The Failure of Absolutism in England

1. The Failure of Absolutism in England

2. Elizabeth I • Died in 1603 with no children, ending the Tudor line of monarchs • Her cousin, James VI, the King of Scotland, was named her successor, becoming King James I of England and starting the Stuart dynastic line

3. James I • 1566 – 1625 • First king of “Great Britain” (England, Scotland, & Ireland) • An absolutist, James did not get along well with Parliament, dissolving the body several times in anger over their reluctance to fund his initiatives • Entangled England in the Thirty Years’ War to support his son-in-law , Frederick V • Jamestowne, VA – the first successful English colony in North America founded in his name in 1607

4. James I & Religion • Commissioned a new translation of the Bible, standardizing English Christianity • Generally tolerant of Catholics (wanted to avoid internal strife and maintain peace with Catholic Spain) • Angered “Puritans” to the point that many left England to seek religious freedom elsewhere (like Massachusetts) • Never reconciled Scottish Presbyterians into the Anglican Church, despite his best efforts • His mild manner led to popular remark: Rex fuit Elizabeth, nuncestreginaJacobus

5. The Gunpowder Treason • Plot by Catholics to blow up King James and Parliament • November 5, 1605 • Remember, remember the fifth of November • Gunpowder, treason and plot. • I see no reason, why gunpowder treason • Should ever be forgot.

6. Guy Fawkes • 1570 – 1606 • Catholic • Experienced soldier • Caught trying to ignite the gunpowder • Tortured into confession • Sentenced to be hung, drawn, & quartered, Fawkes deliberately jumped from the scaffold and broke his own neck

7. Charles I • 1600 – 1649 • Catholic sympathizer • Fought with Parliament over taxes & imprisoning his enemies • Dissolved parliament in 1629, but ran out of money by 1640 and had to recall Parliament • The new Parliament arrested and executed Charles’ top advisors and declared that the king could no longer dissolve Parliament • 1642: armies loyal to Parliament began fighting armies loyal to the king

8. English Civil War (1642 – 1649)

9. Cavaliers = supporters of the king during the English Civil War

10. Roundheads = supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War

11. Oliver Cromwell & The Commonwealth • 1599 – 1658 • Puritan • Elected to Parliament • Worked his way up the ranks of the New Model Army • Led nearly genocidal religious war against Irish Catholics and Scottish Presbyterians, but later encouraged Jews to move to England • Proclaimed himself Lord Protector of England in 1653 • Died of kidney failure brought on by malaria • Body was later dug up and beheaded

12. Oliver Cromwell had King Charles I beheaded

13. Cromwell’s Head

14. Charles II • Catholic sympathizer • 1630 – 1685 • “The Restoration”: Returned to England from exile in 1660 • Relaxed moral standards from the Puritanical reign of Oliver Cromwell • Despite having many children, none were legitimate, so he was succeeded on the throne by his brother James

15. James II • Openly Catholic • 1633 – 1701 • Became king in 1685 • Tried to restore absolute monarchy and was despised by Parliament • Clashed with Parliament over funding, appointing Catholic officials – dissolved Parliament • His daughter Mary was a Protestant, but late in life James produced a male heir by his Catholic second wife • Parliament began plotting James’ ouster to prevent this son from ever coming to the throne • Fearing the same fate as Charles I, James fled to France in 1688

16. William (of Orange) & Mary

17. William III & Mary II • Protestants • Offered the throne by Parliament • William III (1650 – 1702) • Mary II (1662 – 1694) • Came to power in 1689 in the “Glorious Revolution” • William ruled while Mary controlled the Church of England • First cousins, married when he was 27 and she was 15 • Mary died of smallpox & William died with no heirs

18. The College of William & Mary(founded in 1693 in Williamsburg, VA)

19. The English Bill of Rights

20. 1. King can not suspend, disregard, or refuse to enforce laws passed by Parliament

21. 2. Freedom of Petition

22. 3. King Can Not Create New Courts

23. 4. King can not levy taxes

24. 5. King can not maintain a standing army without Parliament’s consent

25. 6. No quartering of troops in private homes

26. 7. King can not limit Protestants’right to bear arms

27. 8. King can not interfere with Parliamentary elections or functions

28. 9. No cruel or unusual punishments or excessive bails or fines

29. 10. No royal interference in juries

30. 11. Parliament must be allowed to meet regularly

31. 12. Reiterated Writ of Habeas Corpus - no one can be arrested or imprisoned without being charged with a crime

32. 13. No seizure of property without due process

33. 14. English monarch can not be Catholic

34. Thomas Hobbes • 1588 – 1679 • English • Wrote Leviathan (1651) • Favored a powerful government, like a monarchy, that could keep people in line • Life is “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short”

35. Hobbes thought people were naturally cruel, greedy, & selfish

36. John Locke • 1632 – 1704 • English • Wrote Two Treatises on Government (1689) • Believed people were basically good • People have natural rights and government exists to protect those rights

37. Locke believed that people had the right to life, liberty, & property

38. Lockebelieved that the people had the right to overthrow the government if it failed to protect their rights