England and
Constitutionalism
James VI (King of
Scotland) becomes James
I of England in 1603 (upon
Elizabeth I death)
Believed in absolute
monarchy
“a deo rex, a rege lex:
King’s power restricted due to
Magna Carta & Parliament
Restriction important for 3
reasons:
the people once rose up in
arms to defend their rights
king could not levy taxes
w/out consent of people
restriction of royal power in
administering justice
Tudor monarchs had reigned for
100 yrs. Independent of
Parliament
good economy
careful collection of taxes
irregular expenditures
confiscation of religious property
tampering w/currency
Parliament held irregular
meetings (3-4 weeks a year)
Conflict arises: James I
extravagant: needs $ but does
not empower parliament
Parliament refuses $ King
requests
To raise needed $, James I
imposed
customs duties
grants of monopolies
forced loans
Parliament protests: James
I imprisons leaders of
Parliament
1621—Commoners
entered Protestation
against the King; James
dissolves Parliament
James I religious
tendencies also anger the
English
By 1625, majority of
Parliament was Puritain
Charles I (1625-1649)
He was to marry Henrietta
Maria, sister of Louis XIII of
France
1623: Charles jilted by his
Spanish fiancé
Returns to England; wants
war w/Spain
Charles I spent all $ and
demands more
Charles I dissolved Parliament
Experiences:
difficulties in administration
fleet destroyed at Cadiz
Defeated by Huguenots in
France
1628, Charles I calls 3rd
Parliament:
In return for funds, must sign
Petition of Right:
No taxes w/out Parliament’s
consent
No quartering of soldiers in
private homes
No martial law in time of peace
No arbitrary imprisonment
Charles agrees: Parliament
also demands
Buckingham’s removal—he
was later assassinated
Parliament dissolved again!!
For 11 years: Charles I ruled
w/out Parliament
revived old feudal dues
courts levied huge fines
monopolies of wine, salt, soap
sold
ship money
Under William Laud: Catholic
restrictions relaxed; Puritan
restrictions increased
Catholic practices, vestments &
dogmas were re-introduced to
Anglican Church
In Scotland, tried to make
Presbyterian church Episcopal
1638: Scottish signed Great Covenant
defend their religion; deposed bishops
and revolted against Charles I
Charles I defeated and forced to call
Parliament for funds for an army
Short Parliament: only 3 weeks
Nothing resolved
Charles dissolved it, but
desperate for $ to put down
rebellion, he calls another
Parliament
Long Parliament: 1640-1660
John Pym
Archbishop Laud and Thomas
Wentworth to Tower of London
Court of High Commission and Court
of Star Chamber abolished
No more irregular expenditures
King could no longer dissolve
Parliament
Law required Parliament to meet at
least one time every 3 yrs.
Granted $ to fight Scots
English Civil War (1642-1649)
Charles and nobles, landed
gentry, Roman Catholics,
most Anglicans: Cavaliers
Parliamentarians: business
classes, farmers, Puritan
religious sects:
Roundheads, led by Oliver
Cromwell
Battle of Marston Moor (1644)
gave Roundheads control of
northern England
After victory, Parliament
abolished office of Bishop;
removed altars; communion
rails; allowed smashing of
crucifixes, images, stained
glass windows
New Model Army--Cromwell
1645—Battle of Naseby—New Model
army destroyed Cavalier forces
1646—Charles surrendered to Scots
Scottish Army invaded England to
restore Charles I as king
Puritan forces split—smaller group
supported by Cromwell’s army
Cromwell’s army intimidated
Presbyterian Parliament
1648—Battle of Preston
Cromwell says Charles must die;
executed military coup on
Parliament—
143 Presbyterian members
purged—known as Pride’s Purge
60 men—all independents,
(Rump Parliament) determined
fate of England
Rump Parliament: sentenced
Charles to death as traitor,
murderer, public enemy of the
people
Charles beheaded January 30,
1649
Commonwealth 1649-1660
Officially England becomes
republic—no monarchy or
House of Lords
Cromwell—commander in
chief of army, ruled as dictator
Rump Parliament did not call
for new election
1653, Cromwell dissolved
Rump Parliament
He becomes military and
religious dictator of England,
Scotland, Ireland
Appoints new members of
‘Legislative Body’
Wrote Instrument of
Government—1st modern
constitution
Cromwell becomes ‘Lord
Protector’ for life
1655: Cromwell became
military dictator; office
becomes hereditary.
Successful war against
Spain (1656-59) gained
Jamaica in West Indies &
Port of Dunkirk on the
Continent for England
Stuart Restoration (1660-1680)
Charles II swore to uphold
Magna Carta and Petition
of Right
Nobles paid Charles
100,000 Pounds annually
Charles wanted more
1670: Secret Treaty of
Dover
Charles’ religious policies
acts passed against Puritans
English saw his favoritism of
Catholics
1672, Prince James (Charles II
brother) converted to Catholicism
Charles issued ‘Declaration of
Indulgence’ Rumors spread about
Dover
1673: Test Act
Tales of ‘Popish’ plot
1679 Exclusion Bill
The Exclusion Bill caused
much dissent in Parliament,
and the two factions split into
Whigs—supporters of
Parliament, Protestantism and
merchant class—motto: life,
liberty, property
Tories—court faction motto:
the king, the church, and the
land
1685-1688 James II
James II openly Catholic, wants
to make England Catholic
Tries to create standing army
w/Catholic officers
King’s right to suspend laws and
statutes enacted by Parliament
1687 ‘Declaration of Indulgence’
exempting Catholics and
dissenters from punishment for
infractions of the laws
Appointed Catholics to
office in army and civil
government
1688: second ‘Declaration
of Indulgence’ ordered to
be read in all Anglican
Churches
Glorious Revolution (1688-89)
Whigs and Tories extend
invitation to Mary and William to
“invade” England from Holland
and take the throne
1688—William’s armies enter
London/James’ armies desert
him/he flees to France
Early 1689—Parliament offered
crown to William III and Mary II
jointly,
Declaration of Rights
Supremacy of Parliament (rulers denied
right to make or suspend laws, levy
money, or maintain a standing army
w/out consent of Parliament)
Free elections
Freedom of debate for members of
Parliament, who would meet
frequently
Reasonable bail and trial by jury for
the people
The Bill of Rights (Dec, 1689)
additional provisions, including
the barring of a Catholic as ruler
1689—Toleration Act granted
dissenters freedom of
conscience, legal right to worship
in public, but tightened
restrictions on Catholics
1690—James II forces in Ireland
defeated by William III
Other Developments to 1715
Lloyd’s of London
insurance company
founded 1688
Bank of England
(commercial bank) founded
1694
London Stock Exchange
founded 1698
Mary II dies, 1694
William III ruled alone until his
death in 1702
Queen Anne 1702-1714:last of
Stuarts
Act of Settlement 1702 passed,
to ensure succession of crown
would pass to German House of
Hanover 1707—Act of Union
combined Scotland and England
into Great Britain
Age of Walpole
1714: Hanoverian dynasty came
to the throne
George I faced challenge to his
title
Stuart James Edward (16881766) son of James II landed in
Scotland 1715
Troops marched southward, but
were defeated by George I troops
Robert Walpole (1676-1745)
Debt in England controlled by South
Sea Company
Gov’t bonds traded for stock in
company
Stock price soared; then crashed in
1720
Investors sold holdings; exchanged
profits
Parliament intervened
Under Walpole, parliament honored
national debt
Saved England’s financial
integrity
Walpole=England’s 1st prime
minister
Originator of Cabinet system
of gov’t
Not chosen by House of
Commons
Real source of power:
personal support of King
Ability to handle House of
Commons
Ironfisted control of
government patronage:
Bought support for himself/his
policies
He supplied people jobs,
appointments, favor, gov’t
contracts
Corruption=glue of political
loyalty
“Let sleeping dogs lie”—
peace abroad; status quo
home
Parliament, 1700’s: House of
Commons: not democratic nor
representative
Members elected from
boroughs: only a few were
large enough to hold elections
Most had few electors
Rotten boroughs: Old Sarum—
Pitt family
Supremacy of Parliament=strong
unity
British monarch & parliament could
raise tax revenues and loans to wage
war
All Britons paid taxes—no exemptions
Bank of England secured credit
market
Strong finances=cornerstone of British
power
Freedom of political beliefs—debate in
newspapers flourished;
speech/association
No large standing army
Netherlands:
UP—led by William of
Orange; William III of England
Gov’t was republic: States
General
Provinces had authority
States General negotiated
w/provinces
Holland dominated States
General
Dutch religiously tolerant
Calvinist Reformed Church—
official church of nation
Catholics and Protestants also
lived in UP
Haven for Jews
All people lived peacefully
together
Urban Prosperity: enriched
themselves and had high
standard of living
Urban consolidation; transformation of
agriculture—drained & reclaimed
much land from sea—steady supply
of grain—cheap grain = land for meat
and dairy; tulips extensive trade and
finance; overseas commercial empire;
manufacture; shipbuilding;
1675: More people lived in cities than
anywhere else in Europe; 60%
Decline: began in 18th century
Upon William III death in 1702,
various local provinces prevented the
emergence of another strong
Stadtholder
Unified political leadership vanished
Naval supremacy passed to British
Fishing industry declined
Dutch lost technological superiority in
shipbuilding
Countries traded w/each other
directly, not using Dutch ships
Disunity in provinces hastened
economic decline
BUT maintained financial dominance
Emergence of Prussia
1415—received Brandenburg
(Berlin)
1618—inherited duchy of Prussia,
but size=weakness—
geographical separation
Legacy of Frederick William
Great Elector of Brandenburg
(1640-1688)
1660—E. Prussia
independent of Polish rule
Monarchy allied w/Junkers
1701: Brandenburg
becomes Prussia—
recognized in 1713 Treaty
of Utrecht
Frederick King in Prussia:
Built palaces
Founded Halle University
1694
Patronized the arts
Lived luxuriously
1701: War of Spanish
Succession
King in Prussia”
Becomes Frederick I, passed on
title to Frederick William I in 1713
Frederick William I King of
Prussia (r.1713—1740)
Eccentric
One of most effective
Hohenzollerns
Imposed strict austerity
Some jobs abolished
Salaries lowered
Kabinett
all lower officials submitted relevant
documents to Frederick William I
FWI examined papers, made decisions,
issued orders
Organized bureaucracy along military lines
All departments united: General-OberFinanz-Kriegs-und-Domanen-Direktorium
(General Directory)
Imposed taxed on nobles
Made remaining feudal dues monetary
payments
Administrative loyalties=duties to monarch
as political institution
Army
grew from 39,000 to 80,000 by
1740
Third/fourth largest army in
Europe
Each local district (canton)
supplied quota of soldiers
1725: FWI wore officer’s uniform
One regiment=tallest soldiers in
Europe
Laws, customs, royal attention
made officer corps highest social
class in state
Junker nobility, army,
monarchy=one political unit
FWI had best army in Europe; but
avoided conflict
1740—FWI dies; son Frederick II
(the Great) inherits the throne
Sweden:
Elevated to rank of first class
power by Vasa dynasty
Gustavus I, successfully
revolted against Danish rule in
1520
Swedish kings, incl. Gustavus
Adolphus and Charles XII
established absolute rule
Sweden’s population and resources
insufficient to maintain position during
many wars; Sweden becomes
second-class power
By disastrous Great Northern War,
Sweden’s supremacy in Baltic ended
1720-21—Treaties of Stockholm—
Sweden lost holdings in Germany
(Prussia)
1721—Treaty of Nystadt w/Russia—
Sweden lost Estonia, Livonia, Ingria,
and part of Finland (including Karelian
Isthmus and Viborg)
Ottoman Empire
Greatest empire in Europe at
death of Suleiman the
Magnificent, 1566, state of
tremendous decline since
1585;
Corrupt administration
Intrigues among court officials
Many wars w/Austria, Russia,
Venetians—still possessed
extensive empire
In Europe, most of the
Balkans, most of the Aegean
Islands, island of Crete
In Near East: modern Turkey,
Mesopotamia, area of Syria and
Palestine; part of Persia, part of
Arabia; island of Cyprus
In Africa: Egypt and N.
African Coast
European holdings were
coveted by both Austria
and Russia—led to
continuous enmity between
the two countries
Poland
Late 10th century, Western Slavic
tribes united under Piast family
Forced to develop a militaristic
state to defend against
Prussians, Germans, Bohemians,
Hungarians, and later Russians
Polish state expanded in all
directions: became kingdom by
early 11th century
Many wars, both internal and external
13th century, Poles came into contact
w/Teutonic Knights, who conquered
Prussia and blocked Polish access to
Baltic Sea
1410—Battle of Tannenberg: Poland
defeated Teutonic Knights
1456-66—Poles won other battles
and gained access to Baltic
Made Teutonic Order a vassal of
Polish king
Poland allied w/Lithuania,
which was three times the
size of Poland
1569—Union of Lublin
officially merged Poland and
Lithuania—it was the
strongest state in Eastern
Europe
Under Jagiello dynasty (13861572) Poland at its zenith
After 1572, nobility had gained so
much power that it was in fact a
‘royal republic’, with its king
elected by the entire nobility
By early 18th century, Poland
was extremely weak, dominated
by Russia
Had fought numerous wars
w/Sweden and Russia, capped
w/disastrous Great Northern War,
fought mainly on Polish territory
Jealous nobility did not
allow authority or national
army for effective national
security
Austria
Absolute rule of Hapsburgs, held
rule over HRE, but authority was
really limited
Through warfare, obtained most
of Hungary from Ottomans by
1699
1703-1711—revolt of Hungarians
forced Hapsburgs to make
concessions to Francis II
Rakoczy (of Transylvanian
nobility)
Transylvania joined the rest of
Hungary as an Austrian
possession
Austrian Hapsburgs had
acquired Spain’s holdings in
the Netherlands (Union of
Arras)
and Italy by the Treaty of
Rastadt (1714) following the
War of Spanish Succession
Vast land holdings and
diverse minority groups
were source of weakness,
but Austria continually
sought more territory: at
the expense of the
Ottoman Empire
Russia
Ivan III (1462-1505) ended
Mongol domination and laid
foundations for Russian State
Succeeded by his son Basil III
(1505-33 )
1589—Russian church
becomes independent of
Constantinople
Ivan IV (the Terrible) 1533-84
1549, marries Anastasia
Romanova Zakarina
1552—Conquered Tatars at
Kazan
1557-1571—Livonian War
1571—Tatars sack Moscow
1578-79—Swedes defeated Ivan
in Baltic
1582—Poles defeated Ivan
Time of Troubles (1604-13)
Ivan’s son Fyodor I (1584-98)
Boris Godunov
1591—Fyodor’s brother,
Dmitri, age 10, found dead
Boris Godunov tsar (15981605)
False Dmitri I
Poland, and Catholic support
1604—“Dmitri” invades w/force of
Cossacks, Polish warriors,
peasants
1605, victory at hand and
Godunov dies
Dmitri crowned tsar—reigned 13
months
Prince Shuisky elected tsar
(1606-1613)
1670-71—Ivan Bolotnikov,
Other Pretenders come to throne
Sweden and Poland seized
territories
Russian people rallied together
Novgorod
Zemsky Sobor and elected
tsar: 16 yr old Michael
Romanov
Michael not strong tsar, nor
was his son Alexis, or
grandson Fyodor III;
Society up to Peter I
Serfdom of peasants firmly
established
Local self-government
disappeared
National assembly ceased to
meet regularly
Russian adventurers crossed
Siberia and reached Pacific in
1637
Vast areas of Ukraine won by
war w/Poland (1654-67)
Cities of Smolensk and Kiev
returned—primarily due to
Cossacks
Bolotnikov’s revolt crushed
First of Russo-Turkish wars
over Ukraine fought
successfully 1677-81
Peter I (the Great) 1689-1725
1) Make power of tsar absolute
curbed nobility and enforced state
service for all landowners: army, civil
service, or courts
when Alexis, his son, opposed his
policies, he was imprisoned and
tortured to death
abolished the patriarchate and made
Russian church a department of the
State
2) To
westernize Russia
1) made long tour of w. Europe
early in his reign
2) fascinated by western
dress, technology, and customs
3) decrees of westernization
were only temporarily
successful—did not
last after his rule (beard
tax, forced western dress)
3)Obtain Window on the West
1) successful in Baltic against
Sweden (Great Northern War
1700-21)
a) 1700: fought Charles XII at
Narva—Sweden outnumbered 4by Russians, but Charles XII
attacks anyway and wins
b) Russia open to invasion; Peter
retreats to Moscow
c) melts church bells for cannons
2) 1701, Charles XII turns to
Poland, defeating Poland and
deposing the king and installing
his own candidate on the throne
3) 1703—Peter attacks Swedish
forts at Naenskance and wins
4) Peter decides to build a city:
St. Petersburg, on this land
5) all materials imported; all
nobles had to build a palace here
6) 1708—Charles XII returns;
Peter adopts a ‘scorched earth
policy’ as winter takes its toll on
Swedes;
7) 1709-armies meet at Poltava;
Swedes outnumbered 5-1
Charles becomes wounded in
heel; can’t lead his troops
Peter wins and Sweden never
strong enough to challenge
Russia again.
Turks entered war against Russia
(Charles sought sanctuary in
Turkish territory)
From 1710-11;
1714, new coalition of England,
Hanover, Denmark, Saxony, and
Prussia joined Russia against
Sweden and shortly after Charles
XII was killed in action (1718)
Sweden forced to accept defeat
1721—Treaty of Nystadt:
Russia gained Estonia,
Livonia, Ingria, part of
Finland (Karelian Isthmus
and Viborg) from Sweden
In wars against Ottoman Empire,
Peter not successful
Russian expeditions captured
Azov on the Black Sea in
1696
In war of 1710-11, Turks
captured Peter I and was
forced to ransom himself and
return Azov to the Turks
Russian expansion to Amur
River, bordering Manchuria
and Siberia was halted by
Chinese with Treaty of
Nerchinsk (1689) forcing
Russia to evacuate its
occupied territory