
Spain from the Low Countries

This included Philip playing a greater role in the region
Dutch Wars with Spain

During this period, many Protestants were moving into
the Low Countries

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
After 1559, many Huguenots migrating to the Low Countries
There were a large number of Anabaptists and some Lutherans
Philip himself was a staunch Catholic and believed God had
chosen him to combat the forces of evil
William the Silent and a group of noblemen recognized
the growing tensions in the country



They made it their duty to bring peace back to the region
Starting in 1561, these noblemen sent numerous petitions to
Margaret of Parma, Philip’s appointee to the Low Countries
They asked for religious toleration for the Calvinists to ease
some of that tension but she refused

William the Silent

(1533-1584)
Dutch Wars With Spain

“Breaking of the Images” (August 1566)



In response, Philip II sent in an army of twelve thousand
Spanish troops


Mobs of radical Protestants desecrated hundreds of churches
and monasteries
Was a reaction to the increased persecution of Protestants
They were led by the Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, the 3rd
Duke of Alva
Once the radicals were defeated, Alva then instituted a
reign of terror

He set up the Council of Troubles which was a special tribunal
to deal with heresy and sedition
Dutch Wars With Spain

William the Silent was forced to flee the Low Countries



Now more organized, the resistance movement began
their own attacks


From abroad, he converted to Protestantism and reorganized
the resistance movement
He was able to get aid from France, Germany and England
In the summer of 1572, William seized the northern Low
Countries
The Low Countries began to split along religious lines


The Protestant northern part broke off forming the United
Provinces of the Netherlands
The Catholic southern part remained loyal to Philip
Dutch Wars With Spain

In 1584, William was assassinated by a fanatical Catholic


At this point, England became involved in the war

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

His son, William II Duke of Orange, continued to lead the
resistance
Elizabeth openly declared her country’s support of the
resistance
England was successful in its attacks at sea, but not on land
The war continued to wage for a number of years with
both sides having major losses and defeats
In 1609, a ceasefire was declared between the two sides
known as the Twelve Years’ Truce

Spanish Armada (1588)
Spanish Armada

For the past few years, English ships had been terrorizing
Spanish ships and colonies

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
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This was done under the guise of revenge for the Spanish
attacks on the Dutch
Sir Francis Drake and other seamen were shipping contraband
to the Spanish colonies in violation of Philip II’s policies
Philip was thoroughly annoyed at these tactics
In 1585, Philip decided to construct a large armada to use
against England


His fleet would help support an invasion of England
This way, he would not only regain control of the Atlantic but
convert England back to Catholicism
Spanish Armada

When Drake found out about the Armada, he sailed ships
to the Spanish coast in April 1587

He made it straight into the port of Cadiz

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There he destroyed supplies put aside for the Armada and set vessels
on fire
He later boasted that he “singed the king’s beard”
He then went on to patrol the Spanish coast, destroying any
vessels and supplies that he could
All of this delayed the deployment of the Armada for over a
year
This incident proved that the Spanish fleet was no match for
the English but Philip continued on with his preparations
Spanish Armada

There were a number of key problems with the Armada



Assumed that the English navy would flee at the sight of it
It was led by the Duke of Medina-Sedona
When the Armada took off on May 30, 1588, it was soon
heavily damaged by a storm


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This forced them back to port for repairs
Sedona even told Philip that this might not be the wisest course of
action but Philip would not hear of it
The fleet set off for a second time on July 12, 1588
The English worked together to protect their country


Improved land defenses by training a militia and setting up a
series of bonfires and beacon towers along the coastline
The navy was reinforced and raised from 34 ships to 200
Spanish Armada

First sighting (July 29, 1588)


The English navy used their speed and longer ranged guns
to attack the Armada


They constantly remained out of shooting distance of the
Spanish ships
On August 7, the English sent eight “fireships”


The beacon lights and bonfires were set all along the coastline
and troops were readied
This caused the Spanish ships to scatter
On August 8, the English attacked the Armada off the
Gravelines


The English were now in range for the Spanish guns
The Spanish were not trained properly for battle
Spanish Armada

The Armada was forced to retreat


The “Protestant” winds forced the Armada to travel back to
Spain by going north around Scotland
Between the bad weather and attacks by the English fleet, most
of the Armada was destroyed



Only 60 ships returned to Spain and most of those were too damaged
to be repaired
Around 15,000 Spanish died
Defeat of the Armada marked a victory for the
Protestants

If Philip had won, he could have destroyed the Protestant
movement throughout Europe

Route of the Armada
The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)

Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)


Was a true international war as it contained multiple
players:





The largest and deadliest of the wars of religion
The Holy Roman Empire
Spain
France
Sweden and Demark
Both the Protestants and the Catholics had begun making
defensive alliances earlier in the century

This increased religious tensions in the Empire

Religious
breakdown of
Europe in 1618
Phases of the War


The Thirty Years’ War is divided into four phases
While the war starts mainly on religious grounds, as time
goes on it takes more of a political air


At first the war is Protestants versus the Catholic HRE
Ferdinand II
However, as time goes on, more countries get involved because
they were fearful of Ferdinand’s growing power


They were afraid it would upset the fragile balance of power
By the time of the last phase, religion is not involved at all


It was clearly a political war between the French and the Habsburgs
Whoever won the last phase would be the champion of Europe

Ferdinand II


King of Bohemia
(1617–1619 and
1620–1637)
Holy Roman
Emperor
(1619-1637)
Bohemian Revolt (1618-1625)

This phase of the war takes place completely in Germany


Bohemia at the time was a mostly Protestant population


It is also based primarily on religion
Around 65% were a mix of Calvinists, Lutherans, and
Anabaptists
Even though the ruling minority was Catholic, earlier
kings had made concessions to the Protestants




This was mainly due to the economic importance of Bohemia
In 1609, Emperor Rudolf II granted a Letter of Majesty
This basically granted freedom of religion throughout Bohemia
Throughout the reign of King (and later Emperor) Matthias
(1611-1617), Bohemia enjoyed religious diversity and peace
Bohemian Revolt (1618-1625)

Troubles began when Ferdinand Habsburg was elected
King of Bohemia in 1617




Protestants were fearful of losing their religious liberties


Ferdinand quickly ended all concessions made to the
Protestants
He set up a regent government that was mainly Catholic
Laws were enforced forbidding Protestants from holding office
They appealed to Ferdinand but the requests fell on deaf ears
On May 23, 1618, a group of Protestants kidnapped two
of the king’s Catholic advisors at the royal palace in
Prague
Bohemian Revolt (1618-1625)

A mock trial was held and the advisors were found
“guilty” of violating the Letter of Majesty





As punishment, the advisors along with their secretary were
thrown out of the window 70 feet off the ground
Catholics say that the officials survived because of the
intervention of the Virgin Mary
Protestants knew the real reason: they landed in a huge pile of
manure
This event is known as the Second Defenestration of Prague
This began the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years War

Defenestration of Prague (May 23, 1618)
Bohemian Revolt (1618-1625)

In 1619, Ferdinand was elected as the new Emperor


His main goal was to unify the Empire under Catholicism


To do so, he turned to his nephew, King Philip IV of Spain, for
help against the Protestants
The Protestants had no hope of winning


He took the title Ferdinand II
Ferdinand not only received aid from Spain but also had the
use of Maximillian of Bavaria and his 30,000 troops
At the end of the war, Ferdinand made Protestantism
illegal in Bohemia


Included forcing out all Protestant ministers
Over 30,000 families were forced to flee the country

Christian IV of
Denmark

(1588-1648)
Danish Intervention (1625-1629)

Many of the European powers did not like the heavy hand
Ferdinand was using on Bohemia


King Christian IV of Denmark was especially concerned


They were also resentful of the growing power of the
Habsburgs
He was a Lutheran and held territory in the Empire (Holstein)
Both Britain and France were willing to provide financial
support to Christian



The French, under Richelieu, wanted to weaken the power of
the Habsburgs
The British had begun following a very anti-Spanish policy
Christian was able to raise an army of over 35,000
Danish Intervention (1625-1629)

In June 1625, Christian invaded Lower Saxony




Ferdinand hired Albrecht von Wallenstein, the military
governor of Prague, to lead his army
Catholic forces took control in northern Germany



He claimed he was intervening “on behalf of the Protestant
cause”
Also felt that the sovereignty of Denmark was threatened
On September 14, 1627, they invaded Holstein
This was followed up with an invasion of Denmark
Treaty of Lübeck (May 22, 1629)


Between Christian and Wallenstein
Christian was able to hold on to Holstein as long as he did not
get involved in the affairs of the Empire again

Gustavus Adolfus
of Sweden

(1611-1632)
Swedish Intervention (1630-1635)


Like Christian, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden got involved
in Germany on behalf of the Protestants
On July 6, 1630, Gustavus invaded the Empire




He had a very well-trained 14,000 man army
Easily took northern Germany and moved south
In response, Ferdinand was forced to recall Wallenstein to lead
his army
Peace of Prague (May 30, 1635)


Any lands held by Protestant rulers in 1627 were retained
All princes inside the Empire were forbidden to make alliances
with other members of the Empire or with any foreign powers

Louis XIII
of France

(1610-1643)
French Intervention (1636-1648)

This phase of the war had no religious affiliations involved




France had been financing the war efforts since the start




This is also known as the War for Europe
Shift to a war between the emperor and foreign powers
German people were not real participants in this phase
It became more actively involved by 1635
French minister, Cardinal Richelieu, wanted to quell the
Habsburg threat
Alliances were made with the Dutch and with the Swedes
War was declared against Ferdinand II in March 1636


French were fighting in the Netherlands and western Germany
Swedes and Dutch were fighting the emperor in northern
Germany
French Intervention (1636-1648)


While both sides won key victories, they were both
plagued by lack of money and supplies
Battle of Rocroi (May 19, 1643)




French troops devastated a combined Spanish-Imperial force
This battle marks the end of Spanish military dominance as it
was the first time in a century that they were so cleanly
defeated
It was going to take five years to work out a final
agreement to bring the war to a close
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)

It involved 194 rulers including representatives from France,
Spain, Dutch Republic, Sweden, and Ferdinand III as well as
numerous German Princes
Peace of Westphalia (1648)

It acknowledged the validity of the Peace of Augsburg





It allowed the German princes to determine the religion of
their subjects
This time it included Calvinism as a legal religion
Those practicing a denomination that was not the official
religion of the land could still practice in public with some
restrictions
Protestants would retain any church lands in their
possession prior to January 1, 1624
The constitution of the empire was rewritten


All of the German states were given almost completely
autonomy
Only restriction: they could not make alliances against the
Emperor
Consequences of the War

It is estimated that 3-8 million Germans died





This was approximately 20-40% of the population
Partly due to the actual war itself, but also disease (typhus,
dysentery, and the bubonic plague) and the famine that resulted
from it
Many cities in Germany were besieged and sacked over
and over
On top of this, undisciplined troops and mercenary
armies committed such atrocities as looting and burning
much of the countryside
This marks the official end of the Reformation
Divergent Paths

From 1600 to 1660, the three “big” powers of Europe
were going to take very different paths




Spain would go on a path of decline
France would rise in power
England would be plagued with internal problems
By1600, Spain was already in trouble




Used very little of the gold and silver it acquired from the New
World to develop its own industries
Depended on products imported from other countries
The Spanish military was out-of-date
The government was too inefficient to address serious issues
Decline of Spain

Primary weakness was economic





Spain lacked agricultural and mineral resources
Needed to develop industries and a balanced trading pattern
The nobility lived in splendor and dedicated itself to military
exploits
Huge military expenditures with numerous wars
Philip III (1598-1621)





Was not interested in running the government
His main concern was miracle-working relics and his court
He lavished himself in luxury
His minister, the Duke of Lerma, was corrupt and contributed
to the collapse of the Spanish economy
In 1607, the Spanish monarchy declared bankruptcy
Decline of Spain

Philip IV (1621-1665)




These economic problems led to numerous revolts



Also not interested in running the government
His minister, Count-Duke of Olivares, tried to fix the economy
but it was too little too late
The Thirty Years War heavily damaged the fragile economy
The occurred in Catalonia, Portugal, and Naples (1640s)
Spain was able to regain Catalonia and Naples but Portugal
kept its independence
Spain abandoned its ambition of dominating Europe

Philip IV of Spain

(1621-1665)
Rise of France

After 1598, Henry IV had two main issues to deal with:



To help him rebuild France, Henry appointed the Duke of
Sully as his minister




First, he had to reform the royal finances
Second, he had to improve the economy
He was so successful that he was able to reduce taxes and cut
down the national debt by 1/3
Henry also had to reestablish royal authority


Reviving agriculture, industry, and commerce inside of France
Reestablishing royal authority
He did this by putting down revolts as they broke out
Henry was assassinated on May 14, 1610
Rise of France

Louis XIII (1610-1643)


In 1624, Cardinal Richelieu became the first minister


Was 8 years old when he took the throne
Some say that Richelieu was the actual power behind France
Richelieu had two goals:

Make France the dominant power in Europe by centralizing the
government



With the nobility he worked to take away their independence by
removing their estates’ fortifications
With the Huguenots, he deprived them of political and military rights
Challenging the power of the Habsburgs

This was done by supporting the Protestants during the Thirty Years
War
Rise of France

Louis XIV (1643-1716)


Ascended to the throne at the age of four
Anne of Austria was regent with Mazarin as chief minister



Both were very unpopular, especially with the nobility
They were considered weak and Mazarin was despised as a foreigner
Fronde Revolts (1648-1653)




Nobility reasserting power
Revolt was against Anne and Mazarin, not Louis
Masses joined in because of poor economy and bad harvests
Revolts continued until Louis came of age

James I

(1603-1625)
Troubles in England


From 1603 to 1660, England would find itself in the midst
of internal turmoil
With the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, the Tudor dynasty
came to an end


Her cousin, James VI of Scotland would become king, founding
the Stuart dynasty
The first two Stuart monarchs, James I and Charles I,
would be plagued with both political and religious trouble



There would be a struggle between king and Parliament over
who has more authority
There would also be struggles between the Anglicans and the
Catholics and Puritans
These would culminate into a civil war
Troubles in England

General causes of the civil war:







Constitutional hostilities between king and Parliament
Religious animosities
Power struggles between competing aristocratic factions at
court
Outdated fiscal system
Rebellion in Ireland
Widespread crop failures
James I (1603-1625)



Many considered him to be a “foreigner” as he was Scottish
He was described as possessing little dignity, having ungracious
manners, a blundering tongue, and he drooled when he spoke
Henry IV of France called him the “wisest fool in Christianity”
James I (1603-1625)

James’ reign was going to be divided up into two main
points of contention


One was religious and the other was his relationship with
Parliament
The religious controversy was with the Catholics and the
Puritans



Neither of these groups had been happy with the Elizabethan
Compromise
Puritans wanted a more Calvinistic styled church and a new
Bible
Catholics turned to violence when James refused to lift the
restrictions against them

Most famous plot was the Gunpowder Plot of 1605
James I (1603-1625)

James was not going to have a good relationship with
Parliament either


He strongly believed in the divine right of kings
England was heavily in debt when he took the throne




It continued to increase over the course of his reign
Parliament tried to assert its power through control of
taxation
James refused to cooperate, dissolved Parliament, and collected
taxes without their consent
He also began selling peerages to the highest bidder in an
effort to raise money

A new landless title of Baronet was available for £1,095, Baron could
be bought for £8,000 and Earl for £10,000

Charles I

(1625-1649)
Charles I (1625-1649)

From the very beginning Charles had issues with
Parliament


Charles was arrogant and just like his father strongly believed
in the divine right of kings
The main focus of this conflict was on money



Every time Charles tried to get more funds from Parliament,
they would respond with either a small sum of money or an
outright rejection
This frustrated him so much that he dissolved Parliament three
times over the course of his reign
Instead he was forced to find other ways of collecting money:


“Forced loans” from the wealthy
Collection of custom duties without Parliamentary approval
Charles I (1625-1649)

In 1628, Parliament issued the Petition of Right

This was a list of grievances against the crown in which
Parliament prohibited:





Taxes without their consent
Arbitrary imprisonment
The declaration of martial law in peacetime
The quartering of soldiers in private houses
Charles dismissed Parliament in 1629



During this time, Charles pursued a course called “personal
rule”
The English called it the “Eleven Year Tyranny”
Instituted mass collection of the Ship’s Money
Charles I (1625-1649)

Charles finally had to recall Parliament again in 1640



The Presbyterians in Scotland began a revolt
He needed large amounts of money to put down the revolt
Parliament began stripping Charles of much of his power


This included abolition of arbitrary courts and any taxes
collected by the king without Parliament’s consent
It then passed the Triennial Act


Parliament must meet at least once every three years
In October 1641, a Catholic rebellion broke out in Ireland

Many blamed the Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria for this as a
ploy to bring Catholicism back to England
Charles I (1625-1649)

In late 1641, a rumor spread that Parliament was going to
impeach the Queen on charges of treason




Fearing for his own safety, Charles left London


Charles responded by bringing 400 troops into London
He planned to arrest five Puritan members of the House of
Commons on charges of treason
However, they had been tipped off and fled to safety
Many royalists left London as well to be with the king
He attempted to negotiate with Parliament throughout
the summer of 1641

When that failed, he went to gather enough troops to force
Parliament out

Oliver Cromwell
Lord Protector

(1653-1658)
English Civil War (1642-1649)

There were two sides to the civil war

The Cavaliers



The Roundheads




These were followers of the king
They were primarily members of the nobility and moderate
Protestants
These were the supporters of Parliament
They were called “roundheads” because of their haircuts
They were primarily merchants, tradesmen, and farmers
First phase of the war (1642-1646)

The Cavaliers had the better trained army which allowed them
key victories in the beginning
English Civil War (1642-1649)

Rise of the “Independents”



New Model Army




Radical Puritans led by Oliver Cromwell
Distrusted the king and wanted to bring about religious
tolerance
Roundheads reorganized their army in 1645
People were placed in the army based on their skill rather than
social rank
Many of the Puritans believed that they were doing battle for
the Lord
This change of strategy led to victories for the
Roundheads
English Civil War (1642-1649)


In 1646, Charles surrendered to the Scots
Many Puritans wanted to restore Charles to the throne



He was able to regroup and get enough forces to start
the second phase of the war (1648-1649)



They wanted a Presbyterian state church and attempted
negotiations with Charles
In the meantime, Charles fled London in 1647
Cromwell defeated the king in a very short campaign
Charles was forced to surrender
The big question was: what to do with Charles?


While some were upset with Charles’ betrayal, many MPs were
still willing to negotiate with him
However, the army was not
English Civil War (1642-1649)

Cromwell brought the army into London and then
directly into Parliament



Cromwell ordered the trial of the king in January 1649



45 MPs were arrested as part of “Pride’s Purge”
Those who remained made up the “Rump Parliament”
While a majority of the population disliked Charles, they were
against the execution of the king
Even still, the 59 judges found him guilty
On January 30, 1649 Charles was executed

He was beheaded at the Palace of Whitehall

Execution of Charles I (January 30, 1649)
The Commonwealth (1649-1653)


After the death of Charles, the Rump Parliament
abolished the monarchy and House of Lords
Creation of a Commonwealth in May 1649




A Council of State was put together to handle foreign and
domestic policy
Government was set up along the lines of a Calvinistic
theocracy
Some religious reforms took place but economic problems
prevented major changes
On April 20, 1653, Cromwell ended the Commonwealth


He was dissatisfied with the Parliament, accusing them of not
being godly enough
“Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God…”
Protectorate (1653-1658)

On December 16, 1653, the Protectorate was established

Cromwell was given the title Lord Protector



He instituted the Rule of Major-Generals in August 1655





This made him the sole ruler of England
Thinly disguised autocracy
This ended up creating a virtual military state in England
It was more absolute than the previous monarchs
Cromwell died on September 3, 1658
His son Richard became Protectorate
By this point, the people of England wanted a king back in
power

They began negotiating with Charles’ son to take the throne