Section IV: A Limited Monarchy in
England (Pages 402-407)


This section is about:
The conflicts between the
kings of England and
Parliament over religion and
political power.
How parliament gradually took
on more power and imposed
significant limitations on the
monarchy with the English Bill
of Rights.
•One of the two “Main Ideas” on
page 402 impacts America – and
who we are (even today).
•Which one do you think? Why?
•The big argument in England at
this time is on page 407: King
vs. Parliament.
•What is Parliament?
The Early Stuarts
and the English Civil War




Queen Elizabeth died and
James VI of Scotland
(distant cousin) took over.
King James I (same guy)
was the son of Mary
Queen of Scots.
Now – England and
Scotland's thrones were
combined (first time).
He and the kings who
ruled after him are called
the Stuarts (family name)
James I and Rule by Divine Right






King James I was anti-Puritan.
Many members of Parliament
were Puritan.
Puritans didn’t like Protestant
ideas.
Parliament was afraid James I
would add some new taxes (he
needed more money and many
of them were landowners
who’d have to pay them).
So, the King and Parliament
were not going to get along
very well.
……………………






James I claimed he ruled by
divine right.
He was responsible only to God
– not Parliament.
Parliament was not ready to
accept this – and absolute power
was against English tradition.
James I remained anti-Puritan.
He even had the Bible translated
into English (the King James
version is still one of the most
widely used bibles).
Some Puritans had enough and
many decided to leave England –
including one group who took a
boat to America (the Mayflower).
Charles I and Civil War







1625: Charles I took over: with the
same ideas about absolute
monarchy as his father.
He married a French Roman Catholic
(similar to the Anglican Church) and
that also made many angry – and
more people (Puritans) left for the
Americas.
Remember – he was also king of
Scotland (many of them were
Calvinists).
When he tried to change them to
Anglicans, they revolted.
To stop the revolt, he needed the
help of Parliament – and he didn’t
get it.
There was a civil war – Charles led
one group – Oliver Cromwell led the
winners.
1649: Charles was tried for treason,
found guilt, and was beheaded – yes
beheaded.
Horrible Histories: The English Civil War
Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth





Oliver Cromwell then ruled England
for a while (as a republic called a
commonwealth).
At the time, Scotland didn’t like
that their king was beheaded, so
they came after Cromwell.
Cromwell also had problems with
the Irish Roman Catholics.
To get control of England,
Cromwell felt a need to use martial
law (the military was in charge)
People were tired of all this and by
1660, Parliament decided to bring
back a Monarch (Charles II), who
had been in France at the time.

Oliver Cromwell’s story is interesting: Despite being a devout
Puritan, he drank, danced, hunted, enjoyed music, and did not even
object to horse racing or plays. Cromwell is said to have loved
practical jokes. In spite of his achievements and successes, in
January, 1661, twelve years after the execution of Charles I and
three years after Cromwell’s death, his corpse was dug up and
brought to Tyburn (the tradition site of public executions). There
his body was hanged and decapitated.
The Execution of Cromwell
Restoration, Revolution,
and the Triumph of Parliament

Charles II was a better
ruler and politician than
his father and
grandfather.

But there were still some
problems between him
and Parliament (who he
didn’t want to get mad)
Charles II is Welcomed Back to England
Charles II and the Restoration





Charles II is sometimes called “the
Merry Monarch” – as he had learned
to admire the French (and their art
and plays).
He was also tolerant of religious
issues - too much for Parliament
who was afraid he sided with the
Roman Catholics (his Catholic brother
James was next in line to the
throne).
To get even, Parliament passed a law
that said the king had to take
communion with the Church of
England.
Parliament even passed a bill to keep
James from becoming king.
To keep that from happening, Charles
ended Parliament – so when he died,
his brother did become king.
The Glorious Revolution
and the English Bill of Rights





As soon as he was King, James
II appointed many Roman
Catholics to important
positions – and had his son
baptized Roman Catholic.
Parliament was so mad, they
offered the throne to William
of Orange (who was married
to James daughter, Mary).
Later that year, William and
Mary showed up with their
army, and with no actual
fighting, James II left and
wasn’t a factor in anything
again.
This is called England’s
Glorious Revolution.
……………





When they took over,
William and Mary (and
Parliament) approved an
English Bill of Rights.
This was similar to the
Magna Carta (500 years
earlier).
This gave most political
rights in England to the
Parliament.
They would pass laws, raise
taxes, maintain an army,
etc….
This was also the start of
habeas corpus – all the
rights people have when
being accused of a crime.
Change in England







William and Mary (and the
king/queen) now had limits to
their power (a limited monarchy) with a balance of power (both the
people and the government both
having power)
A Prime Minister was going to run
the country.
1694: Mary died
1700: William died
1701: parliament passed a law
that no Roman Catholic could be
king of England.
1707: The Parliaments of England
and Scotland merged.
And, Scotland joined England and
Wales, and they all became called
Britain, or Great Britain
Robert Walpole





One writer of the time: John
Locke
He wrote that one person
should never be in charge of
the government.
Governments were formed
because people allowed
them to be formed.
This was called the contract
theory of government: the
government made a contract
with the people to protect
certain rights, such as life,
liberty, and property.
If a government failed in
this, a new government
could be put in place.
Horrible Histories: The Rulers of England