Section 3 Monarchy in England

Honors World History

Two prominent figures ruled England as monarchs but, despite their power, both Father (Henry VIII) and his daughter (Elizabeth I) had to learn to work with Parliament to fulfill their goals

Background

This was going on when Spain and France were asserting Absolute Monarchy

Unlike these other countries, England’s monarchs had to compromise their power by consulting Parliament to secure funds for their endeavors.

head of the state had control over EVERYTHING.

The Act of Supremacy named the King of England as the head of the Church of England

Created during the reign of

Henry VIII- The Medieval Bachelor, Grand Prize….Death

Henry VIII

I WANT TO BE IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING!!

AHHHH So ScaryMary Tudor, Henry’s first daughter ruled England

as a Catholic

Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody…

The Nine Days Queen

A great-granddaughter of Henry VIII by his younger daughter Mary, Jane was a first-cousin-once-removed of Edward VI. The teenage King left her the Crown in his will

All in the FamilyWhen Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth I inherited the crown and returned England to Anglican, English Protestant

Following in the footsteps of her mother

Not a typical quality of an absolute monarch, but very beneficial to her reign was Elizabeth’s willingness to let the members of Parliament speak their minds without fear of punishment.

Elizabeth I, authoritarian monarch

But do not be fooled, Elizabeth reinforced her rule with a zero tolerance policy

In 1601 one of her favorite courtiers, the Duke of Essex questioned her authority and was publicly executed, warning other anarchists to curb their efforts.

Death Becomes HerElizabeth dies without an heir so her relative, the King of Scotland, James I became the King of England in 1603.James I favored divine right

(just like Philip II of Spain)

=

Constant FightingJames I constantly conflicted with Parliament

James constantly conflicted with Parliament because of:

He was low on funds

He was from Scotland and was considered an outsider

The Puritans were a strict Calvinists, who wanted to “purify” the English Church.James saw them as a threat, so he didn’t pass many of

the Puritans requests.One reform James agreed to was the publication of an

English version of the Bible known as the King James Bible

I WILL NOT!

Ok, maybe just this once

When James died in 1625 his son was crowned Charles I.In 1628 Charles summoned Parliament to request money.Parliament wouldn’t grant his requests until Charles signed a

document, called the Petition of Right which placed limits on the king’s power, a direct challenge to absolute monarchy.

11 Year Tyranny on the Way

1. King couldn’t levy taxes without Parliament’s approval2.Couldn’t imprison anyone without legal justification3. Force citizens to house soldiers4. Declare martial law in peace time.

Charles dismissed Parliament and in 1629 decided to rule without consulting Parliament ever again.Charles didn’t call Parliament

into session for over a decade (11 years) until 1640 when he was so badly in debt because of religious rebellion in Scotland, that he had no choice.

Fine! Who Needs You?!

After being ignored for so long Parliament made Charles I agree to 2 rules that he must heed in the future:Parliament must be called at least every three yearsThe king could no longer dismiss Parliament.

O No He Didn’t

Charles I wages war on Parliament when a Puritan group within Parliament moved to abolish the appointment of bishops in the Anglican Church, which would diminish the kings power.Charles led troops into the House of Commons to arrest

leaders of that Puritan group, but the men had already escaped

This was the beginning of the English Civil War

O, IT’S ON!!!!!

Without the support of Parliament the king had to rely on contributions to pay for his army

Roundheads were members of Parliament who opposed the king.

Royalists/ Cavaliers mostly made up of wealthy nobles, were supporters of the king.

Leader of the Roundheads was Oliver CromwellRose to power by being a successful military leader, in 1644

he led a victory for the Roundheads where they killed 4000 of the king’s soldiers.

We’re Going In!

In 1646 the king surrenders and Cromwell accumulated full control.

Cromwell dismissed all members of Parliament who disagreed with him and created what was called a Rump Parliament .

This group of Cromwell’s men eventually charged the king with treason and on January 30th 1649 Charles I was publicly executed

This would later come back to bite him in the butt

There’s a New Sheriff in Town

The House of Commons abolished the House of Lords and outlawed the monarchy.

England became a commonwealth which is a republican government based on the common good of ALL the people.

In 1653 Cromwell was given the title Lord Protector of England

A Monarch for a Monarch

Following his faith very closely, Cromwell demanded complete obedience and eradicated all useless distractions such as theaters and limiting other forms of popular entertainment.

I won’t ruin the surprise, but we’ll see this guy again!Cromwell, the king’s death and war troubled many English

peopleOne of the popular Royalists who fled TO France during

Cromwell’s reign was Thomas Hobbes

OoOoOo Forshadowing!

Wrote Leviathan which argued that people needed an all-powerful monarch to tell them how to liveThis inspired England to try to find a balance between a representative government and the monarchy.Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its

gatekeeper

Richard Cromwell took over after his father’s death in 1658.Wasn’t the brightest crayon in the boxEventually parliament reconvened and voted to bring

back the monarchy , this event eventually became known as The Restoration.

Sometimes the Apple Does Fall Far from the Tree

In 1660, Parliament invited the son king Charles I (dead/executed) to rule, which he accepted, and that same year was crowned Charles II

No Hard Feelings?

Cromwell RevisitedThe rule of Charles II had positive and negative

events (1660-1685)Positive:Reopened theaters and encouraged the artsPassed the Habeas Corpus Act of 1679, which guaranteed

that someone accused of a crime had the right to appear in court to determine if they were to be held or released.

Back With a Vengeance and Some Good Ideas

Negative:Resurgence of the Bubonic Plague in 1665, killing 100,000 in London alone.

The Great Fire of London, which destroyed large parts of the city but also killed the rats that spread the deadly plague.

Because James II was a Catholic he wasn’t very popular when he took the throne after his brother, Charles’s death in 1685.James, like many before him, believed in an absolute

monarchy, which the people of England couldn’t tolerate anymore.

In 1688 a group of nobles invited James’s daughter Mary and her husband William to rule, they would become William and Mary of Orange

James didn’t put up a fight and fled to France. Because there was no bloodshed during this major political shift it became known as the Glorious Revolution.

Another One?

The RestorationParliament had essentially crowned the new king and queen

The English Bill of Rights William and Mary had to sign before taking throne. (*inspiration for the US Constitution)It prevented monarchs from

levying taxes without consent of Parliament, among other provisions

This document showed England’s growth as a constitutional monarchy a term for a monarchy limited by law.

England had finally rejected the concept of absolute monarch who ruled by divine right, now there would only be a monarchy ruled by law.