England and
Constitutionalism
The Stuarts and the Road to Limited
Monarchy
What happened after Elizabeth I?
Remember – Elizabeth was
the “virgin” queen and left
no heirs to the throne.
 She also left her successor a
huge debt that they would
have to pay for.
 Her closest living relative
was her cousin James Stuart,
King of Scotland.
 James Stuart became King
James I of England in 1603
ruling over both England
and Scotland.

James I of England

James inherited the financial
problems of Elizabeth.
 His worst struggles with
Parliament was over money.
 The Puritans hoped James
would reform the English
Church to rid the church of all
Catholic practices.
 James refused to reform the
church which angered the
Puritans
 Agreed to a new translation of
the bible, The King James
Bible
Charles I

Charles I, son of James I, took
the throne in 1625
 Always needed money from
Parliament due to war and
when Parliament refused, he
dissolved the Parliament
 He was forced to sign the
Petition of Right to receive
the money from Parliament,
however he ignored it and
imposed fees and fines on the
English people to raise
money.
The Petition of Right

1.
2.
3.
4.
What did Parliament want from the King?
He would not imprison subjects without due
cause.
He would not levy taxes without Parliaments
consent.
He would not house soldiers in private
homes.
He would not impose martial law in peace
time.
The English Civil War 1642 - 1649
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In 1641 Parliament passed laws
to limit royal power.
Charles fled London and tried to
raise an army in the north of
England where people were
loyal to him
Royalists or Cavaliers – those
who remained loyal to the king
Roundheads – Puritans that
supported Parliament
General Oliver Cromwell and
the New Model Army captured
the King in 1647 and in 1649
found him guilty of treason and
sentenced him to death
Cromwell’s Rule of England
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Oliver Cromwell abolished the
monarchy and established a
commonwealth with a
constitution.
Cromwell eventually ruled as
a ruthless military dictator.
Cromwell ruthlessly stamped
out rebellion in Ireland
Made Puritan reforms on
English society. Abolished
theater, sporting events, and
dancing.
He died in 1658 and his
government collapsed and a
new Parliament was selected.
Charles II – The Restoration
 Parliament
passed the
writ of habeas corpus
 Writ of Habeas Corpus a
monarch (or government)
can not put someone in
jail simply for opposing
the ruler (or government)
and can not hold them
indefinitely without a
trial
English Politics

Charles had no heirs, so Parliament decided
that his brother James II, a Catholic, would
take the throne.
 The opposition that resulted to this decision
created two groups that became England’s first
political parties.
 Whigs – opposed James II
 Tories – supported James II
James II

James offended his
subjects by displaying his
Catholicism.
 When Parliament
protested, James
dissolved Parliament
 Parliament asked James’
Protestant daughter Mary
and her husband Prince
William of Orange to
overthrow James for the
sake of Protestantism.
The Glorious Revolution
In 1688 William led his army to London
and James fled to France.
 Many of the English soldiers joined
Williams’ army and the others surrendered
without a fight.
 This Glorious Revolution is also known as
the Bloodless Revolution.

William and Mary
William and Mary and the English Bill of Rights
William and Mary vowed to recognize
Parliament as their partner in governing
 England became a Constitutional
Monarchy
 The English Bill of Rights was adopted
which limited the power of the monarchy
 The cabinet was created to help with
conflict between the monarch and the
Parliament..
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