Chapter 16
Part 3
Constitutionalism
England
The Netherlands
Constitutionalism in Western Europe
1600-1725
Constitutionalism: Government’s
power is limited by law
th
17
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Century England
Capitalism = much social mobility
The English Middle Class: numbers up due to
the Commercial Revolution
Improved agricultural techniques could feed a
larger population
England had a bigger middle class in proportion
to its population than any other country in
Europe EXCEPT the Netherlands
The Gentry
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Wealthy land owners in the countryside
dominated the House of Commons
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Many had been middle class and had moved up
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They relied on English law to limit the power of
the King regarding economic and political
matters
The Gentry
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They were willing to pay taxes so long as the
House of Commons had a say in how the
money was to be spent
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In England, paying taxes held no stigma like it
did in France and Spain
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England was more egalitarian.
The peasants were not as exploited as in other
European countries
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BUT
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Taxation DID bring the House of Commons
and the monarch into conflict
Religion
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By the 17th century there were more Calvinists
and fewer Anglicans
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Puritans were the most reform-minded of the
Calvinists
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The Protestant work ethic had a big impact on
the Middle Class and the Gentry
Calvinists
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Were much opposed to the influence of the
Catholic Church
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BUT James I and Charles I not so much
The Stuarts
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Began in 1603 with James I
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Both James I and son, Charles I were absolutists
at heart.
Both supported “Divine Right”
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The ambitions of the early Stuart monarchs were
held in check by Parliament
The Early Stuarts
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Both had issues with Parliament
Both suspended same
Both into persecuting Puritans
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BUT Charles more enthusiastic…
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Caused the Great Migration of the 17th C
 Clashed with Parliament causing the English Civil
War
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The Big Issues Prior to the English
Civil War
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Could the King govern without the consent of
Parliament or go against its wishes?
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Would the Church have an Episcopal or a
Presbyterian format?
English Civil War 1642-49
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King’s supporters: Cavaliers: Old Nobility of
the Sword, Anglicans. Mercenaries, Catholics
(like the Irish) who feared Puritans more than
the Anglican king
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Parliament Puritans: Roundheads
Were led by Cromwell and his New Model
Army
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Remember…
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Parliament received help from the Scots in
exchange for a promise:
That after the war, the English Church would be
organized along Presbyterian lines…
Also, support from businessmen, merchant marine
and navy
Battle of Nasby
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The last major battle in the war
Charles I captured by the Scots
Was turned over to English Parliament
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Parliament ordered Cromwell to stand down
and dissolve his army
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Cromwell refused
Prides Purge 1648
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The New Model Army (without the knowledge
of Cromwell) purged Parliament of all except
English Puritans (The Anglicans and
Presbyterian Puritans were booted out)
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Only 1/5 of Parliament remained
Charles I Beheaded in 1649
The Interregnum
1649-1660
The Commonwealth 1649-53
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Was supposed to be a Republic
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The monarchy and the House of Lords was abolished
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England became a military state
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The Scots were unhappy with unfulfilled promise
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Cromwell went to war with the Scots and defeated
them
The Protectorate 1653-1659
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Cromwell dissolved the Rump Parliament and
ruled alone
He divided England into 12 military districts
Each district was controlled by a general
He denied religious freedom to Catholics and
Anglicans
BUT allowed Jews to return in 1655
They had been banished since 1290
Cromwell’s Campaigns
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1649 Cromwell put down an Irish Rebellion
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1652 Act of Settlement: 2/3 of the land in
Ireland owned by Catholics was given to English
Protestants
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1651-52 Defeated the Scots
Life in Cromwell’s England
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Strict moral codes were used to regulate
everyday life
Codes were enforced by the army
The Press was censored
Sports were prohibited
Theaters were closed
It got old fast
Cromwell died in 1658
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His son, Richard, was inept
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An Anglican Parliament will invite Charles I’s
son, Charles II, to come back home
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While in exile, Charles II agreed to abide by
Parliament’s decisions in the post-war settlement
1660 The Restoration
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Parliament was stronger in relation to the King
than ever before
Charles II agreed to a significant degree of
religious toleration…especially for Catholics (he
had a fondness for them anyway)
The King’s power was NOT absolute
Though Charles II would have liked that
Charles II 1660-85
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Was called the Merry Monarch
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He had many close personal lady friends and
illegitimate children but no legitimate children so
his brother, James II will inherit the throne upon
Charles II’s death
The Rise of Political Parties in
England
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The Tories: Conservative
Nobles, gentry, Anglicans who supported the
King over Parliament
The Whigs: More Liberal
Middle-Class and Puritans who favored
Parliament and religious toleration
1661 The Clarendon Code
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An effort by monarchists and Anglicans to drive
Puritans out of political and religious life
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The Test Act of 1673: Excluded those who
refused to receive the sacrament of the Church
of England from voting, holding public office,
teaching, preaching, attending universities, or
assembling for meetings
In the Meantime
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Charles seemed to support Catholics and was
criticized for it by the Whigs in Parliament
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He granted freedom of worship to Catholics
And took annual payments beginning in 1670
from Louis XIV if Charles would relax
restrictions on Catholics!
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Charles II and Catholicism
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Charles dissolved Parliament when it passed a
law denying royal succession to Catholics
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James, Charles’s brother and heir, was Catholic
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Charles II declared himself a Catholic on his
deathbed
1679 The Habeas Corpus Act
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Attempt by Parliament to limit Charles II’s
power
Provisions:
Allowed judges to demand that prisoners be in court
during their trials
 Required just cause for continued imprisonment
 Provided for speedy trials
 Forbade Double Jeopardy
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Charles II and Scotland
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Scotland had gained its independence upon the
restoration in 1660
Then Charles went back on his word which
allowed for Presbyterianism in Scotland
In 1661 he declared himself the head of the
Church of Scotland
Like his father, he tried to impose the Episcopal
form of organization on the Presbyterians in
Scotland
Charles II and Scotland
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Thousands in Scotland were killed for resisting
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The last few years of Charles II’s reign were
known as the “Killing Time.”