· Divine Right
o King derives power to rule from divine authority
· English Civil War
o Elizabeth I (1603-1625)
o Charles I (1625-1649)
§ Believes he is appointed by God; parliament cannot control him
§ Parliament believes sovereignty comes from the people; England is a nation & Charles gains his power from the people
o 1628-Petition of Right
o 1629-40-No Parliament; dissolved by Charles
o 1642-48-Civil War
o Calvin said state had no authority over religion
o Charles enlists foreign militaries to come into England, topple Parliament, & reinstate him to throne; contacted papacy
o Charles put on trial for treason
o 1649-Charles is found guilty and beheaded
o Military stands down & Parliament is expected to run the country
o English Commonwealth (1649-53)
§ Men of parliament trying to run country without king
§ Use positions for personal gain, angering Cromwell
o 1653-Cromwell marched into London & dissolved parliament, taking control by force
§ Believed he was satisfying will of God
o Protectorate
§ Oliver Cromwell (1653-58)
· Rules sans Parliament
· No Anglican church
· Closes taverns & bans alcohol
· No singing or dancing
· Hated by British
· Irish could rebel & were influenced by the French & Stuarts; decides to stamp out Catholicism & punish the Irish
§ Cromwellian phase most extreme phase of revolution
§ Cromwell deals with extreme groups:
· Levelers
o Speak of natural rights
o Equality of representation
o Written constitution
o Universal manhood suffrage
o Crushed by Cromwell; many migrate to America
· Diggers
o Abolish private property-all land should be held in common
§ Cromwell established Constitution-Instrument of Government
§ Richard Cromwell (1658-60)
· Cromwell’s son
· Incompetent
· Men of Parliament hated him
o Contacted Charles’ descendants in France-invited them to take back the throne
o Restoration
§ Monarchy, Parliament & Anglican Church established
§ Charles II (1660-85)
· Parliament makes it clear to Charles that he has to work with it; kept on short leash
· Concern over finances
o Parliament will levy taxes & manage fiscal affairs; make sure King receives money e needs
o Parliament agrees to tax itself
§ Sett policies of what’s being done with their money
§ Assured themselves the right of political power
· Known as merry monarch; no legitimate children
§ Treaty of Dover (1670)
· Secret treaty between Louis XIV & Charles II
· Charles II will support France in their conflict against the Dutch
· Luis will send lots of money to Charles
· Suggests Charles should convert to Catholicism
§ Parliament suspects James has converted to Catholicism
§ Charles passes Declaration of Indulgence in 1672
· Religious toleration
· Puritans left England for colonies
· Benefitted Catholics
· Parliament suspicious
§ Test Act-1673
· Requires members of Parliament to eat Anglican Eucharist to prove they are Protestant
· Reveals James is Catholic
§ James II (1685-88)
· Upsets all of Parliament
o Openly Catholic; can erode the advances of Parliament
· Appoints loyal Catholics to parliament, angering it
· 2 Protestant daughters, Mary & Anne
· Married a young woman, who in 1688 gave birth to a son
· Parliament looking at a line of Catholic heirs
· Lords want to find a loophole to declare James illegitimate, Commons unsure
· Parliament contacts Mary & offers her throne
o Mary is married to William of Orange
o William wants to fight the French with English resources
· James flees England & goes to France
o Defeated at Boyne River in Ireland
· Glorious Revolution
o Parliament gives throne to William & Mary in 1689
o Bill of Rights-1689
§ Restatement of Petition of Right
§ Limits what kin can & cannot do without Parliament
· Taxes
· Policies
· Imprisonment
· Peacetime army
o William doesn’t care about eroding power of British king because he’s Dutch; turns England into a limited monarchy
o Toleration Act-1689
§ Give dissenters in England religious rights but no civic or political rights
o Act of Settlement-1701
§ James cannot return to throne because he has no claim
§ No descendent of James II can take throne
§ No Catholic can ever be king or queen of England
o Union Treaty-1707
§ Established United Kingdom
· England
· Scotland
· Wales
· Ireland
