Chapter 2: The Fight for Democracy and The English Civil War

The Regions of Great BritainToday consists of

English, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland

Separated from Europe by the English Channel

Is 244 000 km2

8000 km of coastlineRivers provide

transportation routes

Regions of Great BritainLowlands – south

and eastLow-lying and fertile

land suited to agriculture

Climate warmer here because of the influence of the Gulf Stream

Much more heavily populated and more important politically

Highlands – North and West

Primarily hill or mountainous countryside

Thin soils

English Society in the Seventeenth CenturyWith the defeat of the Spanish

Armada, English ships were able to travel anywhere they wanted

Began North America, India, and Africa

England became a wealthy society which lead to increased population

Three Classes of English SocietyUpper Class Middle Class Lower Class

King and his advisors

Merchants Ordinary workers

Nobles Manufacturers

High Church officials

Landowners

Professionals

Military officers

Lived in town and country homes with valuable possessions and luxury items imported from the colonies

Skilled workers could live comfortably and belonged to guilds that protected and looked after them

Worked long hours with little payLiving quarters small and crampedWidows suffered badly because of the loss of their husbands

English Dietpoor lived on bread and beer with

the occasional piece of meat or cheese

wealthy ate lots of meat with strong flavours to disguise the fact the meat wasn’t always fresh

few ways to preserve foodfruit and vegetables not popularforks only beginning to be used

Influence of Colonizationnew foods such as pineapples,

corn, potatoes, coffee, tea, and chocolate introduced

beginning to smoke tobaccobeaver skins led to new fashions

The role of religionmost of England was Protestantthe official church was the

Church of England or Anglican Church and the king was the head of the church

Church of England decided on how church services would be conducted and was supported by taxes◦the services and ceremonies were

often elaboate

PuritansTotally opposed to the

ceremonies and decoration of the Church of England

Were Calvinists who believed that churches and church services needed to be plain and simple

wore dark clothes and lived very sober lives

disapproved of gambling, drinking, and the theatre

believed in strict laws to keep people from a life of sin

Religious tolerationDuring times of toleration, Puritans

could hold their services as long as they occasionally went to Church of England service

other times it was illegal to hold their own church services

Some Puritans left the country on The Mayflower and settled in New England

Some entered politics to try to change things

WitchesSeventeeth century people

sought out witches who they believed were the personification of the devilanyone who did not fit in

society was suspected of being a witch

especially suspicious of women because they were responsible for original sin

hundred of people were persecuted and executed for witchcraft

WitchesMost people were innocent and were

just social misfitspracticed traditional medicine, were

unmarried, or told fortuneswitch hunting was a profitable businesscondemned witches were ducked in

water until they drowned (which proved their innocence)

others were hanged, burned, or pressed to death

In class activityUse the text to complete your

questions and charts by the end of class today

No HW if you are done!

The Early StuartsJames VI of Scotland became James I of

England after the death of Elizabeth I – first of the Stuart kings

disliked the democratic traditions in England and preferred absolute monarchs

this went against Magna Carta, a document which stated that the king must rule lawfully

Magna Carta had resulted in democratic institutions like the House of Commons and the House of Lords

James Ibelieved in the Divine

Right of Kings – all his powers as ruler came directly from God and could not be questioned by ordinary people

he did good things such as commission the King James version of the Bible

Poor decisions by James Ibelieved in Divine Right of kingsselected incompetent advisors

and gave them titlestried to find new sources of

money without going to Parliament for approval

disliked the Puritans and made them angry by encouraging people to have fun on Sunday

Charles vs. ParliamentCivil war - when people within a

country are fighting each other1642 – Charles began a conflict

that would tear his country apart for 7 years

Both sides had to create an ‘army’

Charles IJames I’s sonbelieved in Divine Right of

Kingsaloofnarrow mindedextravagantalways looking for new

sources of money to pay for his fine art collection

used his father’s advisers who led him into disasterous wars

The fight with ParliamentParliament would only agree to

Charles’ request for more taxes if he respected its wishes – which Charles usually refused to do

brought back ship money, which was an ancient fee which people once had to pay to the king to provide warships, however, Charles used the money for himself

collected customs fees called tunnage and poundage

More reasons to despise Charles Isold noble titles for moneybilleted his soldiers with homeownersused the Court of Star Chamber to convict,

imprison, and fine his enemiesdid not believe in freedom of speech and

imprisoned and harshly punished those (usually Puritans) guilty of seditious libel◦ loss of university degree◦ forbidden to practice profession◦ huge fine◦ pillored◦ ears cut off◦ branded on the face

Even more reasons to hate Charles Iin 1628, Charles recalled

Parliament to try to raise money, but Parliament wouldn’t agree until he singed the “Petition of Right”, which he refused to do

Lord Strafford and Archbishop Laud were asked to help bring country under control

resulted in Puritans attacking and destroying Anglican Churches

The Long Parliament1637 –attempted to force the Scots to

worship in the style of the Church of England – even though they were Presbyterians

1640 – called the Parliament together because he needed to raise money to pay his soldiers – known as the Short Parliament

Parliament sides with the Scots and refuses to grant this money, so Charles closes it down after 3 weeks

Long Parliament IILong Parliament unfriendly to CharlesLasted 13 yearsdemanded that Strafford and Laud be

removed from power and punishedCharles agrees to their demands and

both are executedParliament determined that the king

should never again have absolute powerbut kings under Magna Carta also had

“royal prerogative” and how far did this go? – known as the Grand Remonstrance

Long Parliament IIICharles learned that the radical

members of Parliament wanted to take away most of his powers

others wanted guarantees that the kind would rule the country in accordance with law and tradition

The Grand Remonstrance barely passed because of this split

Charles believed that if he could arrest the radical leaders and punish them as traitors, he could regain control

Charles’ ReactionCharles takes 500 soldiers to the

House of Commons and tries to arrest the leaders

the radicals escape and the parliament calls for an army

Charles leaves Westminster for the north

Queen Henrietta Maria takes the Crown Jewels to Europe to sell them to pay for an army

Charles vs. ParliamentCharles’ army (Royalists) Parliament’s army

- Many of them came from noble families (money to pay for weapons)

- Were local militia (citizens who are trained to act as soldiers in times of emergency)

- Were used to fighting and riding on horses

- Were farmers and townspeople

- Were called ‘Royalists’ or ‘Cavaliers’

- Most of their army had almost no military experience

- Included experienced commanders (good leaders)

- Had control over the navy

Civil War – Charles vs. ParliamentCharles was successful at first

◦He won many small battlesParliament made an alliance with

Scotland (who was building a more modern army)

The leader of this “New Model Army” was Oliver Cromwell, a puritan who sided with parliament

Cromwell’s ArmyCromwell’s soldiers were called

“Roundheads” (because they cut their hair very short compared to the Cavaliers who wore long curls)

Cromwell’s ArmyThe Roundheads were:

◦Highly disciplined◦Usually very religious◦Well-equipped

steel body-armor and lobster-tail helmets

Charles vs. Parliament (and Cromwell’s Army)The New Model Army defeated

the Royalists at two important battles

Charles was forced to flee to Scotland◦He was made a prisoner◦He was handed over to parliament

The Rump ParliamentWhen the civil war had begun,

many of the members of parliament who supported the king left parliament to fight with him

Parliament was left in the hands of Presbyterians and Puritans◦They disagreed on many important

matters

Presbyterians vs. PuritansPresbyterians Puritans

- Wanted churches to be organized so that people worshipped the same everywhere

- Wanted each church to run itself separately from the other churches

- Didn’t care if Charles stayed as king, as long as he agreed to ‘limited’ powers

-Wanted to see the end of the monarchy (no more kings)

The Rump ParliamentCharles tried to play the two

sides against each other◦Was very dishonest with everybody

When rebellions broke out in support of the king, the parliamentary army sent soldiers to drive out the 143 Presbyterian members of parliament

The Rump ParliamentThe parliament that was left (the

Puritans) were called the “Rump Parliament”◦They charged the king with treason

(being disloyal to your country) and with making war on his own people

◦He was put on trial for his life

The Trial of the KingCharles’ trial was strange,

difficult and lengthyIn the end, he was found guilty

and was sentenced to deathOn the day of his execution,

Charles dressed nicely and ate some food (he didn’t want to seem poor or afraid)

He was led onto a scaffold and executed (his head was cut off)

Charles’ Execution

CROMWELL’S COMMONWEALTHPuritan rule.No dancing. No newspapers. No theatres.

Army ruled.Became unpopular.Cromwell died in 1658.

LONG PARLIAMENT

Parliament reconvened in 1660

Charles II was invited to be king with limited powers

Very popular decision

CHARLES IIFeudal dues

abolished. King paid from taxes.

Must respect the Magna Carta and Petition of Right.

Charles II leaned towards the Catholic church. Parliament did not. Charles urged religious tolerance.

Test Act1673 Parliament passed Test Act.

Excluded all except Protestants from public office, the army, the navy and universities in England.

Whigs And Tories

Whigs favoured parliament.Tories favoured the king.Whigs tried to pass the Exclusion Act

which excluded Catholics from the English throne. Did not succeed.

Introduced the “writ of habeas corpus”. Passed. (Produce the body - prisoners must be brought before a judge)

JAMES II

James II became king in 1685Placed Catholics in high offices in

opposition to the Test Act.Parliament took no action because they

believed that his Protestant daughter Mary would succeed the throne.

1688 James second wife gave birth to a son. (Mary was out. Catholics were in.)

WILLIAM AND MARYWilliam, Mary’s

husband invaded Britain in 1688. James II fled to France.

Parliament agreed to accept William as a king. He and Mary became monarchs.

The was called the Glorious Revolution

William and Mary accepted the Bill of Rights. (Set down English liberties, ensured Parliaments rights.)

BILL OF RIGHTSNo laws could be suspended without the

consent of parliament.Taxes could not be raised without the

consent of parliament.Parliament must be summoned

frequently.The right of trial by juryOutlawed cruel and unusual

punishments.Limited amount of bail.

PARLIAMENTMembers not paid. Who could afford to run for parliament?

Act of Toleration stated that all Protestants could have the freedom of worship.

Act of Settlement: only Anglicans can inherit the throne.

What about Catholics?

Ireland and Scotland1689 James II rebelled in Ireland.

Defeated. Act of Settlement enacted.

Catholics could not buy or inherit land from Protestants.

Catholics could not be elected to Parliament.

Act of Union - Scotland united with England.

THE CABINETInitially King William chose his advisors or ministers from both political parties (Whigs and Tories).

Members of the two parties did not get along. The king then chose the representatives from the majority party.

PRIME MINISTERGeorge I (Royal House of

Hanover) was the closest Protestant heir upon the death of Queen Anne.

George I could speak only German.

Sir Robert Walpole became his chief advisor. (Although he was not called a Prime Minister, he is generally accepted as the first.)

Canada’s Civil War Heritagewhen the Speaker of

the House of Commons is elected, the MPs pretend to drag him to the chair to recreate the moment when Charles I ordered the Speaker to leave the House and MPs held the Speaker in his chair

Doors to the House of Commons are barred and the Black Rod must knock 3 times to gain entry to the House

The Mace is the symbol of authority in the House of Commons and is always displayed when the House is in session