World History 9
Notes – 21 – 5 (Parliament Limits the Monarchy)
1. What is Parliament?
England’s legislature
a. What does it mean that Parliament “held the purse strings?
They controlled the money; monarchs had to go through Parliament to get money
b. How did the financial power of Parliament limit the powers of the monarchy in England?
Monarch had to get Parliament’s approval to get money for wars, etc.
2. How did James I feel about Parliament?
Didn’t want to share power
3. What kind of ruler did Charles I want to be?
absolute
a. What did Charles I do when Parliament refused to give him money to fight a war?
Dissolves it
b. When he needed money again, what did Parliament make him sign?
Petition of Right
c. What did the Petition of Right say?
King won’t raise taxes without consent of Parliament
d. Charles ignored the Petition of Right, but why was it a significant document?
Idea that the law was higher than the king
Contradicted theories of an absolute monarchy
e. Why did Charles become so unpopular?
Raises money by fines and fees
4. What sparked the English Civil War?
Parliament passes laws limiting monarch’s power; Charles tries to have the leaders arrested;
Charles flees then raises army
5. What were the two sides in the English Civil War? Describe who was on each side.
Cavaliers – supporters of Charles and the monarchy
Roundheads – supporters of Parliament
a. Who led the Roundheads?
Oliver Cromwell
b. Who won the Civil War?
Roundheads
c. What happened to Charles I? Why was it so significant?
Executed for treason; First time in Europe that a ruling monarch had been tried publicly
and executed by his own people; Parliament shows that in England, no ruler can claim
absolute power and ignore the rule of law
6. Who led the government after Charles I was executed?
Cromwell
a. What kind of government did Cromwell set up?
A republic (gov’t in which citizens vote for some positions); called Commonwealth;
abolished monarchy
b. What kind of ruler did Cromwell eventually become?
Military dictator
c. Why would the Irish be unhappy with Cromwell’s rule?
Puts down rebellions; seizes their land for soldiers; plus, Cromwell is Puritan and antiCatholic; Ireland mostly Catholic
d. What kind of reform did Cromwell and the Puritans make in England?
Strict Puritanism – no entertainment or fun
e. Who was not granted religious tolerance under Cromwell?
Everyone, but Catholics
7. What was the Restoration and how did it come about?
When the monarchy was restored after Cromwell dies. After Cromwell dies, people tired of
strict Puritanism and military rule; ask Charles’s son to come back as monarch (Charles II)
8. What was habeas corpus and what did it give people in England?
Prisoners have right to know the charges against them and could not be held indefinitely
without a trial
A monarch could not put someone in jail simply for opposing the ruler
Was a guarantee of freedom for people
9. After Charles II dies, James II takes the throne. What religion was he?
Catholic
a. Why were Protestants not happy with his rule?
Appoints Catholics to high government positions
b. Who did they ask to become monarchs?
William and Mary
10. What was the Glorious Revolution?
The bloodless overthrow of James II
11. What kind of government did England have under William and Mary?
Constitutional monarchy
a. What is a constitutional monarchy?
Ruler’s power is limited by laws
b. How does a constitutional monarchy differ from an absolute monarchy?
Absolute monarchy – no limits on ruler’s power
c. What did the English Bill of Rights (1689) say a monarch could not do?
Suspend any of Parliament’s laws
No levying taxes without Parliament’s approval
No interfering with freedom of speech in Parliament
No penalty for citizens who petitions the king about grievances (complaints)
12. Explain what a cabinet is.
a group of officials who acted in ruler’s name, but in reality represented the majority party of
Parliament; a link between monarch and Parliament
13.
How did England differ from the other monarchies in Europe
at the time?
England did not have an absolute monarchy; it had a
constitutional monarchy where the monarch’s power is
limited by the laws of Parliament