The Failure of Absolutism in

England

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

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

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, nunc est regina Jacobus

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.

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

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

English Civil War (1642 – 1649)

Cavaliers = supporters of the king during the English Civil War

Roundheads = supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War

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

Oliver Cromwell had King Charles I beheaded

Cromwell’s Head

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

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

William (of Orange) & Mary

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

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

The English Bill of Rights

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

2. Freedom of Petition

3. King Can Not Create New Courts

4. King can not levy taxes

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

6. No quartering of troops in private homes

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

8. King can not interfere with Parliamentary elections or functions

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

10. No royal interference in juries

11. Parliament must be allowed to meet regularly

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

13. No seizure of property without due process

14. English monarch can not be Catholic

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”

Hobbes thought people were naturally cruel, greedy, & selfish

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

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

Locke believed that the people had the right to overthrow the government if it failed to protect their rights