Seventeenth%20Century%20Politics:%20Part%20I:%20England

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Seventeenth Century PoliticsPart I England

• Who Rules the State?

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Issues in 17th Century Politics

• Struggle for Stability over war, rebellion and
  economic chaos
• Struggle to make the State Sovereign, I.e.,
  dominant over its territories and its people
• Struggle over who will control the State the
  monarch, the nobility or the wealthy?

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England at Midcentury

• Civil War 1640-1648
• King Charles I executed 1649
• Commonwealth ruled by Lord Protector Cromwell
  a Puritan Parliament
• 1658 Cromwell dead
• 1661 Monarchy Restored by Parliament

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England Foundations of Constitutional Government

• Magna Carta 1215
• Parliament, 13th Century
• Lords Nobles and Bishops
• Commons Gentry and Merchants
• Laws and Extraordinary Taxes
• English Reformation
• Henry VIII becomes Head of the Church
• Elizabeth I Power through Compromise

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The Stuarts

• James I VI of England and Scotland
• Ruled 1603-1625
• Asserted Absolute Power
• Antagonized People over
• Politics
• Religion
• Taxes
• Spent Lavishly on Court, on Favorites

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The Stuarts Charles I

• Ruled 1625-1649 (executed)
• Asserted Absolute Power over
• Finances and taxes
• The State
• The Church
• Petition of Right 1628
• Ruled without calling Parliament until 1639
• Civil War 1642-1649

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Cromwells Commonwealth

• Cromwell, The Lord Protector of the Realm
• Imposed Puritan Principles
• No dancing, theatres or card-playing
• Sumptuary laws governing dress styles
• Exiled Opponents in Parliament
• Died in 1658
• Son Richard stepped aside after ruling until 1660

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Restoration Charles II

• Parliament invited Charles to rule in 1661
• Determined to die of natural causes
• Personally extravagant, but worked with
  Parliament
• Accepted Church of England
• Married Portuguese Princess, but no legitimate
  children
• Died in 1685
• Converted to Catholicism on Death bed

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James II 1685-1688

• Charles Catholic younger brother, born 1633 at
  52, old by 17th standards
• Widowed with 2 Adult Daughters, but remarried to
  a Catholic Princess
• Admired France and Louis XIV
• Determined to impose absolute monarchy on England
  

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Glorious Revolution 1688

• Crisis Prince Charles born 1688 baptized in a
  Catholic ceremony
• Warming Pan Controversy
• Parliamentary Leadership Invited James IIs elder
  daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange
  to take the throne
• James II, wife and baby flee to France
• William and Mary take throne

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Results of Glorious Revolution

• Government a partnership between Parliament and
  the Monarch
• Bill of Rights protects life, liberty, property
• Parliament to approve taxes
• MPs have immunity from arrest and prosecution for
  anything said in Parliament
• Catholics barred from throne
• How Democratic was English Government after 1688?

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Constitutional Government

• King ruled with Parliament but
• Parliament controlled by
• Lords
• Hereditary Nobility
• Bishops
• Commons Men of Property
• Gentry (substantial rural landowners)
• Merchants, bankers, wealthy professionals in towns

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Result in England

• By 1700, English monarchs had lost the struggle
  for absolute power. Principle was established
  that royal authority was NOT absolute, but shared
  with Parliament.
• Foundations existed for additional sharing of
  power in the future, although it would be the
  19th century before average man could vote 20th
  before women could vote.

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To Think About.

• Why were the English successful in resisting
  absolutism and in limiting the Kings power?
• Which groups of people participated in political
  processes in 17th and 18th century England?
• How democratic was the Glorious Revolution?