Aim: What were the goals of the English Revolutions?

Aim: What were the goals of the English Revolutions?

What is a Revolution?

rev·o·lu·tion (noun) 1. overthrow of government; the overthrow

of a ruler or political system2. major change; a dramatic change in ideas

or practice

• a revolution is not the conquest of one state by another• a revolution is not simply a change in leaders or rulers,

even if done violently• some revolutions are violent; others are not• some revolutions are swift; others unfurl over decades

Political and Non-Political Revolutions

• Neolithic Revolution• Commercial

Revolution• Scientific Revolution• Industrial Revolution

• English Revolution• American Revolution• French Revolution• Haitian Revolution• Iranian Revolution• Egyptian Revolution?

Revolutions have political, economic, social and cultural effects

Rock-a-bye baby

In the treetops

When the wind blows the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

“The state of monarchy is the supremest thing on earth. For kings are not only

God’s lieutenants on earth, and sit upon God’s throne, but even by God Himself

are called gods….”

-- King James I of England, speaking to Parliament

But English society was changing…• Conflicts between Protestants

– Anglican Church vs. Calvinists (Puritans)• Distribution of church lands had led to many

“common” large landholders• Rise of the English merchant class• Nobility dissatisfied with loss of power to both

king and commons• Small farmers losing their land• Peasants’ standard of living falling

Rise of “Commons” in Parliament leads to class and religious struggle with King• Conflicts between Parliament and the king

– Taxation (power) – Arbitrary arrest– Control over Religion

• New and old classes fight for power• English Civil War: the start of the English

Revolutions – Who will fight against the King? – What should be the goals of this war?

• What kind of government do you want to replace absolutism?

• Do you want to change the economic structure of the nation? How?

• What kind of rights should be granted, and to who?

Grandees vs. Levelers

• What kind of government do you want to replace absolutism?

• Do you want to change the economic structure of the nation? How?

• What kind of rights should be granted, and to who?

“Negative” vs. “Positive” Rights

• NEGATIVE RIGHTS• Freedom from oppression by government • Freedom of speech • Freedom of religion • Right to bear arms

• POSITIVE RIGHTS• Right to choose your own government • Right to an education• Right to a job – or land! • Right to housing • Right to healthcare

“The Rights of Englishmen”: Magna Carta, 12th century

Trial by Jury Right to face your accuser in court Speedy trial• No taxation without the consent of

Parliament

NEGATIVE RIGHTS

Execution of Charles I; Rise of Cromwell

• An Absolutist state; State control over Religion

• Who wins? • Who loses? • What do you want now?

The Glorious Revolution: triumph of the English bourgeoisie

• James II - a Catholic, tries to rule as an Absolutist

• When James has a son…• Parliament invites his daughter Mary, and her

husband William, king of the Netherlands (both Protestants), to rule England - The Glorious Revolution (1689)

• William signs the English Bill of Rights

What were the rights of “free-born Englishmen?”

“What did the common Englishman’s “birthright” consist in? … Freedom from absolutism, freedom from arbitrary arrest, trial by jury, equality before the law, the freedom of the home from arbitrary entrance and search…. the Englishman was not prepared to be “pushed around”…. The stance of the common Englishman was not so much democratic, in any positive sense, as anti-absolutist. He felt himself to be an individualist, with few affirmative rights, but protected by the laws against the intrusions of arbitrary power. …He claimed few rights except that of being left alone.”

Rock-a-bye baby

In the treetops

When the wind blows the cradle will rock

When the bough breaks the cradle will fall

And down will come baby, cradle and all

The wind blows William and Mary to England

James II and his Catholic baby flee to France

The Glorious Revolution: 1689

Two similarities to watch for in all the revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries:

An emerging social class (the bourgeoisie) needs help from the common people to make their revolution victorious, and promises them rights and freedoms

After the revolution is won, the new ruling class limits the promised rights of the common people