Unit 8

1. Unit 8 The English Civil War

2. The Stuarts • Cousins from Scotland • Political issues • Believed in divine right and absolutism in a country with a history of limited monarchy (Magna Carta 1215) • Religious issues • Had to deal with the Puritans in England that wanted to rid the Anglican Church of its Roman Catholic influence • Stuarts always seen as sympathetic to the Roman Catholic faith

3. James I (1603-1625) • Had been James VI King of Scotland for 35 years • Well educated but lacked the “common touch” • Lavish court, male lovers and extravagant spending weakened respect for the monarchy • Would not work with Parliament • Authored The Trew Law of Free Monarchy • Sympathy to R.C. • Puritans begin leaving for the New World

4. Charles I (1625-1649) • More personable than his father but still believed completely in Divine Right • Imprisoned his enemies without a trial • Wife was a R.C. but he was a devout Anglican • Forced loans and taxes without consent • Quartered troops in private homes

5. The Petition of Right • In 1628 Charles is forced to sign the Petition of Right by Parliament which had refused him funds to fight the Spanish and French • He had to stop all of his abuses • He then simply ignored this document and did not call parliament for 11 years

6. The English Civil War (1642-1649) • Begins with a disagreement over who should put down a rebellion in Ireland in October of 1641 (King or Parliament) • After Parliament again presented him with a list of grievances Charles decided to invade Parliament and arrest the leaders of the Puritans • The House of Commons (mostly Puritans) raised its own army and the battle for control of England had begun

7. The Course of the War • Parliament: supporters were called the Roundheads and were puritans from all walks of life (led by Oliver Cromwell) • Cromwell reorganized the Parliamentary army (cavalry) into the New Model Army • The King: Supporters known as Royalists or Cavaliers • 1469 Cromwell wins and Charles I is executed (1649-1658 the Interregnum)

8. Cromwell and the Protectorate • Cromwell became frustrated with ineffectiveness of the Parliament and disbanded them on April 21, 1653 • From 1653 until his death in 1658 Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector of the Protectorate • Basically a military dictatorship • He was intolerant of Anglicans and placed Puritanical laws on all of England • No sports, theater, drunkenness etc..

9. The restoration of Charles II (1660-1685) • Known as the “Merry Monarch” was invited to rule because the country was tired of military rule and the economy had suffered while Cromwell fought his many wars • He fails to answer the 2 most important questions • What is the governments position towards the Puritans (religion) • What was the position of the King relative to the Parliament (politics)

10. James II (1685-1688) • Formerly James Duke of York brother of the King • Had re-married to a Roman Catholic and had converted • Granted religious freedom to all Christians • Seemed to be reviving the absolutism of his father and grandfather

11. The Glorious Revolution • Parliament had hoped that James II would die leaving the throne his daughter Mary and her husband William III of Orange • June 20, 1688 James II’s wife gave birth to a son and the Parliament took action and invited William of Orange to “invade” England • William arrived in November of 1688 and was received without opposition by the English people • James fled to France and the throne was declared vacant

12. William III and Mary II (1689-1702) • January of 1689 they begin ruling as dual monarchs • The English Bill of Rights • No R.C. can become ruler of England • Limited the power of the monarchy • King subject to law. Can’t interfere in Parliamentary proceedings • Protected the liberties of English citizens • Toleration Act of 1689 (protestants only)